Sharing Your Video

Controlling Access

There are many reasons why you may want to control access, such as:

  • For the safety of the activists, victims, or others in high-risk situations whose identities or locations cannot be revealed.
  • To respect the wishes for privacy expressed by the people depicted in your videos.
  • To protect particularly vulnerable people or people who did not give informed consent to be filmed.
  • You do not trust the user who is requesting your video.
  • You want to derive revenue from providing access to your video.
  • You do not have the rights to allow others to use the video.
Control access to protect the privacy or security of people in your videos.
Control access to protect the privacy or security of people in your videos.

Ways to Control Access

There are ways to control access without making your collection completely inaccessible:

Vet your users

It is reasonable for you to ask users for details about who they are and why they want your video. This can be done through a one-on-one interaction, or through something like a web submission form.

Create access tiers

Depending on what tools you use to share information and videos, you can provide different levels of access to different types of users, for example, by requiring a login and password.

Create alternate versions

You can create redacted, sharable versions of your videos. Depending on the restrictions required, you can edit out sections, blur faces, or alter voices. You can also create versions that are lower resolution or watermarked.

Copyright licensing

Copyright is a legal mechanism that protects a creator’s exclusive right to copy, distribute, and use their work. If you own the copyright to a video, you can license, or share, some or all of those rights with others. You can license a video to someone one-on-one, or you can use an “open license” such as Creative Commons to share your video with everyone. See the next section on “Understanding Copyright” for more information.

Methods of controlling access are not foolproof. To be on the safe side, you should assume that anything you share or put online can be made public and possibly used without your permission or in a way that you do not agree with. If a video presents a serious risk, do not share unless you are sure it is going to a trusted destination.

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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