At the Urban League of Essex County, it’s why flows from the belief that every person deserves equal access to the resources they need to achieve their potential. I am so pleased to announce my personal directorial debut for this organization. When I was approached by program director, Kevin Jones to help create a film that was not the traditional capabilities piece that would show at their annual Red Gala to help raise funds as a donation/inspiration film, I said as Curated’s agency director - “this is right up my alley.” I tend to not follow traditional paths in almost everything I do. Sometimes it gets me into trouble, but the payoff and the impact is often better than I could dream of. A little angel sat on my shoulder that day and said, “well kid, you’re now a director - figure it out.”
I gathered my team from ASMP NY. I chose this organization because I am aware that I am a white man in a very diverse space and I knew my experience as ASMP’s director of the Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee for NYC would serve me well. I connected with my camera-man and exemplary photographer Duane Lyken, who helped bring on the right team of editor Jon Bewley, and an assortment of creators to help us photograph the gala. We chose three areas of focus, The Urban Seniors Job Program, The Urban Youth Re-entry Program, and The Urban League Homeless/Justice Involved Program.
From there, we chose to dig into the human lived experience in each of our subject’s stories. We didn’t create a film that was a traditional deck of dreamy music and long pans over locations and testimonials by the senior officers of the organization. We didn’t create poverty-porn. We knew that If the goal was to raise money for the underserved communities of Newark, NJ, from both individuals and corporations, we had to aim for the heart and showcase the efforts produced by the servants of the organization and then feature the impact and gratitude of those they serve.
The production lead me to keep things as organic as I could, because scheduling pre-production interviews and filming can be difficult, given the challenges that these communities face on the daily. We also needed to create safe spaces to film in with each subject (be that in their homes or a local community center). The rest of the work was really in the filming of the stories which needed to feel singular, special, authentic, true and uncomplicated, even as each story was filled with detail and high-emotion. 20+ hours of footage later, it then became the mission to edit very specifically to be able to present at the Red Gala and get the film delivered in under 6 minutes. Not an easy feat with 6 subjects to cover. From creative concept and art direction to the pre-production interviews of these very special case studies, to the heartfelt execution at the homes and community spaces of these incredible humans, we got it done. The Urban League https://nul.org and https://ulec.org reached their fund-raising goal and I got to - for the first time in my life, call myself a creator and not just an agent or producer. A standing ovation for my team and a heartfelt recognition from the president of the local chapter was one of the highlights of my 25 year career in advertising.
I want to say thank you to my team, for without them, none of this would have made it off the cutting room floor. This film was a true collaboration from my agency to our client, who gave us complete creative license. Thank you to Kevin Jones, for trusting me with the vision of this piece and for allowing us to NOT create poverty porn, but something very touching, special and within the container of high-impact and visibility. We are so grateful. More, please. I kind of like this directing hat! If you feel so moved by the piece you can text REDGALA to 801801 and donate today.