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WITNESS uses video to open the eyes of the world to human rights violations

Making Your Video Advocacy Successful

October 7, 2011Chris Michael, WITNESS

Video Advocacy Training Manager

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1. Name

2. Where you are from

3. Advocacy work / experience

WHO ARE WE?

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1. Learn WITNESS’ Video Advocacy Methodology

2. Review (successful) case studies

3. Filming safely and securely for change

4. See innovative uses of video for change

5. What’s next?

WHAT ARE WE DOING?

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WITNESS: VIDEO FOR CHANGE19 years

80 countries

300 partner organizations

1000’s of human rights defenders

4000 hours of archived human rights footage

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HARNESSING TECHNOLOGY

FOR HUMAN RIGHTSEQUIPPING

cameras & tools

EMPOWERING training human rights defenders

ENABLING growing P2P networks

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TRAJECTORY OF VIDEO

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THE GAME CHANGER…

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JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN, DOESN’T MEAN YOU SHOULD.

- My (most incredible) mom

Tactics that optimally support the advocacy.

Tools that optimally support the tactic.

All should both build and harness power - and be integrated.

TOOLS FOR A REASON

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Video advocacy is about effectively using the power of stories, visual evidence and personal testimony as part of a human rights advocacy strategy to engage people to act and create change in human rights law, policy, practice and behavior.

VIDEO ADVOCACY

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In a group of three-four persons, share an experience of video being used for human rights advocacy.

Discuss together in the small group what made it effective.

After ten minutes, we’ll hear a sample of the examples.

EXERCISE

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1. Video made for a reason, not about something

2. Video made for a specific audience

3. Video with a clear and doable request for action from the audience

4. Video with a strong message and the best messengers to move the audience to action

5. Video that can, and will, be seen by the audience

WITNESS’ TOP 5

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• A substitute for other advocacy tools: reports, mobiles, lobbying, etc.

• Used primarily as a publicity, educational or training tool

• Just for professional filmmakers or journalists or media experts

• Necessarily dependent on strong graphic imagery for impact

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FOR WITNESS, VA IS NOT…

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In a group of three-four persons, use the example of the film and your own experience to discuss the strengths and limitations of video being used for human rights advocacy.

Note your ideas on post-its using no more than 4-5 words – try to identify 3-4 advantages and 3-4 limitations

After ten minutes, we’ll gather the post-its on the wall and see what groupings emerge

EXERCISE

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STRENGTHS

1) Show or contextualize a violation or its aftermath

2) Put a face on human rights advocacy by telling a personal story

3) Compress, contrast and juxtapose situations

4) Use emotional power to communicate to an audience

5) Detail specific cases or incidents that are emblematic of patterns

6) Be a democratic and participatory medium

7) Serve as a shield

LIMITATIONS/SHORTCOMINGS

1) Depends on access to places and people

2) Limitations in covering structural issues

3) Weak for deep quantitative analysis and complex procedural issues

4) Technological divide still exists and does not change/remove issues of representation, and process can be less participatory during editing

5) Can jeopardize lives

Advocacy and Propaganda?

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BREAK…

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LANDMARKS OF A VIDEO ADVOCACY CAMPAIGN1. Advocacy Goal2. Target Audiences3. Message4. Story5. Distribution6. Archive7. Impact Evaluation

Safety, Security & Consent

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The measure of success is change on the ground – not simply a video being made.

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Video is the medium

Advocacy is the purpose

Change is the goal.

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• Establish the purpose of the video within broader advocacy strategy

• Set clear and specific objectives for the video, specifying what they are, and how they can be achieved

STEP 1: SMART OBJECTIVES

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SMART OBJECTIVES

• Specific

• Measurable

• Achievable

• Realistic

• Time-bound

GOAL: Stop violence against sex workers

Pressure law enforcement to adopt & enforce HOPS policy recommendations to curb violence against sex workers by August 2011.

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NOT Specific: Empower students to do environmental accountability research in BrazilSpecific: Provide technological support to Brazilian film students to help document corporate violations of environmental laws in south and southeast Brazil and place this evidence before national stakeholders including …

NOT Measurable: The video screening should evoke more uplifting responses from the public.Measurable: The video screening will secure a 15% increase in participation in local community dialogue in this location over the next six months.

NOT Achievable: The video will make officials act to push for ratification of the Kyoto Protocol.Achievable: During our advocacy briefing, we will provide a video report with accompanying recommendations for interim steps to support the upcoming legislative debate on ratification.

NOT Realistic: Attendance at our video events will quadruple last year’s attendance.Realistic: We should aim for a 5% increase in attendance for this year’s video event while maintaining our routine efforts.

NOT Time-bound: We hope the anti-discrimination law passes as soon as possible.Time-bound: We aim to have the anti-discrimination law passed by August 1st, 2009.

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WHAT ARE SOME EXAMPLE AUDIENCES FOR

ADVCOACY VIDEOS?

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• Who has an influence on your advocacy goal? Who should be reached and persuaded?

• What is their perspective or attitude to the issue?• What is their level of awareness?• What is their level of knowledge?• Who are your secondary audiences who can

pressure your primary audience?

STEP 2: TARGET AUDIENCES

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Storytelling puts the human into human rights.

Story is at the heart of video …

without a compelling story,

your audience will not be moved to act.

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What… is visual storytelling for human rights

DEFINED: The strategic use of images, pictures, and sounds to tell stories that can pressure, shame, move or compel key audiences to take action that will protect, defend and uphold human rights.

GOAL: The story inspires the action you want from the audience.

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1. Stories are about people

2. Stories need to be fixed in time and space

3. Stories speak the audience’s language

4. Stories stir up emotions

5. Stories don’t tell. They show.

6. Stories have at least one “moment of truth”

7. Stories have clear meaning

8. The people in your story have to want something

9. Let your characters speak for themselves

10. Audiences bore easily so stories need challenges/obstacles

Andy Goodman’s 10 Rules for Storytelling

How … can you Tell a Good Story, part 1, the philosophy

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The 6 Guiding Principles of Story:1. VOICES: The people (or text) who tell the story2. STRUCTURE: The way in which your film is organized

or in other words, the backbone3. AUDIO/VISUAL ELEMENTS: What you hear and see

on screen4. STYLE: What your films ‘looks & feels’ like 5. ETHICAL REPRESENTATION: How you honor a

person’s dignity and respect their privacy6. SPACE FOR ACTION: A concrete and specific act your

audience can take to create change

HOW

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– Emotional: The voices that speak to the viewer’s heart

– Analytical: The voices that support the facts – Ethical: The voices that must be included for

ethical reasons and agency

– Political: The voices your audience trusts and needs to hear from

ESSENTIAL: CREDIBILITY

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Resonate & Compel• What are the 1-5 key facts / sentences / points

that will resonate with your audience and thus must be in your documentary?

STEP 3: STRATEGIC MESSAGES

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• What is the message you need to get to this audience?

• Are you educating, engaging or activating?• What story will be persuasive, compelling or

motivating for this audience?• What voices is it important to have in the video in

order to have political, ethical, analytical and emotional credibility and impact?

KEY QUESTIONS

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1. What is the Objective of the video?

2. What is the Audience of the video?

3. What is the Message of the video?

4. What is the Story of the video?

5. What is the request for action?

REVIEWING VIDEOS

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1. Condense your story to one sentence.2. How will you tell the story? Knowing your

audience you can now choose:

– Voices – who is included? who is excluded? – Style – MTV vs. News vs. ?– Structure – beginning -> middle -> end -> ACTION– A/V Elements – what sound and visuals are in it?– Length – driven by your primary audience(!)– Language – driven by your primary audience(!)– SPACE FOR ACTION – and clear request for it

STEP 4: RIGHT STORY

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• Who are your distribution allies?• Timing: Is there a key premiere date?• Sequencing: What are your distribution opps?• Choosing the right “messenger”

STEP 5: STRATEGIC DISTRO

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NOT SO FAST…

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WHO’S AT RISK HERE?

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EGYPT

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IRAN

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Gerdab website, Iran

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Adjust Option Menu

Single Pixelate

AllBlur

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Similar to "still" mode, but works across timeline of video using scrub or slider tool

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