SciFund-2011/Video
From Worden
Here's the finished video (unless I go back and finish it some more):
(Earlier version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9h76hNIOrlM)
And the actual finished video file: Image:SciFund-2011$SciFund 3.mp4
Contents |
Script
(meeting footage from NY consensus video)
Something remarkable is happening this year around the world. Regular people are assembling in public squares and changing the shape of their nations. These movements are about stopping injustices and changing the balance of power. But they're also fundamentally about making a new kind of democracy possible.
(video examples, with voiceover or subtitles)
From Spain's Real Democracy movement, and Greece's dimokratia movement, to this fall's general assemblies on Wall Street, in Oakland, and around the world, thousands of people are using consensus-based democratic process to make decisions and solve day-to-day problems together in a way that ensures that everyone's voice counts.
(cut to me at desk)
I'm a mathematician and this is what I have to contribute to this moment of possibility.
I use mathematical models to study what happens in groups of people. I'm developing mathematical models to study these democratic consensus processes.
I'm not going to "create an equation for human behavior", or act as if people are numbers, or people are machines, or try to claim anything is simple. I'm not going to say that I know best what people should do.
I trying to create cartoon versions of certain key aspects of the process, so we can look at them up close and maybe we'll find out something unexpected that we can use.
(cut to screenshots)
I've got some basic results. It's harder to come to complete agreement in a big group, because it's more likely that there'll be someone who disagrees. It's easier when people have more in common. These are common sense. They tell me that the model isn't completely backwards.
Now it's time to get on to the good stuff.
What can you do when there are really a lot of people, and just talking an idea over can take hours? When is it best to break into small groups and then rejoin? If there are really different opinions in the group, should similar people be in small groups together or should each group have the widest range possible? Should people speak in a particular order? What are the best strategies for finding a proposal that wins full approval? What about for doing it quickly?
I want to know. Help me out and I'll get to work on it.
(outro - inspirational quote or something)
Closed captions
I used the screenplay above to create a simple captions file, uploaded it and let YouTube's algorithm try to guess the timing, downloaded, edited and re-uploaded, and now the video has closed captions! Useful both for people with hearing impairments and for people who just can't make out what I'm saying.
Soundtrack
This track sounds great (CC-By-NC-SA). Thanks WFMU!
Video sources
New York http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dtD8RnGaRQ (CC-By)
Spain http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSiB9IvlRnw (YouTube license)
Greece http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrHLRQ0FZyw (CC-by)
Oakland http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgYTYxhWSps (YouTube license)
Notes
Shoot video of myself before I lose the sun. (But the camera battery takes forever to charge!)
- Update: Could not get the camera to work in time. In fact, I think it's dead, and I'm trying to find another one to borrow...
- Update: Big thanks to my neighbor Gus, for the gracious loan of a digital camera!
I'm having trouble uploading video to the wiki because it isn't passing the mime type check or something like that. A small obstacle, I'm sure. But I apologize - otherwise a rough take would be uploaded here already.
- Update: Apparently it needs hours to render... so I probably wouldn't be uploading drafts along the way anyway.
I need some kind of pancake makeup to keep glare off my face.
- Update: Makeup problem solved! Thanks Oakland Whole Foods!
- Update: But there's still glare...
- Update: The glare on my glasses is even worse...
Update, the next morning: holy cats, it took 5 hours to render. I went to sleep at 2:30 am and let it run. When I woke up, my computer was frozen! I didn't know whether I'd lost all my work or what. I couldn't even get it to start again after I shut it down. Maybe I killed my computer! But after I let it rest for a while it started up fine and I got the video uploaded to youtube.
