Ethical Filming Guidelines

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These guidelines are designed to guide us in capturing stories on sensitive issues such as overfishing, environmental change, biodiversity loss, and covering the people and communities impacted, with dignity, accuracy, and respect. 

The ethical treatment of our filming subjects is a key principle of the way we work. These guidelines represent best practice in working with communities in sensitive or at-risk situations and serve as guiding principles to encourage care, consideration, and compassion for those we work with. They should be revisited frequently to ensure they remain appropriate and actionable. 

Environmental and social issues are complex and interconnected with culture, history, and livelihoods. People may have deep emotional or spiritual connections to their environment and many communities are delivering leadership and innovative solutions for the challenges they face. 

Communities at the front line of pressing environmental challenges may be frequently contacted by ‘outsiders’ who want to know their story. This may include journalists, content producers, and other media agencies. For some communities, the sense that they are responsible for sharing a story with the world in order to assist with the problem they face can create a lot of pressure and can prove to be a substantial burden. 

At-risk and marginalised communities are particularly vulnerable to extractive storytelling practices, where individuals and communities are exploited for content and receive little or no recognition of the value, impact, and importance of their contribution. 

Examples of extractive storytelling might include: 

• Individuals or communities not being briefed on the nature of the work before engaging
• Individuals or communities being pressured to participate
• Individuals or communities being filmed without their permission or knowledge
• Misrepresenting people, communities, or issues by reducing complex local realities to oversimplified narratives that cater to outside expectations and stereotypes (e.g., “victim/ hero,” “broken system”).
• Valuable time taken up without compensation or recognition
• Community resources drained by visitors with high consumption lifestyles 
• Emotional damage of discussing sensitive topics, particularly with strangers who may have limited care or concern for their circumstances 
• The marginalisation, exclusion and disempowerment of communities in deciding who speaks ‘for’ them, which stories matter, what the “problem” and “solution” are, and what counts as credible expertise.
• We recognize the risk of unequal power dynamics between filmmakers and communities in sensitive or at-risk situations and the risk of extractive storytelling practices in working with these communities. 

Where individuals and communities trust us with their stories, we will do everything in our power to handle those stories with the care, consideration, and compassion they deserve. 

Our goal is to work with people and communities in a way which prevents harm, exploitation, or the reinforcement of stereotypes. We aim to honour the strength, courage and agency of impacted individuals and communities. 

• Showing resilience and agency alongside hardship.
• Focusing on people’s skills, knowledge, and strength, not just their struggles.

Action points: 

• Seek informed consent before filming
• Explain clearly how the footage will be used.
• Ask yourself: “If this were my family or community, would I feel comfortable with how they’re shown?”

We avoid:

• Filming anyone in a humiliating, distressing, or unsafe situation.
• Portraying people as helpless victims.
• Using imagery that sensationalizes poverty or environmental damage.
• Burdening communities or individuals in crises with requests to speak

• Avoiding clichés: e.g. “locals as victims, outsiders as saviors.”
• Stories about environmental issues often involve unequal relationships between corporations and small-scale workers, governments, and local communities, or the Global North and South. Questions to consider: Whose voices are being amplified and whose are missing? Have we got the right balance of stakeholders? Are we representing marginalized groups e.g. women, sexual and gender minorities, etc.? 
• We show humility and respect in our interactions with individuals and communities.
• We recognise our interviewees as the experts and treat their expertise with appropriate respect.
• We make an effort to ensure that we understand cultural norms and customs, so that we behave appropriately and respectfully whilst in host communities. 
• We use resources of host communities lightly and respectfully, and aim to bring more than we receive. 

Action points: 

• Plan stakeholder engagement carefully 
• Where appropriate, plan use of resources (electricity, internet, food, water) carefully as to minimise burden on community
• Use attentive and respectful body language, guided by the cultural norms of the community we are filming. This may include maintaining appropriate eye contact, active listening, and adopting a posture that signals humility and openness. When in doubt, seek guidance from community members about what forms of non-verbal communication are considered respectful.

1. Filming people in their real environment
2. We are careful not to misrepresent speech or footage in any way
3. Capture environmental change as it is, without exaggeration
4. Label any AI-generated, staged, or archival footage clearly
5. We are careful not to exaggerate, make promises, or assurances regarding the outcomes of our work. 

Action points: 

• Talking points may be offered, but it should be clear that they are suggestions only and individuals are free to ignore or use them as they see fit. 

• Before any filming or recording, we provide clear guidance to participants on: 
  • Who we are, and why we’re filming.
  • Where the content will appear (e.g. website, social media, documentary) and when this is likely to be. 
  • That participation is voluntary and won’t affect any support they receive.
  • Their right to turn down our invitation to speak, to stop speaking to us at any time, and to ask for any footage of them to be removed. 
  • Provide everyone filmed with contact information in case they have any follow up questions or concerns. 

Action points: 

• share consent information sheets in participant language for participants to keep, if appropriate. 
• For particularly sensitive topics (such as political protests or witnesses to illegal behavior) e.g. political protest or topics concerning illegal behaviour (e.g. illegal fishing),, we protect identities (by blurring faces or filming from behind) if revealing them could cause participants or communities harm.

Within any production, there is a subset of people who require special consideration and heightened protection. We classify vulnerable groups as individuals who may have reduced capacity to freely consent, who face elevated risks from being filmed, or whose circumstances make them more susceptible to harm. This includes:

• Children
• People experiencing an active crisis (e.g., natural disaster, conflict, displacement)
• People who are seriously ill
• People living in extreme poverty, where basic needs are unmet and personal agency may be compromised

Filming anyone in these categories demands a significantly stronger ethical justification than filming the general public. We proceed only when:

• The perspective of the individual or group is essential to the truth and integrity of the story
• Participation is in the individual’s or community’s best interest, not simply convenient for the filmmakers

Action Point: 

During project planning, assess whether the story truly necessitates filming with a vulnerable individual or group. If so, apply stricter safeguards, additional ethical review, and a clear rationale demonstrating why the objective cannot be met through other mean.

• Where possible, we focus on both challenges and solutions
• We ensure captions and narration are accurate and non-sensational.
• We respect cultural sensitivities in language, tone, and visuals.
• We credit communities and contributors appropriately.

We avoid:

• Dramatic effects, filters, or text that distort reality.
• Editing footage in a way that changes the meaning.

By following these principles, we commit to telling stories with integrity, care, and respect for the people and communities who trust us with their truth.