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To produce four separate films, each demonstrating Tearfund's mobilisation of local churches around the world to support and care for children effected by HIV and AIDS.
Two alternative length cuts for adults, one for Tearfund's HIV Unit and one for their Youth team, each film must appeal to its respective audience in the most appropriate and powerful way possible.
Focusing on child headed households in Uganda, these films will be used to launch a new regular giving proposition, as motivation and inspiration for people of all ages, everywhere, to be part of the Tearfund miracle.
After careful consideration and discussion with the client to establish the objectives of each film, researching the subject matter and audience, we began to think about how to demonstrate, both aesthetically and strategically, Tearfund's message and the best ways to appeal to each film's specific audience.
The ambition of the youth film was to inform, motivate and inspire young people to support Tearfund. Shot from the point of view of the children, well-composed examples of 'a day in the life' of the family will show the world from the child's perspective. The aim is for the audience to go on an intimate journey that shows the balance between the bleakness of their circumstances and the inspiring hopefulness of the family involved.
The objective of the two adult films is to raise understanding and involvement in Tearfund's HIV campaign. The two alternative length cuts will be more educational in tone than the youth film, focussing on a different family and church volunteers. These films will take a clear step out from the intimacy of the child's personal life and start to look at the bigger picture of their situation, and others like them. They will have a well-polished cinematic look with controlled, very composed shots. Smooth, fluid camera work, as opposed to a gritty hand-held look, will capture the reality of the subjects' lives without impacting their movements. The audience will then feel a part of the community, rather than an outsider looking in.
The separate film specifically for Tearfund's HIV Unit will highlight the best practice methods of mobilising local churches into working alongside Tearfund to care for orphaned and vulnerable children. The key message will be to demonstrate how, with Tearfund's support, local churches are becoming empowered to implement new care programmes in environments where HIV and AIDS are prevalent and to highlight the effectiveness of the programme in local communities. Stylistically, this film will evoke the same sense of intimacy between subject and audience, but will be more strategic in tone than the adult and youth films, placing individuals in a national context.
Our hand-picked team of producer, director and cameraman form a minimum crew on location in Uganda. This is not only cost effective, but also reduces the impact and potential disruption that a film crew will have on the local communities.
The visual aesthetics of each film have been carefully deliberated to ensure that the motivations of each film are realised to their maximum potential. Shooting on a Sony HVR Z1E camcorder results in a high quality HD image and allowed the crew to travel light. It's excellent value for its format and the additional use of Tobacco grad filters and Fish Eye adaptor lens were able to achieve a more polished look, whilst remaining within budget. Easily manageable in extreme weather conditions and under-resourced environments, the Z1 was an obvious choice for this project.
Differentiating the youth film from the two adult and HIV Unit films, we also shot some footage on Super 8. This created a completely separate look and feel to the youth film, clearly identifying it as its own entity and directing it toward a specific audience. The grainy, cinematic quality evokes a retrospective sentimentality and emphasises the reality that children alive today are struggling in poverty to enjoy a childhood with the most basic of resources.
With full editing facilities in-house here at Pretzel, the post-production process is more cost-effective than having to go to a facilities company off-site. With our very own producer and director working on the Tearfund Uganda project, they were able to carefully monitor all editing, with all the resources of the Pretzel office close at hand.
The lovely chaps at The Widescreen Centre looked after the development and telecine of the Super 8 films. Their outstanding reputation, attention to detail and value for money, combined with the fact that they're just up the road, made this element of post-production a happy partnership.
Client viewings take place here at Pretzel and we bring out the best tea and biscuits - with chocolate on top and everything. We like having visitors and clients are always welcome to pop in and say hello.
The films were then signed off and delivered to client in the formats they required, web encodes, dvd and digi-beta.
Client: Tearfund NGO
Title: Uganda
Producer: Sarah Riddell
Format: HD DVcam
Length: 3 x 3 min films with 1 x 8 min master
Location: Uganda