The discussion regarding all three elements of truth, authenticity, and representation, connects under ethics as a broader phenomenon. Many documentary filmmakers have expressed that they consistently find themselves in situations where they must balance ethical responsibilities against practical matters.
For filmmakers, ethical behavior is at the core of their documentary projects. At a time, when there is a financial burden on the makers to lower costs and increase resources, the line between ethics and realism gets blurry. Ethical responsibilities can be categorized into three conflicting sets of responsibilities- to their subjects and actors, their audiences, and their vision and production requirements.
Documentaries involve covering real stories of people that provide information on a particular subject that generally sheds light on crucial themes and brings it to the audience’s attention. If these matters were not sensitive, it may or may not have been necessary to have an ethical code of conduct. But for people that are retelling their stories to the world, these subjects need to be protected. Firstly, the facts and events occurring in the story must be rearranged in sequence to capture the truthfulness of the subjects and their stories effectively.
Many filmmakers might also feel the need to create drama or sensationalize stories based on false information in order to appeal more to the audiences. However, to make a real documentary, standards uphold accuracy, fairness, and respect the boundaries of the subjects. . Filmmakers have a position of power over their subjects, they can choose to add or eliminate the content they would or would not like to put in their film, this may cause potential biases and unfairness to the subjects. It becomes imperative for the makers to not deviate from their vision and remain true to their objectives for the documentary.
With respect to the responsibility of a documentary filmmaker with its subjects, they should know how to maintain a humane working relationship with the people whose story is being told. People must not be pressurized to speak about something they are not comfortable sharing with the viewers. At the same time, another challenge faced by them is maintaining a viewer’s faith in the accuracy and honesty of the work.
Matters also complicate with financial burdens, productivity, and the pressure to meet deadlines. One of the ways to deal with these challenges would be to confront them regularly and develop an understanding of how to balance the demands of external factors (production, financing, deadlines) with safeguarding the interests of subjects and maintenance of facts.
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