Video is one of the most powerful ways to reach communities, tell compelling stories and move people to action. As social platforms increasingly prioritise video content, building the skills to create engaging and strategic content has become an essential part of our advocacy toolkit to cut through, reach new audiences and build support for change.
Australian Progress is partnering with ChopChop to deliver the Video for Social Change Masterclass - a hands-on two-day training designed to equip changemakers with the skills and confidence to create effective short-form video for their campaigns. The Masterclass combines strategic storytelling and messaging with the practical skills to plan, script, film and edit engaging video using accessible, low-cost tools.
You'll walk away with a practical toolkit and framework for embedding video effectively into your campaigns, backed by practical tools you can put into action straight away.
LEARNING OUTCOMES AND SKILLS
By the end of the two-day Video for Social Change Masterclass, you will be able to:
Understand video’s role in social change
Identify how short-form video can support campaign, advocacy and organising goals.
Recognise the characteristics of effective social change videos.
Select an appropriate video format based on the audience, message, platform and action.
Develop a strategic video brief
Define a clear purpose, target audience, key message and call to action.
Scope a video that is realistic for your organisation’s time, budget, skills and equipment.
Use a repeatable video brief and planning process for future projects.
Write an effective short-form video script
Turn a campaign message or story into a focused 30 to 90-second script.
Apply a simple storytelling framework, such as Hook > Problem > Solution > Call to Action.
Write clear, conversational language suited to video and social media.
Plan the accompanying visuals using an audio-visual script.
Plan and conduct interviews
Develop interview questions that encourage clear, personal and engaging responses.
Help contributors feel comfortable and speak naturally on camera.
Identify strong soundbites and the supporting footage needed to tell the story.
Film effective video using a smartphone
Set up a smartphone to record suitable video and audio.
Apply practical techniques for framing, composition, lighting and sound.
Record interviews, pieces to camera and supporting footage.
Capture a useful combination of wide shots, mid shots, close-ups and cutaways.
Edit a short-form video
Import, organise and review shots.
Build a clear story.
Select and trim clips, improve pacing and add supporting footage.
Adjust audio and incorporate music appropriately.
Add titles, basic graphics, branding and captions.
Export a completed video for social media.
key dates
The workshop will be delivered over two days:
Tuesday, 17 November
Wednesday, 18 November
The workshop will take place in the following time zones:
10:00AM – 5:00PM AEDT (VIC, NSW, TAS, ACT)
9:30AM – 4:30PM ACDT (SA)
9:00AM – 4:00PM AEST (QLD)
8:30AM – 3:30PM ACST (NT)
7:00AM – 2:00PM AWST (WA)
12:00PM – 7:00PM NZDT (Aotearoa)
TRAINER
Tom Maclachlan | Trainer
Founder, ChopChop
Tom Maclachlan is the founder of ChopChop and a filmmaker and campaigns specialist with 20 years of experience creating video for social change. Tom has helped nonprofits, campaigners, community organisations, councils and government teams use video to spread ideas, raise funds and build support. His work spans the full production process, from strategy, storytelling and scripting through to interviewing, filming, editing and distribution. Tom focuses on helping teams create strong videos with the time, equipment and resources they already have. His approach uses a simple, repeatable framework to produce good videos efficiently.
COST
$350+GST: Small Nonprofit Concession – For nonprofits with an annual revenue of less than $500K.
$600+GST: Regular Nonprofit Concession – For nonprofits with an annual revenue between $500K and $3 million.
$800+GST: Large Nonprofit Concession – For nonprofits with an annual revenue of more than $3 million
$1,000+GST: Full Price – For government, political offices, social enterprises, b-corps and businesses servicing the non-profit sector.
$350+GST | Individual — For individuals and grassroots organisers who are not affiliated by an organisation or movement.
To ensure more equitable access across our trainings and events, a limited number of full and partial scholarships ($170+GST) are available to grassroots advocates, community groups and start-up/small organisations. We welcome and prioritise scholarship applications from First Nations people, people with disability, people of colour, people with lived experience seeking asylum and unwaged changemakers. To apply for a scholarship, please complete an application here or contact Phong at phong@australianprogress.org.au.
TEAM REGISTRATIONS
Learning is better together, which is why we offer team discounts to help colleagues learn alongside each other and bring new skills and ideas back to their organisations and movements. The following discounts are automatically applied at registration:
10% off for teams of 2-4
20% off for teams of 5
Please note that due to the cohort-style format and peer-learning in the training, team registrations are limited to up to five people.
ACCESSIBILITY
-
Zoom - During the workshop, we will be meeting via Zoom. If you have access to a computer or laptop, we recommend you join the training by computer to make navigating the materials easier. See here for accessibility documentation for Zoom; including a list of keyboard shortcuts here.
Video norms - During the online sessions, we will encourage everyone to have your cameras on if you feel comfortable, but we will not require you to do so.
Chat - On Zoom you will be able to use the chat function. Participants will be asked to introduce themselves in chat, and to enter responses in the chat.
Captions - We will have auto captions enabled in Zoom.
Google Docs and Digital Documents - We will be sharing workshop materials over Google Drive, Google Docs and Google Slides. All documents, forms, and surveys will be provided in accessible formats. We will use the screen share function to share slides, as well as navigating between Zoom and an interactive slide deck.
Early access to slides - A view-only version of the slide deck can be supplied early if this supports your participation. Any copies of the slides provided will include alt-text / image descriptions.
Post-training resources - We do not supply recordings from our online training as standard, but can record sections of the workshop if needed to facilitate your engagement. You will receive a copy of the presenter slide deck, interactive slide deck, and other resources. Where video or audio content is included during the training or in any of the resources, we will provide audio descriptions, captions or transcripts as needed.
-
Setting norms - As a cohort, we will also set expectations at the start of the training to ensure everyone can comfortably participate in the workshop.
Breaks - Breaks will be organised regularly throughout the training including meal breaks.
Breakout rooms - This training regularly uses breakout rooms, with group sizes ranging from pairs, through to groups of 5-10 for discussions and workshop activities.
-
Other additional support - We build in flexibility in the program, as we go based on the needs of the cohort. In the registration form, we will ask you for your access needs. If you require something in place that is not already arranged, or if you need more information about any part of the workshop, we will work with you to provide this.
-
If you have any questions about accessibility, please contact us at info@australianprogress.org.au.