Tackling Digital Poverty | Virgin Money Foundation
We worked with the Virgin Money Foundation to create an impactful short film that promoted the important work they do in tackling digital exclusion.
Sharing human stories
Virgin Money Foundation is an inspirational charity that neighbourhood level organisations to make a change in their communities. One of the key issues that they are looking to address, is digital poverty. Chocolate Films was briefed to produce a film that would inform & educate its audience about what digital poverty is, and demonstrate the impact of the foundation’s work on this issue.
The aim of the film was to achieve this by inspiring emotion and empathy through human stories. We worked with the Foundation to develop a dramatic story which exemplified some of the people the foundation helps, and led the full production process in-house: from scriptwriting and casting to location filming and editing.
Painting with light
This film follows three intertwined stories: an older person experiencing loneliness, a single parent struggling, and someone experiencing homelessness & unemployment. Through the support of their local community organisation, each character goes on a transformative digital journey, and we wanted to tell this story visually, rather than relying on overly descriptive voiceovers or dialogue.
As we revisit the same scenes throughout the film, we decided on an approach that would employ subtle changes in lighting and cinematography to help signify a shift in the mood and optimism of each character. From cold and static environments to bright, sundrenched rooms, it really helped to signify the transformative power that digital inclusion can provide. We were lucky to have a fairly bright day in Glasgow for filming, but still needed a little bit of help from some powerful lights to really amp up the sunshine!
Working with the local community
As part of the story each character visits a community centre to learn digital skills. For our location we were able to use SWAMP in Pollock – a real-life community development trust that receives funding from the Virgin Money Foundation and uses the arts to bring people together. They were incredibly generous with their time and facilities, which made the process hassle free. It’s always great when a production can blend lots of different organisations who share the same ethos and values.
The film has been a great success for the client. They recently commented:
“It has been a big hit with the team and our board. Please pass on a big thank you from the Foundation to all that supported in the creation of the film.”
Representing sensitive issues
Issues like poverty and deprivation are sensitive subjects, and it can often be difficult for organisations to capture the impact of their work, or ask people who are experiencing it to appear on camera.
A great solution is therefore using scripted drama to highlight the human stories behind the numbers and research. At Chocolate Films we have years of experience of working on all different types of dramatic productions, and can take your project from script to screen using our talented in-house production team.
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What our clients say
and annual Awards. Mary, Lucia and the team did a fantastic job at capturing the look, feel and emotions tied to the events and we were really pleased at how they turned out. They held a number of briefing calls and kept us updated of their progress throughout! Looking forward to working with the team again!
The workshops are really hands-on and encourage so much creativity, which is fantastic to see. My child feels so proud of what they’re creating, and the films they work on always turn out brilliant.
If you’re looking for a fun and creative activity for your kids, I can’t recommend their workshops enough.
