Introduction

Videography is the art of filmmaking. It is a way to illustrate storytelling and in the case of documentary, it can be defined as the “creative treatment of actuality” (Sussex and Grierson, 1972). In this blog post, I shall discuss the importance of ethics in videography, specifically focusing on documentaries. Within this, I will consider the research of multiple theorists and utilise their arguments to conclude my own opinions on the matter.

What is ethics?

The words ‘ethics’ and ‘morals’ often come hand in hand however it is important to understand the key differences between both. Firstly, ethics are defined to outline the principles of correct actions (Du¨well et al., 2002). They are more about the individual and how they distinguish between right and wrong. However, morals are defined by society, not the individual. It is possible to determine that society was able to construct valid morals through consistency and adherence of the public. The core values of what is right and wrong are shaped by society and therefore heavily influence the moral compass of the population (Kettner, 2002, p. 410). This idea is further strengthened by Nichols’ (1991) beliefs on ethics being ideological and therefore can be linked to the views of society. Given this slight distinguishment between both, it is possible to determine that there will be areas in which opinions may arise as to whether something is ethical or not. Documentaries are possibly one of the biggest areas in media that fall victim to that as they are often a topic of social sensitivity.

Ethical concerns in documentaries

One concern in the making of documentaries is the impact of content inclusion and exclusion on the perceived truth. Moral judgements often inform how a story is told (Nash, 2012). If we adopt the argument of Eitzen (2012) and his definition of how documentaries display a version of the truth as opposed to the full truth, then it is possible to determine that the ethical judgements of those in the production team can influence the truth that is displayed within documentaries. In saying that, there is a discourse among directors as Director David Ofek states that he leaves the “ethics to the editing team” which means that he almost rejects the responsibility of ethics within reason. Whereas other directors concern themselves with the ethical implications of their products.

Furthermore, this can inform the creative decisions that the director takes to communicate meanings to the audience. Consider the utilisation of dramatic reenactments for example, whilst they are a depiction of the truth, taking more extreme measures to establish an idea of the theme more clearly may benefit the directors as it will encourage critical thinking from the audience (Butchart and Har-Gil 2019). After all, the directors want their documentaries to make an impact on their audiences in some form and therefore it is down to them to decide how to do that in a way that is entertaining and informative. Thus, the issue of perhaps content manipulation comes into light but then it comes down to the definition of what a documentary is; whether it is believed to be a depiction of the full truth or a version of the truth that is utilised to prove a point.

To an extent, the creators of documentaries must also consider the depiction of their subjects and whether it is accurate or fair which is where the ethical debate comes into play. Arguably, it is sometimes more effective to exaggerate the content within a documentary to prove a point than it is to convey that point to the audience with the same impact if the whole truth was presented which is where content inclusion comes into fruition regarding communicating meanings to the audiences. This can also be linked to the idea of participant respect. Particularly when a participant is discussing something that is socially sensitive or disclosing personal information, it is important to gain participant consent and respect their right to withdraw any information that makes them uncomfortable. A potential solution to this problem would be consent forms as well as building a relationship around mutual respect with the subjects (Sanders 2010).

Another aspect to consider is the safety of the participants. Regarding documentaries that surround certain political or social issues, it is worth a consideration into the long-term impacts that the documentary may have on the lives of the participants (Sanders 2010). However, it is debatable to what extent that should be the ethical responsibility of the filmmaker as opposed to the participants who agreed to participate. Some directors may feel that it is their responsibility to protect their clients from harm therefore it is important to consider and anticipate any ethical problems within a documentary.

Conclusion

When it comes to ethics in videography, it is very difficult to always have complete agreement over what is morally correct or not. Many variables would form the decision from the influence of morals and laws to personal views. It is clear from my research that there should always be extensive consideration towards the ethical issues that may exist within documentaries. And these decisions should not be made lightly, especially when they can impact the lives of individuals who were involved. I believe that so long as you consider the potential problems and professionally deal with them, there should be solutions to most ethical concerns. That being said, it is clear that there is no escaping the topic of ethics when looking to create documentaries.  

References

BUTCHART, G.C. and A. HAR-GIL, 2019. Reflection as Ethical Process in Documentary Film: Eight Decision-Making Issues. Journal of media ethics, 34(2), 58-72

DU¨WELL, M., HU¨BENTHAL, C., & WERNER, M. H. (2002).,  Handbuch Ethik (pp. 1–23). .

EITZEN, D., 1995. When Is a Documentary?: Documentary as a Mode of Reception. Cinema Journal, 35(1), 81-102

KETTNER.M ET AL, 2002. Handbuch Ethik.

NASH K, 2011. Documentary-for-the-Other: Relationships, ethics and (observational) documentary.

NASH, K., 2012. Telling stories: the narrative study of documentary ethics. New Review of Film and Television Studies, 10(3), 318-331

Nichols, B. (1991). Representing reality: Issues and concepts in documentary. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. a.

Ofek, D. Interview with David Ofek, Dir. No. 17. b.

SANDERS, W., 2010. Documentary Filmmaking and Ethics: Concepts, Responsibilities, and the Need for Empirical Research. Mass communication & society, 13(5), 528-553