The BBC editorial guidelines say that someone who is over the age of 18 must give the Parental consent for a minor. This is someone who is under the age of 16. An exception can be made if making ‘vox pops’ (Interviewing members of the public) with children on non-sensitive or controversial subjects.
If the person is 16 or 17 it might still be best to seek parental consent depending on the circumstance, such as circumstances with the young person or the programme.
If the child’s parents have passed away or are divorced the legal guardian would sign the consent form.
To keep children from risk once the photos or videos are available it is best to keep their full name and address confidential if you have that information.
When at an activity with children the best way is to focus on the event not a particular child and avoid showing full faces.
If you do not have the parents or legal guardians permission to take the photos then you cannot.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/editorialguidelines/page/guidance-children-interacting-privacy/
Parental Consent Release Forms
Fair Use
Fair use is apart of the copyright law, which allows for someone to use up to a certain amount of copyrighted information. This is because if copyright was too restricted it would have an affect on free speech, news reports or on a person who did not mean to break any rules.
Fair use allows for quotations or excerpts where the work has already been published. Provided that it is justified and no more than needed, as well as sourced.
Right of Reply
The ‘Right of Reply’ is a way for people to defend themselves on a publication that they are mentioned in. If a person is said to be involved with some form of wrongdoing they are then able to reply to the allegations made about them. The BBC has said that “When our output makes allegations of wrongdoing, iniquity or incompetence or lays out a strong and damaging critique of an individual or institution the presumption is that those criticised should be given a "right of reply", that is, given a fair opportunity to respond to the allegations.” However the right to reply is different all around the world.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/guidelines/editorialguidelines/page/guidelines-fairness-right-of-reply/
Ofcom is a communications regulator. They regulate TV, radio, fixed line telecoms, mobiles, postal services and wireless devices. They legal duties in the UK include high-quality TV and radio as well as a range of electronic communication services. That people are protected by harmful or offensive material as well as being treated unfairly or having their privacy invaded.
Ofcom
BBFC
The British Board of Film Classification is a media content regulator, which set the age classification of films being shown in the UK. They choose between U, PG, 12A, 12, 15, 18 and R18. They wish to protect the public (especially children) as well as inform them of content.
ASA
The ASA, or Advertising Standards Authority, regulates advertising across all UK media. They are they to check media and take action against misleading, harmful or offensive advertisements. Using the Advertising Codes they make sure that all advertising is legal and truthful to benefit consumers and business.
NUJ
The National Union of Journalists are a group of media professionals who give a voice to journalist and journalism to try and improve pay and conditions as well as ‘protect and promote media freedom, professionalism and ethical standards’. It was founded in 1907 and is now one of the biggest journalism unions.
Copyright
Copyright is the legislation that the creator of an original piece of own has ownership over it. It tends only to last a certain amount of time and during this period it means that the owner of the work will be covered if anyone apart from themselves use it. This means they can create money from their work by selling the rights to a copy. The rules of copyright do vary within different countries however many have been standardized within the International Copyright Agreements. The exceptions of copyright include Fair Use [see above] and Accessible Copies.
Release Forms
There are many types of release forms, these include; personal release, group release, location release and material release forms. The one that is used the most is the Personal Release Form. This is a form that gives the filmmakers the rights to film a person as well as to use the footage in your film. It also means that you can edit the footage however you like as long as you stick to the truth. It gives you permission to use the footage in other media. You must always get a release form for someone who says something on camera and it is always better to be safe than sorry when getting people to sign them.
Ethics
The ethics within documentary are hard to define as a lot of the time it is up to the individual person and on how far they will go for a story. Having said this an ethical code followed by documentary practitioners is to “Do no harm” and to “do nothing that would violate humanity of your subject and nothing that would compromise the trust of your audience”. However even this is a very vague statement with grey areas. Ethics is all about how far a filmmaking will go to get the perfect footage. Some will not use actors to create some form of conflict whereas others would not hesitate. It all depends on the person making the film and at the moment I do not know how far I would go if I really wanted that perfect film.
