Story Money Impact: Funding Media for Social Change

Tracey Friesen

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• eBook ISBN:
  9781317508236
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Film & Video

Story Money Impact: Funding Media for Social Change by Tracey Friesen is a practical guide for media-makers, funders, and activists who share the common goal of creating an impact with their work. Today, social-issues storytellers are sharpening their craft, while funders with finite resources focus on reach, and strategic innovators bring more robust evaluation tools. Friesen illuminates the spark at the core of these three pursuits. Structured around stories from the front lines, Story Money Impact reveals best practices in the areas of documentary, digital content, and independent journalism.

Here you will find:

• Twenty-one stories from people behind such powerful works as CITIZENFOUR, The Corporation, Virunga, Being Caribou, Age of Stupid, and Food Inc.

• Six key story ingredients for creating compelling content.

• Six possible money sources for financing your work.

• Six impact outcome goals to further your reach.

• Seven practical worksheets for your own projects.

• A companion website located at www.storymoneyimpact.com containing up-to-date information for those seeking the tools and inspiration to use media for social change.

Chapter 1
Preface

My Spark

I’m not even sure of his name. But he is tall and rugged and somehow perfectly fits the bill. Apparently he’s spent hours combing the Cortes Island beach for just the right goodies—some rope, a small flat piece of driftwood, dried seaweed (or some such fragile clump). The only item he brought to the enterprise was his single-blade army knife.

After 20 minutes of crouching over the precious bundle, whittling and notching and spinning and gently blowing—oh, so gently—he straightens his back to stretch and takes a nourishing breath. Trying to coax fire out of nature takes not only patience, but stamina. If it were me, I’d be flummoxed by the dozen pairs of eyes around the circle, watching intently, silent. He seems quietly self-assured and leans forward again to resume.

I gaze up at these onlookers. Of course any number of them may have a lighter in their pocket. But that’s not the point. Although this isn’t billed as a summer camp for adults, it can sure feel like it. We’re at the Hollyhock Leadership Institute for a conference called Media that Matters. It’s a rather analog affair in a digital world. Facilitated sessions in circular wooden buildings, deep conversations during forest walks, shared vegetarian meals, and time spent in the solar-powered ocean-view hot tubs.

There are about 40 of us in total from across the US and Canada, and over the four days we talk for hours. Top of mind are new business models and the current challenges of media financing. Most are documentary filmmakers wanting to make a difference in the world, and they’re having a harder time than ever finding money for their work. Hollyhock is meant to be a no-pitch zone, so broadcasters and funders can come as peer participants, but it generally evolves into a “slow-pitch” zone. Attendees tend to be generous with their knowledge and networks.

As part of my producer job with the National Film Board (NFB) of Canada, I’ve been coming to this annual gathering for years. It’s a chance to meet new filmmakers, absorb fresh trends, and personally slow down some—take time to reflect on what we produce and what it all means, to the artists and to the public. I wonder though if this might be my last Media that Matters in this capacity. I’ve spent over 10 years at the NFB and I’m growing restless.

Making social issues content with independent directors and government money has been a real privilege. I mean, really—I said “pinch me” for about two years after I got the job at NFB. But 10 years anywhere is a long time, and especially so in a publicly funded bureaucracy. I’ve had the chance to produce powerful films with talented filmmakers, and on some beautiful occasions, I’ve even seen glimmers of how they’ve made an impact on lives. But they could do so much more. Documentary film can spark real societal change. I know it.

So does this group. We’re not simply naïve do-gooders, waiting for this guy to make magic in the campfire ring. We’re international producers, and creators, and entrepreneurs, and we believe in the power of media. We know that a compelling story, expertly told and financially supported, can have impact.

His deft hand movements continue and then there’s a small puff of smoke at the center of the bundle. Again he blows, slow and steady. I’m surprised to find I’m holding my breath and have one hand across my mouth. In my mind I’m chanting “c’mon, c’mon, c’mon,” like my actual survival might depend on this flame. It catches. There’s a spark! But we’re not out of the woods yet … he fans it, adds a small stick, and then another in teepee formation, and gives it more air. Finally a more substantial piece of driftwood is gently placed on top and the small flames lick its sides and grow. We have a fire! People burst into applause and hug each other. It’s like the climax of a powerful film. I’m actually fighting back tears.

Though I’ve enjoyed a number of bonfires on Cortes Island, something about the one that night tasted different. The songs were sweeter, the storytelling more meaningful. Was that the night we saw the massive shooting star while splashing in the phosphorescence at the shore—or am I just getting carried away now? But honestly, witnessing the birth of a fire from scavenged objects had a real impact on me. It’s so elemental.

Like fire, stories are deeply transformative. They have the power to change that which they touch. Turn one thing into another. And like fire, media needs the right combination of ingredients to create the spark. Story. Money. Impact. Beginning that weekend, fusing these three elements together has grown into my mission. This book is a part of fanning those flames …

Chapter 2
Introduction

Story Money Impact: Funding Media for Social Change is a tale of opportunity. The world contains highly talented storytellers, highly principled financiers, and highly motivated activists. The goal here is to bring them together, to better understand each other, to spark alliances. What are the practical needs, professional stakes, and personal motivations of each?

We can all benefit from this exploration: filmmakers, funders, and social innovators, working so hard to solve seemingly intractable societal and environmental problems. Plus, of course, we welcome people who defy definition by straddling multiple pursuits, those modern hybrid practitioners. The bottom line is that our need for each other is mutual and our collective work will be that much stronger if done in collaboration.

• Story is fuel for the fire. The substance of story is like the physicality of firewood. Both are beautiful and unique and contain a hidden history. The more fuel we add, the greater it grows. Stories generate emotion; like fires, no two are alike—and they can be devastating, as well as illuminating.
• Money is the wind, air that stimulates combustion. Ephemeral yet necessary and even life-giving from the perspective of the fire-maker. Directing intentional breath toward embers allows them to spark into actual flames, with the potential for an inferno. Without it, the embers fizzle.
• Impact is the fire itself, fusing the other two elements to generate intense heat. Dynamic and powerful, it alters whatever it comes into contact with. By bringing together the fuel of story and the winds of financial resources, the potential is heightened for the flames of impact to burn brighter.

When the lights came on after Spoil (director: Trip Jennings), a short documentary about the threat of oil tankers to the Great Bear Rainforest’s waterways, I’d have signed any petition put in front of me. I’d have whipped out my wallet to donate to the cause. But instead I was wiping tears from my cheeks, stealing glances at the four other jurors in the private screening room at the 2012 Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival. There was a determined expression growing across my face that said, “We’ll give this film an award this week if it’s the last thing I do!” (We did.)

Not all documentary films seek to change the world. I truly appreciate that and have enjoyed working with artists on other genres too, like experimental, educational, musical, and animated films. But Spoil was unapologetic in its explicit goals to provoke change. Right before the production credit roll, viewers are told to take out their cell phones. The next screen gives the phone number of the Canadian Prime Minister, which stays up for the duration of the credits. We see by the logos that the film is financed by a consortium of alternative players—like a corporate brand and a couple of non-profits. But the story is compelling (the pursuit of an elusive white Spirit Bear by a National Geographic photographer); it grabs people’s hearts on an emotional level.

This was a big week for me because while there, screening 72 adventure and nature films of various lengths over a five-day period, I had an epiphany. Something about watching back-to-back documentaries of people really “givin-er,” living their lives full-out in pursuit of what they believe in, can’t help but be a bit of a life-changer. It’s a true occupational hazard. There, in the mountains of Banff, I knew with fresh-air clarity that it was the social issues media ecosystem I would commit myself to. I reasoned that I could achieve more on its behalf as an independent, working to ignite the flames of impact by bridging gaps between creators, financiers, and activists.

Once I made the nail-biting decision in 2013 to resign my executive producer position at the NFB, I started concentrating more heavily on this three-legged stool: Story, Money, Impact. (Or some days it was: Media, Means, Mission, or Art, Cash, Activism …) And then, like when you buy a Volkswagen and suddenly start seeing them on every road, as soon as this triad was given an official name I began to notice the needs and the opportunities everywhere. Skilled filmmakers lacking access to resources, mission-driven foundations lacking relationships with strong storytellers, and those working for social change searching for compelling tools to amplify impact. In Story Money Impact: Funding Media for Social Change such gaps will be addressed.

Chapter 3
Book Structure

The book comprises the elements below, delivered in three main parts—Part I: Story, Part II: Money, and Part III: Impact, together with an Allies section (Part IV).

• Introductions: There are informational sections that will cover topics that are creative, business-oriented and strategic in nature. We’ll look at narrative structures (story), funding opportunities (money), and campaign design, with evaluation in mind (impact).
• Motivation: Near the beginning of each section, we will consider psychological drivers. What are the personal passions and institutional mandates that bring each of us to the arena of social change? How might media-makers describe their artistic goals? How does mission define the scope of activities of a funder? What inspires social activists? And importantly, what moves audiences to action? Awareness of motivation stimulates better project design from both an artistic and partnership-building perspective.
• Elements: Tales from the front lines are at the core of Story Money Impact. Interviews with leading professionals feed into the book’s framework; namely, five essential ingredients for successful storytelling, five sources of funding, and five outcomes related to change-making.

The people, organizations, and projects were selected to draw out a diversity of topics and approaches in the social issues media sector. The majority of the examples unfold in the US, with a smaller sampling from Canada and the UK. Some subjects discussed are timeless (i.e. the importance of narrative arc) and others are evolving daily (i.e. data measurement tools).

Linear full-length documentary films are the primary focus. A few titles have just launched and others that have been on the market for many years are included to allow a view of the long tail, the impact over time. The funding section balances some established financing sources with more emerging models. The bias is toward values-based funders who have embraced or are awakening to the power of media to support their own objectives.

• Producer’s Journals and Memos: Further elements of story, money and impact, along with all section summaries, come out in reconstructed Producer Journals and Memos that I’ve written from memory and lived experience during my time at the National Film Board of Canada. These pieces of creative non-fiction are each “based on a true story”!
• Worksheets: Within each part are two worksheets, and there’s a capstone worksheet near the end of the book. Each starts with general questions to get you warmed up and then provides project-specific questions for anyone involved in media creation (whether filmmaker, funder, or activist). A single project can flow through these components of the text, leaving you, the reader, with a preliminary story, money, and impact map. Used in combination, you’ll tackle your motivation, your story, your needs, your funding, your goals, your call to action, and finally, your vision.
• Allies: We wrap up with a peek into a dynamic profession birthed out of this evolving media landscape, that of the Impact Producer, and meet leaders in the multiplatform and independent journalism worlds. These experts illustrate that in looking across the genres, we have as much in common as not. This is useful information, because media practitioners are increasingly nimble in their selection of form.

The last section dishes up full biographies on all interviewees, two financing scenarios and a valuable list of resources: top films, progressive funders, innovative organizations, and brilliant evaluators. Because these fields are changing rapidly, stable aggregators are important for readers to source up-to-the-minute information. The Story Money Impact websites also contain active links: www.storymoneyimpact.com; www.routledge.com/cw/friesen.

Part I
Story

Chapter 4
Story is Fuel

Generates Feeling!

Story. What it’s all about. We know...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Foreword
• About the Author
• Acknowledgments
• Chapter 1 Preface—My Spark
• Chapter 2 Introduction
• Chapter 3 Book Structure
• Part I—Story
• Part II—Money
• Part III—Impact
• Part IV—Impact
• Appendix 1 Sample Financing Scenarios
• Appendix 2 Resources
• Appendix 3 Full Interviewee Biographies
• Notes
• Index