When I did the pilot version of Me In TV last December, we got some great pictures of the guys at work, but we didn’t do a lot to record the process.
A great picture of the guys at work
My main regret is that, bar a blog post I wrote in which I used it to illuminate an abstract idea, there’s no permanent record of the project.
Without a website, it’s also less easy to explain. And it’s taken less seriously – somehow, having a virtual presence makes a project seem more real.
I’ll get you next time
Me In TV already has a website (as you will no doubt have noticed!).
We will use it as a base for all the content created.
Not just the programme trailers created by the young people participating, and a few publicity pics taken by a pro photographer, but also lots of incidental stuff – pictures and Flipcam videos taken by the participants to show their experiences, interviews with the FremantleMedia/talkbackThames people involved, and a web diary on this blog to reflect on events as/soon after they happen.
The feedback loop
This will give everyone involved something to point to in future – when they’re next applying for a job, I want them to be proud to send people to this website.
It will also make it much easier for others to learn from the project – there will be
plenty of background information, explanation of the key ideas, and material generated during the week the young people are working with us.
But it will also reflect a view of the project back to those involved, even if it can’t capture precisely how that involvement feels – like a mirror at an angle.
It will therefore create a feedback loop: stuff that’s recorded and appears on the site will feed back into the process as we go.
For example: when, after day 1, we interview a couple of the people on the development day team, their thoughts and suggestions will be available for the camerawork team to watch, and will of course influence the way the latter work with the young people on the following day.
They will also be available for the young people to watch too – and that will no doubt affect their approach to the camera work on day 2.
We also hope to create a second layer of feedback, by exposing the ongoing work of the project to the outside world. The young people will be encouraged to share their works in progress with their friends, and through this site we aim to create an audience of people interested in the ideas we’re grappling with.
The responses of all those people will be part of the experience of Me In TV for everyone involved.