Tell us a bit about your organization and what your specialty is in the film and video space.

Long Lead is a journalism studio that platforms independent reporting through cutting-edge editorial features

What is your organization’s ethos and how does it set you apart from industry competitors?

We call what we do “journalism without compromise,” aspiring to produce news reporting that doubles as art. It’s our goal to elevate the industry by combining the best editorial, art, and design to make features like no other outlet.

How can people join or learn more about what you do?

Explore our work on our website.

Tell us about your Telly Award winning piece. What’s the story behind it?

“The Promised Land“ is a documentary film short that was a part of our feature on LA’s unhoused veterans crisis, Home of the Brave. This 25-minute short film, produced by Rebecca Murga, a military veteran filmmaker, gives a street-level view of what it’s like to live on the streets in the homeless veteran capital of the U.S.

What are you most proud of about this piece? What was your biggest challenge during production and how did you solve it?

We’re most proud of the bravery of our subjects in this piece. Typically we think of solders’ bravery manifesting itself in battle, but the way these veterans opened up about their struggles, frustrations, and experiences is admirable and worthy of everyone’s time. We all agree that people who have served their country should not live on the streets. It’s far past time we as a country did something real about that.

Do you have any advice to other filmmakers based on your career or your team’s approach to work?

I’m not a filmmaker — I provided editorial direction. Rebecca Murga was the director. She may have different advice, but based on this story I’d say, like our soldiers, take a mission-oriented approach to you work. Set an objective and use that to guide your compass throughout the creative process.

Can you share a behind the scenes story or fun fact about the making of your piece?

This isn’t a very “fun” fact, but it was incredibly difficult to gain the trust of our subjects, unhoused military veterans who are fighting the government for housing on the West LA VA campus, a 388-acre property originally donated to the U.S. government specifically to house vets. The reporting process was slow, and unfortunately over the course of that time, one of our subjects died of a drug overdose after he finally got housed.

Tell us about the most memorable response you got from this work.

The veterans we covered in our editorial feature and the short film sued the government. When the judge issued the ruling, the first line of his ruling (in favor of the veterans) was the exact same words as the first line of our feature. It’s clear our reporting — these veterans’ stories — had reached him and impacted his thinking.

Complete this sentence: ‘Great video storytelling is…’

… where the subject, journalist, and audience come together in one shared experience.