You've seen it before.
A video takes off, taking a purpose-driven organization from obscurity into the mainstream. Thought leadership is strengthened, donations start pouring in, senators start calling. People everywhere are talking about it.
You try to do the same.
You hire proven, professional filmmakers and let them do their thing.
But hiring proven filmmakers does not guarantee results.
Sometimes you might get lucky and end up with compelling video stories that reach huge audiences. Other times, despite your best efforts, the videos will linger on YouTube with a few hundred views. Trying to produce beautiful, inspiring short films that get watched by large audiences can feel like the ultimate game of Lotto.
It doesn't have to be this way.
We spent more than a year to extract the lessons from our most successful films (the ones that reached millions of people, raised millions of dollars and helped to advance legislation), so that you could know what it takes to replicate them. We also looked closely at the films we produced that went nowhere (the ones that drove us mad!) and extracted the pitfalls for you to avoid. The result is not only a course, but a framework and a methodology that you can apply to get more consistent results from your videographers, so that you too can deliver on the promise of video.
If you work in communications at a purpose-driven organization and are ready to leverage the power of video, then this first-of-its-kind course is for you. You might have an education in communications, business or marketing. Or maybe a background in writing or social media. Many of those skills transfer nicely to video storytelling.
However, in many important ways they don't translate successfully.
That is why, this course is specifically designed to increase your skills and confidence in video storytelling strategy. Because, no matter how good your filmmakers are, if you are serious about getting results, the video storytelling strategy is yours to own.
This is not film school. This course is NOT intended to turn you into a filmmaker and it’s not intended to give you the technical skills to film, edit and compose.
It will, however, put you in a much better position to consistently get the best work from your videographers and to reach huge audience with compelling video stories.
“This course was incredibly useful for helping me think about how to identify, pursue, and tell visual stories that will resonate with our audience. The framework was so eye-opening. It was all presented clearly, with great examples. I really loved the practical tools. And learning how to evaluate a video was also terrific. I feel like I can use these learnings not just for video storytelling but all storytelling.”
- Anne Kavanagh, Editorial Director, UCSF
About The Course
Short Films, Big Impact is an A-Z blueprint of a proven framework and methodology for how to be the best possible partner for your videographers and set them up for success at each step of the way. You will learn how to identify, frame and tell visual stories that will resonate with your audience. The detailed lessons also provide step-by-step instructions on how to distribute your films widely once you have the finished product in hand. We structured the course around our Purposeful Storytelling Model, which shows us that, at best, video storytelling to advance purpose-driven missions is a choreography between the 3 S-s. Each module has a few video lessons that you can go through at your own pace.
You will learn:
- how to draft the overall narrative framework and strategy for your organization
- how frame, scout, prioritize and capture video stories most effectively in order to inspire action
- what your specific role should be in relation to your videographers' at each step of the way in order to ensure more consistent and compelling results
- how to distribute strategically and reach huge audiences with your short films
- how to strengthen your clarity, perspective and courage so that your videos do not fuel the fire of polarization
Document templates, checklists and reference sheets.
Each Module is complete with document templates, checklists and reference sheets that are ready for you to customize and to use in each of the 5 stages of collaboration with your filmmaker - from your initial Strategic Session through Production and all the way through Distribution. With these in hand, the knowledge you gain in the course is translated into practical action.
“It was fantastic to be presented with a relatively simple framework from which we can scout and create the kind of stories that will better engage our audiences. The course was very action-oriented, with content and tools to help better understand the effective elements to building a powerful visual story. I am feeling much more confident that I will be able to better guide our vendors and clients to produce effective films. Fascinating also that this framework can be applied loosely to storytelling in all forms of collateral.”
- Elise Carlaccini, Creative Producer & Project Manager, University Development and Alumni Development and Alumni Relations, UCSF
Bonus Private, Member-Only Facebook Group
While the core curriculum takes you by the hand and leads you every step of the way, your journey will be enhanced by engaging with others who have chosen the same path. The insight and support generated by the group will enable you to:
- tap into a trusted community for new ideas, insights and inspiration.
- ask questions and troubleshoot challenges standing in your way
- get an extra set of eyes on every piece of your video story system from those in a community who are in the trenches with you
- invite your new friends to watch and share your videos
This is a private community of communications leaders who are building a better world for all of us and who are serious about producing compelling video stories and getting them in front of huge audiences.
About the Instructor
Natasha Deganello Giraudie is an independent documentary filmmaker, a teacher and a pioneer of the micro-documentary genre. Her recent series of short films on overcoming the homelessness crisis in San Francisco has reached an expansive audience with more than 750 thousand organic views online and was broadcast to more than 100 million people. As founder and Creative Director of Micro-Documentaries, she helped to pioneer the genre by producing short films in more than 30 countries to help social and environmental leaders raise millions of dollars, advance legislation and strengthen thought leadership. Natasha is a frequent teacher at Stanford University and other universities on topics of visual storytelling, social innovation and living a purposeful life. She currently chairs the board of directors of the Dalai Lama Fellows and serves as an Advisor for the Biomimicry Institute.
"Natasha’s talks are invaluable for our students. She turns her cutting edge experience in new media and new organizational structures into inspiring and enlightening anecdotes and insights."
- Scott Doorley, professor, d.school, Stanford University
“I learned how we can avoid getting in our own way when we develop story ideas and work with video producers - how to take advantage of limited resources - how to let video do what it does best (and avoid watering down the final product by asking it to do too much) - how all of these complex elements, visuals, light, place, and sound, come together to tell a story. I really loved that the whole thing was wrapped into a framework that feels really usable and achievable. Rather than a bunch of ideas that are hard to implement, we got a step-by-step guide for going through the process. Awesome, awesome, awesome.”
- Dresden Joswig, Digital Content Specialist, UCSF
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Frequently Asked Questions
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