A case study: Oxford School of Anthropology (2021)
OxCo ran a video training workshop series for the University of Oxford in March 2021. Researchers and students from the School of Anthropology benefited from step-by-step support to produce their own videos.
Throughout the workshop series, workshop participants received expert guidance and feedback from academics, professional videographers, and communications specialists, as well as BBC journalists.
Watch the trailer below to gain an overview of their creations.
Each workshop participant received individual support to develop their project based on their own objectives. The ten videos produced as part of this workshop series offered a great variety of styles using techniques and assets ranging from hand-drawn animations to stock footage. See some examples below.
Participants’ feedback are a testament to the benefits of this video training workshop series.
“The team was very sensitive and responsive to what I was trying to do. […] Good to have a panel with different types of expertise […] I learnt a lot and enjoyed it thoroughly.”
“I found videos to be a great medium for communicating […] besides writing. Attending the workshop has been a great experience for me and I would like to thank all the workshop organisers and my colleagues because it was such a fruitful learning and creative process for me.”
“I’m used to dealing with social complexity but I wanted to find a way to communicate this complexity in an engaging and compelling way besides the traditional written academic format [to] either prompt the audience to explore further reading on the topic or spark curiosity […] I learned a lot and I think this is an extremely valuable contribution to the University’s curriculum, and of course to the portfolio of each and every one of us. If I had the opportunity I would do it again, any time!”
“The experience of making this film motivated my current DPhil project which might feed into future forms of film making that might allow me to work with research participants in multiple modes and engage diverse audiences with videos.”
“I found it very enjoyable, especially considering the synergy and dynamism between students and staff in the course. […] I think it should be integrated into […] some departments’ methods to some degree because it’s such a useful skill to have.”
“Overall I found this to be a very rewarding experience and it was great to learn more about using video to communicate about research. Special thanks to [the team] for all of their help and feedback.”
“It’s been a fantastic learning experience. […] I am really grateful for the training I received […]
I thought the showcase was a really tremendously successful event. I haven’t been to a more interesting online session since the beginning of the pandemic.”
The workshop series also provided participants with an opportunity to share their work with the wider world. In collaboration with the School of Anthropology, OxCo organised a final public showcase. A panel of experts provided feedback and awarded prizes to the best projects.
The jury comprised:
Bethan Jinkinson, Executive Editor, BBC Ideas (co-chair)
Chihab El Khachab, Associate Professor in Visual Anthropology, SAME, University of Oxford (co-chair)
Alistair Black, Adobe Education
Tom Coveney, Senior commissioner, BBC Science
Steffi Wurster, Stage designer and filmmaker, TU Berlin
Stuart Dunn, Head of Department, Department of Digital Humanities, King’s College London
Find out more about the showcase, organised in collaboration with the School of Anthropology, on 23 September 2021, here. And get ready learn how to create your own videos!