Transcript for WITNESS Guide to Video Advocacy Part 3: Filming

WITNESS. See it. Film it. Change it.

You're watching the second part of the filming section of the WITNESS guide to video advocacy.

It covers how to film a powerful interview,

how to get the right footage to go with it,

and how to protect the people you film.

People tell stories.

Let people speak.

Eyewitness testimony can be the most powerful way to tell a story.

It can also provide useful context to your images.

Protect the people you film.

Ask permission unless you are filming perpetrators

and ensure you have informed consent.

Think about how to protect their identities.

With interviewees, consider filming them against a back light,

or asking them to shade their face with a cap to protect their identity.

Or don’t film their face, just film them from behind, from a distance, or film their hands.

Or if you can, use an editing program to obscure their faces as soon as possible.

Always guard your raw footage carefully.

Ask open questions.

A good way to get the full story

is to ask questions that begin with why? Or how? Or just tell me,

and cant just be answered "yes" or "no",

and make sure you don’t talk over your interviewee.

Get explanations.

If you are in a confusing situation, or are missing a key piece of footage,

turn to a onlooker and ask them to explain on camera what happened.

The rule of thirds.

When you film an interview,

try to put the interviewees eyes about two-thirds of the way up the screen

and two-thirds of the way across and at the level of the camera.

Background and close-ups.

Take care of what is in the background when filming interviews.

Then if you move in for a close-up shot

remember it's always better to cut off more of an interviewee's forehead

then to cut off their chin.

Shoot footage to explain your interviews.

If an interviewee says something

think what pictures you can shoot to accompany or explain their words,

but do one thing at a time.

Don’t try to get these shots while the interviewee is talking.

If you are going to edit get the images you'll need.

Know your story.

A shot-list that you prepare in advance will help

so you know the pictures and people you need to tell your story.

Make sure to shoot "cut-aways".

These are shots of details

like an interviewee's hands, or wide shot of a setting

that you can use to disguise cuts in your edit.

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Go to The Hub to see video, to share video, and to take action.