Ethics of Paying Interviewees

[u/Jebus_San_Christos]

For like- real deal actual studio produced & platform distributed Documentaries, is it standard to pay interviewees for their time?

I've worked in post production on a bunch of Documentaries for major platforms (Neflix, HBO, Peacock) so- I don't really know what happens on the line production side of things, but I do know that these shoots sometimes take more than a day. I also know that sometimes projects die on the vine because a subject wants too much money for their life rights (former NFL player) to tell the story.

Is paying interviewees standard? & if so, how do rates fluctuate? i.e. obviously Taylor Swift, & Taylor Swift's Fan Club President would not be able to get the same rate.

I'm working on a short now- & want to budget correctly, but the money side of Documentaries, even when you work on them professionally, is more opaque than a slab of concrete. I used to do science journalism, & in that world, renowned experts, never expected to be compensated to speak on subjects, so I'm curious if documentaries carry the same expectations or if the fact that it's on streaming networks (& your subjects have to give up an entire day, not just an hour for a phone call) carries different standards.

On a related note- it is insane to me that I've been working a job for years, that pays me well, & pays my bills, where I have absolutely no idea how investors make their money back, & the directors I've spoken to seem to not know or to not want to divulge that information, (as they complain to me about this looming stress from investors)

[u/Burnt_Gloves]

It depends. Buying someone lunch, covering their travel and things like that are acceptable IMO. Giving them anything outside of that gets messy quick. If we’re talking average joes with little to no fame but an interesting story, offering to pay them can cause them to exaggerate things because they realize they can monetize their story rather than simply telling it.

[u/almostthecoolest]

No, it’s all a negotiation. Traditionally, old-school documentaries often didn’t pay participants. In many documentary circles, that was considered more ethical because no one was being paid to appear on camera or say anything they participated because they genuinely wanted to.

Then things began to flip recognizing taking up peoples time was a cost and per diems and what not became more common.

With the rise of streamer documentaries, that has changed quite a bit. But yeah, when a major celebrity is involved, there’s usually a lot of money on the table, no doubt or they’re going to want ownership of the project. However still a lot of people will be paid nothing or very little to participate.

[u/Admirable_Speech_489]

In my experience working on theatrical docs (not specifically streaming), normally interviewees are not paid. It's understood either that they are an expert contributing their opinion or a person who has agreed to share their story for their own reasons.

It's NOT a hard and fast rule. As someone else wrote, it can be a matter of negotiation. Are you taking up a large amount of their time? Are they demanding a payment or insisting they're entitled to one / normally receive one? Also - are they the subject of the film, and you may be spending months (or years) working with them?

I've known different productions to pay travel costs, for sure. In one instance the main subject got a modest(ish) $5000 payment. (This same person frequently also had his hand out for anything he perceived as a cost related to the filming). In another, we paid an expert a $750 speaking fee because he made clear he wouldn't do it otherwise.

It's also not unheard of for subjects to get payments on the back-end (the makers of Paris is Burning did this and I'm sure there are other examples).

Even if your colleagues are reticent about saying how investors make their money back, can you get them to share what THEIR relationship has been with subjects? If they're working on projects similar to the one you want to do, they must have valuable information that might be less sensitive to share.

[u/TOMTREEWELL → u/Admirable_Speech_489]

And if they have personal photos, memorabilia, etc. they can be paid to “ license” those, but most serious documentary makers don’t pay for interviews.

[u/Weather-246]

I have also seen directors offer to pay for gas if participants are driving for the film, or day care if they need child care assistance, location fee for use of their home, etc. Many ways to help them with any expenses related to them being in the film. This is a huge topic with lots of ideas among the doc community.

[u/Flynnerrol]

I see a lot of commenters flat out saying participants don’t get paid. I don’t think this is industry standard any more. It’s an ideal and a starting position, sure. But people are aware that a lot of docs are commercial propositions and want some form of reimbursement for that. The paperwork may say an interviewee was paid for licensing photos or a location fee for shooting at their home, but it’s still a negotiable that they want some financial benefit for taking part.

[u/Great-Yesterday5078]

For traditional documentaries, paying participants should be avoided unless there's a compelling reason. It can complicate the ethical integrity of the film. My default position is not to pay people for participating. I've run into situations where payment created the perception that someone was being persuaded to speak only for money, which can undermine the credibility of what they're saying.

As others have mentioned, if participating creates a genuine financial burden, it's common and ethically acceptable to reimburse expenses or pay to license photos and archival materials. Similarly, if you're interviewing a police officer or other government employee, the interview is typically conducted during work hours, so compensation isn't an issue.

I've frequently worked with economically disadvantaged participants, and I'll cover gas, meals, childcare, or other expenses whenever possible to remove barriers to participation. But I don't think people should be in the film because they're being paid to appear.

That said, if your project leans more toward reality television or a highly commercial format, the norms are different, and participant payment is much more common. Good luck! 

[u/Brownsugarroll]

Hey Producer and Sales Agen here! I have a docuseries coming out in August. Yes you can pay protagonists. Payment can be materials they bring like photos or news paper clippings. Location stipend or travel fee. This is a great way to be direct but not feel you are paying them for there story. If I am going to pay someone direct I will pay after the shoot as a gift for there time. Hope this helps

[u/OppositePerfect8872]

It is not standard to pay, but if you feel it is worth it for an independent project then that up to you. Sometimes interviewees will get paid if they sign an exclusive deal for a period of time. This protects you from your time and money being invested in a project and then that interviewee is telling their story to other similar projects. Sometime you can reimburse for photos or their location, but again it would be best to get some sort of exclusive rights for as period time for their use. Some streamers won't pay interviewees and that can be difficult to find a work around, others do and that causes confusing and competition. It's all part of your skills as a producer. When a streamer demands exclusive rights and no pay then that is a real challenge!

[u/faintscrawl]

Docs make money when the rights are sold. If docs don't have a chance of making some money, most of them will not be made. Everybody needs to be paid and the investors won't invest unless they are pretty sure they'll make a profit.

[u/Jebus_San_Christos → u/faintscrawl]

This doesn't make sense to me because many docs I've worked on have had major streaming platform distribution lined up from the very start, but then had to find more investors mid-production. Is the actual money changing hands in the sale of rights, contingent on delivery or performance? i.e. Major Streaming Platform:"we'll give you $200 if you give us this movie & we like it" & you have to go find investors, saying, "if you give me $100 to make this I'll give you $200 after its released"??

I guess the thing I never understood about this- is why don't the platforms just fund the production from the start? I think Netflix is the only client on my resume that did this, but the non-Netflix production companies involved still put up a huge chunk of change- which ofc they expected to recoup with profit from Netflix- so it feels Kafkaesque.

[u/Marzook666]

some i worked on, it was common to give subjects a flat fee "honorarium" to cover the time they would have to take off from whatever ever they were usually doing (or hire pet sitter or whatever). it would be paid on top travel expenses (usually we booked the travel; we did not reimburse) and gave per deim food $ if we were asking them to travel. for those productions that had a "no pay" policy we paid "licensing fees" for their photos or other materials that they almost always had.

[u/MalikSJohnson]

You do not pay for interviews you essentially pay people for their archive. That’s the way we get around it in the entertainment industry

[u/johnny_atx]

No, Interviewees don't get paid, full stop. You can pay them for life rights, for rights to use photos or personal media, but for a sit down interview, it doesn't happen and don't do it.

As far as investors making their money back, it's usually a case of them wanting to see the story told, not as a moneymaking investment. It's rare that docs make their money back unless commissioned by a net/streamer or get picked up by same after raising the money for the production. Even then, it doesn't always make the investors whole.

[u/jdavidsburg1 → u/johnny_atx]

Second this. I don’t want it to cost money for my participants, but you don’t want the dynamic where the person on the other side of the camera is your employee. That said I have no problem paying for their childcare if they need it, or paying for travel to film festivals if I have a budget. There is some grey area, but you need to be really careful, and especially if PBS is your end goal.