Sharing Your Video

Introduction

Sharing involves enabling users to find, view, obtain, and/or use videos in your collection. To share effectively, you need to help your users find the videos they want, and then provide it to them in a format and medium they can use. Note that you may also need to set access limits to parts of your collection for safety and security or copyright reasons.

A Scenario: Sharing with Available Tools

The Global Activist Media Group documents protests around the world, and wants documentary filmmakers to be able to find and use its video footage. The group is volunteer-run and relies on members’ personal resources. Sameer, a member of the group, offers to make a finding aid for the group.

Sameer knows that filmmakers like to research footage online, and that they want to look for content by geographic location and date. He decides to set up a YouTube Channel to function as a finding aid to the group’s videos. He names the Channel after the group, and in the description, he writes about the group, the collection, and how filmmakers can contact them. Sameer uploads low-resolution copies of the videos that the group wants to share, and adds them to playlists on the Channel, which are organized by geographic location. He makes sure that each video has a descriptive title, including the date, a unique identifier, and detailed description and tags. He also includes copyright and contact information in each of the descriptions.

Hannah, a filmmaker, hears about the Global Activist Media Group’s collection and visits their YouTube Channel to look for footage for her documentary. After watching videos from the “Bahrain” playlist, she contacts the group with a list of the videos she wants to use. The group then locates and FTP’s full-quality copies of the clips to her.

Caution!

Protect sensitive information

Control access by obscuring or redacting parts of video or metadata that contain sensitive information, and do not share video or information that is private or has security restrictions. Assume that anything you share or put online can be made public, used without your permission, or used in a way you might not agree with.

What’s Next

Identifying Your Users
Who is going to access your collection?

Helping Users Find Videos
Ways to make your videos findable by others.

Providing Videos to Users
Making copies in different formats for your users.

Controlling Access
Why you might want to limit access and how.

Understanding Copyright
The basics of copyright and licensing, and how it applies to you.

Takeaways
  • Identify your key users, how they want to be able to find and access your videos, and if any controls need to be put on usage.
  • Create a finding aid — in the form of a guide, list, index, and/or catalog — with appropriate access points to enable your users to access your videos.
  • Make use copies from your duplication masters or originals as needed, in the format your user requires.
  • Control access to your collection, if necessary, to protect the identities of those in high-risk situations or to respect privacy.
  • Assume that anything you share or put online can be made public or used without your permission or in a way you do not agree with.
  • Be sure you have the legal rights to provide access.
Key Concept: Informed Concent

There are potential consequences to providing access. This is why you obtain informed consent when you film.
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Key Concept: Generation

Provide your users with use copies generated from your duplication master or original.
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Key Concept: Finding Aid

A finding aid is the tool that you provide to your users to help them find what they are looking for.
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Key Concept: Findability

A key aspect of providing access is making it easy for users navigate and locate what they are looking for.
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The Archiving Workflow

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