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  Mothers and Children, volume 12:3, 1993

  "Mothers and Children" is published three times a year in English,
  French and Spanish.  It is free for readers in Asia, Africa and Latin
  America.  The bulletin is available for US$10 per year to individuals
  in North America and Europe.    This article may be reproduced provided
  that credit is given and a copy is sent to the Clearinghouse.  For more
  information, contact:

  APHA Clearinghouse
  1015 15th Street, NW
  Washington, DC  20005
  tel: (202) 789-5610
  fax: (202) 789-5661
  e-mail: apha@permanet.org
          aphach@igc.apc.org


                    *******************************

  Video as a Community Empowerment Tool
  by Herb. E. Smith

  Mass media is not inherently democratic. The broadcast television model
  of a single source delivering a program to millions of people is the
  opposite of a town forum where there is an opportunity for a wide range
  of voices. The expensive equipment and the need for regulation of the
  airwaves tend to lock us into a television system ruled by people with
  money and power.  As the equipment barriers are removed, and a wider
  range of distribution avenues become possible, we have opportunities
  for more democratic uses of media. The challenge is for us to design
  ways to use video and other media to allow a broader dialogue about
  issues that effect us.

  This article is based on the experiences of APPALSHOP, a community
  media center in Whitesburg, Kentucky. For 25 years, APPALSHOP has been
  working with video and other media to deal with the issues of people
  living and working in the Appalachian mountains.

  Community groups are beginning to understand the importance of
  using videotape cassette recorders (VCRs). This has meant that there is
  a new set of opportunities for producing and distributing videotapes.
  In many ways the potential of television as a medium is only now being
  explored. If we can imagine a time when there were not many pencils,
  then think what it was like when pencils were first available, then we
  can get a sense of the range of opportunities and challenges that we
  are being presented. Now that we can get our hands on the means of
  communication, what might we do with them? As community members we are
  training ourselves to use the equipment and inventing ways to speak
  with it more effectively.

  There is a tremendous difference between television produced with
  large crews working with large budgets and unedited  home movies.  In
  between these ends of the spectrum, we have hundreds of variations of
  production and uses of video. For community groups who are looking for
  ways to use video to increase their effectiveness, one of the first
  questions to be asked is where to place a given project along the
  production spectrum.  In other words, which form is most appropriate
  for the task at hand.

  To help guide our thinking, we can analyze some differences which
  distinguish various forms of production: size of the budget; production
  techniques; involvement of trained producers; and intended audience.
  For most community groups the first step is to look at the intended
  audiences: people within the organization; local community members;
  targeted viewers; or a wide television audience.

  For each of these audiences, there are different budgets, production
  techniques and needs of professional producers.


  -- People within the organization. Community groups are using video to
  serve internal needs. Perhaps the most prevalent use is to have a
  reference copy of specific events.  Such reference videos are also used
  for self evaluation. By stopping the video at certain points,
  rewinding, and going back over a section, the group can critique and
  assess its past work as well as begin to design more effective
  strategies.

  Video can be an effective training device. For example, by videotaping
  a mock press conference, the participants can see how they are
  presenting themselves and discuss how they might be more effective
  before the actual event. The ease of immediate playback and the ability
  to record over a previous take make video a natural fit for training
  workshops.

  Video can help members gain confidence. Seeing themselves on
  television helps community people begin to view themselves as
  participants in the decision-making process.

  Another way organizations are using video for internal purposes is to
  record documentary evidence. In addition to internal uses, the
  videotape can be used to powerful effect to support advocacy. For
  example, when public officials meet with a group or hold hearings, a
  videotape can be useful record of what was said. The power of video as
  evidence is bringing greater scrutiny to problems that were previously
  "swept under the rug".

  -- Local community members. Organizations are using video to help them
  communicate with their local community. A person can show a videotape
  at a community meeting and then lead a discussion about the material
  presented in the video. Someone who could not be present at a given
  meeting could make a presentation by videotape. While the video is a
  substitute for having the person there, it does allow the image and
  voice of a person to be disseminated to a broader audience than would
  otherwise be possible. These kinds of uses of video at the community
  level are especially important in areas where a large number of people
  are functionally illiterate. All of us learn in different ways. Some
  people are better at reading a long document and deciphering the
  relevant information, but for many people information presented in
  video form, even if it is simply someone talking to the camera, is
  easier to digest.

  -- Targeted viewers. Videotapes are being produced by community groups
  for a targeted yet broadly dispersed audience. These videotapes are
  being distributed to policy makers and selected audiences in efforts to
  influence public policy. Videos ability to show a problem gives the
  viewers concrete evidence of situations that they might not have seen
  first hand, and it has an emotional impact that words on a page
  simply cannot convey. A concise video can be used to help a general
  audience understand the purposes and accomplishments of a community
  group. It is often difficult for a broadly focused organization to
  explain their activities to a general audience. A well-made video can
  be an effective tool to explain why the work is important.

  -- Broad television audience. The power of broadcast television to
  reach the general public is well documented. In the U.S., commercial
  stations may provide the cheapest and often the easiest way to get a
  groups work broadcast, either through the local news or a locally-based
  talk show.

  Modernization has often been imposed on communities by outside forces.
  In communities where traditional ways of living are strong, there have
  been conflicts between traditional leaders and the new order brought by
  the modernizers. Community leaders face significant problems as their
  ideas are being rejected in favor of the latest trends. The debates are
  often framed in terms of modern tools vs. traditional ways. But in many
  ways this is a false dichotomy. The deeper questions have to do with
  who will be determining the future of the community. Who will be making
  the decisions about which of the modern tools to use and whom will they
  benefit.

  The ways that television has been used have led many people who see
  tradition as an asset to reject television. As a modern tool,
  television can be seen as the embodiment of the problems that
  traditional communities face. Rather than a tool for community
  empowerment, television has been a means to destroy community life.
  Television has been used to sell modern products to a mass market. In
  this sense, the old saying that the camera can steal your soul is
  right. In reaction, video cameras have been banned from recording many
  traditional events. Community leaders see the devastating effects of a
  kind of cultural imperialism where television is a prime tool. We know
  that television will continue to be a force for transmission of
  cultural values. The question is not how do we get rid of television,
  but how do we change the present structural problems with television
  production and distribution.

  If the real goal is to strengthen communities and community-based
  organizations, then there must be community-based media workers who are
  designing and implementing these structural changes. Because there have
  been some successful experiments over the past 20 years, and the
  technology is continuing to change rapidly, we can see significant
  changes already. At first the primary challenge was for community
  members to get their hands on the equipment. That is now relatively
  easy. Then people worked to develop production techniques that fit
  their goals. There are now successful models produced by community
  media workers. And people have worked to get access to the distribution
  channels. Distribution is still problematic, but community-based video
  makers are inventing ways to reach their audiences.

  Solutions to all of these problems will continue to develop and the
  ways that we answer them will influence the daily livers of all of us.
  We are up against some tough challenges, but can all be encouraged by
  the success in using video to foster a more democratic society.

  Now we are facing the heart of the task and the questions are not
  technical, but similar to those that we have faced for centuries. How
  do we communicate our deepest concerns; how do we create opportunities
  for culturally diverse groups to speak to one another; how do we
  integrate modern tools into our lives without destroying the things
  we value. Now that we have the ability to use the pencils, what do we
  write?


  Herb E. Smith is an APPALSHOP filmmaker.


  This article was adapted from a report prepared for the W.K. Kellogg
  Foundation. A copy of the complete report is available from the
  Clearinghouse to readers in Asia, Africa and Latin America. For more
  information about APPALSHOP, write: 306 Madison Street, Whitesburg, KY
  41858, USA.