Ethics & Process
GDI
Director's Ethical Background
My positionality
A young white Australian woman within the Sydney and online yoga community, who is not a teacher and who has a camera.
My position
Yoga is a valuable activity for physical, mental & spiritual wellbeing. Yoga should be accessible for people of all incomes. Yoga teachers should be able to work in a sustainable, respectful, and ethical working environment.
My biases
I like yoga. I want to maintain positive relationships with teachers I know in Sydney. I don’t like materialism or the way capitalism de-essentialises valuable knowledge.
My duty of care
Participants are working yoga teachers, business owners or therapists whose income relies on their reputation & the respect of clients.
My duty of agency
Allow participants to define how they want to be portrayed through regular check-ins and setting expectations for open communication.
Ethical Process
Participant Observation
A process from anthropology where the documenter participates in the activities they are documenting.
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I'll continue to practice yoga & be in my local yoga community.
Participant as Co-Writer
A process that brings participants into pre-production to help design the story and its portrayal as a way of ensuing agency in their depiction.
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consult participants about the purpose of each scene and brainstorm how best to represent it
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include participants in budget as consultants/advisors
Continuous Consent
Continuous consent means being transparent with intentions and process, and genuinely giving participants opportunities for agency throughout the entire process.
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share early versions and rushes with the participant
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have conversations when mistakes or uncertainties arise
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ensure participants have access to a previous documentary participant to chat to before giving initial consent
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be clear & upfront on the time & access being requested to make the film
Mutual Benefit
Mutual benefit means that participants are compensated for their time and stories. In documentary, and especially those made at AFTRS, paying participants is seen as a conflict of interest to access to truth. However, participants should benefit from the production in other ways which are specific to them, such as an exchange of services or mutual political goals. The 'resources' suggests a few good options for this.
Impact Production
Impact producing is the strategic use of a film for social or political impact. The impact should be decided collaboratively with participants. Usually, this means the film is used as a tool to address issues the participant experiences in their own lives.
Prioritisation
Referencing a slow and flexible shooting schedule designed with participants allows priorities to be: relationships, then impact, then audience, then profit.
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schedule in downtime, review and discussions, mutual benefit
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schedule in additional shoot days as backups so that participants can feasibly choose not to be filmed on the day for any reason
Transparency
Transparency means being upfront and open with all information related to intention, process and responsibilities. There should be no surprises.
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allow opportunity for participants to chat with a past participant
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allow opportunities for participants to chat with each other
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have very clear process & protocol documents for reference
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give an overview of the industry & how this film will operate within it
Next Steps
Chat to a past documentary participant directed by Maya
Luke was the main participant in my recent documentary, 'First Contact'. He was filmed attending a 3-day Contact Improvisation workshop for the first time and interviewed about his relationship to touch and intuition.
Message Luke on +61 415 184 657
Organise a chat to discuss mutual benefit, responsibilities, and any other questions
Email Maya on 2025167@student.aftrs.edu.au
or text her on 0458 445 681
What does it mean that the project is through the AFTRS Masters course?
Chat to a past documentary participant directed by Maya
This means:
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the crew are all students
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the project is overseen by lecturers in all disciplines (who are all skilled industry professionals!)
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the process is subject to AFTRS policies (risk, insurance, timeline, budget, etc)
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the project will be promoted and distributed through the school
Overall, the process will be less polished than a professional documentary, but the final documentary is guaranteed to be good as it will be made under the guidance of experts and in the school's name.
See staff here.