Simon Koolwijk

There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work and learning from failure - Colin Powell This quote triggered my interest while reading ' Making documentary films and videos - a practical guide to planning, filming and editing documentaries' -  author Barry Hampe.  The publication is a practical handbook giving some useful hints and tips on how to make a video production.  Practise, practise, practise, ask for feedback, reflect and practise again. Applying video is a process of hard work and learning. Video versus a report As a facilitator and evaluator of organisations, projects and multi-stakeholder processes, I am triggered by the fact that  video can express much more in a shorter time space than a report. A video is about visual evidence.  It shows behavior, people expressing emotions and attitudes. It also shows results and physical accomplishments.  A video interview not only communicates the content, but also peop...

"How do habitants think about their own neighbourhood?" .  This was the theme about which 17 European videomakers developed a participatory video on how citizens think of their neighbourhood in Marseille and Aix en Provence.  The theme was interesting since Marseille will be the cultural European Capital in 2013 together with Kosice in Slovakia.   This Grundtvig funded training about Participatory Videomaking was organised by Têtes de l'Art in co-operation with Vidéos des Pays et des Quartiers (VDPQ) and Anonymal. from 5th - 10th March, 2012. See video:  Participatory video making in Marseille "This training was well organised. We learned how to plan a story" , shares one of the participants. "A good planning is essential. It helps to develop the story and it saves time for video editing" .  During the middle of the week interviews were conducted in specific urban areas of Marseille and Aix en Provence.  Two teams composed a 7-minute vide...

'Follow your heart, use your brains!'  This was the title of the video that opened the 25th Anniversary of the Nedworc Association on the 6th January 2012 in Amsterdam.  Nedworc is a network of development consultants in international development co-operation.  In October 2011  Erica Wortel ,  Joke Oranje and Simon Koolwijk developed in partnership with the Nedworc Anniversary committee the scenario for a video about the future development in the sector of international development co-operation.  The future of the sector,  developments on the labor market for consultants,  professional development and the future of the consultant were the main discussion threads for the development of the video. See video:  'Follow your heart, use your brains!' (in Dutch) The process of video making After developing the scenario   Erica Wortel and Joke Oranje selected member consultants with various backgrounds eg. livestock advisor, fo...