Participatory video (PV)
Participatory video (PV) is a facilitation tool that stakeholders use to tell their story and it involves them from start to finish. PV is not traditional documentary film-making. It gives control to those who are affected by the issues to decide what the issues and questions are, who should be part of the process, who needs to hear the messages and how messages should be crafted. It is a fun process that captures the imagination of the participants. The video can be a documentary, a skit or a music video. PV can be used for stakeholder awareness and advocacy, participatory research, planning or monitoring and evaluation processes.
• Access to technology (smart phones or video cameras) that is user-friendly.
• Participants who are comfortable using creative and visual tools to express ideas.
• Trust among participants so that they can freely express their ideas and opinions.
· PV is an easy and accessible medium for people of all literacy levels. Drawing rather than writing is emphasized.
· PV is immediate and powerful and people feel excited to see themselves on film and share their story or idea.
· PV amplifies people’s voices and brings them to life for others in a powerful visual medium. PV empowers a group or community and allows them to communicate their ideas directly to decision-makers and/or other groups and communities.
· Strong facilitation skills are needed to help participants to develop the storyboard for the video.
· Participants need to be trained in techniques to capture good quality video and sound, as well as in basic interviewing techniques.
· Capturing good quality sound is challenging in noisy outside or public environments and a clip on microphone is essential.
· Although the editing decisions are made by participants, help from a professional editor is useful in finalizing the video.