RØDE VIDEOMIC HELPS GIVE A VOICE TO PACIFIC COMMUNITIES
RØDE Microphones is extremely proud to be a part of the recent ‘Pacific Black Box’ project, a two week training forum for the youth of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea and surrounding areas.
The Pacific Black Box project aims to provide skills and resources for young people to raise awareness of environmental and social issues through audio/visual digital communication mediums, helping them become community advocates on a local, national and global scale.
A collection of RØDE VideoMics were used as audio recording devices, attached to both digital camcorders and digital audio recorders. The RØDE VideoMic was selected for its high performance, ease of use, integrated shock mounting and robust ABS construction.
As many of the participants had never used a camera or touched a computer before, the forum commenced with training in the use of video cameras and digital audio recorders, as well as basic software, editing and storytelling principles.
Groups were then chosen to create a set of ‘digi-stories’ - short films using still camera shots and audio. Choosing subjects that emerged from discussions on climate change and sea level rise, the participants captured a range of images and sounds that helped tell their story.
The forum concluded with the participants constructing a documentary describing the situation of the Carteret Islanders, who have been identified as the first international community to become entirely displaced. Experts predict that rising sea levels will engulf the entire island chain by 2015.
The documentary premiered at the recent UN Conference on Sustainability in Bonn, Germany, successfully raising crucial awareness amongst international delegates.
The forum has been seen as an overwhelming success in its aim to provide communication channels. “I can do the documentation of my own island instead of letting outside countries do this” commented Nicholas Hakata, a youth from the Carteret Islands.