Free ethical storytelling guide
Tell true stories fairly and protect the people you film
Five tips for balancing storytelling with truth, then the practical side: consent, release forms, vulnerable contributors and showing people the cut. It ends with a checklist to run through before every shoot.Five tips, consent and release forms, and a pre-shoot checklist, in one free guide.
- Five tips, consent, release forms and a pre-shoot checklist
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What's inside
Everything to think through before you film real people
Free guide
Ethical Storytelling Quickstart Guide
Five practical tips for balancing storytelling with truth, plus a checklist for before you film.
Start here
The five tips at a glance
Keep these in mind on every film you make, from your first research to your final edit.
- 01Verify your facts
Three independent sources, and check what interviewees say too.
- 02Embrace multiple truths
Include different perspectives, and don't reduce people to heroes and villains.
- 03Be aware of bias
Know your own assumptions, and those of your AI tools.
In the guide
- Five tips for balancing storytelling with truth, including where AI fits in
- Informed consent in plain terms, and what a release form covers
- How to take extra care with vulnerable contributors, and how to show people the cut
- Music, archive and recreations, and a pre-shoot ethics checklist to print and keep with your kit
I'm Sebastian Solberg, director of One Breath. I've made films for nearly 20 years, including as second unit director on the BAFTA-nominated The Eagle Huntress. When I made a short film for ActionAid, I could only show the backs of the heads of survivors of domestic violence, to keep them safe.
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