Ethical consumerism video podcast pilot.

I directed and produced this pilot for a video podcast in 2006.

Synopsis:
Back in 2006, roughly a year before the first iPhone was released, I got together with my friend and ethical consumerism expert, Dr. Ellis Jones, to create a pilot for a podcast that people could check on their video iPods while shopping. It was designed to help them choose products that are better for the world, in terms of environmental protection, human rights and labour rights. We worked hard to create an engaging and informative piece of video that worked on the small 4:3 aspect ratio screen on the iPods of the time.

We had access to green screen facilities, but we were shooting in DV, which doesn’t make for the cleanest compositing, so we decided to keep things simple and shoot Ellis against a black background, over which I would bring in elements in post. I tried to make sure the graphics added to the content of Ellis’ speech rather than simply repeating what he was saying. We aimed for the videos to have a similar tone to his lectures – academically thorough, but with a lightness and humour that audiences find engaging.

Acquisition:
Canon XL2 MiniDV camera