IDC Legal & Ethical Standards in Intimacy Coordination 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under US employment law, an intimacy coordinator working as an independent contractor on a film set is primarily responsible for ensuring which of the following?
- Their own workers' compensation coverage (Correct answer)
- The production's SAG-AFTRA compliance
- That actors sign non-disclosure agreements
- Casting decisions align with union rules
Correct answer: Their own workers' compensation coverage
Independent contractors are responsible for their own insurance and workers' compensation, unlike employees whose coverage is provided by the employer.
Question 2: Which legal doctrine most directly supports an intimacy coordinator's obligation to stop a scene if an actor withdraws consent mid-rehearsal?
- Respondeat superior
- Informed consent and bodily autonomy (Correct answer)
- Work-for-hire doctrine
- Tortious interference
Correct answer: Informed consent and bodily autonomy
Informed consent and bodily autonomy are foundational legal and ethical doctrines establishing that consent can be withdrawn at any time, requiring immediate cessation of the activity.
Question 3: A production asks an intimacy coordinator to keep a complaint from a principal actor confidential and not report it to HR. The coordinator's ethical obligation is to:
- Honor the production's request to protect set relationships
- Report the complaint through appropriate channels regardless of production pressure (Correct answer)
- Mediate the dispute privately without documentation
- Defer to the director's judgment on set culture matters
Correct answer: Report the complaint through appropriate channels regardless of production pressure
Intimacy coordinators have an ethical duty to ensure complaints are properly reported; suppressing reports to protect production relationships violates professional standards and potentially labor law.
Question 4: Which of the following best describes a 'scope of practice' violation for a certified intimacy coordinator?
- Consulting on a script's intimacy scenes before production begins
- Providing psychological counseling to an actor experiencing trauma (Correct answer)
- Communicating actor boundaries to the director
- Requesting a closed set during intimate scenes
Correct answer: Providing psychological counseling to an actor experiencing trauma
Providing psychological counseling falls outside the scope of an intimacy coordinator, whose role is coordination and advocacy, not licensed mental health treatment.
Question 5: When a production's nudity rider conflicts with protections established in the SAG-AFTRA Intimacy Coordinator Agreement, which generally takes precedence?
- The nudity rider, as it is a direct contract with the performer
- The SAG-AFTRA agreement, as union agreements typically supersede individual rider terms that reduce protections (Correct answer)
- Whichever document was signed most recently
- The director's on-set instructions
Correct answer: The SAG-AFTRA agreement, as union agreements typically supersede individual rider terms that reduce protections
Union collective bargaining agreements generally establish minimum standards that individual contracts cannot undercut, so SAG-AFTRA protections typically prevail over conflicting rider terms.
Question 6: An intimacy coordinator discovers that footage of a simulated sex scene was used in a trailer without the actor's consent for that specific use. This situation most likely implicates:
- Defamation law
- Right of publicity and contract breach (Correct answer)
- Copyright fair use
- Promissory estoppel only
Correct answer: Right of publicity and contract breach
Using an actor's likeness in a manner not agreed upon in their contract implicates right of publicity statutes and potential breach of the performance agreement.
Question 7: The ethical principle of 'do no harm' in intimacy coordination is operationalized primarily through:
- Selecting actors who appear comfortable with nudity
- Pre-production boundary conversations, choreography rehearsal, and ongoing check-ins (Correct answer)
- Limiting intimate scenes to experienced adult performers only
- Ensuring the director approves all choreography before rehearsal
Correct answer: Pre-production boundary conversations, choreography rehearsal, and ongoing check-ins
Proactive boundary discussions, detailed choreography, and continuous check-ins are the practical mechanisms by which intimacy coordinators minimize physical and psychological harm to performers.
IDC Legal & Ethical Standards in Intimacy Coordination 2
Under US employment law, an intimacy coordinator working as an independent contractor on a film set is primarily responsible for ensuring which of the following?