Examples for International Rescue Committee
Telling the human story of the overfishing crisis
EDF’s oceans program pursues an effective approach to reverse overfishing and help fish populations rebound: Transform fishery management into systems that empower fishermen and women to reap the benefits of fish population resurgence, and thus have a stake in the future of their fisheries.
Though this was an effective scientific and economic policy, the program needed to reach the hearts and minds of foundation officers and high-level donors–by telling a more emotional story. I helped the team develop a short documentary that focused on the human narrative. Because of the comprehensive footage gathered, we were also able to develop asset bundles that enabled us to create shorter versions, as well as pieces that highlighted a difference focus, maximizing the materials across objectives.
Highlighting impact within a community: Clean Energy
One challenge facing climate communications: The public erroneously believes that climate-positive policies and practices means giving up quality of life. The clean energy team tasked us with communicating the *positives* of clean energy (without any political overtones.) The solution? A short documentary video about the day-to-day benefits of clean energy to real families. By focusing on this community in the primarily Republican state of Texas, we were able to showcase the positives of clean energy in a non-partisan way.
Describing a unique initiative: Climate Corps Fellowship at Fly Ranch
I would often be enlisted to tell the story of specific initiatives, such as this unique partnership between EDF Climate Corps and the innovation arm of the group of nonprofits under the Burning Man umbrella. This piece features the fellow as well as the climate corps hosts to explain the purpose and impact of the work.
Fresh way to describe a Strategic Plan
The challenge? Transform a 50-page Strategic Plan document–which outlined EDF’s goals for the upcoming 5 years–into a short, inspiring video appropriate for a broader membership and donor audience. The challenge was to communicate the ambitious yet realistic goals. This concept imagined what the headlines would read once EDF had succeeded. (Note that this plan was issued in early 2015, all headlines are future-forward from that time.)
An individual portrait: Theo and COPD
Most patients with COPD don’t know they have the condition, and without knowing they have the condition, they won’t seek treatment. Research showed that the most likely way to reach undiagnosed, untreated patients was to elicit connection with other individuals struggling with some of the same symptoms and lifestyle challenges. To showcase Theo, our crew spent a day following him at work and interviewing him on camera.
Using 360 video to bring people to a place
This video trailer teases a 360-video project for the Mississippi Delta Restoration work. Although the EDF program staffers needed to gain wide support among Louisiana residents for coastal restoration, most Louisianans would never see or experience coastal wetlands loss. The solution? A 360 video that allowed them to “be there,” and understand coastal wetlands loss from a close-up view.
A celebrity feature, beyond the “talking head”
Moms Clean Air Force had secured the support of actress Julianne Moore…but she only had half of a day for a video shoot, and it had to be done in her home. So while our master footage was “talking heads,” I took on the challenge of developing a video with more narrative and visual interest. Since Ms Moore had written a children’s book, we came up with the idea to use the existing illustrations of that book–supplemented with additional illustrations in the same style–to tell the story of the Clean Air Act in a more interesting way. The resulting video garnered more than 200,000 views and exceeded the sign-up objective.