How do you prevent your film production from being #MeToo’d? You want to tell a powerful story that involves consent issues, while also ensuring a safe working environment for your cast and crew. A Consent Audit helps creative storytellers confidently walk this tightrope by thinking about consent before Production, as opposed to the end.
Definitions
Before I describe a Consent Audit, let’s review some common consent terms.
Consent is an ongoing process of discussing your boundaries and what you’re comfortable with. The acronym to remember the five (5) elements of consent on set is C.R.I.S.P., which stands for:
- Considered. While we can’t fully erase the power dynamics, systemic racism, and other effects of oppression that make freely given consent difficult at work, we can consider all the factors and information.
- Reversible. Anyone can change their mind about what they feel like doing at any time.
- Informed. Someone can only consent to something if you have the full story.
- Specific. Saying yes to one thing does not mean you’ve said yes to others.
- Participatory. People need to be involved in the decision-making process around what happens with and to their bodies!
Intimacy on set is defined as scenes involving nudity, simulated sex, or hyper-exposure, which can mean anything from intense flirting and sexual dancing to medical procedures or removing a hijab.
The role of an Intimacy Coordinator (IC) has gained popularity in the #MeToo Era to keep actors safe in scenes involving intimacy. ICs help to create a safer environment on set for performers during scenes involving nudity, simulated sex, and other types of intimate content, while also helping the director realize their creative vision.
Currently, SAG/AFTRA requires Intimacy Coordinators on all union productions for scenes involving simulated sex and nudity. This is a great addition to keep actors safe in vulnerable situations that were ripe for abuse, harassment, and/or coercion. However, protection gaps exist.
For example, how do we keep actors safe in “non-sex scenes” or non-union productions? And what about the rest of the crew? How do we ensure safe working conditions for the cast and crew?
A Consent-Forward Artist (CFA) is an advocate and educator, who understands how consent, boundaries, power dynamics, and the role of intimacy professionals contribute to the entertainment industry. CFAs have foundational understandings of trauma-informed practices, bystander intervention, and advocating for the presence of other professionals who support a safer work environment (such as cultural consultants, on-set therapists, fight directors, and stunt coordinators).
What is a Consent Audit?
A Consent Audit evaluates the story you’re telling by comparing your intentions with what is written on the page. It’s similar to a tax audit, but hopefully less painful.
A Consent Audit is the process of reviewing a script, treatment, or casting notice, and noting any issues that involve consent. Consent, by its definition, is more expansive than intimacy.
Whereas an Intimacy Coordinator (IC) will review a script to note the scenes and actions that involve nudity, simulated sex, or hyper-exposure; when I review a script as a Consent-Forward Artist (CFA), I also look for scenes and actions that involve consent, boundaries, power dynamics, bystander intervention, and trauma-informed practices.
The Consent Audit process works best when I can review the screenplay or audition pieces (ex: monologues, scenes, or “sides”) before casting notices are sent. This way the creative team has time to integrate my notes and amend the script and the casting process to make it consensual. This also sets the tone for other consent-forward practices throughout the production.
A typical Consent Audit involves three parts:
Discussion:
Meet with the Producing Team, Director, and Writer to discuss the creative vision, themes, and how they envision using intimacy and consent to propel the plot. (Time: approximately 30-60 mins)
Script Review:
- Read the identified scenes first and look for the action (i.e. stage direction) and dialogue, while noting my questions. (Time: approx. 30mins)
- Read the full screenplay looking for context, noting if any of my questions are answered and if other scenes could benefit from a CFA. (Time: 30 mins – 2 hours based on the length of the script).
Debrief:
Discuss my notes with the Producing Team, Director, and Writer and answer any questions they have. (Time: approx. 60 mins)
The total process takes approximately 2.5 – 5 hours, depending on the length of the script and the nuances of the scenes.
Case Study: “The Way Through”
I recently performed a Consent Audit on THE WAY THROUGH screenplay, written by Ian D. Stout, and produced by Ian D. Stout and Cecily Crow through Vertica Productions.
The filmmakers had taken my Intro to Consent on Set workshop. During our initial discussion, they shared they had revised the script after the workshop to make it more consensual. They also shared the themes, their vision for the nudity/implied nudity, and how it propelled the film’s plot. Together we identified four (4) scenes that involved intimacy, and a few others that could involve consent issues.
When I reviewed the script, I was delighted to see dialogue where the characters asked before sitting next to or touching someone and the thoughtful stage directions describing the nudity or implied nudity in the script. It was clear the Writer and Producers were employing consent-forward practices from the workshop and they had applied a consent-forward lens to their screenplay.
Before I began the Debrief phase, I asked the Producer/Writer/Director Ian Stout how autobiographical the screenplay was. His answer of 70% told me how carefully I needed to tread when I gave notes about the plot, characters, and dialogue.
With that context in mind, I began by sharing my notes on the four (4) scenes they identified for the Consent Audit. I asked my questions about the characters’ arcs and motivations, and the motivation behind the intimacy. I also asked about any choreography (involving the actors’ bodies), camera moves, and shot lengths.
I also offered suggestions where the filmmakers could add more consent, such as asking, “Would you like a hug?” in a scene involving two neighbors. Not only does this model consent, but it also shows the character’s growth and it makes him likable. Adding this question is the 2024 equivalent of “saving the cat”.
Next, we discussed the four (4) additional scenes I identified that do not require an Intimacy Coordinator (IC) per SAG’s guidelines, but the production could benefit from having a Consent-Forward Artist (CFA). In one such scene, a stunt coordinator (or fight coordinator) could handle the stunt choreography involved in an attempted suicide; however, having a CFA could help support the cast and crew when they film this charged content and debrief/decompress with them afterward.
Lastly, we discussed the challenges of showing versus implying child abuse in a flashback. This conversation involved some cognitive dissonance, meaning holding two opposing truths about filmmaking at the same time.
- Filmmakers have a social responsibility for what they show: Whatever you show in a film models behavior. Therefore, if a script contains cursing/swearing, derogatory remarks, sexualized language (including critiquing people’s bodies), discrimination, harassment, or abuse, the consequences (through language and on-screen action) must be intentional or else you risk promoting the harm you intended to subvert.
- Filmmakers can accomplish more with less: An image is worth a thousand words, and what you show in the frame speaks volumes. Often the less you show, the more powerful the shot becomes.
Together, we waded into this cognitive dissonance and found a subtler way to imply child abuse in a flashback. Not only did we create a powerful image by focusing the audience on the child’s emotional reaction to the abuse, but we still respected what we could legally film with a minor actor.
Client Feedback
After undergoing a Consent Audit, Ian Stout wrote:
Windy has been so helpful at every stage of this process. I found that, much like creating a visual Shot List, a Consent Audit helps you see thematic issues that may have otherwise been overlooked. With this new insight, I feel more confident that our actors will have an even safer environment to work in, but also, our storytelling is strengthened. This has been well worth the time and cost to address all these elements before Casting and ultimately before we are in Production.
– Ian D. Stout, Producer/Writer/Director, THE WAY THROUGH
Pricing
How much would you expect to spend if your production was #MeToo’d? Add up all the legal fees, crisis communication fees, and publicity fees. Add in reshoots, re-edits, and distribution delays. And don’t forget to add in the mental and physical stress on the producers, directors, writers, and lead actors involved.
Do you have that number? How many commas does it have?
Now what would you pay for the peace of mind of knowing that your script matches your intentions?
The cost of a Consent Audit is a small fraction of what you will pay if you get #MeToo’d.
The price varies depending on the:
- Length of the screenplay or treatment (short vs. feature length)
- Size of the budget (Commercial, Indie, Ultra-Indie, Student Film), and
- Phase of the Production
Most clients spend between $250.00-$500.00 for a Consent Audit, but the takeaways are priceless.
Schedule Your Consent Audit Today
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