''Building Sites Bite'' is a

public information film Public information films (PIFs) are a series of government-commissioned short films, shown during television advertising breaks in the United Kingdom. The name is sometimes also applied, ''faute de mieux'', to similar films from other countries, ...

produced by the Central Office of Information for the Health and Safety Executive and the Mighty Movie Company for

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

schools A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsor ...

to warn children about the dangers of playing on

building site Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and come ...

s. It was written and directed by David Hughes and produced by Maggie Evans. The film was shot in early 1978 and is 28 minutes in duration. ''Building Sites Bite'' was filmed as a response deaths of more than 20 children in 1977 in building-site accidents. Most of the actors are children. Because of the style of filming and grim subject matter, ''Building Sites Bite'' is often compared to the earlier films ''

Apaches The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño and ...

'' and ''

The Finishing Line ''The Finishing Line'' is a short film produced in 1977 by British Transport Films, warning about the dangers children face on railway lines. Although it is not strictly a public information film, it is often considered to be so by fans of the ...

'', both released the previous year.

Plot

The informative film focuses entirely on the perspective of Ronald, a young boy who aspires to become a builder or

surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...

when he grows up. His cousins Paul and Jane decide to test Ronald's

know-it-all ''Know-It-All'' is the debut studio album by Canadian singer and songwriter Alessia Cara. It was released on November 13, 2015 through Def Jam Recordings. The album followed the release of her debut extended play (EP) ''Four Pink Walls'' (2015), w ...

attitude by teleporting him to a building site, where Ronald must avoid several hazards and obstacles without getting hurt. In each test Ronald disobeys various warning signs and ignores the dangers, resulting in him getting killed in each one. Each time Ronald is about to die a heartbeat sound is played to warn sensitive viewers. In order, Ronald's deaths are displayed as him being buried alive in a

trench A trench is a type of excavation or in the ground that is generally deeper than it is wide (as opposed to a wider gully, or ditch), and narrow compared with its length (as opposed to a simple hole or pit). In geology, trenches result from eros ...

collapse,

electrocuted Electrocution is death or severe injury caused by electric shock from electric current passing through the body. The word is derived from "electro" and "execution", but it is also used for accidental death. The term "electrocution" was coined ...

in a condemned building, run over by an earthmoving vehicle, breaking his skull against a metal retaining wall, crushed to death by a pile of bricks and finally drowning in a disused

quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envi ...

. Back in the real world, Ronald announces he intends to abandon his ambitions, and goes outside to play with Paul and Jane. Over the closing shot of the film, Paul reads out real-life stories of children who were killed in similar ways to those seen in the film.

Home viewing availability

''Building Sites Bite'' was made available for home viewing by the

BFI The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

in 2010, along with other such public information films of the time such as ''

'', on the compilation DVD COI Collection Vol 4: Stop! Look! Listen!. It was later re-released in a similar compilation, 2020's ''The Best Of COL. Five Decades of Public Information Films''.

References

External links

Production details
at the BFI website 1978 films Public information films Child safety Construction safety British documentary films 1970s educational films 1970s British films British educational films {{1970s-UK-film-stub