Film content may be one of the bigger ticket items within a campaign budget, but there’s no denying it’s also one of the most effective ways to get a message across to supporters.
We frequently see mind-blowing impact stats from charities who have not only smashed fundraising targets with a well-executed campaign, but have also unlocked new audiences, garnered attention and coverage, and ultimately changed hearts and minds. Often, a film or animation has been the centrepiece of these powerful campaigns.
But, with charities feeling the pinch thanks to the precarious fundraising environment, how can charity marketers maximise their budgets and justify an investment in film to stakeholders?
With careful planning, you can limit the costs involved in making a creative and impactful film. It starts with really understanding the budget levers that affect pricing, so you can plan the content and process more strategically.
Making a strong start
Everything starts with a good brief.
Providing agencies or freelancers with a well-thought-out brief that has input from all the stakeholders will reduce the expense later.
Transparency is key to any creative project, especially in the initial stages. Expect specific and detailed costings upfront from a film maker, and when you’re working with a supplier, be prepared to share how much time and input you can realistically give to the project.
The brief should also cover your expectations and objectives. Be mindful that the brief or narrative for the film ramps up the cost, as some content directions are inevitably more expensive than others.
If in doubt, remember to tell your agency the main thing you want them to achieve, and be clear on how you will measure the film’s impact so they can advise you. Providing insights into what you’re expecting to see, the material you want to use – even a tiny sample of a script – and references to other projects you like are beneficial at this stage to get an accurate picture of the budget.
Having your brief in writing helps an agency think everything through, so they can be transparent in their proposal, avoid surprises down the line and prevent additional costs from creeping in. The brief also eliminates a lot of back and forth which can come with costly changes.
Location
If you’re making case study films, and it serves the contributor and their story, you can film inside their home. Not only does this lend the film authenticity, but it also allows contributors to feel more relaxed and nixes the cost of hiring a location.
However, more creative films might need a specific location, which adds to the budget. For example, for ‘Placeholders’ – the film we made for Ben, the automotive industry charity – we hired a location to provide a family home backdrop to the piece. Other films, like ‘We live with Dementia’, for Dementia UK, required the pared-back canvas of a studio.
If you’re lucky enough to have a suitable location already – like offices, care facilities, or hospitals, for example – you may be onto a winner. However, bear in mind that the location should be dictated by the content (its tone and narrative) and the logistics involved with getting it dressed.
Utilising existing resources
Many charities proactively record detailed case studies about the people they’ve helped. These case studies are an excellent source of inspiration and briefing material for campaigns, making it easier to find potential contributors who want to be featured in the film.
When we created Martin’s Journey for Walking With the Wounded, we sifted through a stack of service-user case studies to find a suitable contributor.
We got lucky when we came across Martin. He inspired the content of the film because:
- His lived experiences reinforced the message of the film.
- His family were keen to take part alongside him.
- He had a job that inspired the narrative of the film.
- His personality and way of speaking, phrases like: “lower than a grass snake’s belly”, added colour and interest.
Getting to know Martin and his story through the existing case study material was central to developing the film and making it emotive and powerful.
User Generated Content (UGC)
Naturally, as a film agency, we prefer to record film content in person, but during lockdown, like everyone else, we were unable to travel or be in a room with film contributors. Meanwhile, the need for charities to fundraise through film and communicate changes to their services increased.
To support contributors, we created dedicated kits including a selfie stick, tripods and the best camera at the time, and provided guidance on how to record the best footage, all of which was posted to them. Then we coached contributors through filming their stories and supplying them to us to weave together.
As well as being a cost-effective option, it also unlocked access to content from contributors from more diverse communities and locations. This process provided a way to get involved for those who would have been unable to take part in a traditional film shoot. Contributors could record daily diaries at times of day that worked with their schedules and in a way that suited them.
Here’s an example of a film we created using this technique for Diabetes UK.
Training
Upskilling your comms teams in video skills can allow you to meet your need for day-to-day video, e.g. frequent or reactive content. This means you can reserve outside suppliers for higher-profile, creative work. We’ve provided bespoke training programmes for charities, so they can integrate video skills into their teams to meet their various needs.
Strategic deliverables
We often speak to organisations with multiple objectives: maybe the fundraising team needs a personal giving film, the brand team wants a hero film to raise awareness, while the digital team wants imagery for a site launch.
Rather than taking a siloed approach to delivering these objectives, they can all be achieved within the context of one project – with a little careful planning. A smart way to do this is to think strategically about the year ahead and how all your content could be created from the same one or two film shoots. For example, one film shoot could deliver a brand film, personal giving campaign, case study material and photographs.
Having these elements pre-prepared is a treasure trove you can use to achieve your goals. It gives you artfully-edited content, rendered into different formats and content pieces. To get this right, it’s critical to work with an agency that can guide you through the process of creating a strategy that maximises the investment.
I hope these ideas have given you some food for thought and helped you feel more confident that you can pull off a piece of film content which moves the needle for your charity, without smashing your budget to bits.
Feeling ready to dive in but not sure where to start? We have briefing template guides that take you through the process of creating a watertight briefing document. Drop me a line and I’ll be happy to share it with you: abi@morever.co.uk.
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