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DAY ONE


The "How To" project was an ambitious film initiative undertaken for the nonprofit organization Day One, formerly known as The Outlook for Someday. The content was aimed at educating and inspiring young people aged 15 to 25 who are passionate about filmmaking. Spanning over 50 one-minute videos, the series was designed to demystify the craft and industry of filmmaking with practical advice and engaging storytelling, all tailored for social media.

The content ranged from instructional topics, like decoding radio lingo on set and crafting mood boards, to addressing common pitfalls, such as directing mistakes or capturing poor sound. Other videos provided career insights such as navigating the industry, avoiding awkward interviews, and even giving and receiving constructive feedback. This comprehensive series offered young filmmakers a toolkit for both technical and soft skills.

The scale of producing over 50 videos required meticulous project management. Producer Jazz spearheaded the workflow, overseeing everything from scripting to shooting and editing. We had multiple writers and directors to collaborate with, and worked with two editors to keep up with the volume of videos.

While feedback and outcomes from the audience are still rolling in, the project has already proven to be a unique experiment in blending education with entertainment for a digital-native generation. For us, the project underscored the importance of balancing creative freedom with client expectations and highlighted the power of adapting content for multiple platforms without sacrificing engagement.

We collaborated with the stakeholders to gain insight into the gaps in knowledge some young filmmakers might have and pulled from collaborative brainstorming sessions and personal experiences. A significant stylistic choice was adopting a skit-based, conversational approach inspired by viralTikTok’s. This format not only engaged a highly distracted audience but also allowed the videos to be simultaneously shot in two aspect ratios (16:9 and 9:16) for versatility across platforms.

To maintain accessibility and efficiency, the series was shot using a minimalistic iPhone 14 rig, complete with an external hard drive, batteries, and microphone. We leaned into a playful, self-aware tone that embraced the humor and quirks of internet culture and successfully sidestepped the pitfalls of traditional overly formal educational videos.

CREDITS

Writer/Director Jaya Beach-Robertson
Project Manager Jazz dos Santos
DOPs Bayley Broome-Peake,
Finn McGowan,
Ben Montgomery
Editors Sam Small,
Fin McGowan
Other Collaborators
Kura Turuwhenua,
Jhan Arslan,
Jaimee Poipoi,
Zain Hassan,
Bailey Poching,
Jennifer Onyeiwu,
Talia Pua,
Rusha Paenga,
Anna Duckworth,
Chris Widdup


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