Recipes for Disaster: an anarchist cookbook

traced to you and isn't watched by security cameras, you should be able to retain your anonymity. Be careful: if police or government agencies do investigate the action, they will definitely make an effort to identify the person who sent out the communique or posted photographs. If the action is aboveground, on the other hand, you will probably have to compete with other news outlets?but if you are quick, you can break the news first, and venues such as the open wire will provide an opportunity for radicals to tell their own stories.

At any action, respect the desires of people who vidsh not to have their pictures taken or to be filmed or interviewed. Remember, many people rightfully want to hide their identities, at meetings and peaceful marches as well as during direct actions. ScufHes have broken out before between black blocs and well-intentioned Indymedia reporters. It can be a good policy to keep your cameras aimed away from your comrades and at the police, as defensive weapons.

In the halcyon days before the Seatde World Trade Organization protests, a press pass and a video camera could often fool the police into mistaking you for a part of the media establishment, but this is no longer the case: the police know very well that independent media are used by anarchists and other activists, and target independent media accordingly. It is possible to rescue people from serious legal difficulties with the documentation provided by independent media work; it is also possible to document police brutality, even get individual police punished or departments sued. Due to the possibility that footage wUl be used against them in court or on the corporate news, the police sometimes attack video camera operators and arrest media activists without provocation just to get their hands on their videotapes or photographs and destroy them.

If you can afford it, insure your equipment against damages before any major protest, and always have a partner with you when you videotape. Change tapes often, giving footage to your partner to convey to a secure location. To help you see while videotaping.

you can install on your camera a rearview mirror from a bike; to fool the cops, you can attach a dummy tape underneath the camera with Velcro. Wear a watch, and film your watch and road signs or other location markers frequently to show location and time of specific incidents. As in any direct action, know the area where you plan to shoot, and have a safe getaway plan. You can put black electrical tape over the "record" light so police and other enemies can't tell if you are shooting, but make sure you can still tell. For filming in sketchy situations, cut a camera hole in an old dufHe bag. To get better audio, get a microphone that you can attach to your clothing. When in doubt, leave the camera running. Have a press pass, a notebook, and a pen handy so you can give out your contact details to people interested in your footage, and keep a lawyer's number on you in case you're arrested or hassled by the cops.

At large demonstrations, there is often an independent media center that provides internet access for posting reports and equipment for digitizing and editing video. Since the forces of darkness have realized that independent media serves as an important means of communication, police often attempt to raid these centers. This makes it unwise to store any video or equipment there. The same applies doubly for media work in international hotspots Hke Iraq or Palestine. Hide your media footage in clever places when crossing through military checkpoints or risking being stopped and searched. Speed is of the essence at these events: get your news and pictures out the day they were taken. If you edit footage for press releases and press conferences after an event, leave long shots to reassure viewers the footage has not been doctored. Cutting footage or adding in slow-motion effects and music may make the news media reject your footage as "anarchist propaganda," or get your evidence dropped from court proceedings. Always make copies of your masters and hide them in a safe place. Consult a lawyer before releasing controversial footage. If it happens that you can sell footage to the news media, don't let the evil corporations rip you off: learn their rates for purchasing video and use a standard contract.

Using FM transmitters nnade for personal stereos and accessorized with more powerful antennas for better transmission, you can set up mobile short-distance pirate radio stations. These could be hidden by key intersections, broadcasting site-specific messages on popular frequencies around the clock, without attracting the attention a citywide pirate radio station would.

Independent Media 353

Account

Independent Media 354