29/06/2026
The Earth In Focus Media Lab returned for its second year, and following its kick-off a few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to facilitate a workshop on a topic close to my heart: Production Planning & Ethics in Conservation Storytelling.
Over the past 20 years, I’ve worked across photography, television production, network commissioning, branded content and communications. One of the challenges in content creation is navigating the practical realities of production while remaining sensitive to the nuances and responsibilities of storytelling.
During the workshop, we explored what it means to move from being content creators to responsible filmmakers — thinking beyond capturing moments to understanding the impact our stories can have on people, communities, wildlife and the environment.
Some of the questions we wrestled with included:
• Just because you can film something, should you?
• Who benefits from the story being told?
• What responsibilities do we carry after a film is released?
• How do we balance compelling storytelling with ethical decision-making?
We also examined the foundations of production planning — defining the story, understanding the audience, anticipating risks, and recognising that many production challenges can be solved long before the camera starts rolling, an approach instilled in me through years of rigorous training as a reality television producer.
Thank you to the participants for the thoughtful discussions, challenging questions, and openness in engaging with the complexities of conservation storytelling. I look forward to seeing how these projects take shape.
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Earth In Focus, the biggest environmental film festival in Singapore, celebrates the natural world through the cinematic lens of thought-provoking films, photography and art. https://www.earthinfocus.co/medialab
Wild Space
