Participation Works

It is easier than ever to create a publish video on the internet.

Cheap video cameras and camera phones coupled with websites like Google Video, Blip.tv, YouTube and MotionBox mean that you no longer need to have expensive kit to create, host of view online video. Many youth projects are using video as a way of promoting their work. And more and more video content is available that can act as a stimulus for discussions and decision making. Examples in action    
 The Viewfinder project in Bristol uses video to stimulate discussions on local issues, and invites comments and feedback by both video and text. The Newcastle Partnership have used a professionally created video to promote Participatory Budgeting in the local area. The Youth Summit used cheap digital cameras to capture interviews with young people sharing their views on issues at a two-day event. Catch 21 Productions are a youth-led YouTube video channel who have created a series of 'newsbite' videos offering background information about current policy topics. The UK Youth Parliament run UKYP TV and have used a 'viral video' to promote their Fairs Fare campaign. A 'viral video' is one which is designed to be attractive to share with friends (by being funny for example) and so to spread quickly across the internet/mobile phones - often carrying a message with it.

Getting Started  

The details below offer an introduction to the free and low cost tools available to help you use online video in your work. These tools are public access, and although some provide privacy controls, you should assume videos shared through these sites are available to the whole internet. It is possible to commission bespoke video sharing platforms fully under your control if your project requires it.

Capturing video You don't need expensive video camera's to capture video for the internet - often the cameras built into many mobile phones can be enough. Digital video cameras are available from £50 upwards. Once you have a digital video camera, head out a capture footage - and then plug the camera into your computer to copy the video to a folder ready to be uploaded.

Editing and Sharing video Most modern computers come with basic free video editing software. On Windows PC's this is 'Windows Movie Maker'. On Mac computers this is 'iMovie'. You can use this to edit together your clips and then 'Create a movie file' ready to upload to the the internet. When you have saved the video you want to share onto your computer, you can sign-up with a video sharing website such as YouTube, Google Video or Blip.tv and follow their instructions to upload your video. When your video has been uploaded it will become available to view online and you will be able to 'embed' it on your own website. Alternatively, some tools allow you to upload all your individual clips and then to edit your video online. One such tool is MotionBox. A guide to getting started with MotionBox is available to download here (PDF).

Embedding video Video sharing websites let you include your video's directly on your own website, whilst they take care of all the costs and hastle of actually making it available for visitors to view. Look for instructions on the site of your choice for details of how to embed your video. Some online video services included adverts for other videos in their embedded video players. You may want to choose the service you use carefully if this could be a concern to you.

Finding online video If you are looking for videos that could you use as part of a workshop session a standard web search with the word 'video' included should provide good results. You can also use dedicated video search engines such as Google Video Search, which will look for videos from across a range of websites.

Links    
LifeGoggles review
LifeGoggles have a review of over 50 different video sharing websites.
Media Box
Mediabox offers grants ranging from £100 to £80,000 to individuals and groups to create and distribute youth-led media projects that express young people's ideas and/or views in a creative way, using their preferred media platform.
NGO In A Box AV Edition
NGO In A Box AV Edition is a CD of tools that you can use to create a multi-media workstation for free. Ideal if you want to kit-out a computer for a lot of high quality work with online video.
One World TV
One World TV have a mini-guide to creating good documentary video clips for the web
Online Video for Learning (Wiki)
A collaboratively authored resource full of information about using online video in learning projects with much that could also apply to participation projects.