Ethical Authorship: Decolonising the crew in British documentary practice, 2017-2020.
Lead Research Organisation:
University of the West of England
Department Name: Fac of Arts Creative Ind and Education
Abstract
This enquiry will examine crew composition in overseas-shot BBC documentaries. In doing so, it will consider whether the rights of the other - local filmmaking professionals - are being placed 'centre stage' (Chiu 2015: 45). The thesis presents a new direction for screen industry studies and will be informed by ethnographic participatory filmmaking, documentary ethics, and green-filmmaking analyses.
By employing an empirical study of documentary crews in BBC factual documentaries commissioned between 2017-2020 inclusive, in which the majority of the shoot occurred outside the UK and triangulating this with qualitative insight from participants, the enquiry will explore commonalities to crew setup, barriers to and opportunities of inclusion, while encouraging industry self-reflection through participation.
By employing an empirical study of documentary crews in BBC factual documentaries commissioned between 2017-2020 inclusive, in which the majority of the shoot occurred outside the UK and triangulating this with qualitative insight from participants, the enquiry will explore commonalities to crew setup, barriers to and opportunities of inclusion, while encouraging industry self-reflection through participation.