Here Are Our Favorite Videos Made Through Storyhunter in 2020
The Storyhunter team combed through your submissions and voted on stand-out videos produced through our platform in 2020. The pandemic may have stopped many in their tracks, but what is evident from the staff picks is that our community found new and creative ways to do what we love: tell stories.
Best Branded Content
Company: Bloomberg QuickTake
Video Journalist: Lena Inglis
Dropbox Business sponsored a Bloomberg QuickTake series looking at how small businesses are adapting to a post-pandemic world. This particular video looks at how the founder of a dance fitness studio Wukkout in New York City is getting creative to keep her company afloat. Video Journalist Lena Inglis has previously filmed for Happs and New York University.
Best TV Commercial
Company: Rosetta Stone
Video Journalist: Thomas Cytrynowicz, Emiliano Leon
In this fast-paced 40-second Rosetta Stone commercial, native-speakers from France to China share expressions (for example, “dumpster fire” and “disaster”) that capture the mood of 2020. The message? No matter how you say it, last year had us all feeling a type of way. Ian Young from Rosetta Stone hired dozens of Storyhunter freelancers to work on this marketing campaign, and for this particular piece, videographer Thomas Cytrynowicz found a quintessential Paris street to film on. Emiliano Leon filmed seven talents and edited the commercial as well as eight extended explainers.
Best Virtual & Remote
Company: InsureTech Connect
Storyhunter Select Producer: John Dickie
InsureTech, the world’s largest insurance-tech conference that annually has 8,000 attendees, created its first-ever digital conference during the COVID-19 pandemic. They produced hundreds of videos featuring speakers located all over the world. John Dickie was one of the highly experienced Select producers who worked on creating quality content for this virtual conference. Learn more about how Storyhunter helped the ITC go digital here.
Best Drone Photography
Company: BBC Reel
Video Journalist: Alice Carfrae
BBC Reel hired Nepal-based video journalist Alice Carfrae to film a monastery in Kathmandu that’s home to hundreds of young nuns who are challenging stereotypes through kung fu. The sweeping drone footage of the nunnery helps place the viewer on the mountaintop and elevates the visual storytelling. Alice has worked for numerous media companies including AJ Plus, 60 Second Docs, and Atlas Obscura.
Best Explainer Video
Company: Bloomberg Law
Motion Graphics Designer and Video Editor: Virginia Gilles
Bloomberg Law needed a motion graphics designer to illustrate the concept and history of court-packing in the United States, a topic that was making headlines in the lead-up to Republican’s rush to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. Virginia Gilles used her motion graphics expertise and video editing skills to make this newsy piece even more engaging. In the past, she’s worked for BBC Reel and on numerous other projects for Bloomberg.
Best Animation Video
Company: BBC Reel
Motion Graphics Designer: Maple Shipp
Motion Graphics Designer Maple Shipp expertly and creatively uses motion graphics design in this four-minute BBC video that delves into the ways in which the media has warped our sense of self. A Storyhunter Select producer, Shipp has worked on big-budget projects for companies such as Red Bull and InsureTech Connect.
Best Environmental Video
Company: Great Big Story
Documentary DP: Danny Beard
Great Big Story was looking for a video journalist to film a documentary-style piece on a Miami meteorologist who has made it his mission to warn citizens about the dangerous effects of climate change. This video stood out because of its unique and human-approach to conveying the climate crisis. Danny has previously worked for Fusion Media, Bloomberg Quicktake, and AJ Plus.
Best Documentary: Long Form
Company: Al Jazeera
Documentary DP: Mathieu Orcel
Filmmaker Mathieu Orcel found himself caught in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic in Buenos Aires, Argentina. But that’s when he decided to seek the guidance of a longtime cave dweller high in the mountains of Tucuman province to explore the many meanings of isolation. Mathieu has his own production company called Kôn sud that focuses on social issues in Latin America.
Best Documentary: Short Form
Company: New York Post
Documentary DP: Chuck Greenwood
The New York post hired Chuck Greenwood to film a couple who uprooted their life after the coronavirus pandemic hit and decided to live out of their van and travel all over Oregon. The video gives us a glimpse into the day-to-day routine of the self-described “digital nomads.” Chuck owns a full-service studio for broadcast, feature, commercial films. He’s worked for companies such as Hearst Digital Media, NowThis, and Ruptly.
Best Social Video
Company: Bloomberg QuickTake
Video Journalist: Amir Kohn
Seattle-based Amir Kohn filmed the 17-year-old behind one of the largest coronavirus-tracking websites in the world. This social video garnered more than three million views on Twitter. Kohn has also filmed stories for 60 Second Docs.
Best Vertical Video
Company: Lightricks
Creative Director: Eric Hinojosa
Director and editor Eric Hinojosasourced creative talent and produced more than 20 TikTok videos for Lightricks, an Israel-based company that develops award-winning video and image editing mobile apps. Eric leads a team that produces content for some of the world’s biggest YouTubers.
Best Vertical Video Series
Company: Instagram
Instagram’s page on their platform has a staggering 384 million followers, topping all other accounts. The brand hired Storyhunter freelancers to film visually stunning three-minute vertical videos for their IGTV series celebrating Black Joy. Instagram built a community around the series using #ShareBlackStories.
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By Shivan Sarna, Head of Stories
