Close-Up Research is committed to the welfare and dignity of all participants. We recognise our responsibility to ensure that every participant feels safe, respected, and in control of their involvement.

This policy outlines our approach to consent throughout at project, including when sensitive experiences may be filmed or published. It also sets out the standards expected of everyone working for Close-Up.

In brief:

• We seek each participant’s informed consent, adapting how we communicate and providing support where needed. 
• For participants under 18, we also seek permission from a parent or legal guardian. If someone is unable to make an informed decision about taking part, we consult an appropriate family member, caregiver or representative about their wishes and interests, and we do not proceed if they show that they are unwilling or uncomfortable.
• We explain the project in accessible language, record each participant’s choices in a project-specific consent form, and check their willingness to continue throughout the work.
• Participants can stop a visit or recording at any time, without giving a reason. They can also ask us to stop using their contribution or remove it from publication, as explained in the project-specific consent form.
• Before anyone agrees to take part, we explain who will see their contribution, how it may be used, where any film may be published, and whom to contact if they change their mind.
• We offer privacy options such as using a pseudonym or obscuring someone’s face or voice, where appropriate to the project.
• We work sensitively and collaboratively with participants, being mindful of how their experiences are presented, to reduce the risk of bias, stereotyping or harm.

For more specific information on our approach to safeguarding and privacy, see “Close-Up Research’s Safeguarding Policy” and “Close-Up Research’s Privacy Policy”.

1) HOW WE APPROACH CONSENT & COMFORT IN GENERAL:

Our approach follows the Market Research Society’s Code of Conduct and complies with the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018.

That means managing consent and participant comfort is our priority. We conduct research and make films with, not on, participants.

Before any filming begins, usually on arrival or via an earlier video call, we (the video ethnographer) go through with participants the overall process for our visit, explaining what the project is about, what the filming involves, and what sort of interview / discussion questions we’ll be asking. We also invite any questions from the participants.

We go through the project-specific consent form with participants, check their understanding, answer questions, and record their choices before recording begins. 

The form explains the intended uses of their contribution, including any sharing with the client or public release. Signed forms are transferred to the approved project storage and are accessible only to authorised team members.

We explain that we take care not record anyone whose consent hasn’t been given. Should anyone who hasn’t agreed to participate accidentally end up in shot, we simply ensure that they don’t appear in the final edit. Similarly, if anyone who has previously agreed to being on camera then changes their mind after filming, we don’t include them in the edit. 

We also offer anonymity options such as not using the person’s name or using a pseudonym, and blurring them out. (If appropriate to the project, we can also change voices and appearances in the edit, including representing a person’s story through animation).

To aid participant comfort and build rapport, after introducing ourselves and getting the consent form signed on arrival, we usually then hang out for a while (typically anything from 30-60 minutes), before checking with the participant how they’re doing and asking if they’re ok with the camera being turned on. 

We explain that if the participant is uncomfortable at any time, or prefers to end participation for any reason, that’s ok: just let the video ethnographer know and we can stop filming – we explain that we’re there for them, and they’re in control. 

We make an effort to check how people are feeling throughout our visits, to gauge ongoing consent and comfort around participation. If we sense that a participant is tired or uncomfortable, we ask and stop filming where appropriate.

When it comes to the filmed interviews / discussions, we explain before asking any questions that there are no right or wrong answers. We are there to listen, without judgment, in order to understand their authentic experiences and thoughts. And the participant is free to refrain from answering any questions or from participating at any time, without needing to give a reason.

Where appropriate, we share the final edit with participants via a private password-protected weblink ahead of publication, to make sure they are ok with the result.

Before working directly with participants, team members, whether employees or freelancers, will have undergone a DBS check appropriate and eligible for their role. When working with someone under 18, we agree suitable arrangements for parental or guardian involvement as part of the project’s safeguarding plan, while taking account of the young person’s comfort and safety.

2) HOW WE APPROACH PUBLISHING FOOTAGE OF YOUNG PEOPLE, ’VULNERABLE’ PARTICIPANTS, OR SENSITIVE SUBJECT MATTER:

i) We assess the proposed publication of sensitive material for each project. 

We consider the participant’s wishes and understanding, the sensitivity of the subject, the possibility of identification or stigma, the intended audience and publication channels, and any foreseeable effects of sharing the film. For children and participants who may be at greater risk of harm, we agree additional safeguards with the project team before filming or publication.

For example, our film about young people’s experiences of living in temporary housing explored traumatic and deeply personal experiences that carried a risk of stigma. We therefore protected the young people’s identities: their voices are heard, but their faces and names are not shown. The young people helped develop this approach through co-design sessions before filming.

In contrast, a 17-year-old featured in our film about a Violence Reduction Unit-funded programme was proud of what she had achieved and wanted to appear on camera in the hope that her story might inspire others. Before filming, we agreed with her what activities we would capture and what subjects we would discuss.

For both films, we agreed with the young people how personally identifiable and detailed their stories would be. We included only the personal information needed to communicate their experiences sensitively and accurately.

The young people watched and approved the finished films before publication and were very happy with how their experiences had been represented.

ii) Participants can change their minds about participation and publication at any time.

A participant may ask us at any time to stop filming or to withdraw from further participation. If they later ask for their contribution to be removed from a published film, we’ll promptly work with the client to remove it from the websites, social media accounts and other channels that Close-Up or the client controls, in line with the arrangements agreed before the project begins.

We’ll also seek removal of copies elsewhere when we become aware of them. Once something has been published, however, we cannot guarantee removal of copies that others have saved, independently uploaded or redistributed. We explain this possibility before seeking permission for publication, particularly where a story is sensitive or a participant is under 18.

A request to withdraw from publication may also involve a request to erase personal data held for the project. We pass such requests promptly to the project’s data controller and work with them to establish what can be removed from working files, client materials and published outputs. The project-specific consent form explains who to contact and any relevant limits.

Representing lived experience on film involves a delicate balance: we want to present people’s behaviours and perspectives as ‘authentically’ or ‘objectively’ as possible, while recognising that being filmed and seeing oneself on screen can feel exposing.

So it’s especially rewarding when someone who may have inititally felt nervous about appearing on camera, watches the finished film and feels that it captures their experience accurately, respectfully and in a way they are proud to share.

Review and Updates

This policy will be reviewed annually or sooner if legislation or best practice changes.