Tag: ethics

Categories
Truly Free Film

Walk Off the Land After the Harvest

by Andrew Einspruch

Filmmaker Andrew Einspruch recently attended the Australian International Documentary Conference and wrote a series of articles for the event, which he’s graciously allowed us to reprint here. These articles originally appeared in Screen Hub, the daily online newspaper for Australian film and television professionals.

A discussion of ethics in documentary making is a bi-annual tradition at the Australian International Documentary Conference. Screen Hub’s Andrew Einspruch reports on the session chaired by Screen Hub Editor, David Tiley.

Documentary is a hands-on affair. The filmmaker goes into a situation, observes, harvests the story, then moves on. In some cases, like a constructed reality show, participants are put in situations that cause them to undergo a change – or not. In any case, people’s lives are affected, for good or ill. And the documentary maker is faces with responsibilities both before and after their work goes to air.

Continue reading “Walk Off the Land After the Harvest”
Categories
Issues and Actions

Just Because You Can, Doesn’t Mean You Should

Let’s say you are one of the biggest corporations in the universe, and you own the most successful company in a particular sector, and they in turn own one of the most popular purveyors of a particular type of product; and, well, in some ways there is no denying that each of you are revolutionary.  Between the three of you, you have provided an unprecedented structure that allows anyone to reach virtually everyone at what appears — on first blush — to be no cost, or at least very little.  On top of that, you give people a way to actually make a few cents on what they love doing anyway (pennies for your passion, pennies for your passion — we don’t even need a rallying cry in this world of win win).  Does this alleviate the need to work ethically or even just the need to do the right thing?

Not sure what I am writing about?  Well….   If you haven’t yet read or heard about the contracts that Machinima, Maker Studios, and other YouTube partners have evidently demanded their makers sign, you might want to.  

But be warned this knowledge may cause harmful

Continue reading “Just Because You Can, Doesn’t Mean You Should”

Categories
Truly Free Film

Answering The Questions: “How do I make sure that in twenty years I will feel good about the choices I make today?”

Earlier this year I proposed what I saw as the five most critical questions for someone to answer in order to have a fulfilling and sustainable career producing films.  I went on to list out eighteen more. I think the answers to these questions don’t have a right or wrong answer; they should be profoundly personal.  Yet I also think it is very hard to answer these questions on your own.  Frankly, I think the answering of these questions should be part of any film school curriculum — but I am also not sure that film school is a necessary component for all producing careers.  Anyway, I thought it might be helpful for those considering this path to have someone try to answer these questions.  Today that someone is me.

Producing benefits from having addressed certain moral and ethical challenges before they actually confront you.  Hell, what field or way of life doesn’t?  I have encouraged the consideration of some of these “challenges” before in virtual party game manner, but I do think it is always worth considering.  I think it comes down to the questions of “what do you value?”  People? Money? Principles? Property?  And how much do these matter to you?

If you’ve set your values — or at least have a firm handle on them–, if you then seek to make the product of your labor (i.e for a film producer, your movies) reflect your values, you will be on your way to still feeling good about what you are doing twenty years from now. Essentially this is the “Know-what-you-care-about-and-reflect-that-in-your-work” approach.  But it alone is not enough to carry you through the twenty years.  It is the content driven approach and you will have to also consider the process and the environment you inhabit to stay satisfied.

To feel as good twenty years from now as you do today (and that is assuming you feel good today of course), it is not just

Continue reading “Answering The Questions: “How do I make sure that in twenty years I will feel good about the choices I make today?””