The Challenge

Holt came to Edge Media with a desire to produce a series of videos about the major issues impacting teen health; sex, drugs, alcohol, tobacco, self-esteem, and conflict resolution. Their objectives for the series were to capture students’ attention, spark classroom discussion and support the curriculum by reinforcing important content points. Our mission was to create a compelling delivery format that was appropriate for the high school audience. We responded with a proposal to find real stories about real people and have some real impact.

The Solution

Edge Media contacted the leading prevention and support programs around the country. Through hundreds of phone calls and pre-interviews we found the stories were after - the teen in Pensacola who started having sex the summer before 6th grade, the upcoming graduation of a very special, special needs boy in Seattle, the drunk driving teen who woke up in a San Antonio hospital to find his passenger and best friend was dead, to name a few.

Our creative approach required that we move fast in the field to acquire the volume of interview footage and b-roll we would need. We traveled with a very small crew - a story supervisor, a location producer, a director/cameraman and a soundman. We lit every scene with either natural light, bounced light or daylight-corrected florescent instruments. We shot lightweight mini-DV (our first major project not on BetaCam) and we rough edited segments on laptops riding in airplanes and mini-vans. One client representative was always on location, working with our story supervisor to ensure we were "on-message."

The result is six, award-winning, half-hour documentaries that greatly exceeded Holt’s expectations. And, they are six stories we are extremely proud to have produced.