Video Field Studies with your Cell Phone

Many researchers and practitioners in HCI, Interaction Design, Design Anthropology swear to video when dung field studies of potential users. This is due to the power of the media for capturing practices and contexts, conveying empathy, and engaging audiences.
Newcomers to the field, and in particular practitioners from smaller organizations are understandably nervous about embarking on video projects out of fear that it is difficult to get consent in the first place, that the ethics is difficult to handle, that video shooting makes the social relations awkward, that the editing task is monumental, that equipment is difficult to handle etc.
This tutorial presents a lightweight entry into video field studies, using cheap devices like cell phones and portable webcams for informal shooting and simple computer handling for editing. E.g. how far can you get with an iPhone or a video capable iPod? Or with the GoPRO sports camera? Our approach has a strong focus on how to use video in design, rather than on the technical side. The goal is to engage design teams in meaningful discussions based on user empathy, rather than to produce beautiful videos. Basically it is a search for a minimalist way of achieving what usually requires trained shooting and editing with larger equipment.