The paper edit workshop - Thursday 20th

I ran a workshop with help from Gustáv and Alun on the Thursday morning, using some interview footage from one of the filming teams.  It was a complete experiment, as on other projects we've tended to use live edits from geniuses like Rick Goldsmith of Catcher Media or Jani Lajos from Hungary who can take instruction from a group of people and bring that into being in real time.  It's analogous to a specialist editing working with a director, with the group taking the role of the director.

Ladanyi János demonstrating editing with a group giving instructions

It's a joy to watch, and I was a little nervous that taking a group step by step through logging footage, selecting clips and discussing the nuances of meaning that come from juxtaposition, rhythm and so on would wear thin. Instead the feedback was very positive and the group gained energy rather than dissipated it.  My feeling is that over long periods groups would get quite skilful at working together and that the facilitators job would be to keep an eye on who was participating and who was being left out.

Afterwards, as with many of the techniques we made an analysis of what its for, the resources required and notes of ideas that came up while reflecting on it.

Tool Title: Paper Edit
Description: A paper edit is used within a participatory video to include a group in making editorial decisions.  It takes place away from the actual editing process and generates a set of decisions that an editor can then follow.  It can introduce a group to how editing works and gives space for negotiation and discussion, mediated through watching footage together, logging it in terms of content, visuals and audio, and then pulling out use-able clips for an edit.  The output is a sequence of clips with in and out points marked and some idea of content – enough for a specialist editor to put together a rough edit to return to the group for approval.
Affordances	Requirements	Notes
Creative experience, no surprises at final cut Build legitimacy for outputs Allows people without editing knowledge to take part in editing Allows you to share ideas and inform the edit much more effectively. Can be done with large group. Aggregation of opinion. Identifies +addresses differences Gives an opportunity for a democratic editing process Hones down what your message is General discussion Allows for building relationships. General interest Learn about film making – taking part in an edit is a very good way to improve scripting and creativity, and logging is an excellent way to enhance technical filming skills.	Can be done with a large group Needs a skilled facilitator Skilled editor and good understanding of editing Interested people Group attention Requires co-operation and consensus Shared goal/objective for film People who really respect participatory philosophy Creativity Experience Practice Camera and projector Can be comparatively low tech onsite Takes time Patience Could be time consuming if there is a lot of material	Could be frustrating A drawback could be a lack of anonymity as you can’t hide your face from your opinion Might be difficult to do it in an emancipatory way with communities of existing hierarchy. Respectful of participants opinions and preferences. Vanity or self-perception could potentially be a barrier to expression of balanced opinions from all participants.
Resources/References: Insight share Rights-based PV toolkit