Beyond clickbait and commerce

Jocelyn E.
Williams
Production methodologies were developed in each situation that
would be as fully collaborative as possible, falling short of being fully
‘participatory’ but delivering – especially in the case of The Pacifica
Mamas – a film that comes very close to being that community’s
voice. Using Gaved and Anderson’s terminology again, ‘Control and
ownership [were] exerted by the host community (and this can be
contested and also evolve over time) – what we term endogenous
or “grassroots” initiatives’ (2006: 6). At least in the context of
community ICT, endogenous initiatives ‘may be more sustainable,
as they are supported from within the community…’ (ibid: 27).
Process
Early in 2014, I brought together a team of Unitec staff already
connected with community groups in the region through
research or student projects and who were keen to be involved in
developing filmed stories for their communities. Screen colleagues
were also integral to the team as explained previously. Together we
brainstormed and planned the co-creation of a series of half-hour
TV programmes that would prioritise communities having some
control in creating their stories, as well as facilitate student learning
about aspects of media production in a practical setting. The first six
pieces were produced over the best part of a year from April 2014,
a much longer period than was anticipated due to the complexity
of involving so many stakeholders and objectives. These screened
weekly as a series on Face TV during April-May 2015. The seventh
piece required a different approach as will be explained later in the
article. As a result, a professionally crafted 13-minute piece was
produced, 4 yet it had a high level of participant involvement. This
seventh piece forms a methodological contrast to the other six,
while suggesting a further model of co-creation.
Initial decisions were that each Unitec staff member in the project,
with research connections to a community group, was to decide
with their community on a story for videoing by student crews.
These ideas were written up and submitted for feedback from the
Executive Producer, Production Manager and me. Once research,
meetings and location scouting were done, the Production Manager
with small student film crews would arrange location shoots. Editing
students would assemble raw material under expert supervision
in ways that would convey the desired story. On completion and
after screening of the series on Face TV, a microsite was created
on the Unitec website to host the programmes (Unitec Institute
of Technology 2015b) enabling easy sharing via social media by
the communities as they wished. A project blog documenting the
process was also used as a space to tell the story of the stories
(Williams 2014).
The wish for creative input and control varied among the different
community groups and depended very much on each group’s
leadership or collective structures and modes of practice. It was,
52 Copyright 2016-2/3. Ethical Space: The International Journal of Communication Ethics. All rights reserved. Vol 13, No 2/3 2016