When What You’re Good At Connects With What You Care About
Personal connections can make for powerful creative partnerships. They also drive our pro bono work at Street Level Studio—leading directly from our talented team members to the communities and causes they are inspired to support.
When Krystine Miluski asked Brian Fuller, our digital creative director, to help her promote an exciting new initiative at the nonprofit she works for, she was hoping he could stop by and shoot some video.
Krystine is vice president of business and marketing for NorthPointe Resources, Inc. NRI provides support services for people with disabilities and/or mental illness become more independent and involved in their communities. The program Krystine hoped to feature is ART360, which gives NRI participants a chance to express themselves through art and sell their work.
Meeting the artists in person, seeing their talent, and noticing the pride they took in their micro-businesses convinced Brian their story should be told with an equal measure of artistry and professionalism. He also knew Street Level Studio would be proud and excited to tell it.
According to Krystine, the resulting video—strategized, storyboarded, scripted, shot, and edited by the Street Level Studio team—expresses the spirit, intent, and social importance of ART360 perfectly.
“We loved the entire process,” Krystine said. “Street Level treated everyone so professionally—not like a pro bono client. They made the artists feel extremely comfortable and valued. You can see from the smiles on the artists’ faces they loved the attention and being on camera doing what they love. Brian and his team also did an amazing job of helping us get the people we interviewed to really express their enthusiasm for ART360.
“The video manages to tell a complete and compelling story about these remarkable artists and this unique opportunity to create social good—all in just a few minutes,” she said. “That’s incredibly powerful, and a priceless benefit, when you are trying to engage the hearts and minds of busy people.”
Producing the video also affected the Street Level team members behind the camera.
“This transcended just working on a project,” Brian said. “Beyond understanding the parameters and expectations of the client, it made me try even harder to create something heartfelt that shows how much more these artists have to give in spirit.”
Designer/video editor Leslie-Anne Mock considered the project “incredibly rewarding” and a special opportunity to use her problem-solving and design thinking skills to create positive social impact. June Lee, another designer on the project, really summed it up when she said working on the video “helped us truly see there is no limit to creativity.”
That’s exactly what happens when what you’re good at connects with what you care about.
