Reaching the Outside World

Video and Documentaries

Click the links below for:

• UNDP FlipCam Project
• UNDP YouTube
• One Day on Earth
• Other online UNDP video sites
• Online video management - Brightcove

Increasingly UNDP is using video to illustrate the impact of our projects on the ground and in people’s lives. The expansion of online video websites like YouTube and Vimeo has given UNDP a perfect opportunity to reach a growing new audience and communicate about the organization's success stories and issues.

Video Stories Tip Sheet:

When looking for a UNDP story to film, try and find the best way to portray the effects on people’s lives. The stories of people benefiting from UNDP are the most interesting for the general public.

Find a central character to focus the story on and through his or her eyes “tell the story”. A video story is much more accessible to the viewing public if one can identify with an individual.

Film each shot for at least six seconds before stopping.

Keep the shot steady, do not zoom in and out, and keep your subject in the center of the frame.

When asking questions in an interview do not ask ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions.

See more tips in the Video Tips Sheet.

At the same time, traditional broadcasters have increasingly had to reduce costs and are now more likely to use third party video stories in their news programming. UNDP can help satisfy this demand by providing stories about our projects and issues. This draws attention to UNDP’s work and to countries and development issues that might otherwise be overlooked in international news.

In response to a growing global demand for timely video material with an international focus on UN priorities, the UN’s Department of Public Information and UNICEF created UNifeed, a daily video news service provided free to broadcasters. Footage of UNDP activities and events are picked up around the world via UNifeed – a way for TV broadcasters to access news material from UN agencies around the world through a single source, a key step in improving the reach of information on the work of the UN.

Submitting video stories to UNIFFED

To submit stories to UNIFEED please contact Boaz Paldi, the Head of the UNDP Video Unit.

UNDP FlipCam Project

In 2008, the Office of Communications at UNDP launched the FlipCam project, a partnership with Pure Digital Technologies to purchase inexpensive and user-friendly video cameras called FlipCams for use by selected UNDP staff in Country Offices around the world, to document their projects on the ground. Since the start of the project, cameras have been sent to over 40 UNDP staff in country offices worldwide to produce short films on UNDP’s work and how it directly impacts people’s lives. These videos are then edited in either the field or in New York, and then published on the corporate website, the FlipCam playlist of the UNDP YouTube channel and other social networking sites. In certain cases the footage is also distributed to broadcasters worldwide.

The FlipCam has revolutionized video production at UNDP, enabling a low-cost alternative to acquire footage on UNDP projects around the world - every one of the FlipCam videos produced to date was made with equipment costing less than $70. Please see the video below for a UNDP-produced tutorial on using a FlipCam and producing short videos. If you'd like to participate in the FlipCam project, or if you would like to learn more about it, please contact Boaz Paldi, the Head of the UNDP Video Unit.

• The FlipCam can be used by anyone with a minimal amount of training because of the easy operation of the camcorder.
• Both commutation officer and program officer were offered the opportunity of working with the FlipCam on a volunteer basis
• The camcorder is high quality, small, lightweight and easy to use with an internal hard drive that can record up to 1 hour of video.
• It comes equipped with an in-built microphone, a USB arm to connect to any computer and is operated by 2 AA batteries. The camcorder now costs $50 each.
• An average of one video per week is now arriving from various locations.

UNDP YouTube

In 2008, UNDP also launched its own video channel on YouTube - www.youtube.com/undp. This channel is a great resource to communicate information about UNDP's work, impact and issues the organization is involved with to wide and new audiences. The channel is corporately branded and is open to Country Offices to submit their videos for inclusion. As of January 2010, videos on the UNDP’s YouTube channel have been viewed by over 1,000,000 people and there are over 2,500 subscribers. The channel continues to grow at a high rate. Various Country Offices have also opened their own YouTube sites. The videos from YouTube are also linked and published on the UNDP Facebook page.

Criteria for submitting video to the UNDP corporate YouTube site

To submit a video to the UNDP corporate site please contact Boaz Paldi.

One Day on Earth

On October 10^th 2010, UNDP joined the One Day on Earth community and filmed in over 100 countries worldwide. More than 8,000 film makers from across the globe and in all 192 countries, filmed on a single day. The result is a snap shot of our world in a 24-hour period and a video archive of unprecedented scope that UNDP has full access to. From now on, you can use any footage from the One Day On Earth archive for any UNDP film that you may be producing. Log on to the One Day on Earth Archive search by location or key words. When using footage from the archive you will need to credit the film maker from the One Day on Earth Community. For example, if you were to use the video linked here http://vimeo.com/15818871, Water Resource on Planet Earth by Ana Antunes, you would credit: Ana Antunes, One Day on Earth.

Other online UNDP video sites

UNDP has also established a presence in various online platforms. Vimeo, Green TV and Green Energy TV all showcase UNDP videos and are a great resource to reach additional audiences.

Online video management - Brightcove

The Office of Communication has acquired an online video management system that allows UNDP to publish videos anywhere on the internet and intranet.

The videos can either be linked via URL or a video player can be embedded directly on a webpage. Country Offices are encouraged to use the system to publish their videos on Country Office websites. For more information please contact Boaz Paldi or the Webteam.

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