Before You Capture: The Work Before the Work
How Filming in Underrepresented Communities Requires More Than Just a Camera
Alright, let’s talk about something that’s really important to me: filming in underrepresented communities.
And when I say it requires more than just a camera, I’m not kidding. It’s like saying a good recipe requires more than just ingredients…just because you’ve got the tools doesn’t mean the dish is gonna slap.
Filming in Black and African communities isn’t just about pointing a camera and hitting record. It’s about really understanding the people, their stories, and the cultural nuances that make each moment worth capturing. If you’re only focused on getting “good footage,” you’re missing the point. There’s so much more to it, and if you’re not careful, it can be…. a little off, especially to the people of that community.
And honestly, this doesn’t just apply to the people holding the camera. It also applies to the people hiring it. Brands, nonprofits, foundations, agencies… if you’re commissioning this kind of work, the responsibility is yours too.
Authenticity Is Not Just a Buzzword
Okay, let’s start with authenticity.
If you’re NOT going in with the intention to understand and respect the community you’re filming, then you might as well step aside and let someone handle the task.
Without understanding, it’s just a bunch of blah blah blah.
This kind of work requires homework. Real homework. Knowing the history. Knowing the culture. Knowing what people have survived, what they value, and how they see themselves. You can’t just show up, click a button, and walk away thinking you’ve captured a “real” story. That’s not how it works. The truth is, these communities deserve their stories to be told in the most real, raw way possible; without anyone else filtering it. That’s responsibility.
Because We’ve Been Through Enough
Let’s be real, many of the communities we’re filming have been misrepresented and frankly, exploited in the media for a long time. We’re not here to be the next. The job is to show up with respect. Ask questions, get to know people, and learn about the stuff that matters to them. What are the boundaries? What do they want the world to know about their culture? The answers to these questions shape everything we film.
It’s about ensuring that your lens doesn’t just capture pretty shots; it captures real stories that don’t feed into stereotypes or play on old narratives. Think about it: for decades, Black and African people have been portrayed as victims, criminals, or one-dimensional characters. And that’s not even touching the centuries of colonization and media manipulation that skewed the narrative before the camera even began rolling. But documentaries? They offer a chance to change all that.
That matters a lot to me.
Also take this into account before you agree to the project, for instance, when I’m filming across Africa, I don’t take crime, downtrodden narratives, and strictly struggle - we’ve got enough of that. We’re talking about showing positivity and getting it right; that means keeping it respectful because we have a chance to do things differently now.
We’re Building Relationships, Not Just Footage
The “Documentary Impact Project”, a collaboration between the Institute for Documentary Film and Stanford University, found that 85% of documentary viewers felt motivated to take action after watching films about global issues, such as climate change, race, and migration. We need that motivation to translate to our space. Period.
Representation without relationship is usually where the work starts going wrong.
A Framework for Doing This Responsibly