LEGAL AND ETHICAL

Maryam Latifi A2 Media Production

Legal and Ethical Issues to consider

LEGAL Copyright of music and videos/archive footage Location release/Recees Talent release/Personal release Privacy

ETHICAL (what are the ethical codes for journalists?) Handling sensitive information Balance and Bias Representation of subject

Health and safety areas to consider

Filming and working with strangers

Carrying heavy equipment

Exposed wires

Operating equipment

Weather conditions and filming

Protecting the camera

Health and safety for production

Hazard Risk to who Level of risk How to manageCarrying heavy equipments

Director and producer. Medium risk Share it with my buddy who will always accompany me during any interviews. This risk will be that if I carry too much heavy equipments with me I can hurt myself with them, drop them, break them, cause back pain or fracture bones.

Always bring with me bags for the equipments to be carried safely.

Filming and cooperating with strangers during interviews.

Director, producer and camera woman.

High I will always bring my buddy with me during all interviews to keep safe and secure as strangers are never trusted, particularly when meetings are made through the internet. For example, a man who pretends to be a banker.

Exposed wires To people who I am interviewing, director, producer, camera woman and the best boy or dolly grip.

High To manage or prevent the risk to everyone present during an interview I can tap the wires on the floor and organize/ put them in one area behind the camera and where nobody walks over the wires or trips over the long wires.

Weather conditions and filming

To the equipments that I will be using such as the camera, tripods and microphone, to director, producer, best boy and dolly boy.

High To manage this risk, it is better to avoid filming during bad weather conditions, film indoors, carry equip equipments to help against bad weather such as an umbrella, rain jacket and boots.

Legal issue to consider How this may effect my work

What I can do about this?

Copyright of music and videos/archive footage

In the real world I would really have to ask permission for other companies to allow me to use their secondary video footage on Internet such as YouTube. But, as a student I may have to just ask

This does not really affect me as a student but as a real professional documentary marker I would call the organization up requesting for their permission to use their video footage for my documentary as a secondary source. Yet also, if I have used archive footage from someone else or somewhere else I will include beneath the information/data the source to display where I got the information data from.

Location release/Recees

This will affect my work as they may not allow me to use their premises for filming. So I will be left without being able to interview somewhere.

I will make consent letters for the locations that I will use for the owners or managers to sign it.

Talent release/Personal releaseI will not be allowed to film them for my documentary, which will affect my work as I will have to film someone else instead of the person that I need to film as their work or personality is relevant to my documentary's theme.

For the talent and personal release I have also made a straight forward letter for their permission to film them and use the video footage to broadcast it on YouTube.

Privacy This will affect my work by not being able to know enough about the background information of the person that I am interviewing or if I film in public I cannot film everyone without asking their privacy. This will cause many complaints and aggression as not everybody want to be filmed by someone.

By not talking about someone’s private life or allowing them to maintain their privacy if they wish to have some during an interview or filming.

Yet also, if someone does not want to be filmed than I have to consider someone else instead of that person that I require. Yet also, I will produce important letter requesting for their permission to film and broadcasted.

Legal issues

Ethical Issuesethical issue to consider How this may effect my work What I can do about this?

Handling sensitive information

I cannot use explicit languages that may offend or discriminate other. I am not permitted to swear, use colloquialism or leak out sensitive information that my interviewee may have provided me to the public.

As I am interviewing a interviewee, known as Keera, I have to be aware of what I am asking her in my questionnaire. For instance, I cannot ask her why are you dressed like a boy or don’t you feel embarrassed by the way you are dressed?

As it is too inappropriate and unprofessional. I have to remain sensitive with what I am saying and be objective.

I will be cautious about the type of questions that I will ask and the type of videos I will use from the internet to convey my point to my target audience.

Balance and Bias This will affect my work by offending and intimidating people or being prejudice against a groups of people within the society. This is unprofessional and could affect the success of my documentary.

I will produce a documentary that contains polarized opinions where different views of different people is accepted. No biased opinions are introduced.

Representation of subjectThis will effect my work as I am not allowed to represent my interviewees inappropriately or what may be seen as inappropriate. For instance, showing too much sexually explicit scenes in my documentary.

I will be careful with how I want my interviewees to dress and look so that the representation of my subject does not offend or discriminate anyone. (e.g. The use of stereotypical dress codes)