Box Office Bioethics - judging

The judges

Dr Rhona Knight

Dr Rhona Knight

Dr Rhona Knight is a General Practitioner in Leicester, and Senior Clinical Educator at the University of Leicester. She has an interest in making bioethical issues accessible and understandable to non-specialist audiences. Rhona is a Member of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics and is Chair of the Education Advisory Group.

Dr Tim Lewens

Dr Tim Lewens

Dr Tim Lewens is a Reader in Philosophy of the Sciences in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science, and Fellow of Clare College, at the University of Cambridge. He has been Co-Chair of the Cambridge Bioethics Forum since 2002. His primary research interests are the philosophy of biology, philosophy of science and bioethics.

Dr Geoff Watts

Dr Geoff Watts

Dr Geoff Watts spent five years in research before becoming a science and medical writer and broadcaster. He presented BBC Radio 4’s Medicine Now and its science programme Leading Edge.

Professor Andy Miah

Professor Andy Miah is an ethicist, journalist, author and presenter. He is Director of the Creative Futures Research Centre at the University of the West of Scotland. Andy has published over 100 articles in journals, magazines, books and national media on subjects including digital media, medicine, technology, human enhancement and sport. http://www.andymiah.net/

Alom Shaha

Alom Shaha

Alom Shaha is a film-maker, writer, and physics teacher. He has written, produced and directed a number of TV programmes on science and worked on BBC series including Horizon, Science Shack and What the Victorians did for Us. http://alomshaha.com

Adam Wishart

Adam Wishart

Adam Wishart is a writer and documentary maker. In 2011 his documentaries ‘Should I test my genes’ and ’23 Week babies: the price of life’ were broadcast on BBC2. His 2007 documentary, Monkeys, Rats and Me, won the Grierson Award for the best Science Documentary. http://www.adamwishart.info/

Criteria

Judging will take into account the film content (70%) and production quality (30%).

Content (70%)

As a guide, your film might look at:

  • How the science works

  • The ethical issues raised, for example: autonomy, justice, privacy, human rights, solidarity

  • A range of viewpoints held by different people involved, e.g. patients, campaigning groups, politicians, scientists, companies

  • Evidence for and against those views

  • Your own personal views on the topic

  • The role of the law

Judges will be looking for:

  • Accuracy and reliability of the information presented

  • Effective and clear communication of the key issues e.g. can the information be easily understood by a non-expert?

  • Depth and balance of the information presented e.g. are a range of views represented?

  • Creativity and imagination

Production quality (30%)

Judges will take into account:

  • Filming technique e.g. appropriate camera angles, steady camera work

  • Picture quality - as a general guide, you are recommended to maintain a “Bit rate” at or above 2 Megabits per second

  • Sound quality – please note some camcorders require an external microphone

  • Editing techniques e.g. does the film flow effectively?

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