Toolkit for Making a Detainee Video



A short (5-minute) video is a great way to break a prisoner’s silence and retore his humanity. Here is an example:
Use simple, compelling narratives from the prisoner’s lawyer, family members, or other people who know the prisoner.
- Ask the prisoner’s lawyer for copies of photos of the prisoner or his family, and seek the permission of the family or the prisoner to use them.
- Ask for any video clips that may be available, such as from the prisoner’s wedding or other festivities.
- Seek other materials—a photo of the prisoner’s home or workplace, family letters, children’s drawings, or other materials that help piece together the prisoner’s life story.
- We welcome
Technology Tips:
Suggested format: DV or HDV
Suggested software:
- For Apple computers, iMovie
- For PCs, (suggestion other than Microsoft MovieMaker, which is free?)
Upload your video to YouTube:
- Convert to YouTube suggested format, (what is that?).
- Create an account
- Follow instructions for uploading the video
Promote Your Video
- On the campaign page for the prisoner, put a link to the video so people can watch the video from your web page. You can adapt and use this source code:
<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie"
value="http://www.youtube.com/v/extension for your video"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed
src="http://www.youtube.com/v/extension for your video" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425"
height="350"></embed></object><br/>
- Send out messages to your networks linking to the video.