Why You Should Use Video for Your Next Communication Project
One of the greatest things about video is that it’s really versatile. You can use the same camera to film a variety of content. One day, you could make a video about cooking rice. The next day, you could film a wedding, or you could capture a new band’s first show. You have the freedom to capture what you want.
Projectors work the same way. You can play all three of these videos on the same piece of equipment. You can even play all three of them on the same day. You have the freedom to show the videos that you want.
This versatility is what makes it such an important and effective tool for the partner organizations we work with around the world. During our Video Education Workshops, our partners learn the basic principles of how to plan for, film, edit, and show video. They can use their newfound video creation skills to convert almost any existing behavior change curriculum into engaging video stories. Using illuminAid’s mobile projectors, partners can effectively show any new video content they produce in in remote communities throughout their region.
CARE International in Malawi has made videos about handwashing, infant nutrition, and breastfeeding, all with the same video cameras. They will show these videos to community members using the same handheld projectors.
UNICEF partners in Burkina Faso all received the same video education training during our workshop there last July. After the workshop, they created videos on topics ranging from health care to WASH to farming techniques.
In Mali, MSI Reproductive Choices used the same video cameras to create videos on family planning, but they all had different approaches: family planning inspiration for men, how-to videos on the use of contraceptives, and informational videos for reproductive health resources.
The Foundation for Tomorrow is creating several different teacher training videos, using examples from different classrooms to demonstrate various techniques for enchanced knowledge retention. And they use the same equipment to film and share these messages.
While illuminAid always makes sure our equipment models and training are current and cutting-edge, the approach generally remains consistent. Our partners have the freedom to create new video content to remain relevant and in tune with developing crises or needs. In this way, the options are nearly endless. Today’s technology renders memory space inexpensive, and “delete” is always an option.
The versatility of the equipment and behavior change messaging doesn’t stop there. Once the videos are created, they can be shown in any appropriate community, by any appropriate mediator. Immediately, your available audience grows, because video overcomes language and literacy barriers. NGO and Ministry of Government staffers are no longer exhausted by sharing the same message over and over, and there is no chance of forgetting an important part of the curriculum or altering the topic through bias or mistake.
Whether it’s pizza-making protocol or the power of proper nutrition, video is incredible multidisciplinary tool that every aid worker should have in their back pocket.