NH Rebellion – Kickoff in Portsmouth
To absolutely no one’s surprise, the 2016 NH Primary Season is ramping up so expect to see an increased presence of politicians, pundits, issue-driven organizations, international media, and even political tourists (because that’s an actual thing here). I for one am fairly jaded by campaign rhetoric and the blowbags we call our elected officials. Even so, I still like to get out and capture my own coverage of the spectacle and lately I’ve been reflecting on how my approach has changed since I first started covering the process in 2004. For starters, I don’t think I have anything posted online from 2004. Back then I was just beginning to familiarize myself with a video camera, and most of the footage I captured is hiding in a stack of mini-DV tapes somewhere in my barn. By 2008, I’d arranged for a crew to accompany me on Primary day and we raced to finish this video only to find that no one really cares about New Hampshire after the votes have been cast.
I took a different approach in 2012, adopting a style in which I held the camera at arm’s length (so as to include myself in the frame) and spoke with candidates, campaign staff, journalists, and yes even the occasional political tourist. I found this approach to be far more engaging with those whom I spoke, and allowed me to convey a much different kind of coverage – one that allowed me to capture stories and insight from the people the mass-media skips. I would typically limit the total interaction to under 3 minutes, mostly due to the fatigue associated with holding the camera as I did. As a result, I’d stumbled upon a means for positioning myself as producer, camera operator, and on-camera talent all at once. I had proven myself as a powerful content creator, a self-sufficient, one-man production crew… At least that’s what I told myself.
Fast forward, and the 2016 campaign cycle is ramping up in New Hampshire. You can almost feel it in the air as groups like NH Rebellion and others kickstart the mechanism with which they intend to deliver their message to the candidates. A great deal has changed in the years since our last Primary spectacle… Micro-video has become a thing, offering a great leveling of how we quickly disseminate ideas quickly. It’s almost as though the 15 second instavid has become the 30 second commercial of yore. And anyone with a smartphone has the ability to create their own message with relative ease. What once required a newsvan with logistical support from a broadcast newsroom can now be achieved with a guy and his iPhone. Or in this case, a guy with an iPhone and GoPro.
There are some things I’d like you to be aware of regarding this video. I look fairly conspicuous with a GoPro sticking up from my backpack. However, where I would have once held the camera at arm’s length, now I am relatively free to focus more directly on the individual with whom I’m speaking. Supplementing shots with an iPhone allows me a great deal of flexibility to work my way through a crowd, capturing enough visual stimuli to construct a rather convincing representation of an event such as this NH Rebellion kickoff in Portsmouth. Just knowing the event was to be held within walkable distance from my home obliged me to attend if only to give my hypothesis a real-world test. All the footage featured in this video was captured either with my GoPro or iPhone. After transferring footage from the GoPro wirelessly, all the editing was done on my iPhone. Even the music was produced using an app on my iPhone. You can’t tell me this doesn’t open tremendous opportunities for extending the power of media into the hands of ordinary people with something to say. It absolutely does just that.
All this should indicate to you that now is the time for planning, strategizing, and training so that your skillset is up to the task come crunch time just before primary day. Training a base of dedicated content creators is fairly straight forward, though it requires practice and adaptability. Even the choice of video host says something about your campaign’s level of sophistication.
**If you represent an organization or campaign interested in leveraging this form of content in New Hampshire, please contact me for information about my workshops and consulting services.
Dan is a professional brand storyteller who has worked across a range of industries including publishing, consumer, manufacturing, investment banking and private equity. He is driven by a passion for connecting more meaningfully with others by habitually turning ordinary moments into sharable stories with video.
