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Millions Missing Canada needs your face and voice!

ScottTriGuy

Stop the harm. Start the research and treatment.
Messages
1,402
Location
Toronto, Canada
Hello Canadian ME patients,


Millions Missing Canada needs your face and voice for our video campaigns!


We are developing our advocacy campaign to meet with Minister Philpott to discuss the creation of a national strategy for ME. The campaign will focus on traditional and social media as channels for our message with an emphasis on creating media, and to a lesser extent on seeking earned media.


Central to that campaign is to create persistent and consistent media messaging that garners political, press and public awareness. It is a competitive media landscape to get attention and requires unique and / or provocative narratives to get our message in front of people’s eyes.


We are working with a volunteer videographer organization and have developed a number of video narratives, including a series of videos called “Ask Minister Philpott” where each week or so Millions Missing Canada will release a recorded question asked by a ME patient. (The CIHR rejection of the ME grant last week is great fodder for another video!)


We are also producing another series of provocative, virally-intended videos that require narration from ME patients. The videos will highlight the realities of ME in the healthcare system with data and statistics mixed with personal narratives.


The videos will be a mix of real footage, narration, images, animation and graphics. The videos will be less than 2 mins 20 seconds so they are also twitterable.


We are scheduling a day to record the video narrations and are asking ME patients to consider participating by contributing your face and voice in 2 ways:


  • provide the narration for the scripted videos

  • share your lived experience as an ME patient in the Canadian healthcare system in a brief interview (unscripted)

We are estimating about 1 hour to record the narration and conduct the interview. The location will be downtown Toronto in the coming weeks. Coffee and cookies provided!


Participants will be asked to sign a standard release form to acknowledge the release of their image in the videos.


For ME patients either not in the Toronto area, or too ill to travel, we are exploring participation by recording online via skype or facetime, so we want to hear from you too!


To find out more about participating and recording details, contact Scott at MillionsMissingCanada@gmail.com
 

Snowdrop

Rebel without a biscuit
Messages
2,933
Sorry @ScottTriGuy I wasn't clear. I was thinking of a video of me with a series of cards that tell the viewer I have ME and that I feel utterly neglected by Canadian Health system. And that I'd like that to change--yesterday. I'm not sure I can pull it off (even though it's not that big a deal) but I might. I think Several such videos where we don't speak but hold cards the viewer can read stating our message might be helpful and as mentioned not too hard to do.

Is this even a possibility to include or have I gotten confused?
 

ScottTriGuy

Stop the harm. Start the research and treatment.
Messages
1,402
Location
Toronto, Canada
I think that's totally doable. I've seen a few videos with that format that have been powerful. The script seems to be key.

Some considerations:
- keeping the video under 2:20 so its also twitterable in this age of no-attention span.
- include an 'ask' at end of the video, something along the theme: "Minister Philpott, when will you meet about creating a national strategy for ME?"
- other visuals of your life previous to ME to contrast with life now - eg a pic of when you were able to be active, previous accomplishments - to be edited into the final cut
- we can support the crafting and development of the script
- some videos that have people holding cards to tell narration, also have an audio narration - so there would be the visual of you silently showing the cards, and for the people who turn on the volume they would also hear the emotion in your voice (lots of people seem to prefer to watch these short videos w/o audio and so also like sub-titles) -
how would you feel about also recording the audio narration?

What do you think?