Tell us a bit about your organization and what your specialty is in the film and video space.
Childhelp, founded in 1959, in the nation’s preeminent organization dedicated to eradicating child abuse, and includes the Childhelp National Hotline. Media such as video is ideal for spreading the word about the mission and educating everyone on ways to help keep all kids safe.
What is your organization’s ethos and how does it set you apart from industry competitors?
The Childhelp philosophy is that every child deserves to be safe and loved. In Prevention Education here at Childhelp, we embrace collaboration as the key to building safer communities for all kids.
How can people join or learn more about what you do?
Tell us about your Telly Award winning piece. What’s the story behind it?
As part of a middle school curriculum to help keeps kids safe from online exploitation, the series of five 1-minute videos features relatable non-human cartoon characters illustrating important messages for youth: You CAN help prevent online exploitation, peers can support each other, if exploitation happens it’s NEVER your fault, you can always tell someone, and help is always available. No youth should ever feel like their life is over because someone has exploited them online!
What are you most proud of about this piece? What was your biggest challenge during production and how did you solve it?
Proud that the series won silver Telly Awards in three categories! The recognition allows us to spread the word even further about ways for kids and teens to stay safe online.
Do you have any advice to other filmmakers based on your career or your team’s approach to work?
Don’t know if it’s advice, but I have found a winning formula to be 1) gather info with/from experts, 2) be creative about ways to present it, and 3) most importantly go to the intended audience to tell you what resonates.
Can you share a behind the scenes story or fun fact about the making of your piece?
A group of amazing youth we worked with actually came up with the idea of having the final segment of the series be a game show that one of the characters imagines, in which contestants take turns answering questions about helpful resources.
Tell us about the most memorable response you got from this work.
Most gratifying were responses from students gathered in pilot presentations of the curriculum in which the videos are embedded – almost unanimously, they found the characters and messages engaging and informative.
Complete this sentence: ‘Great video storytelling is…’
… heartfelt and inspiring.
