VIDEO PRODUCTION: "Look Beneath The Surface"

"Look Beneath The Surface" is one of the U.S. EPA's most successful videos in terms of exposure and accolades. For this project, I served as Creative Director, Producer, Writer, Co-cinematographer, Editor and Social Media Marketer.

A few main points-

• The video was created to promote a new crowd-sourced forum in which the general public could discuss environmental issues important to them.

• All of the creative decisions were rooted in optimizing the video's "shareability" online. I made the decision to work without a script and tell the story solely through visuals and audio; the goal was to evoke a genuine emotional response from the viewer.

• Viral videos need a “hook”, a special element that stands out and provokes conversation. I found the hook in my "inspiration folder"--an Evernote folder where I keep fresh or interesting ideas I can revisit to help spur my creative process later. Here is the original image by Ferdi Rizkyanto.

• Now I had to research whether this technique was even possible on a small production budget. Our freelance motion graphic designer had never tried this particular effect but was excited to give it a spin. I budgeted having him on the set to ensure our shooting complemented his animation skills. This proved invaluable to streamlining the post production process.

• I also served as a social media marketer for this piece by helping frame the online presentation and interacting with many social media influencers on the possibility of sharing the video.

• The final product received almost 3 million views on Facebook, plus thousands of shares. The forum welcomed many new visitors, and the video won the EPA its first Emmy award, among other accolades.

DIGITAL CONTENT: #EARTHDAYEVERYDAY campaign

#EARTHDAYEVERYDAY was a short-turnaround project that went from "script-to-screen" in less than two weeks. The videos would be released on Earth Day. Their purpose? To remind our general audience that EPA employees are always working to protect human health and the environment. For this project, I served as Creative Director, Producer, Primary Writer and First Draft Editor.

• Initially, my main duty was to ensure brainstorming ideas were kept simple and viewer-focused. Projects tend to get out of hand when working with "creativity by committee." In this case, I was working with six distinguished peers from the multimedia and public affairs teams to develop a solid core idea.

• When we came up with the #EARTHDAYEVERYDAY concept, my duties transitioned to shepherding the creative process with our staff producers, graphic designer and freelance motion graphics artist.

• In my opinion, the beauty in the pieces derives from how hard we worked to keep the experience simple for the audience. We wrote short, easy-to-understand scripts that were unique as stand-alone projects yet easily replicated for the entire series. Here is a sample script:

DDT, A DANGEROUS PESTICIDE, ONCE PUSHED THE BALD EAGLE TO THE BRINK OF EXTINCTION. WE HELPED CHANGE THAT. BECAUSE HERE AT EPA, EARTH DAY IS EVERY DAY. SHOW US WHAT YOU THINK IS WORTH PROTECTING. #EARTHDAYEVERYDAY

• With minimal time and resources, this script format was easy to create but more importantly, easy for program offices to vet. By making the right choices, we didn't allow the creative process to grind to a halt due to bureaucracy.

• I worked with our motion graphics designer to keep in the spirit of the script's simplicity. By using a single cinematic piece of b-roll, we created a feel for these pieces that resonated with the text. Our creative team was only able to do that because of the trust we had in our motion graphics designer's sense of composition and timing.

• Before publishing, it was my responsibility to present the finished drafts to leadership and listen to their feedback. I needed to either defend our creative decisions in a way that made sense to non-multimedia professionals or communicate leadership's revisions to the creative team.

• As a former social media curator, it was also my job to work with the web team and help frame the products to optimize shareability. I provided input on share text and delivery for social media; in this case, that was advocating native Facebook uploads versus YouTube embeds.

• In the end, despite the lack of time and resources, we successfully produced all five videos by deadline. The video series trended on Facebook during Earth Day and was picked up by a few popular media sites.

SCRIPT SAMPLE: "Benefits Delivery at Discharge"

One of my strengths is taking hard-to-understand, but important, processes and breaking them down into easy-to-digest formats. With this script I attempted to explain the "Benefits Delivery at Discharge" paperwork process. In determining how to present difficult information, I tend to choose on-camera talent to add credibility to the message. Additionally, having people say their lines on screen pushes our writing teams to craft conversational dialogue. I also enjoy on-location shoots and walking viewers through the experience.

This video was nominated for a regional Emmy. I'm also proud to note that after this story aired, it was picked up by the Pentagon and included in the transition process for all service members leaving active duty until the policy changed. You can download the entire script by clicking the image below.

LIVE EVENT/MULTIMEDIA PRODUCTIONS: "One Take" campaign

When "In One Take" was originally pitched to us, it was presented as a big budget video campaign profiling EPA employees around the country. The majority of the videos were meant to inspire fellow EPA employees by demonstrating how their peers are using sustainability practices in their everyday jobs. However, as our creative team looked at the potential stories, we found them to be visually lacking. As producer and creative director, I needed to find a solution that met the program office’s needs but also balanced the best use of our Agency's resources.

• Here is a link to my pitch notes that I gave our client. In short, I proposed a live TED-style event to emphasize the passion of our employees--but with a small twist to pique the interest of our target audience. The twist was that the event and subsequent online video would all occur "In One Take." No editing or splicing. This was how we envisioned the live event-

Imagine sharing your EPA story on stage in front of a small audience. Could you do it?

For the past two months, select EPA employees received professional coaching on telling their story on sustainability. They learned how to whittle down their personal narrative into a focused and concise tale. This Thursday, all that training will come to fruition as they share their stories on sustainability with a short personal narrative.

The 13 storytellers are not communicators by profession. They are everyday EPA employees sharing reflections on their programs, regions or personal lives.

Some participants will be nervous. For some, this might be their first time talking into a microphone. Hopefully, some will strike you as inspiring. Come and support your fellow EPA employees. Hear their stories, because you might find they’re telling your story, too.

• The desired end result was an intranet page where each segment could stand alone with supplemental information, so we went all in on the live event. We used three cameras, a jib, stage lighting and held a full rehearsal. Because some of the storytellers had never presented in this situation before, we shot before-and-after segments to capture their thoughts, nervousness and relief. Here is one of those stories that was approved for public release.

• Part of our marketing plan involved our staff photographer shooting promo photos of the event. One of the images was used in the poster above and as intro slates for the individual videos.

• In the end, the video series was celebrated by the program team and senior leadership. The final budget came in at a fraction of the original plan. The live event was lauded, and we’ve received several requests to duplicate this model for other EPA program offices.

GRAPHIC DESIGN ILLUSTRATION: Infographic Resume

I would NEVER normally advocate applying for a job with an "infographic resume", but a crucial part of effective communication is knowing your target audience.

When the startup Upworthy.com started hiring social media curators, I had to find ways to separate myself from the thousands of other applicants. Upworthy was the fastest-growing media website at the time, and they were shining a spotlight on important matters with their brand of social media science. The company uses graphics, text and a compelling message to bring millions of views to content providers. The core staff consisted of young entrepreneurs, artists, writers and coders trying to make a difference in the world.

I took a calculated risk and decided a vibrant, clear infographic resume could be the first step in demonstrating that I was the right person for the job. I worked with an excellent freelance graphic designer to emphasize my strong history of producing viral videos, some of which had already been featured on their website.

Here is a link to the working document I used to collaborate with the graphic designer.

The key to working well with graphic designers, especially motion graphic designers, is having a crystal clear idea of what you want to communicate.

The infographic resume was a success. It got me in the door--after the interview process and sample writing tests, I was one of 10 social media curators hired by Upworthy.

SOCIAL MEDIA CURATOR: Upworthy.com

Despite a full-time job as an executive video producer, I actively campaigned to work for upworthy.com as a social media curator. The reason? I wanted to understand the magic of helping a video go "viral." Before being hired, Upworthy played a part in helping a few of my personal and government videos go viral with their social media framing. In conversations with their curators, I began to understand that helping videos go viral involves a lot of luck, creativity and data-driven decisions. I learned that social media framing is a skill set that can be honed just like non-linear editing or cinematography.

During my time at Upworthy, I published over 65 posts that generated over 23 million page views.

My job was to:

• find compelling multimedia stories that I believed could go viral and met Upworthy's progressive mission

• pitch and champion those pieces through the extensive editorial process

• develop the appropriate headline and framing for presentation online

• A/B test every aspect of the framing to optimize "shareability" of work; that meant testing headlines, share text, sub text and thumbnails

• mentor and build partnerships with content creators to ensure they shared upcoming work with us

Click the picture below to see a video that I discovered and helped receive millions of views through Facebook.

MENTORSHIP/TRAINING: DC Shootoff Video Workshop

Each year, I proudly volunteer as one of the lead producers for the Shoot Off Video Workshop in Washington, D.C. We mentor military, civil service and government multimedia videographers with an emphasis on a 36-hour short film competition. Participants are given the tools and advanced techniques they need to become better storytellers. The attached video is a short multimedia project summarizing the experience at the workshop.

You can find out more about this excellent training opportunity here.