We are delighted to have won a Gold Award at the 2021 AVA Digital Awards for our work on this project.
Alliance to End Plastic Waste is a non-profit organization with a mission to reduce plastic waste for a better future. Tapping into our creative and production expertise, we developed a visually engaging video to encourage people to learn more about the work they do.
The Backstory
Plastic pollution is a global crisis, especially in places where waste collection services are nonexistent. To protect the world's natural resources and ecosystems, Alliance to End Plastic Waste (The Alliance) was founded in January 2019. The Singapore-based nonprofit has one mission: to solve the problem of the eight million tonnes of plastic waste entering our oceans every year.
The Insight
The Alliance knows that ending plastic waste needs to be a collective effort. That’s why, beyond reaching out to both governmental and non-governmental organisations around the world, it shares progress made each year in an annual report called, "It All Starts With Collaboration". The report is targeted at media organisations and conglomerates, empowering them with information so they can decide how to invest in projects or provide technical expertise.
But how does the Alliance convince time-strapped media organisations and busy key decision makers to read their report? Knowing that video can transform hard to digest media like annual reports into something that’s engaging and powerful, we worked with the Alliance to produce a short, impactful clip to showcase the key points from the report.
The Creative
To bring the 30-page report to life, our team created a four-minute video that the Alliance could easily share with members of the media.
The challenge? Not having any footage to work with.
In the face of COVID-19 travel restrictions, we found a solution using the limited number of stills the Alliance could provide. Using parallax and cinemagraph treatments, we brought the images to life without the need for a shoot. Where needed, we sourced relevant, high-quality stock footage to add even more visual depth..
Most importantly, we gave the video a personalised touch, suggesting voice overs (VO) by Alliance CEO Jacob Duer, and project leaders who were located around the world. These were recorded by the individuals themselves from the comfort of their homes, and to achieve the best quality from lo-fi setups, we provided coaching and shared best practices for home recording . This resulted in a clean video narration, complete with a diverse range of voices. And because the VOs came from the same people who were directly involved in the projects, the video was much more impactful.
To emphasise the main points of the report and demonstrate the global scale of impact, we included key statistics and graphs, with carefully curated typography to engage viewers. We also highlighted important quotes.
Pulling it all together was the soundtrack, which we selected to give viewers a sense of hope, that their support could add to the positive impact. Our team carefully curated a soundtrack that would send positive vibes, without diluting the message.
The Evidence
“Plastic waste is a global problem that urgently needs to be addressed. Amidst a global pandemic, we needed to draw the attention of the media and large organisations around the world. distillery helped us bring this issue to light, garnering attention from the press through an engaging video that they completed within a short period of time.”
The Magic
Instead of allowing COVID-19 to stand in the way of creating a visually engaging video, our team put on their creative hats, and navigated a different route to get to the destination. As a result, our four-minute video cost a fraction of what it otherwise would, while delivering an impactful piece of content that met our client’s brief.
By creating cinemagraphs, we not only gave the illusion of video footage, we created more depth than traditional video footage allows. By carefully coordinating our text overlays, we further demonstrated the international reach of the Alliance and the impact it has made in just a short period of time.
For us, the magic was in having the opportunity to be a part of this important movement. Through our video project, we were able to help the Alliance tell their story and spread their message further, so that more organisations will join forces to help end plastic waste.