The vicious cycle of gun violence never ever ends as depicted in the video #TheMostViciousCycle–posted last month as a ScreenWork entry–with music by Kesha, her brother Sage and rapper, Chika. Now the video comes with narration–from March For Our Lives co-founder Sarah Chadwick, and Marla Pike, mother of a Chicago shooting victim–which explains hidden aspects and meanings in the video, shedding light on the work while reminding viewers that the only way to stop the cycle of tragedy, human loss and violence is to #VoteForOurLives.
The original video and now the story behind the video both came from McCann NY, directed by Ben Smith at Mill+, with VFX from The Mill.
Just like gun violence in America, the video repeats over and over again–and in chain-reaction Rube Goldberg-esque fashion. The piece features a song, written the day after the Parkland shooting by Sage who was a senior in high school at the time. The song is performed by Sage, Kesha and up-and-coming rapper Chika. The film includes a memorial scene, honoring actual victims of gun violence from the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, the Pulse Nightclub shooting, as well as everyday gun violence in different parts of Chicago. Footage supplied by David Hogg, from inside his classroom the day-of, is also included, to remind viewers of the personal nature of the gun-violence epidemic. Everyone involved hopes to increase voter turnout and change gun laws forever.
Credits
Client March For Our Lives Sarah Chadwick, Sofie Whitney, project strategists & coordinators; Ryan Deitsch, content creator; Jackie Corin, national outreach director; Matt Deitsch, chief strategist. Agency McCann New York Andre De Castro, Nick Larson, creatives; Gaby Levy, producer; Sean Bryan, Tom Murphy, chief creative officers; Joyce King Thomas, creative advisor; Nathy Aviram, chief production officer; Rob Reilly, global creative chairman; Susan Young, Daniela Vojta, executive creative directors. Production Mill+ Ben Smith, director; Ian Bearce, Christina Thompson, exec producers; Tia Perkins, producer; Andrew Hollingsworth, Danika Casas, production coordinators; Kyle Cody, shoot supervisor. Editorial The Mill Ryan McKenna, editor; Matthew Campbell, edit assist. VFX The Mill Christina Thompson, exec producer; Grace Tober, producer; Roshni Kakas, line producer; Umesh Chand, production coordinator; Angus Kneale, chief creative officer; Ben Smith, creative director; Kyle Cody, shoot supervisor, 2D lead artist; Venuprasath D, 2D lead artist; Christian Nielsen, 3D lead artist; Molly Intersimone, Badarinath Chinimilli, Prasanna Bhatt, Rajeshkumar K, 2D artists; Tim Kim, Ryan Federman, Todd Akita, Tighe Rzankowski, Dave Barosin, Weicheih Yu, Sudakshina Sridharan, Vittal Kuntla, Fazal Khan, Giri Prasath S, Raj Kumar M, Sunil MM, Sendil Kumar J, 3D artists; Scott McGinley, Alex Allain, John Wilson, animation; Clemens den Exter, design; Laura Nash and Wendy Eduarte, motion graphics; Anish Mohan, asset supervisor; Senthil Murugan Balasundaram, tracking supervisor; Mikey Rossiter, colorist. Audio Sound Lounge Marshall Grupp, sound designer; Tom Jucarone, mixer; Becca Falborn, sr. producer. Foley Alchemy Post Sound Music supervised by Rob Kaplan and Aaron Mercer from Wool & Tusk; “Safe” Track: Produced and Engineered by Drew Pearson; Mixed by Jon Castelli; Engineer for Mix by Ingmar Carlson; Mastered by Emily Lazar at The Lodge, NY; Assisted by Chris Allgood; Written by Kesha, Sage, Chika, Pebe Sebert, and Drew Pearson; Chika vocals recorded by Mitch Davis at Pull Music; Executive produced by Lagan Sebert and Hampton Howerton for Vector Management; Digital marketing, Jon Romero for Vector Management; Kesha appears courtesy of Kemosabe Records/RCA Records
NHS (National Health Service) England rolled out this PSA titled “That Feeling,” part of its first-ever national campaign designed to encourage women to screen for breast cancer.
Directed by Fern Berresford of Rogue Films for agency M&C Saatchi UK, the spot taps into the universal moment of relief women feel when removing their bras after a long day. This serves as a metaphor for the reassurance and sense of control women feel after attending a breast screening--a step that could help detect breast cancer before symptoms appear.
The :30 captures women of diverse ages, ethnicities, and body types in this intimate and relatable moment, paired with messaging about the life-saving benefits of screening. The spot is accompanied by Wilson Pickett’s upbeat track, “Land of 1000 Dances.”
Amy Parkhill, creative at M&C Saatchi UK, said, “There’s no better feeling than taking your bra off at the end of the day. The relief from being held in (and up) for hours. We wanted to use that relatable and universal truth and apply it to getting your breast screening sorted. To be free from putting it off and to know you’ve done everything in your power for your health. We kept the visual storytelling as authentic as the insight, opting for people and places that represent those we know and love.”
Parkhill continued, “It’s the positive and uplifting piece we hoped it would be, and we aren’t even sick of the song yet!”
