One of the City of Falcon Height’s 2019 initiatives is Cultivating a Caring Community. Mayor Gustafson said, “We’ve been working on cultivating a caring community as a way to bring the community together through inclusion. The community wanted more togetherness and inclusivity.” As a result of this initiative, the city and School District 623 earned a joint grant which resulted in a mural for the Falcon Heights Elementary School. Conversations about the project began in December of 2018. The project was green-lit.
The Challenge:
The City of Falcon Heights and Minnesota School District 623 secured a grant to retain muralist Melodee Strong to facilitate the painting of the Falcon Heights Elementary School cafeteria with students. Strong created the outline of the mural first, and then guided the students in painting color onto the mural. The artist stated “This is their project, not mine. This is a collaboration. I want the voices of the kids to come through.” Both the District and the City wanted to have a visual record of the process to share the grant impact with the community. The video will preserve the initiative for years to come.
The Approach:
In creation of the video, we visited the school twice to film and conduct interviews during the mural process. We used a C100 camera on a tripod with a slider to create motion and capture the mural details from a close angle. The visual aspects of the content, gave the producers some latitude for creativity.
The Solution:
As a result, we created a story with an impact. We are able to document both the creative process and the completed mural. The video became one of our most shared and watched Neighborhood Network stories on social media. The project showcased the initiatives the City of Falcon Heights are implementing and the teamwork in working with the school district.
The Stats:
Beyond having a visual record, social media impact was also measured: 1.5 K Facebook Views, 78 Reactions, Comments & Shares.
Collaborations like the City and the School district are important in developing community. CTV can be utilized as a tool to document and provide impact proof for grants. Videos released on social media can magnify the reach of your projects.
