I was there delivering sessions on how to Vlog. See for yourself the excitement, inspiration and passion at MozFest in the vlog I made about my experience there.
The Art of Vlogging and "1-2-3 - Vlog, Edit, Upload"
In the spirit of Mozilla, shaping the web for the better through digital inclusion for all, I ran sessions on how to use vlogging to get your voice heard. My workshop brought artists and activists together to learn how to start using vlogging as an art form and communication medium for news, projects, messages, ideas and diversity on the web.
I wanted to show artists/activists who want to get their message out there how they can use the art techniques and skills of vloggers to attract large audiences. So the idea was to get participants making their own vlogs, using their own voice and style, whilst using the techniques and skills of editing and presentation that make vlogs watchable and fun!
I've demonstrated some of the elements we explored in this vlog that I made to use in my session.
Broadcasting news from diverse viewpoints is an important tool for everyone in our digital present, and can be done simply and easily from just a phone. With this in mind, I ran a practical hands on workshop giving everyone the chance to have a go at vlogging a live event.
The aim was to give participants the tools to be confident reporting and uploading news from wherever they were. This is one of the most exciting things to me about social media and the web right now, that anyone, anywhere can report live from where they are and we can get news without the filter of a corporation. I put together a vlogging race to get people to have fun vlogging live, to make their vlogs entertaining and compelling whilst getting their voice heard. The session was called '1, 2, 3 - Vlog, Edit, Upload'
Participants had 20 minutes to shoot footage live from MozFest, promoting their project, or any elements of the festival. They then had 20 minutes to edit it on their phones with a basic editing app like iMovie down to a 50-second vlog and upload it! I encouraged participants to pair up and try out the dialogue vlog genre if they wanted to. The time restriction was to create speed and excitement in the voices, pace and walking and talking of the vlogs and to get participants over any issues about getting something 'perfect' - as with live vlogging, the news is relevant now and editing needs to be done 'on the go'.
Here is the vlog I put together and used in the session as a Demo for vlogging at live events.
The sessions were packed out which was brilliant! Ages ranged from 10-60 years. The participants were diverse in their reasons for wanting to vlog, including the following; university lecturer wanting to promote university courses, an Arts Award student, journalists, independent broadcaster wanting to create a vlogging template, reporters and individuals curious to learn about the artform.
Thank you to all of the participants for coming and making the session fun, you can see some of the vlogs they made in the portfolio link below.
Thank you to the Arts and Digital Culture Space run by space wrangler Julie Neville at Arts Award for facilitating my session and providing such a great space and technical support, enabling such a successful session and fun time at MozFest.
Thank you to MozFest for being the best hosts ever with fabulous venue, superb training, delicious 'on the go' food which kept coming all weekend, fuelling us with artisan hot chocolate and coffee, and for the exceptional hotel and breakfasts where we were accommodated right in the heart of London.
Thank you to all the people who I met and shared conversations with about their projects and digital futures, I've highlighted some of you who featured in my vlog below and look forward to continuing our conversations and future collaborations.
Images courtesy of Agi K. This blog was originally written for Agi's own blog at agik.co.uk
Really great article! It's so nice to see how vlogging can be an easy process for all of us