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of his career on addressing the stigma surrounding disability on-set. “There’s a deficit of creatives in the disabled community,” he states. “There are a huge number of physical barriers; it’s definitely a challenge getting onto a project.” Despite pushing for inclusion, Lynch is realistic about his own limits. “I’m never going to be a gaffer,” he admits, as this role intrinsically requires a certain level of physical ability. “I am not saying that everything should be accessible; there are things in life that aren’t and it’s just not practical to try and make them. But at the same time,” he continues, “I think there are absolutely ways we can make the industry a lot more inclusive.” To do this, Lynch worked with Ogilvy and Unilever to produce an ‘industry-inclusive toolkit’, not only to align Unilever’s supply chain with its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) values, but also to “enable production companies to be more supportive of people with disabilities, ranging from neurodivergence to physical disabilities,” he describes. “We’re counting everything on-set someone would typically need, whether that be accessible toilets or a quiet space, or even basic things such as accessible trailers or OB trucks.” With over two decades in the industry, Lynch recognises the progress that’s been made and acknowledges the work yet to be done. “I think it’s great to see this emerging trend,” he says of inclusivity initiatives, “and the more people that do it, the more it filters down into the industry. I think it takes the bigger production companies to embrace these THERE ARE SO MANY WAYS THAT WE CAN BE inclusive WITHOUT BEING disruptive ”
A helping hand from CVP “Working with CVP has made this all possible. From our early conversations about what we were trying to achieve, their expertise helped match us with a range of options that took everything to another level. Throughout this, my perception of CVP changed from just a technology supplier to a solutions provider. They set aside time and resources to help us at every stage of the journey – from lending us equipment for testing, through to their patience from the many times we have had to go back to the drawing board and try something else. Just before our launch event at Cannes Lions in June, they also kindly hosted an industry event at their fabulous showroom in Soho, where we were able to bring down a number of stakeholders to try our prototype and get valuable feedback on what we have built. They have been a fantastic asset to our product development and I’m hugely appreciative of all of their support.”
PIONEERING TECH A first-of-its-kind filmmaking solution, Caerus will make sets more inclusive
things, and then smaller ones can start to see how they could do it. “A lot of people have written off those with disabilities,” Lynch continues, “but there are so many ways that we can be inclusive without being disruptive. It’s not going to upset your production schedule or workflow. A lot of people are realising it’s not a huge burden.” Lynch maintains his realism about the industry’s future. “I am definitely excited, but there’s still a long way to go,” he argues. “People still aren’t getting the work; they’re not picking up jobs. I know it’s a difficult time for everyone right now, but I think there’s still a stigma.” Hopefully, with Caerus hitting the market, the industry will change for the better, giving disabled filmmakers more opportunities than ever before. “I could see clearly what the problem was and create an all-encompassing solution,” claims Lynch. Now, it’s a question of simply spreading the word.
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