Ethics

Documentary filmmakers, Quinn said, need to have a sense of the ethical questions or concerns that will affect their work. It’s on a different scale than journalism, simply because doc filmmakers spend so much time with subjects, sometimes years, that they become deeply involved in the intimate aspects of their lives.

“We as documentary filmmakers, I feel, have a responsibility towards ethics,” said Quinn. “You owe your audience to tell the truth, to get to the bottom of the story, to be accurate in what you’re presenting.”

He brought up an instance on one of his films when a particular subject no longer wanted to be involved. He and his team held a meeting with the woman and explained that she could see the film before it was finished and express any concerns. 

“We say this to everyone at the beginning, we say you’re going to see this film before it’s done. You can see it when it can still be changed. We’re going to try to convince you that we need you in this movie; that it’s important for the story that it’s good for society in general to tell this story, and why your part of it is so important. At the end of the day, if I can’t convince you we’ll take you out of the movie.”

Quinn then went on to explain that the rules that apply to an average person, might not apply to someone who is already famous.

This tells me to be vary careful when filming of the subjects discussed and who is in it. As by producing a documentary film, you are portraying actuality and it is important to portray people as they are and not manipulate anything. It is important to be respectful and always get permission when needed.