Certification Test.

To be certified as an Ethical Narrative filmmaker you must complete this test and demonstrate your willingness to develop your business towards a more equitable storytelling environment when operating under our certification.

Ethical Storytelling is constantly evolving and we wish for you to develop your own methods and voice in this area. We do not require that you do things in a specific way, but that you have a plan to integrate the concepts you learned into your business.

Please be as thorough as you can in answering these questions. This test will take an hour or more to complete.

Name

First Name

Last Name

Phone

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Social Justice, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging

Please share with us your plan to use principles of social justice, diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging in your filmmaking business. This can include action steps you take when working with participants AND actions you take within the business itself.

Legal and Consent

As you have learned in this course, earning full and enthusiastic consent from participants is very important. Please share with you your plan to create a fully informed and equitable environment in the area of consent. Be sure to address legal plans and communication.

Addressing Biases

Everyone has biases whether they want them or not. Some are harmful and others can be helpful. Please share with us your plan to stay aware of your own biases and how you will actively work to reduce the creation of films that will negatively stereotype or harm others.

Review Policies

We have found that offering participants the opportunity to review films before publication increases equity and positive collaboration with participants. Will you offer reviews for your participants?

I will offer reviews when the situation warrants it and/or when the participant requests it.

I will ask participants if they would like to review the film before publishing.

I will not offer reviews.

Self Care

When filmmakers practice good self care they are better able to attend to the emotional needs of their participants and navigate difficult subject matter. Please share with us your plan to address your own self care when working with human storytelling.

Language

Please share with us your understanding of the importance of language and labeling and how it effects others. How do you plan to monitor your own language and labels to create a non-threatening environment for filming?

Readiness to Participate

When acting as an ethical storyteller it is important to ensure that your participants are in a good position to tell their story safely. This includes both physical and emotional safety. Please share with us your plan to ensure that your participants are prepared to tell their story safely. We know that there are no guarantees in this - however with awareness and a plan, filmmakers can reduce the likelihood of harm.

Emotional Support

Many emotions come up for participants on filming days, regardless of story topic. How do you plan to address the emotional needs of your participants on filming days?

Trauma Informed Filmmaking

When working with survivors of trauma, what is your plan to provide a safe environment for sharing? This ideally will include action steps in pre-production, production and post-production phases.

Interviewing Techniques

Interviews have the potential to be tremendously positive or negative experiences for people. On the up side, people can experience a greater appreciation for their own story or even learn something new about themselves. On the down side, interviews can be traumatic and/or triggering. Please share with us your plan and ideas for providing the best experience possible for participants during the interview specifically.

Asset Based Storytelling

In your own words, please describe the meaning of asset based storytelling and why it is important?

Post-Production Follow Up

Good communication AFTER a story is released, as well as the way in which you part ways with a participant is important. Please share with us your plan for post-production communication, follow up and concluding the storytelling relationship.