WORKSHOP: SHOOTING WITH CHILDREN'S ACTORS // Workshop guest: Inga Brock (media education specialist)

Ms. Brock will provide information on the legal basis and requirements for filming with children and then give an in-depth insight into her professional practice as a media education specialist in filming and will point out possibilities and limits when working with underage performers. - - - - - - ******************************************************************************************************************************************************* - - Inga Brock, media education specialist for child protection since 2003, chairwoman of the Berufsvereinigung Medienpädagogische Fachkräfte e.V., involved in a large number of productions in the fields of film, theater and opera. - A production overview can be found here: https://www.crew-united.com/de/Inga-Brock_256731.html - - - - - ******************************************************************************************************************************************************** - - - Year after year, thousands of children and young people in North Rhine-Westphalia alone are in the spotlight in theater, film, television and other media productions. - Although child labor is generally not permitted, Section 6 (1) of the Youth Employment Protection Act provides for exceptions under certain conditions for the employment of children and young people in media and cultural productions on a maximum of 30 days per year. - Since April 20, 2000, a guideline has been in force in North Rhine-Westphalia for the approval of the participation of children in the media and cultural sector in accordance with § 6 JArbSchG, which makes it possible for children to participate in media and cultural productions on more than 30 days per calendar year if an "independent media-pedagogical qualified socio-pedagogical or psychological specialist" - or in short: the "media-pedagogical specialist for child labor protection" - is involved. - This also applies to productions with psychologically and physically stressful content. In this case, the involvement of a media education specialist for child labor protection is subject to approval by the responsible district governments/departments for labor protection in order to ensure child protection. - The media education specialists for child labor protection help to implement the child protection concept as formulated in the JArbSchuG. They clarify the framework conditions for the participating child and provide comprehensive process support in cooperation with the family, the production and the responsible office. - The work of the media education specialist is based on qualified training (educator, social pedagogue, psychologist, teacher, etc.). - Media education specialists have specialist knowledge of the production-specific conditions for theater, film, television or other media and cultural productions and are trained to reconcile the interests of parents, producers and children. - The tasks of the media education specialist include in particular - ● Advice and process support for the production/director with regard to safeguarding child protection - ● Creation of a participation plan in which the following aspects must be considered individually for each child: the pedagogical evaluation of the overall product as well as the role of the respective child, their family and social environment, their school performance and their competence with regard to the production. - ● Accompanying the production with expertise and empathy: seeing the economic conditions of a production, but keeping an eye on the children's wishes, stress or stage fright. - ● Contact person for parents and all those involved in the production in order to clear up any ambiguities in advance. - ● On the one hand, it is important to protect the interests and rights of the children where they are not in a position to do so themselves, as well as to recognize dangers at an early stage and ensure that they are eliminated. On the other hand, the risk of overburdening the children involved is minimized and there is always a competent contact person when it comes to the children's involvement.