Working with vulnerable contributors is not just another line on our services list. It is something we have developed over years of making films for charities, hospitals, and research organisations. Whether we are talking with a child facing a life-changing diagnosis, a patient considering joining a clinical trial, or an adult sharing the hardest moments of their life, the approach is the same: build trust, keep control in their hands, and never lose sight of their dignity.
Euan Preston, Objectiv’s Creative Director, calls it “an immense privilege to be able to facilitate someone telling their story.” That privilege comes with responsibilities. We take away the distractions of crew, lights and cameras as much as possible. We spend time explaining the process and making sure contributors know exactly how their story will be used. We avoid putting anyone in a position where they might feel wrong-footed or misrepresented.
Ethics are central to this work. Some stories cannot be told without risking the contributor’s safety or wellbeing, so we find other ways. For a project with Defence Medical Welfare Service, we used audio interviews with authentic voices and created sensitive animation to protect identities while keeping the emotional connection. For Butterfly Thyroid Cancer Trust, we worked with a young patient and her families to produce a film that was both honest and reassuring, helping other young people prepare for the difficult journey ahead. Accessibility is another part of the picture. We make sure films can be understood and experienced by people with sensory disabilities, rather than relying on flawed auto-captioning or leaving out important details.
Our staff all hold current DBS disclosures, and senior staff carry enhanced DBS checks that allow us to work directly with children in schools, hospitals, and homes. This means we can work safely and legally in situations where safeguarding is essential, and where the trust of families and institutions is non-negotiable.
Our work with Cancer Research UK showed the value of careful planning when discussing sensitive medical decisions. In creating a clinical trial recruitment film, we worked closely with patients and clinicians to ensure the tone was both accurate and respectful. The same care is taken in every project. A nervous contributor will not relax simply because you tell them to. They relax when the environment, the people, and the process feel safe. That is what allows real stories to emerge, stories that connect audiences not through spectacle but through authenticity.
This is why so many of our projects, from patient education to charity campaigns, succeed in ways numbers alone cannot explain. They work because the people at the heart of them were given the space and respect they needed to speak. And that is not an accident. It is the point.
