It’s always fun to revisit multimedia projects at the end of the year when I create my ‘top 50′ list. As I do each year, I must stress that this is my list and not a definitive ‘best of’ list simply because I have not seen all multimedia created and thus cannot create a comprehensive list. Therefore, below are 50 projects that have inspired me most in 2011. A reader suggested last year that I better organize the sites, so I decided to pick 10 each from the five sectors: journalism, advertising, student work, philanthropy, and documentary. Thanks to everyone for the overwhelming inspiration and happy holidays!
Documentary project Call + Response (overseen by non-profit Fair Trade Fund) recently deployed an interactive website and mobile app asking you to determine how many slaves “work for you,” aka how many likely were involved in the production of products you use every day. Unfortunately I have a whopping 54 slaves. I really liked their call to action at the end where instead of playing the blame game, they gave me a template to fill out and send to a variety of different organizations asking them to make their supply chain more transparent to uncover any forced or child labor. Take the survey and let me know what you think of their approach to raising awareness about this issue.
Many times non-profits make a passive video with a compelling story to donate with a corresponding link. Or, in the case of K.C. Mahindra Education Trust & the Naandi Foundation, they make a horizontally-synced animation film which progresses based on donation level, social media integration, AND a storefront featuring video cut-outs of the girls to entice donors. If you haven’t seen “A Girl Story” and “A Girl Store,” make sure to check it out now for inspiration on how to effectively develop a philanthropic campaign!
In this age of tablets, smart phones, and social networks, video is a powerful way to introduce people to a cause. But on YouTube and other video-sharing sites, real-world issues often take a back seat to pop-culture favorites like “Fuzzy Fuzzy Cute Cute” (which, incidentally, surpassed a nonprofit video about global warming by more than 2 million views). The reality is, many advocacy groups are struggling to capture the attention of the general public. It’s time for them to step up their digital-storytelling game. These five tips can help.
Documentary filmmakers Bob Sacha and Scott Anger recently published “50 milligrams is not enough,” an emotional account of cancer-stricken patients suffering from a lack of sufficient pain medication in Ukraine. “While late-stage cancer patients in other countries might get 2,000 milligrams or more of morphine per day to manage their pain symptoms, patients in Ukraine are only allowed 50 milligrams per day,” wrote producer Pamela Chen. This project is the first in a series of three short films done for the Open Society Foundations documenting human rights abuses in health care settings. It is eye-opening, unsettling and definitely worth your time.
I recently stumbled across “Gold’s Costly Dividend” by the Human Rights Organization. A six-chapter mini documentary tells the trials and tribulations of those affected by a recent gold discovery in Papua New Guinea. According to the non-profit, Canadian company Barrick Gold Corporation entered the country to extract the gold, resulting in countless stories of rape, mercury poisoning and ruined farm land.
Looks like I missed this campaign last fall when it initially launched … if you did as well make sure to check it out now! Non-profit organization Save the Children commissioned Swedish advertising agencies Lowe Brindfors and B-Reel to build “The Lottery of Life” in order to give users the opportunity to see where they might have otherwise been born. Using population statistics, the site allows users to spin the wheel and take them on a dizzying rotation around the world to see where they end up. I was born in Nigeria, where 70% of the population lives in poverty. Where were you born?
Many of you may know that I am a huge proponent of supporting philanthropic causes – both in giving time and money. For the past five years, I have worked with six non-profit organizations doing a variety of pro-bono web development and multimedia storytelling. I can’t begin to express how fulfilling it is for me personally and professionally to improve my multimedia skills while helping a worthy cause. Recently I stumbled across Sparked.com, a website that allows non-profits to post their needs as “challenges,” which individual “micro-volunteers” can then peruse to see how they can help. Right now there are countless challenges asking for designers, graphic artists, videographers, photographers and web developers – I say we rally together and see what we can do to help these organizations!
MediaStorm recently published two philanthropic pieces commissioned by non-profit organizations Save the Children and the United Nations Foundation. The first, a fast-paced promo for Save the Children’s Every One campaign, was turned around in 10 days. The second, a documentary about the importance of girl’s educations in Ethiopia, integrated videography and photography from four producers in the field: Jeff Erwin, Owen Smith, David Evan and Stuart Ramson. Both were produced by former II blogger Tim McLaughlin and are well worth your time. Enjoy!
The relatively young but venerable humanitarian assistance organization Doctors Without Borders, or Medecins Sans Frontieres as it is originally known, has a pretty serious-looking website. Not that anyone questions the nature of the work of this organization.I wanted to take a look at the U.S. website for MSF, including their use of interactive technology, and thus get a feel for the organization as though it was my first introduction, then invite you to look at the websites for other MSF country members – I think it is interesting how both the ‘look’ of the U.S. website and their use of technology reflects something of a tailored brand for this audience. I’ll say right up front that to my mind the U.S. website carries a tone of ‘journalistic solemnity’ that reaches even further than MSF’s associated websites in other countries.
