“Working with Micro-Documentaries was a wonderful experience. The amount of care and intention that was put into crafting the narrative went way beyond my expectations. From the beginning interview to the final editing I felt my thoughts were welcomed and made part of the process. The micro-documentary format has made it so easy to tell the story of this project through an engaging and informative video narrative that was easy to e-mail and share with anyone.”
Naomi Natale, TED Fellow, artist, social activist founder of One Million Bones
Background:
TED approached Micro-Documentaries to introduce their Fellows Program to a variety of audiences from conference attendees to sponsors to prospective Fellow applicants.
TED is a nonprofit organization that curates a set of conferences formed to disseminate “ideas worth spreading”. Since 2006 the talks have been offered for free viewing online have been viewed some 290 million times. The TED Fellows program is designed to bring together young world-changers and trailblazers who have shown unusual accomplishment and exceptional courage, and with its help, amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities.
What We Did:
TED had extensive footage of Fellows on the famous TED stage making their compelling cases and discussing their ideas. However, there was an opportunity to complement these videos with a micro-documentary that invited the audience into the field to experience the remarkable fellows in their own space. The resulting microdoc would also be useful to the fellows in promoting their work and garnering support for it. After considering a number of options, Naomi Natale, artist and social activist of One Million Bones was selected to represent what TED Fellows are all about.
- As a background, we started out by filming her in the abandoned warehouse that had served as an inspiration for The Cradle Project. This helped to set the context for where she was coming from.
- We then transitioned to her personal thoughts on the issue of genocide and through her pain in discussing this, the audience shares in the anguish and starts to understand her vision.
- From here, her new project One Million Bones was introduced and brought to life through a few examples of what this ambitious project means to her, how it is coming to life and how people can become involved and transform their helplessness into action.
Points to Ponder:
- Who are the people who can bring your stories to life? How might you go into their kitchen to ou
- What are the most visually compelling ways of illustrating the points that are being spoken?
- How can you make your story more personal in order to make it more memorable and repeatable?