Toolkits

Supporting Survivors in The Post-Production Phase

The commitment to creating safe, equitable work environments cannot end when production wraps. We must prioritize the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of survivors and Silence Breakers who work in post-production. Hiring survivors and Silence Breakers is an essential step in remaking Hollywood to be equitable for all. However, it is essential that the work environments you bring survivors into are safe, trauma informed, and equitable.

“Hire Survivors Hollywood was instrumental in connecting me to the crew members I was looking to hire. I was consistently impressed by the skill, experience, and generosity of the people who were recommended to me. Hire Survivors Hollywood made my job as a producer so much easier by saving me a ton of time during the hiring process. I can’t imagine having gone through pre-production without their help. Hire Survivors Hollywood enabled me to be a part of the solution and help create a film industry that does right by survivors and silence breakers.” – Josh Wallace CEO, Founder at Podium Entertainment LLC

“Having the opportunity to be on set for this shoot demonstrated the radical change that is possible in this industry. Every person on set expressed how the presence of a therapist shifted the tone of the shoot and created a sense of safety. Although I was there primarily to support the survivors at the center of the story, my presence represented THR‘s commitment to care for everyone, including the makeup artists, assistants, and the photographer.” – Ashley Merriman, ASW and Women in Film Hotline Manager speaking about her experience working as a trauma therapist on set of a Hollywood Reporter Photo shoot with survivors that Hire Survivors Hollywood helped facilitate

It’s important to ensure survivors have the opportunity to be hired for – or assist with – the post production processes. And if you’ve followed the guidance in the pre-production and production sections, you will have survivors on your post-production team. Here are some quantifiable steps you can take to ensure you’re creating a safe post-production environment. Hire Survivors Hollywood can assist with these steps, or connect you to the people and resources you might need to complete them!

Steps For Safe Post-Production Part 1

• Meet with self-identified survivors, regardless of their past credits or cachet. Hire Survivors Hollywood can help you design and implement all of the following suggestions:

Steps For Safe Post-Production Part 2

• Have a trauma therapist and/or mental health professional available to help those who may become triggered or activated by sensitive subjects that the stakeholder’s project/production may be dealing with.

• When working with intimate, hyperexposed, or sensitive footage, we encourage employing the assistance of the production intimacy coordinator to ensure the wishes of the performer are upheld throughout the post-production process. It is possible that the camera has captured footage, actions, angles, body parts, etc. that did not feel good or right to the performer in question, and so it remains paramount that the intimacy coordinator is able to report whether that footage is consensual and aligned with what was communicated to them on set by the performers. We also encourage the use of a post-production intimacy coordinator to help weave sensitive, intimate, hyperexposed, or triggering scenes into the final narrative. This extra set of eyes can shed light on how the scene will be understood by audiences and handle any footage and exposure with care.

• Have a “safe zone” in your post-production spaces for people to go to for rest, decompression, or taking a few moments to deal with a trigger or activation that may come up. Have a “safe zone” on set for people to go to for rest, decompression, or taking a few moments to deal with a trigger or activation that may come up. If safe zones are not practicable for any reason – build breaks into the schedule for all post-production crew after working on any hyper-exposed, intimate, or potentially traumatizing material. Build in regular breaks for all post-production crew in general throughout the day to ensure the physical and mental safety of all.

• Timelines: Although post production flow is different from production timelines it should still be noted that this is an easy place for triggers, activations, and issues to arise. Creating a collaborative timeline with your team ahead of time can create security and ease with the flow. We also recommend engaging a trauma therapist in this meeting or discussion to support the potential needs of survivors, respecting that the pressures and constraints of too rigorous a schedule can be in conflict with the post-traumatic nervous system. Find a flow that the entire team can agree upon, including regularly scheduled communication check-ins so that all timelines are clear and attainable. Something to note is that often the role of editor requires hours of sedentary activity face to face with a computer screen. Assuring timelines are achievable can allow a survivor to take this position while also prioritizing their mental health.

Steps For Safe Post-Production Part 3

• We encourage you to include – in your final edit – a sensitivity warning e.g. CW or TW for your future audiences. These can run as banners or warnings at the beginning of your material informing the audience that they can expect triggering or sensitive material in what they are watching to inform the consent of the viewer and allow them to approach the material when they and their nervous system are ready. Triggering and activating material can be debilitating to sensitive groups, and having it sprung on them without their expectation can be damaging and even retraumatizing. Giving these warnings allows audiences to decide to continue, or prepare themselves emotionally and mentally for what they may see, lessening the negative impact and potential harm that could be caused.

• We believe in discretion and communication around the final cut of a work, especially if it includes sensitive or intimate scenes. If you worked with an intimacy coordinator we encourage you to bring them back – along with the director and performer – to ensure intimate and sensitive scenes feel aligned to the image and portrayal consent given by performers. We also encourage this practice with the edits of documentary films to ensure subjects feel properly represented and protected in their identities and work.

“This is life or death, this is incredibly important, and so much money is being spent on lesser issues in this business.” – Andria Wilson Mirza, Director of ReFrame, discussing the importance of the work of Hire Survivors Hollywood