Filming intimacy: towards a model of ethical interactivity for Intimacy Coordination within film production

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

This practice-based research seeks to establish a methodology of Intimacy Coordination (henceforth "IC") rooted in improvisation and Laban Movement Analysis (henceforth "LMA"), informed by phenomenology and guided by an ethics of consensual interactivity. The need for research into IC has never been greater. In the wake of the #MeToo-movement - born from multiple scandals in theatre, film and dance - a number of guidelines were published for working with intimacy. Yet many claim this calcifies the creative process, leading to a "reluctance by creators to use [intimacy] coordinators" (Hilton 2020). There is suspicion, too, about the use of improvisation within IC. "Even if clear boundaries have been established, improvising intimacy [...] isn't a safe choice" concludes Pace (2020: 68). I, though, am convinced that an ethical and studied application of improvisation within IC can not only safeguard but positively benefit from the personal integrity and creative agency of performers and thus have a marked influence on the artistic quality and significance of intimate scenes. Indeed, this research will have an impact not only on IC and the exploration of intimacy within drama schools, but our understanding of ethical decision-making within film production in general.The timeliness of this research is evident from the recent launch of The Journal of Consent-Based Performance (Theatrical Intimacy Education 2021), BFI funding for wellbeing facilitators (Dams 2022) and challenges surrounding social distancing (Baughan 2020).