ART 80F - WEEK 3 LECTURE CONTENT
Video as Witness - Tools + tech
Witness Tech Tools
UTILIZING TOOLS
From Wired opinion article on Livestreaming potential
What if five frontline LGBT activists in a repressive country knew thousands were watching and willing to call their governments if violence happened at a Pride rally? What if "distant witnesses" banded together to identify abusive officers in the suppression of a peaceful protest, and called ahead to police stations to say ‘We know you’ve taken people detained to this station’? What would it be like if the authorities could literally see the number of people watching a livestream via on a counter on the front of a camera? Could that deter violence in a protest?
Beyond the power of the crowd, sometimes all that matters is that one person is watching and supporting. Using the power of smart task-routing we could match a need on the ground with the right person, available then, with a useful skill or expertise: a lawyer to provide legal guidance to a community during a forced eviction or protest, or a video editor available to turn the visceral experience of a livestream into something much more shareable on Facebook and Twitter and YouTube after the fact.