Michigan LCV Presents: People-Centered Power
This video was created specifically for a donor/membership growth event hosted in May of 2023. The instructions I was given were "It has to be seven minutes long, we need three emotional moments, a few goosebumps, sad dramatic music that crescendos into something inspirational, maybe a sprinkling of humor, and you have to tell the whole story of our organization and how and why we're successful." While those instructions might be too vague for some, in my experience as a creative I've learned that sometimes all I really need is the box to bounce around in. I filmed all the interviews and captured all content used in this video, with the exception of a few pieces of stock footage and photos taken by staff. I worked with a teammate to develop the script for Lisa's speaking portion as well as the questions for the board member interviews. My entire team is thrilled with how this video turned out, it's been sent out to donors, new members, all board members, staff has been sharing it on their personal pages, it's gone out in organization-wide emails, it will be featured on the front page of our new website, and it was played at the donor event in May in which we raised over $115,000. I truly consider this video one of my best pieces yet.
This playlist of videos features ten 30 second ads I made featuring Michigan lawmakers standing up to utility monopolies DTE and Consumers Energy after an ice storm left hundreds of thousands without power for days. I used recordings from committee hearings, interviews I captured myself, and I created all motion graphics and designs. These ads were blasted out in lawmakers districts via social media and asked viewers to thank their lawmaker by filling out a pre-written letter linked in the ad copy. In addition to gathering support for lawmakers, this campaign brought in new members and has been used for fundraising and donor outreach. I absolutely loved doing this project because I was given full creative freedom and stickin' it to bad corporate actors is one of my favorite ways to use my skills.
Defend Black Voters Coalition Rallies Before DTE Rate Case Hearing - MLCV is a member of the Defend Black Voters Coalition. We attended this event, assisted with media relations, and I produced this video recapping the event and its purpose. We sent this video to DFB to post and we shared it from their pages to amplify the coalition and further their message.
Another Example:
NO PIPELINE. NO TUNNEL. The Army Corps of Engineers held a public comment hearing in Saint Ignace on the proposed Line 5 Tunnel project. Water protectors, environmentalists, Great Lakes supporters, and people of all ages and backgrounds don't trust Line 5 and don't trust Enbridge.
Julia Cole is a climate scientist and professor at the University of Michigan. In this interview she explains how climate change is already impacting Michigan, why we must act now, and why Governor Whitmer's MI Healthy Climate Plan is our best shot.
Another Example:
Climate Can't Wait: Alita Kelly & Southeast Market GR, Healthy Climate. Healthy Food. Alita Kelly is a leader in her community, she's created a healthy food hub and countless opportunities for people to learn and grow together.
HEAR OUR STORIES. JOIN OUR FIGHT.
This is a preview piece to hype up our Build Back Better FOR US storyteller project that lasted from 2021 to March of 2022. The stories featured here are only a small sample of the many stories shared. Including this preview piece, I produced 13 video stories and, with the help of my team, 17 written stories.
Our written stories can be found here.
Other Examples:
Jocelyn & Stanley - This family lives in the Jefferson-Chalmers neighborhood and endured the devastating impacts of extreme weather caused by climate change. Jocelyn and Stanley lost more than just mementos in the floods.
Tom Baird - Tom is an angler and environmentalist. Climate change is impacting every aspect in our lives, from our day-to-day lives to our hobbies, from the health of our air to the fish in our waters. This is the first storyteller video I made for MLCV.
Jasmin Maciel Gutierrez - Jasmin lives with her family in Southwest Detroit. They've endured storms, but they had never experienced anything like the floods in the summer of 2021.
It's Time to Build Back Better.
I love a good rally. I love a good protest. I love being surrounded by people fighting for positive change. This video is a compilation of several rallies across Michigan held to gather support for the climate action outlined in Build Back Better.
Another Example:
Oakland County Climate Rally - This rally was held in Oakland County on Earth Day to promote climate action and engage the community. It's always so exciting to be reminded how many people are in the climate fight with us.
Leaders of Tomorrow: this is one of our first endeavors into selfie-style video production. I made this video for our annual Detroit Dinner gala in 2021. We wanted people to leave the event feeling recharged and inspired so we lifted up some of the most inspirational people in our organization: our young activists. I created a document with instructions on how and where to record yourself, some questions and examples of what you might say, and how and where to submit your videos. We continue to use this instructions document for other selfie-style video projects and tailor it to our storytellers when necessary.
I chose to highlight selfie-style videos here because we are trying to incorporate more of this type of video into our work for many reasons. One might assume the lower-quality production will reduce the impact of the final piece, however, this format allows us to include more voices from any variety of locations in a shorter amount of time, and we've discovered audiences respond well to the more personal, approachable, look of the selfie-style video. It feels more like someone made this message for you, like you're on FaceTime with someone familiar, rather than a stranger.
At MLCV I'm working with my supervisor to create a plan to incorporate selfie-style video requirements for the Our Water Activist program, the Grow Detroit Young Talent program, the Direct Voter Contact program, and our volunteer and internship programs. Our goal is to collect stories and produce videos during each program cycle to highlight our teammates, promote the programs, and further the messages.
Another Example:
Thank You for Building Michigan Together - This video was made immediately after the passage of the Building Michigan Together Plan (SB 565) to highlight some of the important allocations for drinking water infrastructure. This project allowed us to highlight the Our Water Activists, teach audiences about the plan, and gave the activists another project to add to their own portfolios. This video had some of the highest engagement in our email program.
Endorsements
We managed to snag 8 minutes with Governor Whitmer before a fundraiser to film this endorsement ad. I worked with her team to write a script and I produced the video. This is the extended cut, the video was designed to be cut into shorter pieces focusing on climate action, drinking water, and democracy for various social media platforms and membership email programs. I knew we only had a few minutes to make this happen so I had our team order lights and a teleprompter, organize three helpers for me during the shoot, and have the set ready to roll upon the governor's arrival.
Another Example:
Jocelyn Benson - I am so proud of this video. Jocelyn Benson is a superb, award-winning Secretary of State and she aced her part in this video in one take. When we announced this endorsement and shared it with our membership we received a handful of donations including a $2,500 donation from one member.
Endorsement Video Template - We built toolkits for all of our endorsed House and Senate candidates including static images, GIFs, and these videos. I designed the template and plugged in the information and photos of each candidate to produce high-quality videos that were shared by candidates all over the state.
