PV WITH ADULTS

Participatory Video (PV) with Adults. Participation is at the heart of what we do, from engaging with communities on heritage projects or primary schoolchildren in Herefordshire, to academics at universities or teachers in Africa. For us, participatory video (PV) is a way of creatively engaging groups or communities to enable them to record their authentic voice, be it through drama, documentary, vlogs, reports or animation. We often wrap hands-on training and the delivery of PV projects together using a range of approaches.

– PV training with researchers and academics at Universities across the UK, and PV projects and training with NGOs in the Europe, UK, India and Africa.
– Developed a 10-week online Digital Film-making course for the Open University
– Took part in JuxtaLearn, a three-year pan-European research project with 6 universities.
– Trained NGOs and created a film for DFID in Southern India.
– Ran PV pilot projects with LEADER+ groups in France, Eire and Hungary.
– Collaborated with the Open University and DAPP Malawi to pilot We Are Teachers which aimed to facilitate rural teachers voice.
– For PSI in Mozambique we were tasked with teaching 15 adults to make short films on low-cost portable kit.
– Sample some of our PV projects HERE

Our courses have been facilitated by experienced trainers and practitioners, Rick and Julia Goldsmith (Catcher Media) and Chris High (Senior Lecturer of Peace and Development Studies at Linnaeus University in Sweden and formerly with the Open University) and cover different aspects of participatory media: facilitator icebreakers and exercises, film-making (including film grammar, sound, lighting and camera skills), logistics, digital storytelling, working with mobile low-cost tech, visual research methods, community voice and positive social impact, post-production techniques (including editing), ethics and consent, rights and distribution.

“This workshop completely changed how I thought about research – methodologically of course – but also about collaborative knowledge generation at a more conceptual level. The facilitators were excellent and the group gelled almost immediately thanks to the relaxed and hands-on nature of the training ( …) It’s not an exaggeration to say that this workshop was one of the most important (and fun) aspects of research development I have engaged with in the last ten years. I really wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to anyone interested in using film in research, but also those interested in developing their skills in facilitating or engaging in participatory social learning approaches.” – Dr Alison Buckler, The Open University

"Wonderfully ambitious and beautifully realised too"

Daniel Meadows, renowned photographer
“Catcher’s approach to heritage is outstanding; the quality, accessibility and beauty of their work means that the community are drawn to their projects”

Hannah McSherry, Herefordshire Council
"As well as working with a wide range of Herefordshire heritage, arts and community organisations, Catcher Media has been committed to boosting skills, employment and economic development within the county."

Jenni Waugh Consulting Ltd.
"We have worked with Catcher Media for many years on several diverse cultural and heritage projects including large heritage projects of regional and national importance and we have come to rely on their expertise"

Jan Nesaratnam, Senior Librarian at Herefordshire Library Service
Our collaborations with Catcher Media have been hugely valuable in the cultural life of Herefordshire and the wider region."

Jon Chedgzoy, Museums, Libraries & Archives Manager at Herefordshire Council
"Catcher Media have made a vital contribution, not just in our county but to the heritage, culture and arts of this country as a whole"

Rt Hon Jesse Norman MP, Member of Parliament for Hereford & South Herefordshire
"The powerful and beautifully produced films reached huge, enthusiastic audiences that crossed generations and brought the past to life"

Rhys Griffith, Senior Archivist at Herefordshire Archive and Records Centre
"Catcher Media's oral history projects just get better and better."

Audience member 
"We often have people coming here with cameras but you are interested in us, and what we are actually doing."

Marcin Lisowski, Polish migrant worker
"I firmly believe that to honour our ancestors is a very special thing, to bring them to life."

Raine Geoghegan, Romani poet

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