New year, old technique: is Participatory Video the right tool for now? 16 September, 2007
Dan Saffer asks about new techniques to try in 2007. (We’re closer to 2008 now, but I started this in response to Dan’s post so I thought I ought to finish it off before we hit New Year again.) Participatory Video (PV) has been around for a long time, but with YouTube making national news and video mobiles well established, a cut-down version could provide a useful addition to the toolbox of methods available to researchers and designers.
PV creates a story told by users in their own way about issues that matter to them. In the traditional version, participants film and share short videos. The researcher acts as a facilitator providing training to use the video equipment; a series of games to introduce specialist concepts like storyboarding; and help to identify issues for study. When done well, it presents the ‘inside view’ in a lively way that is accessible to people at all levels. It promotes the skills of filmmaking and storytelling and delivers outcomes that can be used as tools for education. This isn’t like a diary study, capturing things exactly as they happen when they happen. It’s about people telling a story, distilling the essence of an issue that matters to them. Remember a group project you did at school or college, then add video and you’re getting there.
A streamlined version could see some of the facilitation done online or through pre-prepared packs, with people recording clips on mobiles then exchanging and responding to them using services like Google Video or Viddler. Imagine workers at a car production plant making a film about their day, or a group of diabetics sharing the story of their condition.
If this sounds interesting, why not check out Insight UK’s fantastic ‘Insights into Participatory Video: A Handbook for the Field‘ (you can download a free PDF version of the book from their website; you just need to register a few details). It’s an excellent guide to using Participatory Video and a great example of an accessible and practitioner-focussed resource. Even if you don’t think there’s much mileage in PV I’d still suggest having a look at the handbook. It really is excellent. (I’m not in any way associated with Insight UK, I just think they’re doing good work.) And anyway, it looks like Participatory Video is already happening on sites like YouTube. The question is whether we as designers want to embrace it.