Lights, camera, take action! Filmmaking for a campaign

Blog by: Allison, Umran, Yiqiong, Zohreen and Josephine

The day began with a film-making workshop. It allowed us to review several films made for awareness campaigns, and to get a clearer picture of what works… and what doesn’t!

The morning ended with practical filming tips, from framing to lights. Key takeaway: less is more.

We have to find a simple idea that delivers a clear message and calls for direct action.

These were the words we went by in the afternoon. At first with our navigator Sophia and then on our own, we settled down and drafted some ideas for our video. For those wondering what a brainstorm between active citizens looks like, check out Yiqiong’s picture below!

 

The creative process can be tiring and slightly overwhelming (drowning in ideas is hardly better than desperately looking for one). To avoid this, we pinned to the wall our main goal: getting the public to engage with our video. Having done so, it was easier for us to start coordinating our points of view and discuss the technicalities of filming. School holidays mean that the Baytree centre (HQ of the FATIMA Project) will be empty tomorrow, so we have to stay one step ahead and carefully plan out our moves. The session was fruitful. Without giving away too many details on our secret project, we can say our story is taking shape. It looks promising! Finding a way to engage with the public in only 2 minutes is far from easy, but we are ready to tackle the challenge for the Wonder Foundation!