CommunityStream

Using video stories and streaming technologies to capture and extend

community engagement activities.

By Ken Newman and Paul den Hertog

So even granny can be an online reporter these days?

YES!but don't forget to read the fine print.

You might need to know a thing or two about:

Making a scriptConsidering locations for the shootPlanning the shootLighting equipmentAudio equipmentCamera'sShooting your videoCapturing your videoEditing your video on your PCAdding soundsSaving the file to the required formatPublishing it onto a server

If you don't know these things, creatinga video can be quite a puzzling experience!

Hmmmm, seems puzzling allright,

“So how can we demystify

the process of creating

an online videostory?”

Production kits and templates

Students from Portsmouth and Amsterdam will develop specific step-by-step production templates and easy-to-use production kits.

These kits will probably consist of a laptop, camera and foolproof guidelines, enabling the community to share their stories online.

So they've made a video, what's next?Publishing the story while retaining ownership is difficult using commercial hostingproviders such as Google.

Therefore we will build an easy to use videoserver based on Ubuntu and Wordpress µ.

Wordpress µ is already packed with lots of features we need and has a very easy way of adding functionality such as a videoplayer, through the use of plugins.

We will connect our server to the Triple L repositories so anybody can find and reuse the video's produced.

So what kind of stories are we talking about anyway?

Example one: A one-off event

Students of community theatre in CCI recently produced a Halloween performance/party/activity in an underpriveliged housing estate. The story of the activity, told by interviews with the students, footage from the activity itself, and some comments from the audience/participants, is a valuable resource for others undertaking similar projects.

Example two: An ongoing activityOne of the groups to have expressed interest in working with MLA in the CommunityStream project is Amsterdam based ZO! Culture.

Kids from underprivileged backgrounds are given opportunities to participate in various activities of youth culture like hiphop dancing, rapping, theatre or gospel festivals. Working with this group might typically involve training group members to make their own video stories and supporting them with their initial production.

Once they have some skills and confidence with a particular production procedure template they will become eligible to borrow the relevant production kit to continue producing their own stories.

In conclusion . . .

We will . . .

Develop production kits and templatesAssemble student/community production teams consisting of NL/UK membersEducate local communities who are currently unable to get their stories onlineDevelop a portalsystem where they can view video's, write comments and do other cool web 2.0 thingsHave communities learn from eachother through videostoriesDisseminate our results @ Next years DIVERSE

So, ........do we actually think that we will empower all who are currently left behind?

No,

but we do feel however, that our project will enable at least some people to educate others and publish their stories online.

We also feel that producing and publishing these easy-to-use step-by-step guidelines and providing the local communities with the necessary tools, will result in a new generation of digital journalists publishing great stories online!