Using 'unhappy' children in films - how is this done safely?

[Sarah961]

I watched the trailer for a film made by some acquaintances of mine yesterday. During this there was a scene with a small child, witnessing a fight between two adults, and walking away from it clearly extremely distressed, sobbing, saying 'Ma-ma' in that broken way children do when they are horribly upset or frightened.

I couldn't watch it again to check whether it was possible the child was edited into the scene so not actually crying because of the fighting, that it wasn't really her Mum, and she was upset for some other reason.

The child looked about 4.

Whatever the reason for the crying, it was not acting. It was genuine fear or distress, that much was obvious and it was incredibly painful to watch.

I'm pretty shocked that they thought it was Ok to use footage of a child in real distress, and also wondering what happened to make her so distressed, and if they just allowed it because they needed the footage for the film?

I kind of need someone to reassure me here. I absolutely hate seeing children crying in TV or films, because I think the same thing - they let them cry, or they may have even made them cry.?

This is wrong, isn't it?

According to Wes Craven he told the kid in "New nightmare" that his parents were dead to get him to cry.

I'm not 100% sure he was joking.

you could probably add blood to an image using a computer, I think. crying not so much - not visible crying anyway

It's not just that particular thing though and I am pretty sure it wasn't added after, could have been though. The scene was gruesome and some stuff was definitely present.

It when kids witness adults fighting etc. We all remember things in a different way from our childhood. Can't help wonder how it processes as they grow up.

Babies cry all the time and forget five minutes later, that's why it doesn't bother me so much. I knew the family of a child in emmerdale, he was in it from being newborn. They were always happy with how their kids were treated on set.

I used to nanny twins who were in a tv series for a while. They would swop whichever baby was crying into the scene. Because they got to know the other actors, it wasn't like going to a stranger. A scene could take agggggeeees to shoot as well, even if it only takes a minute on screen.

I agree the actors are often quite a lot older than the children they portray, and if they're filming the child being involved in something horrible, generally he isn't actually present as the main scene is filmed.

I saw something the other day about Miss Saigon, in which the child is present when his mother kills herself. Obviously there is less they can fake being on stage, but they take care to make sure each of the children who play the part get to know the actors very well before they even start rehearsing. During the worst scene they take care to ensure s/he is being held by an adult with their face turned away.

I didn't mean to dismiss your concern Katenka, I've often wondered how that sort of thing affects children too. it's pretty hard to explain to a child what's going on in 'age appropriate' language in that situation, I imagine.

Jason I read on a website that the children filming Stand By Me were made to cry by the director getting angry with them, or pretending to, and that in some other show, they gave a child a toy then snatched it away. I don't know if this is true either. If so then I think it's appalling.

There are probably safeguards in place with proper films. When it's amateur, I doubt they have the resources to make sure no one is upset, etc.

I've just made myself look at it again. It's AWFUL. The child is I'm pretty sure younger than four, and is being snatched between the adults, while really screaming and looking very scared. She's then filmed walking away from them all, terrified, towards an open area.

I don't know what to do about it. I want to do something, because I don't think it is right, at all. Bloody idiots.

My DD cried like that when her banana was peeled wrong. Inconsolable for twenty minutes.

Presumably they choose DC that are naturally demonstrative.

The child is kicking her little legs and trying desperately to get down, while screaming.

I can't believe they could think this is Ok. I really can't.

I think spanky2 is right that often the children are significantly older than they look - when I was in primary school, a boy in my class with a growth hormone deficiency was cast to play a four year old in a film (we were 8 or 9). That said, I'm sure some nasty practices do go on. It's a business on a strict schedule after all.

There's nothing anyone will do though is there? I mean, it's all fair in the cause of movie making I suppose, according to most people.

I think it's a terrible thing to do to a little child.

If you have concerns that a child was abused you should report it, surely? Or at the very least ascertain the truth by contacting the film company.

Report it to whom though?

You can make a complaint to the relevant local council if you think the laws about children in entertainment aren't being observed.

I think it might be context too. Because as an adult we watch a concocted scene which is emotionally distressing we extrapolate that the child cut into it is extremely distressed when actually they might just be having a normal
Cry but the context for us makes it upsetting.

Not sure that makes sense but I know what I mean.

www.gov.uk/child-employment/performance-licences-for-children

Thank you, I will look at the link.

That scene in Dexter really distressed me as well Katenka - it was vile, absolutely awful. I have a little boy around the same age and I felt like vomiting watching it and I ended up turning it off and have never watched Dexter again.

I agree OP, and the scene you are describing sounds horrific.

I think it's worth remembering that most of the time the children will not be there when anything deemed "distressing" is being shot, these things can be filmed days apart, even in seperate studios.

RJ I know what you are getting at - the context of the set after all is very different to watching the film, and a great deal can be achieved with editing, manipulation of angles, etc. But definitely OP if you think the child was being harmed it should be reported so at least an investigation can be carried out.

I watched a TV programme recently about 80's films and the Mum in ET was saying that Drew Barrymore 100% believed that ET was real and in the dying scene she is sobbing for real. That's the only story I know from ' behind the scenes' that relate to upset children.

I think what we think of kids being used in this way depends on parenting styles/opinions as well.

Upthrrad someone said that they'd wait until the child was "naturally" distressed, film and then hand back to parent/s for comfort.

To me that is wrong, I would have intervened before the distress satge is reached, and I certainly wouldn't be handing over a distressed child to a film crew before comforting them. But others would.

I've been trawling various PDFs and found something relevant on Ofcom's guidelines but I think they only oversee television programmes, not film. Still trying to find something about guidelines for film makers.

It's possible the little girl didn't see the actual fight, which is good, but she was being held while people shouted at each other and she was clearly very upset during this.

That's awful about E.T.

ET was done really weirdly, the production team wanted the kids to really believe that ET was real and so the kids never saw the ET puppet actors or anything that'd give it away.

It's possible the little girl didn't see the actual fight, which is good, but she was being held while people shouted at each other and she was clearly very upset during this.

I haven't seen the trailer so this might be way off but are you sure the shouting wasn't dubbed on after?