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

Notre Dame Brand Content is tasked with telling the story of the University. We focus on notable faculty and student research and how that work can impact our local community as well as communities both nationally and across the world.

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

As a Catholic research institution we have the following mission:

At Notre Dame, faith and inquiry are never at odds. Excellence is expected and elevated by our desire to serve the common good. So students are taught not just how to think, but how to live. We foster intellectual growth and moral character in equal measure—pursuing breakthroughs in research, leadership in every field, and purpose in all that we do.

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

YouTube channel: @NotreDame

Instagram: @notredamevideo

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

The University of Notre Dame explores the devastating impact of the opioid crisis in Huntington, West Virginia. Known as “ground zero” for the epidemic, the community has been hit hard by a tidal wave of pharmaceutical-grade opium, with 10 million pills flooding a population of just 100,000 every year.

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

There was an extremely tight deadline for this piece. It was shot and turned around in barely a week including the travel to and from West Virginia. I am proud of how our team focused on capturing the right assets for the story when it came to b-roll and interviews with complex subject matter. The content was able to be edited together easier as a result.

I am also glad that our managers gave us the freedom to tell a story that is raw and is a departure from the kind of story we typically produce.

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

Don’t hesitate to stick around and stay a little while longer to see what else can be captured and produced. Our crew was wanting to get back on the road immediately after one of the interviews as we had a long drive back to Notre Dame that day. One of the subjects for our story agreed to do a ride along around the city and what we captured set up the some of the most raw and compelling parts of the video. My advice: do not hesitate to stick around a little while even after you think you have finished gathering your assets for the story.

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

Unfortunately, there wasn’t much fun covering a story like this. Upon our arrival in Huntington, West Virginia, we were almost immediately confronted with the impact that opioids have had on that community. One evening while gathering drone video of the surrounding community of Huntington, we pointed the drone camera down for some overhead shots and discovered a young man passed out on the tracks. We immediately called the police and they were able to safely get him on his feet and removed from the tracks.