We set out to develop an app, called CameraV, that could capture more information (metadata) and do so securely (through encryption) so that your authenticated media can more quickly make it to audiences that matter and in a format that could be trusted.

Al Jazeera reports on the app we co-developed with The Guardian Project in their new documentary “The Bigger Brother”. The piece highlights a beta test of CameraV conducted in Rio with our partners at Coletivo Papo Reto. You can watch the documentary here:

This report is part of a seven-part series from Al Jazeera called “Rebel Geeks” profiling people and organizations who are “challenging power structures and offering a different vision of our technological future.”

For more information about the app, go here and to download it, go to the Google Play Store. (The app is currently only available for Android.)

For Kelly Matheson, WITNESS’ Senior Attorney and Program Manager, it was an opportunity to reconnect with old allies.

“I had the honor of marching alongside young people who will be asking the US Supreme Court to determine whether or not our federal government is obligated to protect our air, water and atmosphere.” she says, referring to Our Children’s Trust. The group is one she worked with extensively when she led WITNESS’ involvement in the TRUST Campaign, an effort to fight for climate justice in the United States by pressuring governments across the country to implement science-based climate recovery plans.

For Martin Tzanev, WITNESS’ Video Technology Specialist, the People’s Climate March provided the opportunity to test InformaCam, an open source mobile application we’re developing with The Guardian Project that improves verification of mobile media files.

Martin brought us together, reminded us to follow the methodologies we teach others when filming large scale events in teams, and sent us out to shoot using the InformaCam app. This week he’s sifting through the videos we gathered to learn more about what evidentiary stories can be told via the metadata InformaCam collects.

Below are some photos we took along the way.

Meantime, we keep Kelly’s words in mind: “From Selma and Stonewall to the US Supreme Court, the civil rights and LGBT movements have taught us the power that grassroots activism — combined with hard fought legal battles — has in protecting our basic rights.”

Here’s to those who organized and participated in Sunday’s march, and especially to those who have been and continue to fight for climate justice.

Select an image to view slideshow.

Resources & Ideas

InformaCam does a lot of things. At its heart though is a metadata standard we believe will improve the verifiability of videos taken by activists and citizen witnesses alike. For WITNESS’ thoughts and ideas on metadata, see:

• Metadata is Powerful, and the NSA Knows It
• How Video Metadata Can Help Rhinos, Not Poachers
• How An Eyewitness Mode Helps Activists (and Others) Be Trusted

For more information about InformaCam, visit The Guardian Project.

Images: Photos by WITNESS’ Sarah Kerr and Jackie Zammuto.