The role and practical applications of video witnessing narratives
Video witnessing is an emerging practice area of film-makers, artists and change facilitators. It has already gained a following of dedicated practitioners, pioneering its application across an very broad area of contexts.
Thanks to the inherent depth and richness of the complete cycle of the filming process (from the creation of the witnessing in silence, through to the editing and self-reflection journey), the practice is a vehicle for many individual and collective development applications. See here for the reference to 'Developmental Journies - Practive-Led Theory', highlighting the number of inquiry, therapeutic and development frameworks that can be applied to the film work.
Below is a list a some of the key applications in both social and business / organisational development sectors:
Organisational Development Film Narratives
The business category of narratives is a broad umbrella to cover the business sector, entrepreneurship and organisational development applications.
Leadership Communication
Your personal leader / founder portrait, sharing your values and purpose, in a powerfully authentic way.
Founder
Legacies
Communicating the values, principles and heritage of founders and founder-families, for the next generation of business.
Leadership
Development
Video journaling, self-reflection, supported by breakthrough frameworks in adult developmental psychology.
Collaboration Communities
Exchange, inspire, build and share. How narratives can support new forms of economic collaboration.
Branding
and Marketing
Is your product or service coming from a deep purpose and personal vision? Communicate this in meaningful and authentic ways
Sensemaking
Landscapes
Co-worker engagement, culture and values. Probe-sense-respond. Democratise conversations with narrative landscapes.
Example Executive Witnessing Experience
In collaboration with progressive, agenda-less peer leadership groups run by www.YellowLearning.org:
A live group witnessing event was run for Yellow Learning on Zoom, with subjects recording a high quality local video with their smartphones.
Testimonials
Group Witnessing (via Zoom) for Yellow Learning.org
Rob Poyton
Author and Lecturer at Saïd Business School, Oxford
Founder yellowlearning.org
"The group witnessing that we experimented with in Yellow surpassed any kind of expectation any of us might have had. The group has grown close over the last six months of meeting, which explains some of it, but nonetheless the witnessing processed catapulted us into a new way of being together - that was incredibly connective and tender.
For me, having been witnessed just by John I was struck by how deep and subtle it was to be part of a group witnessing someone else.
We did two different people and each session was wildly different and yet equally profound. It is something we will continue to work with and explore. It feels to me that the possibilities here, whilst very difficult to describe or make sense of in words, are legion."
Social, Community and Persona Filming Narratives
Community
Projects
Working with the power of collective narratives, access what people are really thinking and feeling.
Intergenerational Connections
Filming across generations, capturing timeless memories and connecting experiences across generations
Healing
Journies
Supporting self-development and retreat programmes. Witnessing the wisdom within.
Family
Legacies
Filming family portraits, getting to know family members in new ways, celebrating loved ones.
Conflict
Resolution
Accessing respective truths, appreciating differences... revealing paths for new listenting and reconciliation.
Sensemaking
Probes
Anthropological applications of the Sensemaking method, probing-sense-respond.