At the moment, I am on the Gold Coast attending a conference of Flacks, Hacks and IT vendors. This happens twice a year and allows us to get to know each other, swap ideas and of course let our hair down on occasion.

Last night, at the "gala dinner' the entertainment was provided by a hypnotist, and of course, audience members were involved. Thankfully, nothing really stupid was suggested, such as stripping off, simulated sex or other bad taste ideas, but nonetheless, those that did "succumb", might be cringing a little after / if they see videotape of the event.

And this is the crux of this blog today; the hypnotist, the main performer, had a dedicated video camera operator, and told us all shows are recorded in entirety - and he keeps them.

Now, I understand this is most likely in case of litigation in the future - say someone falls off the stage or tries to suggest (ha!) they have been mentally damaged. But what about the privacy issues? No one signed a piece of paper - including those in the crowd, and we were told about this AFTER the show had started and filming had become.

Now I have no personal qualms about this, but as a documentary maker, if I film a scene and people can be identified, I am bound to get a disclaimer from those people.

Should the same apply to performers?