IDC Legal & Ethical Standards in Intimacy Coordination 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following scenarios would most clearly constitute a breach of confidentiality by an intimacy coordinator?
- Discussing boundary agreements with the director of photography before filming
- Sharing an actor's disclosed trauma history with crew members without consent (Correct answer)
- Reporting an assault to the production's HR department
- Documenting boundary conversations in private IC notes
Correct answer: Sharing an actor's disclosed trauma history with crew members without consent
Disclosing a performer's private trauma history to crew without their consent is a serious breach of confidentiality that violates professional ethics and may expose the IC to legal liability.
Question 2: A stunt performer is asked to perform a scene involving simulated sexual violence. The intimacy coordinator should:
- Defer to the stunt coordinator as it involves physical performance
- Collaborate with the stunt coordinator and apply full intimacy coordination protocols including boundary agreements and choreography (Correct answer)
- Classify it as a stunt-only scene and withdraw from involvement
- Require additional pay before agreeing to coordinate the scene
Correct answer: Collaborate with the stunt coordinator and apply full intimacy coordination protocols including boundary agreements and choreography
Scenes involving both physical risk and sexual content require collaboration between intimacy and stunt coordinators, with intimacy protocols applied fully to protect the performer's psychological and physical safety.
Question 3: Under California's AB 1662 and similar state statutes addressing intimate scenes in filmed media, productions are increasingly required to:
- Obtain state licensing for intimacy coordinators
- Provide written notice of nudity and intimate content requirements before performers sign contracts (Correct answer)
- Film all intimate scenes in designated studio facilities
- Submit scene scripts to a state review board
Correct answer: Provide written notice of nudity and intimate content requirements before performers sign contracts
Legislation inspired by AB 1662 and similar bills requires advance written disclosure of intimate content requirements so performers can make informed decisions before signing.
Question 4: An intimacy coordinator is pressured by a high-profile director to allow a scene to proceed despite an actor's expressed hesitation. The ethically correct response is to:
- Allow the scene given the director's authority on set
- Pause the scene, privately check in with the actor, and support their decision regardless of the director's pressure (Correct answer)
- Suggest a compromise that partially accommodates the director's vision
- Consult the producer before making any decision
Correct answer: Pause the scene, privately check in with the actor, and support their decision regardless of the director's pressure
An IC's duty to performer welfare supersedes deference to creative authority; pausing and privately checking in with the actor is the professional and ethical obligation.
Question 5: The concept of 'retroactive consent' — where a performer later agrees to content they initially declined — is ethically problematic primarily because:
- It creates additional paperwork for the production
- It can be used to coerce performers by exposing already-filmed content as leverage (Correct answer)
- It is not recognized by union agreements
- It complicates the editing timeline
Correct answer: It can be used to coerce performers by exposing already-filmed content as leverage
Retroactive consent processes can become coercive when content already exists, creating pressure on performers who fear unauthorized release; this undermines genuine voluntary consent.
Question 6: Which standard best describes how an intimacy coordinator should handle a performer's request to keep a specific boundary private from the director?
- Share all boundaries with the director as they must know everything to direct the scene
- Honor the performer's privacy while communicating functional parameters to the director without revealing personal reasons (Correct answer)
- Require the performer to speak directly with the director
- Document the request but take no further action
Correct answer: Honor the performer's privacy while communicating functional parameters to the director without revealing personal reasons
An IC can communicate what a performer will or will not do without disclosing the personal reasons, preserving privacy while ensuring the director can plan effectively.
Question 7: When an intimacy coordinator observes a pattern of a crew member making unwanted comments to performers during intimate scenes, their professional obligation under harassment law and ethics is to:
- Warn the crew member privately without creating a record
- Document the behavior and report it to the appropriate production authority or HR representative (Correct answer)
- Advise the performers to ignore the comments
- Raise it only if a performer files a formal complaint
Correct answer: Document the behavior and report it to the appropriate production authority or HR representative
ICs have a duty to document and report harassment patterns; failing to act can contribute to a hostile work environment and expose the IC and production to legal liability.
IDC Legal & Ethical Standards in Intimacy Coordination 4
Which of the following scenarios would most clearly constitute a breach of confidentiality by an intimacy coordinator?