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Basic Videography Workshop at We Act Radio

By Liane Scott, on July 5th, 2018

You’re a progressive activists or organizer.  You show up for events that teach people about your causes and confront officials who are not, generally speaking, asked to account for their actions.  You learn things yourself that you didn’t know.  You want to share what you’re learning at these events  with your friends and everybody you know who you wish had been there but wasn’t. 

So you pull out your camera phone or your DSLR or your camcorder and you start recording.  You shoot a few minutes of one speaker and a few minutes of another and maybe get some crowd shots.   At the end of the day you load it up to your Facebook page, your Twitter account, your Youtube channel and hope for the best.

It isn’t until you play the footage back that you realize that you were too far away from the speaker for your recording device to really get what they were saying.   The conversation of the people standing next to you is pretty clear though.  Or maybe the shot looked okay when you were shooting, but now that you’re looking at it, the African-American speaker’s face is pretty dark.  The white folks standing next to her/him/they is fine though.  Is there racism in the camera?  Maybe.  But it isn’t anything that can’t be overcome with a few good tips.

Understanding how to adjust the exposure settings on your so-called point and shoot device, making  the best use of available light and placing the camera where the speaker not only looks good but can be heard are all techniques we’ll be teaching at Grassroots DC’s next Basic Videography Workshop.

There’s something to be said for sharing a few minutes of a good speaker at an event via social media.  But if you want to make sure your video looks good, sounds good and maybe even includes a specific call to action, like, when is the next event?  Who should they contact to join the cause?  What specific policy should they ask their elected officials to support?  Then this event is for you.

There will be food and young people are welcome.  Contact liane@grassrootsdc.org for more information.

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Bread for the City Using Media to Build Community

By Judith Hawkins, on March 21st, 2014

The participants of Bread for the City’s first ever media training included several BFC clients: A graduate of BFC’s Pre-Employment Program (PEP), a returning citizen, one former and two current BFC Client Advisory Board members, and two residents of the Potomac Gardens public housing complex.

The first three sessions were held in Bread for the City’s SE Center and dedicated to:

  • Gaining a better understanding of what a powerful tool the media plays in perpetuating racism and oppressive stereotypes
  • Understanding how the media helps to perpetuate the cycle of oppression
  • Strategizing how to make media production skills available to the people who are most affected by oppression and stereotypes in the media

The last three sessions were held at the Potomac Gardens public housing complex and dedicated to:

  • Teaching the technical skills of videotaping and editing using Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premier Elements 11 software
  • Discovering creative ways to use cellphones as media tools

In today’s world of ever evolving technology, it’s exciting that those most affected by poverty are steadily gaining more control over how their stories are told. They are also being given the tools to share their stories with a wide audience. We plan to begin another session in April 2014.

Remember- we can be the change we want to see!

Below are two of the videos produced in the class.  The first is a testimonial by William McIntyre who was a smart kid. He graduated from high school and everybody thought he was going to be just as big a man in the world as he was a big man on campus. But six months later he’s still working at McDonalds. What happened next? Watch and find out.

The second is of Ms. Brown who spoke to her daughter about life in the District of Columbia throughout the years. Ms. Brown, being born in 1931, had a lot to share. This 10 minute video is just a start.

Comments are closed   Alternative Media, Classes & Workshops, Communities

Beat Club at Potomac Gardens

By Ben King, on September 14th, 2013

Young residents of Potomac Gardens teamed up with Beat Club founder Barrett Jones for a beat-making session at Potomac Gardens. The Beat Club is part of Grassroots DC’s efforts to teach radio and audio production skills. Video shot and edited by Carlton Moxley.

Photos by Ben Dorger and Ben King

One comment - (Comments are closed)   Art & Culture, Classes & Workshops, Communities, Potomac Gardens   , , , ,  

Making the Shift to a More Sustainable Future

By Liane Scott, on March 24th, 2013

The following digital story, produced by Empower DC member Ernestine Ward, summarizes how she came to Empower DC, and why she believes its work is important.
Ernestine is a somewhat new DC resident and, unlike many other transplants to the area, she intends to stay. According to Ernestine, “volunteering with Empower DC has not only helped me gain a sense of community, but has also helped me become aware of many of the city’s pressing issues.”

I believe the above digital story exemplifies the mission of the Grassroots Media Project, which has been, “to provide a space for media production and training to individual activists and community-based nonprofits in the Washington, DC Metropolitan area. Through the creation and distribution of news media, such as radio segments, short videos, public service announcements, digital stories, etc., GMP producers will educate and inform policy makers and the public at large about issues that matter to them. Our productions will be distributed on the Internet, public radio, public access television or any distribution outlet willing to work with us. We hope to provide an alternative to the mainstream media, which often overlooks or misrepresents issues and causes that matter most to low-income and working class residents of the District of Columbia.”

Unfortunately, Empower DC is no longer able to support that mission and this will be my last post for the Grassroots Media Project. Fortunately, Executive Director Parisa Norouzi has said that Empower DC would welcome another organization that fills the media training niche now left vacant by the suspension of the Grassroots Media Project and that she would like to have the content of the blog accessible as an archive, which you can find at the site grassrootsmediaproject.org.

In the meantime, GrassrootsDC.org is still up and running. The content on that site will be produced by former Grassroots Media Project volunteers who want to continue to work towards the project’s former mission. We are no longer working for the Grassroots Media Project but are instead in the process of forming a new organization called Grassroots DC. Grassroots DC will continue to fulfill the media training niche to which Parisa Norouzi referred. We will also continue to cover not only the work of Empower DC but as much of the considerable work being done by DC’s entire progressive community as we can manage.

Beyond our home online as GrassrootsDC.org, we don’t yet have a brick and mortar location. Producers continue to work collaboratively but from a variety of locations. With any luck, that will change soon and we’ll be able to resume training in person. In the meantime, you can still find our curriculum online and the alternative media that covers the issues that matter most to DC’s low-income and working-class residents at GrassrootsDC.org. It’s not the end of the Grassroots Media Project but a shift to what I believe will be a more sustainable organization, Grassroots DC.

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Youth Education Alliance Using the Media

By Liane Scott, on June 3rd, 2012

This Tuesday, June 5, 2012, I will be facilitating a workshop entitled “Use the Media Before It Uses.” The Youth Education Alliance, which recently merged with Empower DC and one of the very few organizations in the city dedicated to helping DC’s youth realize their own political power, used the media effectively. Jonathan Stith, Empower DC’s Youth Organizer and former Executive Director of YEA has provided us with two powerful examples of their work.


Youth Education Alliance at the April 5, 2007 Budget Hearing 

This is video is an example of how youth have used media to spread a message of inspiration and education. In 2007, with Mayor Fenty making drastic budget cuts, YEA members devised a cleaver and creative testimony to then City Council Chair Vincent Gray to portray how the budget cuts were impacting them.

The testimony was an adaptation of an exercise that Christina Reyes-Mitchell did with our youth members during her interview to be Youth Organizer. She didn’t get the position but she made an impact. The exercise became a part of our regular political education toolbox.

The video features YEA alumni David Lawrence Jr.; Taneisha Palmer Tanika Kat Palmer; Rob Gorham; MakinMoves Margaret who gave up their vacation to make it happen when the city unexpected moved the budget hearing to occur during their Spring Break.

Special Shout-Out Ann Caton -one of the finest organizer turned consultant transformed to mom!

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2618486969547551920

The Unguided: Why DC Students Need Guidance Counselors

The Unguided was made in 2006 after YEA had established an office in Anacostia. We found out students had one guidance counselor for the entire school. There were 900 students attending Anacostia. Then we found out they weren’t the only school. The Guidance Counselor Campaign really took off.

YEA members were ahead of the curve on this issue. A great guidance counseling system is a fulcrum and critical support to enriching academic and social environment. The movie shows that great schools have great guidance counseling. Research from Philadelphia seems to support it. Graduation rates in their schools rose to the 90th percentile when students were connected to at least “one caring adult” in the building, even if that person isn’t involved in academic instruction. Isn’t that what Guidance Counselors are supposed to do? The truth isn’t complicated.

Interestingly both Mayor Fenty and Mayor Gray promised to address the guidance counselor shortage to end the school-to-prison pipeline and “double the number” of high school and college graduates. In fact, Mayor Gray promised to “double the number” of guidance counselors as one of his campaign promises. I wouldn’t hold your breath for that one.

If, like the members of the Youth Education Alliance, you would like to learn to use the media to advocate for a cause that’s important to you, then join us at the following:

Empower DC & DC Jobs with Justice Present
Grassroots Leadership Education Program

How to Use the Media, Before it Uses You!

Tuesday, June 5th
6:30-8:15 PM
Benning Library

3935 Benning Rd, NE / Minnesota Ave Metro / Wheelchair Accessible

Developing a clear, concise message is the key to effectively advocating for your issue in the media! Join Empower DC for our upcoming Empowerment Circle on how to effectively create and use media, Liane Scott from our Grassroots Media project will lead this interactive training!

RSVP to Liane@empowerdc.org or (202) 234-9119 x 106.  Limited child care is available – please RSVP!

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