At its heart, inclusive production can be seen as the deliberate (proactive) design of technology, workflows and environments that enable creative talent of all abilities to access, contribute to and enrich media production.
According to Chris Lynch, award-winning disabled filmmaker and founder of Diverse Made Media, we are at a milestone moment when it comes to behind-the-camera inclusive production innovation. “The technology exists. The talent is ready. The only question left is whether the industry is willing to lead.”
The readiness of inclusive technologies and the disabled creatives for which they are designed to empower is clearly gaining momentum, but not enough to persuade the production industry to reengineer its attitude to accessibility. Encouraging the required industry leadership and collaboration to effect meaningful change were central themes to the discussion that played out at IMG Studios in London last week, as Lynch and co-panelists Ally Castle MBE, and Molly Reed of IMG, pored over the landscape for talent diversity in creative production.
The RTS Technology Centre event Accessible by design: How inclusive production is transforming the screen industries was produced in conjunction with Lynch to evolve the conversation around the industry’s relationship with inclusion. “For too long, the screen industries have talked about inclusion without truly examining the systems and technologies that have kept talented people out,” said Lynch. “With this event, we’re looking to change that conversation.”
Hosted by broadcaster and journalist Jordan Jarrett-Bryan, the event explored the technical and operational barriers that have historically disadvantaged disabled creatives, and how the industry can step up to be a driving force for genuine creative change. Speaking after the event, Jarrett-Bryan described the positive signal of changing attitudes across the industry. “It was such a fruitful and positive discussion,” he said. “It was great hearing so much enthusiasm about progress that is being made. What came out is that the industry finally understands the importance of ensuring production is accessible and how output benefits from it.”
Proactive innovation and design
In the opening part of the evening, Lynch shared insights from his own experience working as a cinematographer and the barriers he encountered while operating traditional production equipment. “Early in my career I wanted to be a DoP but was endlessly frustrated that as a wheelchair user I didn’t have the physical ability to move around or blend into sets as I would like.”
His experience led him to create the world’s first wheelchair camera system, Caerus, designed for disabled creatives to operate professional camera equipment in environments where traditional rigs and operating positions can create significant limitations. His Caerus Academy also provides structured training to help develop the next generation of camera operators.
After demonstrating the Caerus system, Lynch and Jarrett-Bryan were joined by creative strategist and disability consultant Ally Castle, and Molly Reed, production executive across IMG Golf productions for a panel discussion which examined the length and breadth of the accessibility landscape for disabled creatives. A key theme of the evening was the importance of proactively building accessibility into production infrastructure from the outset, rather than the current practice of attempting to retrofit systems and workflows once they’re up and running.
Reed cited her experience on large-scale productions such as The Open Golf Championship dealing with issues such as uneven terrain, camera and equipment transportation, and access limitations within temporary infrastructure. “Accessibility needs to be a consideration on productions from day one rather than a retrofit,” she explained, while emphasising that responsibility for enacting change is a shared endeavour. “Everyone has their part to play here: broadcasters, production companies, manufacturers, industry bodies and the education system,” she said.
Castle agreed, while admitting to being struck by how much of the progress being made is reliant on disabled people themselves being persistent and innovative in the absence of support. “It is important for the whole industry to continue to work collaboratively in this space, and for allies—especially among senior leaders—to keep advocating for more inclusive spaces and working practices as standard.”
“There is clearly still an important and honest conversation to be had around disclosure, taboo and fear of career limitations for disabled talent,” Castle continued, warning that the pace of change may already have come too late for some experienced professionals. “In recent years, in a difficult job market, we are likely to have lost a great deal of fantastic, experienced disabled talent from our industry. For some, years of working in places and organisations which are still not fully accessible and inclusive may well have been a price too high to pay.”
Talent drain
Whilst conditions and attitudes are improving, the pace of that positive change is currently too slow. The sentiment is shared by Tim Marshall OBE, honorary secretary of the RTS Technology Committee, who suggested the conversations emanating from the event should be heard and acted on by all in senior management and HR.
“If those with disability, whether seen or unseen, are excluded, then substantial talent is lost to our industry,” he said. “There are many people who have physical and mental differences which should not be allowed to hinder them from performing and contributing in our industry; indeed such a breadth of people genuinely adds to the richness of all who take part in every aspect of our business.”
Which brings us back to the original purpose of the event: to change the conversation around inclusion, and encourage people in positions of influence to understand that greater accessibility adds value to productions, businesses, and the creative health of the industry’s talent pool. “This event emphasised for me that it’s no longer enough to simply talk about inclusion, we really need to look at re-engineering the systems and tools that shape who gets to join our industry in the first place,” said Kim Rowell, chair of the RTS Technology Centre.
“Hearing first-hand about the lived barriers disabled creatives face—from hiring pathways to on-set practicalities—it was a powerful reminder of the role and responsibility we all have towards wider representation, not least creating a psychologically safe environment for people to be able to show-up as their authentic selves.”
The consensus view is that dismantling the existing barriers is a shared endeavour and will require cooperation and collaboration across the industry. But it is also an issue that needs to be met with the urgency and sincerity that Rowell suggests in recalibrating how we approach representation to open doors for more talented people than we currently are. With the industry evolving as it is, establishing better pathways to attract a richer diversity of creative talent should be an urgent endeavour. “We are in an era of great transformation in the broadcasting industry,” concluded Reed. “It is important that we have accessibility at the front of our minds now more than ever.”
The technology exists. The talent exists. What the event tells us is that the conversation needs to exist at an industry level to spark the leadership to open doors still shut to creative talent.
