by Alissa Brooks
Nancy Farese, founder of Photo Philanthropy, in Vista, California capturing stills for the Stirring the Fire social documentary workshop.
Nancy Farese, founder of Photo Philanthropy and workshop participant, explains to me, “One of the biggest challenges that we see is non-profits not understanding how to use digital media for cause advocacy. Phil is a master of that. He not only knows how to access effective media, but how to distribute it and use it for effective messaging.”
Photo Philanthropy is a San Francisco based non-profit organization that connects photographers with non-profit organizations to enable social change. Nancy goes to say that at Photo Philanthropy “we often talk about harnessing the power of the still image and applying that power to social media and other digital platforms.” This discussion is part of the brainchild behind this social documentary workshop.
Phil’s workshop is all about broadening the knowledge of media producers – photographers, filmmakers, graphic artists, journalists alike – to create a wider variety of advocacy media for social causes. One of the many things we have learned is that understanding how and which digital platform to use is critical. After all, you may create a beautifully inspiring film, but without a directed distribution plan, it may never reach your desired audience and therefore not have the desired impact.
As we have all realized this week, the media production process can feel quite sporadic. Indeed, the only linear part of film making is the audio script that is laid down before visuals are added. The constant communication between media producers and the non profit that will distribute the finished product is part of Stirring the Fire’s (STF) methods. STF defines upfront what it hopes to accomplish based on the non profit’s need and desired audience. This method works perfectly with the social documentary workshop model because of the diversity of backgrounds and skill sets that each participant provides.
“Phil is at the nexus of pulling media together and working closely with the non profit and defining upfront the impact and then backing into the production,” explains Nancy. This is all done to create organization-specific media that will transcending the choir. To do this, the media platform is key. To appeal to a broader audience, it is important to connect the dots between powerful images and the power of social media.