Why should video matter to nonprofits?

Here’s how Media in Neighborhoods Group (MING) cofounder Jon Kaufman sees it:

“Video provides a personal, experiential way of storytelling and connecting with audiences on a human level,” he told us in an email. 

Video is just one medium with which organizations can tell their stories, but it’s a dynamic one, and one that almost everyone can access.

To help organizations figure out how to best use video — including live video — to engage with their audiences, Kaufman will join speakers from PhillyCAM and The Boom Room Studio at the third Tech in the Commons bootcamp for place-based nonprofits.

It’s happening Tuesday, May 9, from 5 to 8 p.m. at Benjamin’s Desk, 601 Walnut St.

The agenda:

• 5 p.m. — Food and networking
• 5:30 p.m. — Speakers; check ’em out below
• 6:30 p.m. — Breakout sessions led by video experts
• 8 p.m. — Tech in the Commons wraps

Speakers: 

Laura Deutch and Jeff Bethea are public access news station PhillyCAM’s education and production director and access and operations manager, respectively.

• Deutch is an award-winning media artist and educator working at the intersection of documentary, new media and participatory art. Her work focuses on community stories and place-based histories. At PhillyCAM, she directs live studio and field productions and leads educational initiatives. 
• Bethea provides technical support to both its members and activities at PhillyCAM. Recently, some of his efforts have inclined toward syndication of PhillyCAM’s video content via multi-platform live streaming. He also collaborates with a trio of circus artists as a visual designer and mapper of projection art.

Gary Dann is a drummer, multimedia producer and owner of The Boom Room Studio in Fishtown, which he opened in 2011 as a home for himself and his extended family of diverse artists to freely create. Dann has toured throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe playing drums for the Grammy-award winning hiphop pioneers Digable Planets, drummed for the legendary hiphop duo Camp Lo, and is also the drummer for the live global house music collective Worldtown SoundSystem.

• Dann will cover will cover “gaming” Facebook’s algorithms by using relatively affordable “pro-sumer” level gear to livestream content and maximize exposure on social media. This talk will cover some of the products available, software features and how to properly promote the content you created.

Jon Kaufman is a filmmaker and photographer born and raised in Philadelphia and the cofounder of Media In Neighborhoods Group (MING), a socially conscious film company with a mission to use the power of media to change the culture of crime. Since 2009 he has worked on projects internationally and across the U.S. for clients such as VICE, National Geographic, Red Bull and Ray Ban while teaching video production to high school students in North Philadelphia.

• Kaufman will present samples of video storytelling work focusing on the intersection of community, creative placemaking, and partnering with host organizations and artists. In presenting this work, he will touch on topics of intentionality in video production and the advantages of using video as a tool for social and community engagement.

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We encourage you to attend all four Tech in the Commons sessions to get the complete tech tools experience. Find registration for the final event, focusing on social communication trends, here. Please note that RSVP doesn’t guarantee entry because space is limited.

Also, save the date for our second annual jobs and engagement fair, INTER/VIEW. The event makes its return on Tuesday, May 23.