Videoing protests is about to change | The Economist
- 5 years ago
Two organisations are teaching protesters to behave like journalists, and building apps to protect and preserve the videos they shoot
Subscribe NOW to The Economist: http://econ.st/1Fsu2Vj
2011 was a year of global unrest with popular uprisings across the Middle East, job protests in Europe, and the Occupy Wall Street movement in America. Video coverage was at the heart of all of them. Filmed by participants and onlookers and greater volumes than ever before.
This footage often streamed live called protesters to arms and held government's accountable across the world. But not all protest video is useful. Neither for courts nor for the history books. It can be fabricated or tampered with by activists or by the authorities. And it could put protesters themselves in danger. The Guardian project and witness are two nonprofit groups based in New York who are trying to help protesters make better video, so their staff travel the world training activists in the field.
Witness teaches activists to shoot like journalists in the field - to approach a situation as a team and capture the full story using a mix of close, medium, and wide shots rather than one shaky panoramic. They teach the importance of planning coverage of live events in advance and how to keep an eye on one's fellow videographers. Filling in when arrests happen.
But videos shot during protests are more than news. They may one day end up in court as evidence against crimes. To help that evidence stand up, witness and the Guardian project are building open source apps to improve the smartphones that protesters use.
One way to ensure video is admissible in court is to pack the video file itself with digital evidence, proving its origin. Informercam by the Guardian project is an app that does exactly that.
Embedding this data reduces the need to spend precious time getting shots that establish where and when an event took place. And it will help prove the video's authenticity.
The Guardian project hopes that in future smartphone makers may incorporate aspects of its technology into their designs. Revolutions and protest movements have officially gone viral. Citizens armed with smartphones have an unprecedented weapon against oppressive regimes - but it can be turned against them. How cleverly they use it will determine whether they can stay one step ahead of the authorities.
Get more The Economist
Follow us: https://twitter.com/TheEconomist
Like us: https://www.facebook.com/TheEconomist
View photos: https://instagram.com/theeconomist/
The Economist videos give authoritative insight and opinion on international news, politics, business, finance, science, technology and the connections between them.
Subscribe NOW to The Economist: http://econ.st/1Fsu2Vj
2011 was a year of global unrest with popular uprisings across the Middle East, job protests in Europe, and the Occupy Wall Street movement in America. Video coverage was at the heart of all of them. Filmed by participants and onlookers and greater volumes than ever before.
This footage often streamed live called protesters to arms and held government's accountable across the world. But not all protest video is useful. Neither for courts nor for the history books. It can be fabricated or tampered with by activists or by the authorities. And it could put protesters themselves in danger. The Guardian project and witness are two nonprofit groups based in New York who are trying to help protesters make better video, so their staff travel the world training activists in the field.
Witness teaches activists to shoot like journalists in the field - to approach a situation as a team and capture the full story using a mix of close, medium, and wide shots rather than one shaky panoramic. They teach the importance of planning coverage of live events in advance and how to keep an eye on one's fellow videographers. Filling in when arrests happen.
But videos shot during protests are more than news. They may one day end up in court as evidence against crimes. To help that evidence stand up, witness and the Guardian project are building open source apps to improve the smartphones that protesters use.
One way to ensure video is admissible in court is to pack the video file itself with digital evidence, proving its origin. Informercam by the Guardian project is an app that does exactly that.
Embedding this data reduces the need to spend precious time getting shots that establish where and when an event took place. And it will help prove the video's authenticity.
The Guardian project hopes that in future smartphone makers may incorporate aspects of its technology into their designs. Revolutions and protest movements have officially gone viral. Citizens armed with smartphones have an unprecedented weapon against oppressive regimes - but it can be turned against them. How cleverly they use it will determine whether they can stay one step ahead of the authorities.
Get more The Economist
Follow us: https://twitter.com/TheEconomist
Like us: https://www.facebook.com/TheEconomist
View photos: https://instagram.com/theeconomist/
The Economist videos give authoritative insight and opinion on international news, politics, business, finance, science, technology and the connections between them.