Philadelphia Filmmaker and Podcast Producer
With a tight turnaround time of approximately ten weeks and five different locations that needed to be scouted, this project was a challenge but one I was happy to take on. I started working with the folks from both Witty Gritty and The Barra Foundation to establish our goals and how all of these pieces would tie together, then talk deliverables. Each school was to have their own unique video developed along with photography for collateral that would be distributed on the web and in booklets. At a higher level, we needed to blend all of the individual videos together and find a cohesive narrative about what makes them similar, as well as highlight what sets them apart. This is the result of all that hard work:
I felt so uplifted talking to the students about their experiences in these schools. The pairing of traditional learning and real-world experience was crucial to capture and I think between both the photos and videos I was able to help make a compelling case for why these schools matter and that their novel approach to teaching might be the shot in the arm our education system needs right now.
The fact that I had to capture footage and photography during school hours meant keeping a low profile so as not to be disruptive to the students. This meant Sony mirrorless cameras to pull double duty for both high quality photo and video work. The resulting captures were truly candid and helped to convey the sense of joy, curiosity, and hard work these students experience every day.
