Mission & Brand Videos
Belfer Center Brand Video
Goal: Create a brand video for the 50th anniversary of the Belfer Center that roots firmly in the “now” and the future potential of the Center rather than being a retrospective.
Roles: Concept, storyboard, scheduling, lighting, audio, shooting, directing, interviewing, editing, color correction, graphics, motion graphics, compositing, photography, photo and music licensing, distribution
Notes: This is a public edit of a 5-minute long video that was presented at the Belfer Center 50th Reunion Dinner.
Project Duration: Two months
Belfer Center Mission Video
Goal: Create the Center’s first ever mission and impact video showcasing the impact of the Center that doubles as a birthday tribute for the benefactor of the Center on his birthday.
Roles: Concept, research, writing, storyboard, scheduling, lighting, audio, shooting, directing, interviewing, editing, color correction, graphics, motion graphics, photography, photo and music licensing, distribution
Notes: This a segment from the full 10-minute birthday tribute that was crafted to be used as a standalone mission video. The video was highlighted as a reason for a seven-figure gift to the Center.
Project Duration: Three months
LeadBoston
Goal: Promote the LeadBoston program to potential participants.
Roles: Concept, writing, storyboard, scheduling, coordinating rentals, lighting, audio, shooting, directing, interviewing, editing, color correction, graphics, motion graphics, photography, scoring
Notes: This a shorter promotional segment taken from a longer video that included interviews with alums of the program.
Project Duration: Five months
Office Hours Video Series
When I started at the Belfer Center, I evaluated the Center's multimedia output and studied comparable think tanks to create a multi-year plan. One of the key pieces of the plan was to create videos that showed the lighter side of the many academics, policy-makers, politicians, and others who were affiliated or guests of the Center. When Ph.D. student Aroop Mukharji expressed his interest in working with our team to conduct interviews, we collaborated on what would become Office Hours, which ran for four years as a video and podcast series.
Goal: Increase reach and brand awareness through lighter, “bite-sized” content geared toward social media.
Roles: Concept, writing, researching, scheduling, lighting, audio, shooting, directing, editing, color correction, graphics, motion graphics, photography, media licensing, distribution, promotion
Notes: The series ran for four years, racked up hundreds of thousands of view in completely organic growth, and boosted subscriptions/follows to social media channels by over 30%.
Project Duration: Four years
This Example: Former CIA Deputy Director Avril Haines on her interesting career path from book café to CIA.
Video Editing
Experiential Learning at Harvard
Goal: Showcase “experiential learning” through a travel-based course to promote the program and others like it.
Roles: Editing, color correction, graphics, motion graphics, media licensing, lighting, shooting, audio, interviewing, directing
Notes: The video was initially captured by a freelance videographer who edited it into a travelogue-style video. I took the raw video and re-edited everything to put the focus on the educational aspect of the student experience. I also shot additional interviews to round out the perspectives.
Project Duration: One month
Social Videos
These videos, formatted in a 1:1 ratio to occupy valuable real estate in social feeds, give short reactions, opinions, and analysis from Belfer Center experts, help promote events, or expand the Center's brand by demonstrating impact.
Quick Reaction
Goal: Take advantage of the news cycle to promote experts and their analysis and reaction to events.
This Example: Immediately upon hearing of an earthquake in Iceland, I reached out to Halla Hrund Logadóttir, currently Director-General of Iceland's National Energy Authority, to record her take. Due to its timeliness, the video quickly reached 100k views the same day.
Promotional Campaign
Goal: Create interest for upcoming events and conferences to increase attendance and generally show off the Center as a place where lots is happening.
This Example: I recorded testimonials with previous Women in Power conference participants to promote registration. Using existing conference branding language, I created motion titles and graphics. The conference sold out shortly after registration opened.
Event Takeaway
Goal: Highlight evergreen content from the many, many (and often off-the-record) events the Center holds each year.
This Example: After an event about the importance of the Emmett Till story over a half-century later, I interviewed panelists, including eyewitness Reverend Wheeler Parker, Jr. and Seattle Seahawks Wide Receiver DK Metcalf, to draw out highlights based on the prior conversation. The videos have racked up tens of thousands of views since.
Bite-sized Documentary
Goal: Show off the Center’s impact by telling stories from the Center’s rich history.
This Example: Looking ahead on the editorial calendar, I created this video to post on the anniversary of one of the Center's most impactful achievements—the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction. I repurposed an interview I shot for another project and added photos I scanned from the Center's physical photo archive.
Questions from Quarantine
Goal: Elevate the Center’s brand in the public health and preparedness policy realms by demonstrating the Center’s expertise and authority in a relatable way.
Roles: Concept, writing, scheduling, technical direction, audio editing, shooting, directing, editing, color correction, graphics, captioning, distribution, promotion
Notes: I made a quick pivot to fully virtual production in creating Questions from Quarantine. We targeted social media using a strategy of posting on institutional accounts but also leveraging amplification from personal accounts where we quickly found an audience—and lots of questions that needed answering.
Project Duration: One year
Special Event Videos
There have been many marquee events during my time at the Belfer Center and I've worked hard to give them a premium feel for attendees by adding custom multimedia—especially as events moved fully online during the pandemic.
Belfer Center Orientation Video 2020
Goal: Welcome new fellows, staff and faculty and elevate the feeling of connection amongst the Center community during a time when everyone was apart.
Roles: Concept, writing, scheduling, technical direction, audio editing, shooting, directing, editing, motion graphics, color correction, graphics, captioning, voice over
Notes: I was tasked with creating a slideshow with some basic history of the Center, but in a time where everyone was feeling isolated, I knew that just wouldn’t cut it. I drew on the long history of the Center and used music to inspire a sense of pride in members of the community new and old.
Project Duration: One and a half months
Tech Spotlight 2020
Goal: Elevate a virtual awards ceremony by giving it a premium feel.
Roles: Concept, writing, scheduling, technical direction, audio, directing, editing, motion graphics, color correction, graphics, media licensing, captioning
Notes: This inaugural award was supposed to be an in-person event before the pandemic shifted it online.
Project Duration: One and a half months
Tech Spotlight 2021
Goal: Elevate a virtual awards ceremony by giving it a premium feel.
Roles: Concept, writing, scheduling, technical direction, audio, directing, editing, motion graphics, color correction, graphics, media licensing, captioning
Notes: For the second year of the award, the ceremony was held online. To enhance the flow of the event, I separated the intro video and the nominee and recipient announcement with a live welcome message in-between.
Project Duration: Two months
Stephen W. Bosworth Memorial Lecture
Goal: Give a premium feel to an online event featuring a big name speaker.
Roles: Concept, writing, scheduling, technical direction, audio, directing, editing, motion graphics, color correction, graphics, media licensing, captioning, voice over
Notes: Due to the high-level speaker, this event was elevated from a Center-wide event to a University-wide event. I not only created the introduction video, but I ran the team made up of people across different departments at Harvard and worked closely with President Clinton’s team to ensure all the technical elements went smoothly. I directed the live portion of the event as well as marshaling a virtual meet and greet.
Project Duration: One and a half months
Cuban Missile Crisis at 60 Promo
Goal: Create a memorable teaser to drive virtual attendance to the conference.
Roles: Concept, media sourcing, audio, photo editing, video editing, motion graphics, media licensing, captioning
Notes: The motion teaser was also able to be used as a still image to promote the event across platforms. The motion graphic was also used during the event to enhance a video interview of a Russian who gave his first-hand account. I edited, captioned, and provided and English voice over for that video as well.
Project Duration: Two weeks
Digital Currency Wars Simulation
Goal: Use video to add realism and enhance a live simulation event.
Roles: Concept, media sourcing, audio, editing, motion graphics, compositing, media licensing
Notes: At first I was asked to merely get someone on camera reading a news bulletin, but I knew I could make this higher quality and more immersive. I edited together two separately shot interviews, did rough background replacement to mimic a newsroom, and added motion graphics I created to give it a more authentic feel. I won an award for my contributions to this event above and beyond what was asked and expected.
Project Duration: One week