Say Cheese: Videoing and Photographing Union Activity

We recently organised a successful union rally and march. We had colour, energy, music, clear messages and community support. Unfortunately, through a lack of planning and preparation, we missed the opportunity to capture the event effectively on video and in photos.

We did get some decent photos:



And some video which captured the colour and energy:



Most of our video, however, was unusable. Great long lengths of shaky footage that was unfocused in terms of both cinematography and content. When we had should have video of members speaking, we had pictures of sausages being sizzled. And no interviews or vox pops from activists or the community supporters.

This happened because we hadn't assigned anyone the role of videoing or taking photos. The handycam was given to a marshall just as the march started. We hadn't identified what we wanted to video or given any training.

Next time we will video the speeches and the participants. We'll be asking people who they are, what action they're involved in, why they're doing it and how it feels. And we'll have people assigned to video and camera duty - people who've been shown what to do and been given an idea of what to capture.