Blog Post
‘Navigating Neurodiversity and the Media Sector’ Short Film: Our Process
Does the sector value different minds? Make them feel safe?
We asked a series of anonymous neurodivergent individuals in varying job roles about their experiences.
These are their stories, retold.
Overview
‘Navigating Neurodiversity and the Media Sector’ was the first in our Short Film series produced for Exceptional Minds, following a variety of negative experiences within the screen industry. The intention of the video was to confront the industry with the often difficult reality of being neurodivergent in our line of work, not necessarily because of the nature of the work itself - but because of the impact of stigma and discrimination.
Though we want Exceptional Minds to focus on the strengths of a neurodiverse sector and be positive in its call for change, we thought that by shocking the industry with some of the darker realities, it would help spur it into action.
We also used the process of producing this video to learn more about access in the pre-production processes, on set, and in working with neurodivergent actors and crew as well as with sensitive stories and topics. All of these learnings have fed into the guidance shared across our Exceptional Minds resources.
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It was interesting, it was fun and it was a good experience as well.
- Adam C Webb
HIJINX actor
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The Process
Pre-Production
We wanted to represent real stories in this film, but we were conscious that people might like to share their stories anonymously as not to affect any current or future job prospects.
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To mitigate this, we put out a survey call-out for responses to questions that asked people to share a time in which they were discriminated against because of their neurodivergence.
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This was distributed across social platforms, in specific neurodivergent Facebook groups and by organisations, and through our industry networks.
We had a significant response to this, with over 800 respondents.
Pre-Production
We analysed the responses to this call out and wrote a script that took some of these experiences to create ‘characters’ for our film, to ensure that anonymity was retained.
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We also got from these responses a lot of great insight for our wider project, about common themes and experiences, as well as what people would like to se change in the industry.
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We then went through a casting process, working with HIJINX who manage learning disabled and/or autistic actors, as well as a number of talent agencies and also directly by doing an open call-out to ensure we received diversity in our neurodivergent actors.
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From there, we spoke with each of our talent or their managers to understand their unique access requirements, and put together an information pack to ensure that everyone understood and was comfortable with the shoot, detailing information such as:
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What the location looked like;
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Who was going to be present on set on the day and their job roles;
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Where the nearest quiet spaces and toilets were in relation to the set;
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Costumes.
We also gave actors the opportunity to rehearse with the producers/director, and to come and see the space in advance of the shoot.
The people were very supportive, and the instructions were clear. It was dramatic stuff we were doing, too, but I felt right for the part.
- Jack Love
HIJINX actor
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Production
We shot over 1 day with each of the actors sequentially, where they retold submitted stories as if they were their own. The whole experience was enhanced by the Creative Enabler and Access Facilitator we had on set, who ensured that everyone felt comfortable.
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We took the opportunity to ask the actors on the day about their own experiences, above and beyond what was scripted. This ended up being an incredibly moving and raw moment with every actor, who appreciated the platform to speak about challenges they’ve faced, and we were extremely grateful for their vulnerability in sharing their stories.
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It was an incredible shoot, and we were very glad to have taken the time to make sure everyone was prepared and felt psychologically safe in the environment and in the process.
This short would not have been possible without the support of the team at HIJINX and our production crew at Sleeping Giant, who ensured a psychologically safe and comfortable experience for everyone involved.