How to Be An Activist Filmmaker: An Interview with Chris Rogy of Witness

The use of video recording and live social networking in the last year of protests has left us with a very modern conundrum: Even as video becomes more important in protest, we still focus on the content we are gathering, and not how the tools we use shape content. With the rise of the citizen journalist, whatever is recorded becomes fact, and we take for granted that spontaneity equals a lack of craft or strategy. The camera becomes a second eye, but rarely do we think about how we control it or where we point it.

This is what Witness, an international nonprofit organization founded in 1992, has set out to change with the recent release of a five-part video guide called How to Film Protests: A Video For Change Guide. It’s meant to be a training tool to spark the use of video as a critical protest tool, as opposed to simply a handy gadget that happens to record raw footage. And while in the US this may mean mundane task, like keeping track of dates and times, in other parts of the world, being more strategic about video capture could mean the different between life and death. We live in an age where we record and document without second thought, but maybe it’s time to stop taking our tools for granted.

I recently had time to catch up with Chris Rogy, who’s currently part of the group at Witness developing best practices for activist filmmakers. (Full disclosure: He’s a friend of mine.) We chatted about everything from Witness’ “How to Film Protests”, to the Kony 2012 debate, and what technological strategy means and why it’s high time to pay attention to it in the 21st century.

Witness just put out a guide of sorts on how to shoot videos that witness human rights violations. Can you speak a little bit about that and what it involves?

Witness' new How to Film Protests: A Video for Change Guide, released last Monday, features the best tips on how to safely and effectively film human rights violations and personal testimonies to support calls for justice. The video is broken down into five sections ranging from tips on how to prepare before a protest, choose the right equipment, conduct interviews, film in teams and how to film safely and effectively.

Why is there a need to come up with a set of strategies for filming videos that witness human rights violations? Why isn’t it just enough to shoot whatever you can?

So many of us now carry smart phones or mobile phones with video cameras ready to record at any given moment – say for instance – police brutality in lower Manhattan. Two major implications result from these technological advances.

The first concerns safety and ethical considerations for citizen journalists and those that are filmed in human rights video.

For example, in Syria, citizen journalists, who are working to film atrocities, are being targeted by the Syrian Army. Much of the Arab Spring has been built on the backs of citizen journalists who risk their lives. In Witness' training program, we curate and share best practices through social media, convening and training with global partners to improve the quality and usefulness of footage being captured, as well as the safety and ethical practices of those filming it. Promoting strategies to Syrian activists is paramount to sustaining the evidence that comes out of the country, which in turn is integral in supporting short-term and long-term legal efforts for justice.

Technological developments have also presented safety and ethical considerations in today's media landscape. Take for example the Iranian regime's 2009 tech-savvy maneuver to identify dissidents through crowd-sourcing information from photographs collected at protests. Suddenly, footage captured at protests intended to give voice to a cause was used against those calling out. Witness promotes a safe and ethical process of informed consent to protect those that are filmed and has even worked with the Guardian Project to develop an application called ObscuraCam that strips metadata from a mobile phone and blurs faces that could be identified by adversaries.

And the second consideration of these technological advances is on the archiving and distributing of videos for human rights documentation and advocacy. In the context of OWS, where tons of activist and citizen footage has been recorded and uploaded, we also recognize great challenges in efforts to save, preserve and distribute content so it is not lost in a sea of content or unusable footage. This is also an issue with footage coming out of Syria – where hundreds if not thousands of videos a day are released and activists are working to collect, organize and make the footage available and searchable for the long-term.

While developing these strategies did Witness ever worry that they might be distracting or difficult to implement in heated situations?

Yes, we had those heated situations in mind when we created this latest guide. The 5 part video series is short and meant to be watched and discussed in advance of an action or event. For instance, if you’re participating in OWS’s planned events for this spring, it is helpful to watch these videos and scan the accompanying tip sheets in advance of the protest. If you anticipate large crowds and a police presence, it is recommended to scout the location before the protest and plan a quick exit. During the heat of the moment it is too late to prepare. By thinking strategically in advance we are prepared to protect ourselves in a situation as it arises and create powerful advocacy video that works to change or prevent human rights abuses in the future.

Are we looking at a new dawn of media literacies and social strategies? What do you think we gain from creating similar style guides or strategies for other media?

As technology advances and becomes more accessible to us all, we need to take advantage of new ways that inform and perfect media that strives to change societal issues. Our ability to read into and understand media is shifting as we become the primary creators of media, by mere process, but we need to develop new ways to address this new age.

For example, I recently watched a panel on Transmedia and Social Documentaries by Tribeca Film Institute at The New School. There is work to be done on strategies for using new media in social change initiatives. Regardless of where you fall in the KONY 2012 debate, we have seen how new media can have profound implications in our social fabric. There is much work to be done in actualizing new media's full potential, and part of that is bridging the digital divide and ensuring that access to the internet and information remains open. So I’m walking down the street, unaware, and all of a sudden I see somebody being unjustly searched and all of a sudden, this guy is getting the crap beaten out of him. Luckily, I have my smartphone. What are the most important strategies I should keep in mind while filming this?

1. Assess the situation to ensure your own safety. Ask yourself: is it likely that I'm in danger of arrest or bodily harm? If so, is there a secure place from which I can film the incident? If it's safe, move closer.

2. Film immediately after assessing your risk. Choose your shot and keep the camera steady. Shaky footage is often a major problem that prohibits viewers from identifying faces or badge numbers.

3. Try to get the officer's badge number. In New York City it is illegal for officers to conceal their badge number, and though they may not respond to the question, ask what their badge number is on camera. It is their duty to respond. If they don't answer, try to record the badge number or speak the number into the camera.

4. After the incident, record the date, time and location by filming a watch, clock, mobile phone, landmark, or street sign. Interview people that witnessed the incident to fill in missing details, like what happened before recording. Be sure to inform them of your intentions with the video and receive consent on camera.

5. Try to find others that may have recorded the incident, either video or still photography. Exchange information with other witnesses to follow up in the coming days. In New York City, you can call the National Lawyer's Guild at 212-679-6018 to register the incident and to learn more information about how you can help in the proceedings.

You can follow more work that Witness has been doing in the international arena on their website, or see the rest of the video series here.

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