Campaign Production is one area of film making where you will be interacting and engaging with people, including your clients and members of the public. What ever the case, treating them fairly and with respect is a fundamental position you need to adhere to. Unlike other areas – such as entertainment broadcasting – exploiting your subject is unacceptable in Campaign Documentary. Your film projects may involve children, young people or those who are vulnerable. All these groups need an ethical approach which will include negotiating access with their parents or guardians and sticking to legal working practices. Exploitation rights also need to be considered and release forms are necessary which would include parental permission. During this session we will be looking at ethical issues in each of your productions.

Throughout the module we have had discussions on ethics in terms of the importance of representing your client fairly, researching in detail by meeting up beforehand so that you do not presume who they are and what they do and finally the importance of being able to present their stories in a way which is good for you and them. It is important to maintain a relationship with your subject not just for the good of your film but on a basic human level. In my own experience as a documentary filmmaker, I have worked with some characters over several years and several films. This has only been possible through taking a principled approach to my work but also being aware of ethical issues. What ever film you make that involves people always make sure you can look them in the eye afterwards. Here is a link to an article that looks at the issues of ethics in more detail. There is a more detailed look at ethics from the perspective of documentary film makers that you can download here.