We were approached by Architectural Digest to produce a video as part of an integrated marketing campaign for Control4, a provider of home automation systems. They wanted to tell a real story of how technology and smart design could help a family with special needs. AJ and Devin’s story fit the bill perfectly.
We were so excited to hear the news this July that our independent documentary film Fate of a Salesman was nominated for a national News & Documentary Emmy Award in the category of “Outstanding Business and Economic Reporting – Long Form.”
We are excited and proud to announce that the Independent Television Service (ITVS) has granted major funding support for The Guardians. The funds will allow us to complete both production and post-production on the film, which we’ve been working on since the beginning of 2014. ITVS is an ideal co-production partner for The Guardians because of its mission to fund independent films that bring underrepresented stories to public television audiences.
Think back to your favorite stories, what you remember and love about them most. In Winnie-the-Pooh, I fondly recall Pooh’s naivety and Eeyore’s persistent pessimism. As a pair, they were charming antidotes for the other’s limitations. Quirkiness and the exposure of fatal flaws are what make great on-screen moments, but it’s really action that makes character come alive. What decisions do the characters make at moments of trial that reveal something about who they are? Perhaps it even reveals something about ourselves? If you can achieve both, you’ve achieved storytelling gold. And that’s what effective nonprofit videos are all about. Below are the questions you should ask when casting good characters for your non-profit video production:
Social media saturates our everyday lives to the point of ubiquity, yet its visual role in film and television is still evolving. A few years ago, if a character were to receive a text message, email or tweet, the words would appear in large unrealistic text on the screen of their iPhone. But now, media makers are being more bold and pronounced in their depiction of social media interactions on screen. Click through to learn more about how we integrated social media into our latest piece.
There’s a lot of exciting news to share about our latest independent film, Fate of A Salesman! We premiered our film to the DC community, and followed that with a local broadcast premiere on WHUT, all with fantastic reviews in the press. We’re looking forward to a national PBS broadcast in late winter and upcoming screenings at the St. Louis International Film Festival & The Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum! Click through to see photos and read more!
One of the biggest challenges our clients face is documenting the human impact of the work that they do, especially when they are policy-oriented. As opposed to a direct-service organization, it is harder for them to demonstrate the impact of their work. They feel inclined to resort to programmatic videos explaining what they do and how they do it. Yet those have little emotional appeal and often fail to use the medium of film effectively.
It’s late afternoon on a beautiful day in Southern Israel. The children from Kibbutz Kfar Aza barrel into the classroom where after-school activities are held. Their teacher struggles to wrangle them as they peer into the lens of our camera, making goofy faces. Ben presses record all the while, capturing the joy of their childhood.
We were proud to hear that our own Ben Crosbie was selected as DC Office of Motion Picture and Television Development’s Filmmaker of the Month!
For the past three years, we’ve been tasked with telling the impact stories of the annual recipients of Georgetown University’s Vicennial Award, which honors 20 years of service to the University. There are many award winners every year and we open up the opportunity for each one of them to share their story if they choose. About 18 to 20 step forward every year and while each have amazing contributions to the University and the world, it’s a real challenge to include all these stories into one 10 minute entertaining and moving video. Below is what we came up with this year and the steps for how we went about it:
We’re finally settled into our new offices in the lovely Josephine Butler Parks Center in NW Washington, DC. We wanted to be in a space that was historical, inspiring and energetic, and this building is all of that and more. It was built in the 1920s as a potential site for the Vice President’s home but now houses a multitude of local non-profits, creatives and community builders. Below are some photos of our office, which comprises two adjoining rooms. Please come and pay us a visit!
This Valentine’s Day Eve as my honey and I wait for the homemade pizza dough to rise for our casual romantic eve, I felt compelled to sit down and write about what inspires me about love in non-fiction film. Mostly because it’s the only kind of depiction of love that really inspires and moves me. Hollywood doesn’t have anything on docs when it comes to love. Their formula typically goes something like this: boy meets girl, flirtation ensues, they are confronted by forces out of their control, they break up, and in most cases they get back together for happily ever after. Documentary love is much more complicated, layered, and profound.