September 13, 2022 \ Geoff Birmingham
New Hope: Supporting those affected by domestic and sexual violence

New Hope: Supporting those affected by domestic and sexual violence

    We were proud to produce multiple capital campaign videos for New Hope.  New Hope works throughout South-Central and Southeastern Massachusetts, offering support to individuals who have been affected by domestic and sexual violence. Its services include crisis intervention, violence prevention, life transition, and self-sufficiency opportunities, while promoting behavioral...

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January 13, 2022 \ Geoff Birmingham
Smiles 2021

Smiles 2021

  2021 felt like something of an extension of 2020. Happiness can take a hit or two, but it always survives. Our clients last year gave us plenty of joy, and this is a tribute to them. These Smiles videos started a few years ago and, for us at least, we can't help smiling when we watch them. Hopefully it's the same for you! Important note: In last year's version, I spoke to the question...

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January 29, 2021 \ Geoff Birmingham
Smiles 2020

Smiles 2020

Last year was lousy, and the beginning of this year hasn't been a lot better. Still, mixed in with all the difficulties, there have been moments of joy. In 2010, on a whim we created our first "Smiles" video - a short montage of happy faces, compiled from a year's worth of footage. It's been an annual post for the last few years (see below for videos from past years). If you need a little shot...

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September 30, 2020 \ Geoff Birmingham
Case study: Unitarian Universalist Urban Ministry (UUUM)

Case study: Unitarian Universalist Urban Ministry (UUUM)

As I discussed in a previous post, COVID-19 has not eliminated nonprofits' interest in video, and several of our clients immediately embraced virtual video production. When the pandemic disrupted our plans for filming with the Unitarian Universalist Urban Ministry (UUUM), it was unclear what next steps would be. Deciding on Messaging The video was intended to support a capital campaign for the interior...

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August 28, 2020 \ Geoff Birmingham
Video production during COVID-19

Video production during COVID-19

After the March lockdown here in Massachusetts, we wondered what the implications would be for video production during COVID-19. Fortunately, in the same way that folks switched their in-person meetings to Zoom, our video productions also went virtual, and so work continued. Then, starting in July, some folks began to inquire about returning to in-person filming. The nature of our productions...

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August 4, 2020 \ Rachel Jellinek
Video: North Shore Community College and the value of community colleges

Video: North Shore Community College and the value of community colleges

Reflection Films has been fortunate to work with a variety of clients in the higher education space, including two community colleges: MassBay Community College and North Shore Community College. For the latter, we were asked to produce two 15-second animations that highlight the value of a community college education from the perspective of a traditional student and a student who attends a bit later...

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June 12, 2020 \ Rachel Jellinek
Inclusion of People with Disabilities

Inclusion of People with Disabilities

Back in mid-February I attended an event, "Building Inclusive Work Cultures for People with Disabilities".  I wanted to go not only because I am a fan of Yolanda Coentro and the Institute for Nonprofit Practice (INP), who co-hosted the event with State Street. I also knew I had a lot to learn.  I had the chance to speak with Catherine Hyde Townsend, Disability Inclusion Expert, and Regina...

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May 12, 2020 \ Geoff Birmingham
Video Production with Zoom

Video Production with Zoom

Needless to say, video production is currently a bit different than what it was a couple months ago. As a reflection of this, we were recently asked for the first time to participate in a video production with Zoom. Reach Out and Read (ROR) is an organization we've enjoyed working with on several occasions. They partner with pediatricians in an effort to educate families on the value of parents...

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May 4, 2020 \ Geoff Birmingham
Monday Motivation: International Institute of New England (IINE)

Monday Motivation: International Institute of New England (IINE)

  Back in April, we started a weekly "Monday Motivation Series." Over the years, we've worked with a lot of great nonprofits, and we thought that going back to the archives to pull out short excerpts from their videos would be a neat way to highlight the good work they do. One very obvious example is The International Institute of New England, which works to resettle immigrants and refugees....

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April 13, 2020 \ Geoff Birmingham
Monday Motivation: The Boston Nature Center

Monday Motivation: The Boston Nature Center

 Reflection Films has had a lot of wonderful nonprofit partners over the years. While in quarantine, we decided that we wanted to use some of our time to give them a shout-out. To do that, we thought we'd start a Monday Motivation video series. The goal is to share a video clip that: 1. highlights the work of the nonprofit 2. is no more than 60 seconds long 3. hopefully inspires! This first...

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