Southampton Hospitals Charity – Case Study
Children’s Emergency and Trauma Department Campaign Film
We’re proud members of our local community and have always worked closely with local community groups. This is why we were delighted to be asked to be a part of this project. University Hospital Southampton is such a vital part of our city and the wider local area so creating the appeal video for the new Children’s Emergency and Trauma department has been a real privilege for us.
What we did
Pre-production
This project required a detailed pre production process for a number of reasons. Firstly, the message for the film had to be clear and effective. Working with the client, we shaped what would become the narrative for the final film. Each ward at the hospital is filled with individual personal stories, but for this project we needed to select the right stories in order to make an impact on the audience. We thought carefully about the questions we asked so that we could effectively tell this story. Filming in a live hospital environment also required us to be flexible and sensitive. We used this time to select filming slots that would work for everyone involved. From the charity team, to patients and the medical staff looking after them. We also discussed ways in which we could limit our footprint whilst collecting high quality footage.
The brief
We were approached by the Southampton Hospitals Charity to create a film that would fit into the final part of their appeal for the new department. The video was designed to fit into a wider campaign that had already raised a significant amount of money for the new department (£1.1m). This would help make the final push for the remaining £1m to complete the project. This video needed to be effective and emotive, but more importantly, demonstrate what an impact the department will have for our local community.
Production
The production for this project was spread out over several days, in order to match the needs and busy schedules of the medical professionals at the hospital. Each day had a clear and defined outcome in mind, allowing us to focus on the key story elements that we needed to capture. Having already established a narrative for the film was incredibly helpful, as it meant that we could capture only what we needed, limiting the stress and anxiety of the young patients we were filming.
We love our gear, but for this project capturing the right images for the story was more important and so the equipment we chose to bring with us was minimal. With a two person crew we were able to easily slot into the busy working environment and capture the footage we needed for our story. As we’re passionate about documentary filmmaking, this style was particularly appealing for us and was a good opportunity for us to get creative using only what was available.
Post production
Post production on this project was a dream. Although there were a lot of collaborators to work with, quick communication meant that we could work quickly on creating the final film. Due to the amount of footage that we had available we were able to create supplementary video content to sit alongside the main appeal film. This meant that this appeal had the potential to reach as many people as possible.
Final thoughts
It’s always been important to us to be involved in projects that benefit the community. This project gave us the opportunity to be creative, tell human stories and was a good reminder of how important our local hospital is. With the project now finished, we’re looking forward to seeing the new department open and the positive impact it will have. If you want to get involved with the appeal in any way then visit the appeal websites at:
https://southamptonhospitalscharity.org/current-appeals/
https://themurrayparishtrust.com/2millionsteps/
What our client thought
It has been an absolute pleasure to work with Emma and Craig. From day one they have been professional, passionate and friendly. Whilst filming with our Children’s Hospital Wards they were patient and understanding of the issues which the environment presented. During interviews with children, families and staff they were empathetic and happily calmed any nerves. They made the editing process simple and were quick to respond to our comments, even producing additional video footage at short notice. This is the first time that my team have produced an appeal video, the support of Emma and Craig made this process easy and we are delighted with the results. We have received positive feedback from supporters and a regional TV station made use of our video within days of its completion.
Myself and all the team at Southampton Hospital Charity feel like Emma and Craig are part of the team and we cannot wait to work with them again in the future.
Southampton Hospitals Charity
