Crisis Response video through the eyes of Payton Peterson, a new vision.
Payton Peterson is a 15 year old audio visual and new media entrepreneur. The motto for his approach is "If I don't know how to do it, I will learn how to." In the midst of two Colorado wildfires, Peterson became part of a volunteer community using this approach to respond responsibly via new media. There are excellent posts with an analysis of how social media was used on Huffington Post and Wingineering.
What is fascinating about Peterson's video is that he set out to capture the "news", but his vision of video journalism is highly compelling and new. The visual world of the wildfire itself tells the story. Peterson captures the volunteer firefighters working as a team and how they accomplish a tough job. His use of time-elapse captures the nature of the Front Range and how a wildfire can consume it. The soundtrack and clips express a community coming together during a crisis. The editing is outstanding.
At 15, Peterson will only know the interconnected social web. He will only know the more lightweight digital editing and real-time tech that can mobilized quickly. With his talents, he will improve their use and their meaning to our society. Peterson states that he edited the video in 10 minutes in a response to questions for the Tweetingdonal's Dhidean blog. He uploaded the video on his YouTube channel then released it into the crisis response community following the #Lovelandfire hashtag on Twitter. I found it around 8 a.m. on the 13th after many fellow Colorado residents retweeted it. We all loved it.
It is interesting to compare Peterson's video with Colorado 9 News, as the television station's van appears in one of Peterson's clips. The two were there at the same time and the clips are also about equal in length. In contrast, Colorado 9 News has far more financial and media resources. 9 News uses the effective format that existed long before Peterson's era of nimble digital technologies: A live newscaster stands before the camera interpreting the event, a Firechief gives statistics, newscasters give commentary. It is an "expert interpreter" visual experience.
For the question at the heart of this post, place yourself in the shoes of a Loveland or Boulder resident. Which video above holds value beyond the "news"? Which video above helps you grasp the big picture and still represents your community?
For those of us that live in Colorado, it has been a week to drop everything and help in some way. Victims of the fire lost homes, part of their heritage. The firefighters are heroes for containing Boulder and working hard in Loveland. Both fires broke out in rugged, dry terrain. A beetle infestation left dead wood across the state, so containment of the wildfires is exponentially urgent. It has been a historic week, both in loss and also in the strength of response.
Payton Peterson's video is a reflection of the dynamics of the Front Range community and the terrain of the foothills. He represents a shift towards what a more connected future means, and his future is a bright one at that. His work is a testament to a highly engaged Millennial generation that deserves our attention and investment.





