There are no hard and fast rules to storytelling. This is especially true when using video as the medium. The opportunities, tools and platforms we as production companies have to tell visual stories rapidly change, especially in the last decade we’ve been doing this work.
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.
This Fall, we teamed up with German based NGO Malteser International to produce an identity video that would introduce their organization to an American audience, just as they open new offices in Miami, FL. Click through to view the video and read more about our approach.
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.
This November, we were tasked by Georgetown University’s Office of Advancement to conceive of a short video that would be sent to alumni at the end of the year to thank donors for their support and encourage others to consider Georgetown in their end-of-year giving. As alumni of the University ourselves, we look back and remember our experience at Georgetown as a series of moments, big and small.
It’s been an amazing year for us at Eidolon Films, now in our fifth year of business (3 years full-time). It really seems like yesterday that the idea of running our own business making documentary films was just a dream. But I’m proud to say it’s been our fortunate reality. We feel truly lucky to come to work every day to be creative, to meet fascinating people, to travel the world and to advocate & educate through story.
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:
Our beloved feature film Keeping the Kibbutz is still garnering attention this month. It was one of only a handful of films featured on the front page of Snagfilms this month and it was also awarded a prestigious Telly Award for excellence in television documentary! It’s a nice pat on the back as we dive into our next feature film.
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!
Eidolon’s own Ben Crosbie was recently featured in Panasonic’s blog. It details his work on Eidolon’s independent and client projects using the AG-AF100. Read it HERE!
Many of our clients like to highlight stories of major donors, committed volunteers and institution-builders. Such profile videos can serve to honor service to the organization as well as provide inspiration for others to emulate that service. The video below is one of two profiles we produced for Georgetown University, which used the video to honor committed members of the business community at a fundraising event aimed to raise scholarship money. Below the video are three techniques to building a successful short profile story: