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.
Process
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.
1. 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)
2. 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).
3. Debrief:
Discuss my notes with the Producing Team, Director, and Writer and answer any questions they have. (Time: approx. 60 mins)
Time
The total process takes approximately 2.5 – 5 hours, depending on the length of the script and the nuances of the scenes.
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)
- Phase of the Production
Most clients spend between $250.00-$500.00 for a Consent Audit, but the takeaways are priceless.
Client Testimonial
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
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