A Filmmaker's Guide to Working with Children Meg Rickards 9781032953298

A Filmmaker's Guide to Working with Children is a vital resource for ethical filmmaking with child performers. Building on their collaboration on the film Snake, the authors offer practical strategies for creating captivating performances while ensuring safe and joyful environments across all production stages, from casting to release. To foster confidence in child actors, the book guides readers through playful and respectful methods of working on set. The book also assists with navigating relevant legal and logistical challenges to safeguard young talent while crafting compelling stories.

Features include age-specific techniques for infants to adolescents, inclusive casting methods, trauma-prevention protocols, and a compendium of drama games. The book incorporates professional insights from interviews with Directors Jennifer Perrot (The Midwich Cuckoos), Likarion Wainaina (Supa Modo), and Matthew Warchus (Roald Dahl's Matilda: The Musical), as well as from Acting Coaches Miranda Harcourt (Lion), Bree Peters (Sweet Tooth), and Amanda Brennan (Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children). The chapters provide case studies of films including Room, Capernaum, and The Florida Project.

Aimed at directors, producers, and aspiring filmmakers, this guide is an essential tool for anyone committed to impactful, ethical storytelling in film and television.

Meg Rickards has directed four multi-award-winning feature films: Snake, Atlantis, Kaalgat Karel and Tess. She also directed a mini-series called Land of Thirst, as well as co-directed a feature documentary, 1994: The Bloody Miracle. She has directed work for South Africa's Sesame Street and written scripts for a UNICEF media campaign. She studied at London Film School and holds a PhD in Film Studies from the University of Cape Town.

Tamryn Speirs has 25 years of experience as an actor, director, teacher, and as a movement and acting coach. She has written and directed her own short films, including The Innocents and Blood Rose. She is a much sought-after acting coach for adult and child actors. Tamryn teaches at ACT Cape Town, which is affiliated with the New York Film Academy, and works with the intimacy coordination company Safe Sets SA, which is affiliated with SAGAFTRA.

"A Filmmaker's Guide to Working with Children is an indispensable exploration of one of the most mystifying parts of filmmaking - and how to get it right."

Jim Mickle, Director/Showrunner, Sweet Tooth

"If you've ever felt torn between 'we need the shot' and 'is this right for young performers?', this book resolves it with usable steps. Clear, humane, actionable. A rare book that changes behaviour on set. Buy it, mark it up, and make it policy."

Likarion Wainaina, Director, Supa Modo

"A thorough, honest, gentle and practical must-read for anyone who is thinking about having a child actor on set. Not only essential for directors but also useful for all members of the crew. This book might be the spark of a revolution in how we direct kids on screen."

Matthew Kalil, Author, The Three Wells of Screenwriting