i3 - July/August 2017 - 27

To aid field workers in remote, offthe-grid locations, OMPT pairs the
"THEY WERE HAPPY TO SEE
projectors with a number of chargTHEMSELVES IN THE VIDEOS, RECOGNIZE
ing solutions, including solar panels
PLACES AND SITUATIONS GOING ON
and a series of adapters that draw
WITHIN
THEIR COUNTRY THAT THEY
power from a motorcycle or scooter
OTHERWISE
WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE
battery. They've also experimented
TO
SEE.
EVERYONE
WANTS TO SEE MORE
with human-powered chargers.
VIDEOS - LONGER VIDEOS."
Videos are produced with more
familiar technology. NGO partners
use Small Canon VIXIA camcorders in combination with a wired
lavalier microphone and a flexible tripod. They're edited with
Windows Movie Maker, which until recently was free. The developer, Microsoft, has since discontinued support for Movie Maker
and OMPT is in search of a new, free alternative.

VIDEO EDUCATION WORKSHOPS

OMPT has held workshops across the world but primarily in Africa
and Asia. They've done three workshops in Guatemala and provided
training for Mercy Corps, WINGS and Catholic Relief Services
(CRS). During OMPT's recent Guatemala project with Plan
International, aid workers created two videos: one focusing on hand
washing to improve hygiene and prevent disease, and the other on
farming techniques to fight food insecurity.
An NGO's first self-produced video is always rough around the
edges and Plan's was no exception. Workshop participants like to
C TA . t e c h / i 3

play with every cheesy video effect possible.
Audio volume fluctuations are common
and pacing can be erratic. Still, enthusiasm
is through the roof. The production teams
worked into the night writing and storyboarding and were up early, eager to head
into the field for a shoot.
Videos produced during workshops are
rarely used for real behavioral change programs. Rather, they're designed to teach
participants how to use video equipment
and tell a coherent story.
In the field, it's clear why light, mobile
equipment is essential. Living conditions in
rural Guatemala are spartan. Roads are not
paved and homes often have no electricity.
Farmers cultivate food within a mile from
home. A neighborhood may have one large
farm where the locals grow corn, but residents generally raise livestock on their own
small plot of land. Each house has half
a dozen chickens and a few small pigs.
People here aren't used to seeing video
production crews. When OMPT workshops
roll in, crowds gather. Children are
enchanted by the cameras. Taking a picture
of young children results in 100 more pictures because they can't get enough of seeing
themselves on the small LCD screen. The
NGOs are always very respectful of the community's wishes and ask everyone's permission before capturing images.
On one outing in Guatemala, OMPT visited a family to demonstrate the use of the
projectors. People in the U.S. would
describe the family's house as a shack constructed of cinderblock walls and a sheet
metal roof. Rooms inside were divided by
bedsheets draped from wall to wall. The
kitchen contained only an outdoor sink and
stove with the latrine also outdoors.
The projector demonstration wasn't
intended to be a presentation for the locals,
but a training opportunity for OMPT's NGO
partners. Still, it gathered attention. Children huddled around and peered through
windows to witness something entirely new.
This reaction is common. In Panama,
OMPT worked with the Panamanian
Center for Research and Social Action
(CEASPA). Their goal was to educate the
indigenous Ngobe people about foreign
investment firms that were beginning projects on Ngobe land that might endanger the
natural resources.
Ngobe communities are difficult to reach.
Aid workers carried projectors on foot.
CEASPA Program Coordinator Charlotte
JULY/AUGUST 2017

http://www.cta.tech

i3 - July/August 2017

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