This from Sadiq Khan, via Twitter...
I uploaded a YouTube video -- £8 million for Earlsfield Station refurbishment
Eye is happy to say, judging by the video's quality, that this was obviously not filmed by DfT press officers.
A shame the original DfT training video has been removed from YouTube - Sadiq's team might have found it useful.
UPDATE: This from @SadiqKhan, via Twitter...
@TheFactCompiler thank you!
Has the Fact Compiler been had?
It's amazing what you can find on Hansard.
Regular readers may recollect that Eye discovered two videos on YouTube, which were produced by DafT to show press officers how to use a Flip Camera (surely not the most challenging of tasks!).
This from Railway Peer Lord Berkeley on the 29th March...
Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the cost to public funds of the instructional videos that the Department for Transport commissioned on how Flip video camcorders should be used when filming Ministers; whether they will place those videos on the Department for Transport's website; and what other such videos have been commissioned in the past five years.
The Secretary of State for Transport (Lord Adonis): The cost to public funds for the production of the camcorder training video was £767.71.
As it is for internal use, the video will not be placed on the Department for Transport's website. No other camcorder training videos have been commissioned in the past five years.
Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures are in place in the Department for Transport to monitor the effectiveness of staff in their use of Flip video camcorders. [HL3035]
Lord Adonis: As a trial, a total of four small camcorders were acquired in 2009 and issued to selected communications directorate staff for the purposes of producing short films suitable for publicising departmental announcements and events on social media such as YouTube.
Material produced using these small camcorders is edited by the department's social media team and checked for quality and suitability by Communications Directorate senior management.
That's another £767.71 for Captain Deltic's spreadsheet of Departmental savings.
It's amazing what you can find on You Tube.
The following two videos have been produced to help DafT press officers show their ministers in the best possible light when using a Flip Camera.
Eye is uncertain whether to be outraged at public money being spent on this agitprop training or grateful for the helpful pointers it includes.
Meanwhile Eye commends both videos to Eurostar's PR team - as nowhere do they advise filming in a broom cupboard. Ever!
UPDATE: This from StephenRees, via Twitter...
It looks like DafT have ruined our fun, they've removed both of those YouTube videos now...
Nice! Surely not through embarrassment?
UPDATE: Whilst the videos have now been removed here is a screen grab of the originals...
Mrs Interweb has a long memory!
UPDATE: This from RADA Luvvie...
This is priceless!
Trevor John - who did that flip camera training video - presents a psychic radio show as well as apparently being a ministerial speechwriter.
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