With creating a documentary, it is vital that we seek the correct permissions to film those under the age of 18, as well as represent subjects of our film in a just manner. There are many rules and regulations we most follow in terms of our producing and to broadcast our documentary, otherwise if these rules are not followed then we will be denied the right to broadcast our documentary at the U-Doc Festival 2012.

               According to Ofcom rules, we must inform those we wish to interview for our greyhound documentary to make sure they understand the questions we raise to them, as well as anything we may ask them that they deem unfair or personal. They are allowed a private screening of our documentary before broadcast to see our progress and how the are represented, and if they think we have discredited them, then we can edit the film so that they don’t appear this way. 

7.3 Where a person is invited to make a contribution to a programme (except when the subject matter is trivial or their participation minor) they should normally, at an appropriate stage:

§ be told the nature and purpose of the programme, what the programme is about and be given a clear explanation of why they were asked to contribute and when (if known) and where it is likely to be first broadcast;

§ be told what kind of contribution they are expected to make, for example live, pre-recorded, interview, discussion, edited, unedited, etc.;

§ be informed about the areas of questioning and, wherever possible, the nature of other likely contributions;

§ be made aware of any significant changes to the programme as it develops which might reasonably affect their original consent to participate, and which might cause material unfairness;

§ be told the nature of their contractual rights and obligations and those of the programme maker and broadcaster in relation to their contribution; and

§ be given clear information, if offered an opportunity to preview the programme, about whether they will be able to effect any changes to it.

[http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/broadcasting/broadcast-codes/broadcast-code/fairness/]

In terms of when we actually broadcast our documentary, we must abide to the following regulations, as to not misinform the audience and misrepresent views and opinions of the subjects as our own.

2.2 Factual programmes or items or portrayals of factual matters must not materially mislead the audience

[http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/broadcasting/broadcast-codes/broadcast-code/harmoffence/]

However, if we show material that may offend our audience that it must be clearly justified by the context of our documentary, which means that we can only offend our audience if we aim to educate or inform them of the mistreatment of dogs in the racing stadiums, and possibly create a warning title at the beginning of our documentary to notify the viewers that there may be some harmful or offensive imagery of a sensitive nature to will be screened.

2.3 In applying generally accepted standards broadcasters must ensure that material which may cause offence is justified by the context (see meaning of "context" below). Such material may include, but is not limited to, offensive language, violence, sex, sexual violence, humiliation, distress, violation of human dignity, discriminatory treatment or language (for example on the grounds of age, disability, gender, race, religion, beliefs and sexual orientation). Appropriate information should also be broadcast where it would assist in avoiding or minimising offence.

[http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/broadcasting/broadcast-codes/broadcast-code/harmoffence/]

It is extremely important that we follow the Ofcom rules and regulations as closely as possible otherwise our film will be banned from broadcast, meaning we won’t be able to enter the U-Doc Festival 2012. We must abide to all rules of Ofcom is we want a chance of entering the competition, as it is a way to get us noticed by media companies and businesses for future jobs. 

We must also be wary of our audience, and take into account that they may be offended by some of the clips that could be broadcast from our documentary, as we will be uncovering the mistreatment of dogs and some viewers may find these scenes stressful. 

We have to also take into account that any music or images we use must either be royalty- free or that we have composed and shot ourselves, so we don’t break any copyright laws. Archive footage, if used within our documentary, has to be a maximum of thirty seconds per clip. If we go over this, then our film will not be screened at the U-Doc festival and we will again be breaking copyright laws. 

It is extremely important that we follow these rules, as it’s a chance for us to express our opinion on the mistreatment and misrepresentation of dogs and their trainers regarding greyhound stadiums, and this itself can be quite a controversial topic. By appeasing to our audience and following the Ofcom and BBC rules and regulations we can successfully shoot and produce a documentary that can be broadcast to a mass audience at the U-Doc festival, without intentionally upsetting viewers and being banned.