THE ETHICS OF REPRESENTATION

Reflective work on Ethics workshop.

As film makers it is our responsibility to ensure that both the film crew and the film footage abides by the rules and regulations set by the ethical code. There are specific points we must consider when working with contributors, especially contributors who may not be able to give consent under usual circumstances due to not being physically or mentally able.

Firstly, are they able to give informed consent and are they aware of the consequences of being filmed. An example of this can be the contributors losing a sense of privacy because they are willingly consenting to viewers having insight into their lives. How may they be affected by the process of filming, how will they be perceived and how truthful will they be portrayed, will it be true to their nature? One critical point when dealing with various contributors of all ages is Children. When documenting a film based on or featuring children, an entirely different criteria for consent is needed.

BBC'S CHILD CONSENT PROTOCOL 

If you wish to learn more about the children protection guidelines of filming with children, click the link below;

http://www.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/insidethebbc/howwework/policiesandguidelines/child_protection.html

Or if you wish to know more about editorial guidelines of consent in general, click here;

http://www.bbc.co.uk/editorialguidelines/guidelines



In most cases the go to contributor to receive consent would be the parents or guardian of the child. However, how do you gain permission from a mother or father who is suffering from mental health issues or addictions? Trying to gain the consent from a parent in this capacity, especially if they are sole parents, is a much more complex and tricky circumstance that will not always have a direct solution. Nonetheless, whenever possible the best answer I can give, as far as I'm aware, would be to seek the permission of the social worker that might be working in the child's best interests or further lengths would be to go to the family doctor to determine if filming will affect the health of the parent or the child.

'SOCIAL WORKER' BY ANNE PARISIO - Figure 1

One documentary that is a good example of this situation being faced was 'Social Workers.' Which is part of a series by Anne Parisio. A task we were given in our production teams was to analyse and evaluate our responsibilities within the film. When watching the clip from the 'Social Workers', it seemed to demonstrate that the actual social workers had the majority of power over the family dealing with issues. 

It is true that as a spectator and observer we must also respect the privacy and emotions of the contributors. This allows control to be given to the contributors on how they would like to be portrayed. Naturally when discussing the documentary it provides an insight into what we will be doing for the contributors, this is to hopefully convey the message we want to send across to our viewers and often tends to help the 'permission to film' be negotiated easier.

When filming, we must avoid any complications that would prevent us from shooting the crucial moments because that is where the most tension occurs. In the clip seen in Figure 1, the crucial moment would be the moment where the mother has acknowledged her incapacity to care for her child whilst facing complicating health problems. This moment creates sympathy which allows an emotional connection to be established between the viewer and the mother. Why people might agree to be filmed is unclear but perhaps it would be primarily to build an understanding of the situation within the outside world, or perhaps in the hopes it could create closure for the individual if more people were to comprehend the situation.

Making our documentaries we must consider our audience and ensure no defamation has taken place within the film. Our films must comply with all laws such as fairness, copyright protection, data protection, legal obligations and more. Doing so minimises the chances of a claim being made against the filmmakers or filming under false pretence.

Thank you for reading, if you'd like to leave a comment below please do so. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

BBC'S child consent protocol-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/insidethebbc/howwework/policiesandguidelines/child_protection.html

Clip image of the 'Social Worker' by Anne Parisio-

https://myuca.ucreative.ac.uk/webapps/blackboard/ethicsrepresentation/displayContent/mode/view&content

 people and processes short final