At Village Media, some our favorite projects have been for nonprofit organizations. There is a certain reward in creating a video or web site that helps to better the world in some way.
Take a look at the examples below to see how video or an updated web site might be used to help your organization. Follow the links below to the case studies on some of the non-profits we have worked with in the past.
Video Production
Web sites
- Swan Conservation Trust
- iam4kidsmentoring.org
- The Heroes Project
- The Farm Midwifery Center
- The Farm Community
The Informational Video
Every organization is in need of a 3 to 5 minute informational production, something that could be used for fundraising or educating the public about the work that it does. Play your video on the organization’s web site or on a big screen with a video projector at live events.
The PSA
Every organization can use help getting out is message and the Public Service Announcement or PSA can be an excellent way for you to get much needed exposure to the general public. Although broadcast affiliates and cable companies are not in the business of giving away air time, they almost always set aside some space for PSA’s, if for nothing more than their own additional self-promotion.
Think of your PSA as more like a 15, 30 second or a 60 second commercial for your organization. It will need to cover the bases, providing the viewer with essential information, such as the name of the group being presented, as well as how to contact you. Tell your story!
Organizing Your Information
It all boils down to a script and story-board. Will you interview the people of importance and let them have their say? Or will you use people to tell a story?
Is there a call to action requiring the viewer to do something like write a congressman or make a donation? Will the actors speak or will you use a voice over, that is, a narrator?
All of these decisions fall under planning, the best thing you can do to insure a positive and successful production experience.
If this is truly your first or one of your first projects, apply the KISS rule… Keep It Simple. Interviews can work out well because there is only one person to light and mike for audio. The background can be a blank cloth, a wall, enhanced with a plant, a finite area rather than needing to deal with a whole room.
Of course the interview will only work if the person/subject speaks well on camera. It also may not communicate the service of the organization or group as much as unrehearsed video of the people engaged in their primary activity. This might be a youth organization working with underprivileged kids, an environmental group planting trees, beautifying a park, or saving a forest.