“Do You Mind If I Film You?” — Why Answering “Yes” Means No

Marta once filmed an accident outside her flat, and she has never posted the eleven-second clip. Was that principle, or nerve? Tonight she and Sione look for the answer through six sentences you can say when you film something in the street, or when it is done to you: asking, refusing, asking for removal, a takedown request, a caption, and offering footage to the person in it. You will practise “Do you mind if I film you?” and learn why “yes” means you mind. You will also hear “I’d rather not be in your video, thanks”, “Could you take it down, please?”, “I did not agree to it being posted” and “Would it help if I sent it to you tonight?”, and the difference between “take down” and “delete”, and what “long tail” means for a video. The six sentences add up to eighty-nine words. The hosts are clear that this is about useful English, not legal advice, and that the rules differ from place to place. Say the sentence you would use first out loud, then tell us in the comments whether it is line one. 00:00 Eighty-nine and eleven seconds 03:13 Line one: before you press record 06:55 Line two: the person who does not want to be filmed 10:06 Line three: Sione at the stall 13:34 Line four: the takedown request 16:24 Line five: the caption 19:50 Line six: the camera as witness 26:35 The total #LearnEnglish #EnglishConversation #EnglishInPublic #BritishEnglish