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Legal & Ethical Constraints affecting Factual Television

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documentarydocumentarydocumentarydocumentary Filming in public ‘You want to film on public land you will

need permission from the appropriate local authority or council. They are responsible for public land, public buildings, and roads and parking. The UK Screen Agencies can help you get in touch with the appropriate local authority contact.’ - http://industry.bfi.org.uk/publicspaces Basically, this tells me that I am not allowed to film in certain places without permission as this is against the law and it would cause a lot of unneeded trouble.

This constraint will not have a very large impact on my documentary as I will not be filming In places such as the ones listed in the previous column. I will, however, have to ask for permission to film the interviews in the locations of these experts, for example, hospices and churches etc. I must also make sure that I get permission from the public people if they are in my film, if not making sure that they are not in the image.

Clearances and permissions (Copyright Law)

‘In general, when using the work of others you must first determine if copyright permission is required. If the work is protected by copyright law, is not in the public domain and does not meet the criteria for fair use or another specific exception in the copyright law, you must obtain permission from the copyright holder or its agent in order to reproduce or reuse the work.’ - http://www.copyright.com/Services/copyrightoncampus/compliance/index.html

I will have to get permission from the artists or recording company as well as from the news if I will want to put these in my documentary.

This would be more of an issue as I was planning to use music and possibly some archive news footage about Dignitas etc. I would therefore have to get permissions for these or find copyright free music to then include this in my work. I must also find out if anyone else owns the product I am looking for making sure I know whether it is copyright or not.

Media Privacy Law "1.Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence. 2. There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right except such as is in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic well-being of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others. " - http://ox.libguides.com/content.php?pid=113836&sid=1493400 This law explains that I must keep to the

This would come as an issue because I am planning to interview the family members as well as somebody who is considering euthanasia, so I will have to consider these peoples feeling as even if they have given consent for me to interview them on camera, they may not be physically or emotionally stable enough for this to happen. I must also make sure I get 100% consent from these people.


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privacy of people, making sure that I am not going against the wishes of the vulnerable people in my film. I will make sure that the privacy is kept to avoid any distress or pain.

Libel and defamation Law

Defamation law places necessary restrictions on what we are able to say about other individuals or companies. For the most part, people are free to speak as they will, but when it can be shown that unjust criticism was levelled at someone who was undeserving of it, and it caused significant harm to some aspect of their life, there are quite rightly various forms of legal recourse for them to take. - http://www.lawontheweb.co.uk/Defamation_Law

This explains that I must give 100% accurate facts about the laws in the UK as well as those of the others I am mentioning. I must make sure that I do not criticise anyone during the making of my film.

This would be a very large issue for me as I am basing my documentary on a very serious subject. As well as it being controversial, there may be people who will get offended or affected by what I say or show in my documentary. I must make sure I do not misjudge people and show them in the way they are, not twist or disrespect anyone.

BBC editorial guideline 1

RELIGIONRELIGIONRELIGIONRELIGION -"The religious views and beliefs of those belonging to a particular religion or religious denomination must not be subject to abusive treatment".

‘The BBC also has a duty to protect the vulnerable and avoid likely harm. The Ofcom Broadcasting Code requires that religious output "must not seek to promote religious views or beliefs by stealth", nor "improperly exploit any susceptibilities of the audience". - http://www.bbc.co.uk/editorialguidelines/page/guidelines-religion-introduction/

This means that I must respect the religious beliefs of this subject and make sure that the facts I give are 100% accurate, making sure that I do not offend anyone from these religions I mention.

For this guideline, I will make sure that any information I put in my documentary will not emotionally harm or upset any type of religion, I will also make sure that any religious facts that I put into my documentary will be 100% accurate. I will also make it very clear which religion the opinions are coming from.


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RRRREPORTING DEATHEPORTING DEATHEPORTING DEATHEPORTING DEATH, SUFFERING AND , SUFFERING AND , SUFFERING AND , SUFFERING AND DISTRESSDISTRESSDISTRESSDISTRESS –––– ‘‘‘‘There are very few circumstances in which it is justified to broadcast the moment of death. It is always important to respect the privacy and dignity of the dead. We should never show them gratuitously. We should also avoid the gratuitous use of close-ups of faces and serious injuries of those who are dead, suffering or in distress.’ - http://www.bbc.co.uk/editorialguidelines/page/guidelines-privacy-death-suffering-distress/

This guideline explains how when it comes to death and suffering, I must not make it any harder for the patients, family o the public, even though I am not filming someone’s death, I must still make sure that what I include in my documentary doesn’t distress anyone further.

This guideline is a major one as my whole documentary is based around death and suffering. I will make sure that when filming and editing my documentary, I will not talk about or show anything which would be taken as disrespecting the dead or suffering. I will keep the tone of my documentary very serious to show the reality of this subject. I must also check in most cases for power of eternies. I will not be filming death, just reporting certain types, however I will still need to make sure it is staying at a reasonable level.


PRIVACYPRIVACYPRIVACYPRIVACY - The BBC respects privacy and does not infringe it without good reason, wherever in the world it is operating. The Human Rights Act 1998 gives protection to the privacy of individuals, and private information about them, but balances that with a broadcaster's right to freedom of expression. In regulation, the Ofcom Broadcasting Code states "Any infringement of privacy in programmes, or in connection with obtaining material included in programmes, must be warranted." - http://www.bbc.co.uk/editorialguidelines/page/guidelines-privacy-introduction/ This means that I must make sure that I am not pushing unneeded information from those who are in a vulnerable state. I must respect their privacy and make sure that we both agree on what will be said in most cases.

For this guideline, I will show the people I am interviewing the questions I will ask them, I will inform them of what I will be putting in my documentary as well as making sure they know beforehand what will be shown. I will make sure that I do not dig deep into their privacy as this may upset not only them but the viewers watching.


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Ofcom Guideline 1 PRESERVING HUMAN DIGNITYPRESERVING HUMAN DIGNITYPRESERVING HUMAN DIGNITYPRESERVING HUMAN DIGNITY, SCENES , SCENES , SCENES , SCENES

SHOWING HUMILIATION AND SHOWING HUMILIATION AND SHOWING HUMILIATION AND SHOWING HUMILIATION AND

DISTRESSDISTRESSDISTRESSDISTRESS - Care needs to be taken when showing or portraying people in circumstances where they are being humiliated or are in a state of distress, even where they have consented, as this, in turn, may cause distress and offence to viewers. - http://www.independentproducerhandbook.co.uk/18/4a-protecting-under-18s-and-harm-and-offence/key-points.html For this rule, it explains how I must not take the vulnerable people for granted and make sure that I am not distressing them in any way possible.

For this Ofcom rule, I will make sure that I am very serious when interviewing certain people, for example family members, I will make sure that the memory of their lost will remain a good one, I shall try my best not to distress those who are going through care and/or already have been through such a tragedy. I will make sure that my documentary does not show anything in unjust and make sure that it stays safe and reasonable. I must also check for power of eternies.

Ofcom Guideline 2 PROTECTING UNDER 18PROTECTING UNDER 18PROTECTING UNDER 18PROTECTING UNDER 18’’’’ssss - The Code places particular emphasis and importance on protecting under 18’s i.e. both viewers and those involved in programme-making. Below is a summary of the relevant rules, some of which are considered in more detail later in the chapter. Key amongst these is the proper application of the 9pm watershed. - http://www.independentproducerhandbook.co.uk/18/4a-protecting-under-18s-and-harm-and-offence/key-points.html This means that I must make sure that my audience is suitable for the specific audience, for example, as there is under 18’s in my audience, I must make sure that I keep to the rules about what they can and cannot see.

As part of my target audience s under 18, I will make sure that the content of my documentary will still be suitable for them. I will consider them when filming and editing and make sure that there is not anything which will case distress or any other negative emotions.

Ofcom Guideline 3 HARM AND OFFENCEHARM AND OFFENCEHARM AND OFFENCEHARM AND OFFENCE - In relation to issues of ‘harm and offence’, regulation has moved away from the more prescriptive approach of old. Rather than attempting to dictate to broadcasters what is and what is not acceptable, broadcasters are now encouraged to think more carefully about the expectations of their audiences and providing viewers with more information, so they are able to make their own informed choices about what they watch. – http://www.independentproducerhandbook.co.uk/18/4a-protecting-under-18s-and-harm-and-offence/key-points.html This means that I must make sure the targeted audience knows what is in my documentary before they watch it,

This means that I will keep to this rule, and insuring that the audience will know what my documentary contains therefore keeping anything harmful out of the way. I will make sure that it is suitable as well as giving the right information, letting the viewer’s know that they are watching this by their own decision. I will put a warning at the beginning of my documentary so that everyone watching will know about the contents of my documentary.


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although it is their full decision to watch, they must also know what it contains in case of any disagreements.

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