Tales From the Cutting Room Floor
9:00 am - 10:30 am Thursday, Dec. 3
session room: Savoy 3
Where do you draw the line? in terms of your ethics as a producer and an individual? In docos and reality shows, should we tell the truth at all costs, for the? sake of storytelling? Should we put individuals into dangerous or humiliating situations to provide audience frisson and drive ratings? Does “informed consent” give us the? right to exploit?? Christophe Nick from Yami 2 is a man with a mission: to expose the extremes of violence and suffering that producers and commissioning editors are prepared to inflict on individuals in the name of reality TV and entertainment. But in order to examine and explain the phenomenon of reality television in his two-part documentary program project Xtreme Zone he and his broadcaster France 2 may have themselves crossed the ethical line.
Jennifer Peedom has made her name shooting films in dangerous and extreme locations. As director of Solo, the story of Andrew McAuley’s fatal attempt at kayaking solo across the Tasman Sea from Tasmania to New Zealand, compassion for his bereaved wife drove her to stop rolling at a crucial moment in the story. Was that the right choice?
What did Channel 4 get themselves into when accepting Ed Wardle’s proposition to film himself totally Alone in the Wild?
These and other difficult choices form the core of a discussion about our moral bottom line. Do we keep rolling at all costs or are some scenes better left on the cutting room floor?
Session Producer
Ann Julienne, Head of International Development, France Télévisions (France)
Moderator
Richard Life, Head of Factual, Acquisitions, ITV Studios Global Entertainment (UK)
Panelists
Patricia Boutinard Rouelle, Head of Documentary and Factual Units, France 2 (France)
Ralph Lee, Head of Specialist Factual, Channel 4 (UK)
Christophe Nick, Producer, Yami2 (France)
Jennifer Peedom, Producer/Director, Viento Media (Australia)