Session Format
Workshops may vary depending on your project, you might consider the following sessions:
- Introductory session – Discussing the purpose, ethics, and technical skills.
This session should also surface participants’ hopes and concerns, clarify potential uses of the film and ensure ethical understanding. - Filming period – Participants collect footage.
Facilitators should offer support as needed while respecting participants’ creative autonomy, ensuring they feel safe, confident, and in control of the filming process. - Reviewing and refining – Group discussions shape the final edit.
All participants should have the chance to review rough cuts, suggest changes, and decide collectively what to include, what to leave out, and how their voices are represented. - Dissemination – Sharing the film with wider audiences.
The group should decide together where and how the film is shared, taking into account safety, visibility, and the political implications of screening in different contexts
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Introductory Session, Purpose, Ethics, and Technical Skills
A central principle of participatory filmmaking is enabling participants to direct their own storytelling process. This involves more than simply involving them in filming; it means actively supporting their ownership over the creative decisions. Participants should be empowered to:
- Discuss what 'participation' means in this context, recognising that people will want to engage in different ways.
- Clarify expectations around time, roles, and outputs early on, but leave room for these to shift as participants’ priorities evolve.
- Co-create a group agreement or code of collaboration, covering how decisions are made, how conflicts are handled, and how respect and confidentiality are maintained.
- Ask participants how they would like to be represented, both individually and collectively, and revisit this periodically as filming progresses.
- Ensure that consent is process-based – people can change their minds, and consent for filming does not automatically mean consent for public sharing.
- Identify and name institutional or project-related power – facilitators and people in a position of decision-making power are not neutral, and acknowledging this openly can help build trust.
Depending on the group you are working with and the quality of the film you want to generate, it may be worth considering offering training on the following dimensions of filmmaking:
- Storytelling through film – How visuals, audio, and editing shape narratives.
- Basic cinematography – Framing, lighting, and camera angles.
- Sound recording – Capturing clear dialogue and ambient sounds.
- Editing – There might be an opportunity to work with a filmmaker, who can give advice on selecting footage, structuring scenes, and adding subtitles if needed.
- Directing – Depending on the type of film being created, participants may wish to direct each other in their stories.
- Audiences – who is this film for, and what do they want it to do or say in the world?
Introduce examples of participatory films, then critically unpack them together – what stories are told, whose voices are heard, and what power dynamics are at play? Participants may wish to include the below styles:
- Documentary-style filming – Capturing real-life experiences, interviews, and observational footage that reflect everyday realities or collective histories.
- Dramatised re-enactments – Using role-play or performance to depict lived experiences, challenge stereotypes, or imagine alternative futures.
- Video diaries or self-filming – Enabling participants to record personal reflections or moments over time, offering more intimate, first-person perspectives.
- Poetic or performative video – Blending spoken word, dance, or music with visual storytelling.
- Participatory montage or collage – Combining individual clips, photographs, voiceovers, and soundscapes to create a collectively authored narrative.
The independent filmmaker who supported the PLANET4B UK case study, shared the following tips for Making your own solution short:
The Establishing shot - Show us where you are. Where does your solution demonstration take place? If this means more than one shot, then do as many as you need.
- The sound is very important. We need to hear you clearly. Make sure there are no background noises, or wind blowing on the microphone.
- If you are outside, make sure the sun is behind the camera - the sun will be in the speaker's eyes, or behind the speaker - they'll be in silhouette.
- Remember you are not just speaking to experts, you are speaking to everyone. Make sure everyone will understand your solution.
The Master shot - This is the main shot. It is where you tell us about your solution in the clearest and most concise way possible. Keep it short and to the point.
- Make sure the person or people speaking are sufficiently in shot, with enough room to show clearly any demonstrations they'll be doing.
- If more than one person is speaking and you can't fit them both in the shot, then move smoothly from one to the other as they speak.
The Details - This is where you show the close-ups of the important parts of your solution. Go back over what you did in the master shot and show us details of your demonstration close up. If you are referring to anything in your surroundings, make sure you show that too.
- Keep it short.
- Make sure to tell us who you are and the names of any organisations you work for or who are helping you.
- Leave contact details or any other relevant information.
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This information can be downloaded via a film tips handout for your session.
In the video below Geraldine Brown discusses the importance of giving participants control in storytelling and film creation:
Filming Period, Participants Collect Footage
Once the participants feel confident approaching the filming, it is the facilitator's role to step back at this point, but with the potential to maintain support in the following ways:
- Be available for check-ins (in person or online) to review footage, offer feedback, and resolve technical or narrative challenges as they arise.
- Maintain ethical dialogue throughout, revisiting issues of consent, privacy, and how individuals and communities are represented in the footage.
- Set up a shared space (physical or digital) where participants can upload, view, and comment on each other’s footage if they wish, to support collaboration and peer learning.
- Provide prompts or reflection questions to help participants think through what and why they are filming, such as 'What story does this footage tell?' or 'Whose perspective is this showing?'
- Keep a facilitator’s log or reflective journal, noting ethical questions, power dynamics, or challenges that emerge, which can inform later evaluation or group reflection.
In this video Geraldine Brown shares the filmmaking journey of a participant who used Participatory Filmmaking within the PLANET4B project:
Reviewing and Editing
The Reviewing Process
After filming, it is essential to create space for participants to review and reflect on the material. This stage reinforces collective authorship and supports the ethical use of footage. Deciding what to include in the final film can be challenging, as participants may wish to include more content than the available time allows. Key steps to help navigate this process include:
- Organising group screenings of the raw footage to prompt discussion and feedback
- Supporting collaborative decision-making about what to include, how to structure the narrative, and which stories to emphasise
- Addressing any ethical concerns, such as the use of emotionally sensitive content or the visibility of individuals who may prefer anonymity
Editing Considerations
In the UK case study, there was a discussion to create multiple films for different audiences involving a film for the policy context, a film for the community context, and a film for research context, although in practice, it was decided it was better to focus on just one. The editing process should continue to reflect the participatory ethos. While a facilitator or editor may assist with technical aspects, participants’ voices should remain central. This includes:
- Balancing diverse perspectives in a way that maintains narrative coherence and clarity
- Making the film accessible to wider audiences through subtitles, translations, or audio descriptions where needed
- Ensuring all content complies with prior consent agreements and privacy considerations, particularly if the film will be shown publicly. It is important to ensure that all filmmakers have followed ethical protocols and that approval has been obtained from anyone featured in the film before it is shown.
In this video Geraldine Brown discusses the editing process and the importance of involving participants in decisions about how the film is edited and presented:
Dissemination
The Transformative Potential of Participatory Film
Participatory film can become a catalyst for personal, collective, and political transformation. Facilitators play a crucial role in supporting participants to imagine how their film might travel, who it could reach, and what kinds of conversations or actions it might spark, this includes:
1. Helping to identify and prioritise audiences
- Use questions to spark discussion: Who do you want this film to speak to? Who needs to hear these stories? Who might be moved to act?
- Make a simple audience mapping exercise: divide audiences into categories like local, institutional, activist, educational, or media.
- Encourage participants to think about how different audiences might respond—and what framing, language, or contextual information might be needed
2. Helping plan accessible, meaningful screening events
- Discuss options: where could the film realistically be shown in the community, community centres, schools, libraries, art galleries or museums, or community events
- Create an engaging event: is there a chance for a discussion afterwards? Can participants introduce the film or co-facilitate the discussion?
- Consider screening logistics: subtitles, accessible venues, translation, child-friendly spaces, and permission or consent around showing the film.
- Use screening packs with materials, or create a QR code that can be scanned (this might include a synopsis, a list of intentions, ways to get involved or support the project, advocacy tips).
3. Exploring digital platforms
- It might be worth posting the film on YouTube, Vimeo, or social media, but discuss first what kind of visibility participants want and what risks might be involved.
- Talk about privacy, comments moderation, copyright, and how to frame the film online (title, thumbnail, description).
- Collaborate with trusted organisations who can help share the film through their networks.
4. Connecting to advocacy and campaigning
- Encourage participants to link their films to ongoing campaigns, petitions, or events, for example, through QR codes, hashtags, or screening at key policy moments.
- Invite them to write a short statement, or call to action, to accompany the film.
- If applicable, use your own network to promote the film to audiences such as NGOs, media outlets, policy forums, or researchers, with participants’ consent and leadership.
5. Thinking long-term
- Consider how the film might live beyond the project: could it be included in teaching resources, archived, used in future events, or re-edited into new formats?
- Talk about ownership: who holds the files? Who has permission to share the film in the future? Are there collective agreements?
In this video Geraldine Brown discusses how to consider different audiences when planning and sharing your film:
