In A Heartbeat
Laura Croudace
Head of Partnerships at The Resource Alliance
Member for more than two years • 3 posts
Bangkok, June 2017: I was reminded of the power of video at IFC Asia, when Alan Compton of Frontier Film created short movies for the Resource Alliance's Social Impact Award Winners. They were breath-taking, and created moments for the viewer which were personal, and uniquely inspiring. Alan captured the essence of why we are all striving to create change, whilst capturing the struggles and issues that face people in Asia. (I'll write another post about Alan Compton's work later on)
I cried for about 5 days afterwards, every time I thought of the films- because, they connected with me on a deep level. A human level. After all, that is what we most crave, a personal, deep relationship with others. Since meeting Alan, and learning about his films it's rekindled the interest I have on the power of film and photography, which started as a kid.
Shropshire, August 2017: This morning I woke up to find the movie being shared on Facebook, 'In a Heartbeat' I casually clicked on the link, whilst still waking up and watched a beautiful little story of a boy who is in love with another boy- a perfect LGBT film aimed at little kids and teens, on the issue of coming out.
After falling in love with the movie, I wondered what was the story behind it all, I sat poised in bed Googling the back story to In A Heartbeat, was it a Pixar creation, or was it a brand wanting to create a halo-effect on LGBT issues?
The background: It was a couple of film makers who are passionate about creating impactful- film. In A Heartbeat was uploaded on Monday, the four-minute video quickly went viral. By Tuesday afternoon, it had had 3.7 million ‘views.’ By late afternoon Wednesday, the number of views had doubled to 7.4 million and this morning a whopping 14.2 million views, with 138,000 comments.
It's popularity is no surprise because it's a beautifully crafted little movie, and with no words or dialogue storytelling it makes your own heart race wondering what the boys are thinking and feeling, but can also be understood regardless of your language.
So, I hear you ask, what has this got to do with fundraising Laura Croudace?
Well, whilst researching the film this morning, I found that the film was an idea put out on Kickstarter, not only did they raise their first amount of $3,000 but they raised an additional $11,000 - three times their stretch goal. A pretty awesome outcome all round.
Most of you who follow me, will know that I'm a little but obsessed with crowdfundraising, and building cool projects.
What can we learn from In A Heartbeat, as fundraisers?
A big impact can be made on a small budget- if you're working with the right people, and the right creatives are involved. Granted they didn't pay themselves to make the film because it was a college project- but this kind of impact could have been made by a charity if they worked with incredible film makers.
I cried for about 5 days afterwards, every time I thought of the films- because, they connected with me on a deep level. A human level. After all, that is what we most crave, a personal, deep relationship with others. Since meeting Alan, and learning about his films it's rekindled the interest I have on the power of film and photography, which started as a kid.
Shropshire, August 2017: This morning I woke up to find the movie being shared on Facebook, 'In a Heartbeat' I casually clicked on the link, whilst still waking up and watched a beautiful little story of a boy who is in love with another boy- a perfect LGBT film aimed at little kids and teens, on the issue of coming out.
After falling in love with the movie, I wondered what was the story behind it all, I sat poised in bed Googling the back story to In A Heartbeat, was it a Pixar creation, or was it a brand wanting to create a halo-effect on LGBT issues?
The background: It was a couple of film makers who are passionate about creating impactful- film. In A Heartbeat was uploaded on Monday, the four-minute video quickly went viral. By Tuesday afternoon, it had had 3.7 million ‘views.’ By late afternoon Wednesday, the number of views had doubled to 7.4 million and this morning a whopping 14.2 million views, with 138,000 comments.
It's popularity is no surprise because it's a beautifully crafted little movie, and with no words or dialogue storytelling it makes your own heart race wondering what the boys are thinking and feeling, but can also be understood regardless of your language.
So, I hear you ask, what has this got to do with fundraising Laura Croudace?
Well, whilst researching the film this morning, I found that the film was an idea put out on Kickstarter, not only did they raise their first amount of $3,000 but they raised an additional $11,000 - three times their stretch goal. A pretty awesome outcome all round.
Most of you who follow me, will know that I'm a little but obsessed with crowdfundraising, and building cool projects.
What can we learn from In A Heartbeat, as fundraisers?
A big impact can be made on a small budget- if you're working with the right people, and the right creatives are involved. Granted they didn't pay themselves to make the film because it was a college project- but this kind of impact could have been made by a charity if they worked with incredible film makers.
Crowd Fundraising - Get your audience excited - If you have a great idea, a pre-existing audience on Kickstarter may also get excited by it! Charities have a fantastic opportunity to get creative and crowdfund projects, involving people outside of the charity bubble along the way.
Video is super powerful - We all know this, we all consume video, in different ways... I don't own a TV License- why? I don't enjoy mainstream media. I like to consume independent media and choose what I watch... I would rather fund movies like In A Heartbeat than pay for a TV License. Because we're all consuming video all the time on social media, this makes creating short films about the work we do, super powerful. We have an opportunity to build a relationship with an audience. Imagine if Stonewall had created a film like this!
Video is super powerful - We all know this, we all consume video, in different ways... I don't own a TV License- why? I don't enjoy mainstream media. I like to consume independent media and choose what I watch... I would rather fund movies like In A Heartbeat than pay for a TV License. Because we're all consuming video all the time on social media, this makes creating short films about the work we do, super powerful. We have an opportunity to build a relationship with an audience. Imagine if Stonewall had created a film like this!
Done right, it can service more than one audience. If I worked for an LBGT organisation, as a Head of Corporate Partnerships, I'd be using this in pitches, to show what is possible, and how we are speaking to younger audiences. I'd be using it to show part of the impact we make. What is great is it can also be used in email, at events, and obviously on social media.
Not to mention the number of awards you might win, gaining extra attention for your organisation, and being seen in a different way. One of the 'cool' organisations who is paving the way for change.
Enjoy the film:
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