Who Powers You: Celebrating Community Heroes Through Video Storytelling

Overview

Led end-to-end video production for Touchstone Energy's "Who Powers You" campaign, a national contest celebrating local heroes across electric cooperatives. The series reached 42M cooperative members and achieved 45% increase in member engagement through compelling documentary-style storytelling.

The Challenge: Bringing Local Heroes' Stories to Life

Touchstone Energy's "Who Powers You" campaign presented a unique challenge: how to transform written contest submissions into compelling visual narratives that would resonate across 42 million cooperative members nationwide. The project required maintaining consistent quality while filming across multiple locations, capturing authentic stories within tight production timelines, and creating content suitable for multiple platforms.

Strategic Approach: Documentary-Style Storytelling

Our approach focused on creating authentic, emotionally resonant content that would celebrate local heroes while strengthening cooperative brands.

Pre-Production

The foundation of our success lay in meticulous pre-production planning:

• Development of detailed shot lists and storyboards for each winner's story

• Creation of production schedules that maximized efficiency across locations

• Coordination with local cooperatives for location access and community involvement

• Establishment of interview protocols that ensured consistent storytelling

• Design of versatile lighting and audio setups for various environments

Production Execution

Our production approach emphasized authenticity and technical excellence:

• Documentary-style interviews that captured genuine emotion

• Strategic b-roll capture highlighting community impact

• Filming of cooperative employees and community members

• Documentation of local cooperative initiatives

• Additional coverage specifically for social media optimization

Post-Production Process

• Developed story structure for each winner

• Created multiple edit versions for different platforms

• Designed motion graphics package

• Implemented cooperative branding

• Produced supplementary social content

Technical Execution

Equipment Package

• Primary camera: Blackmagic URSA Mini

• Secondary camera: Canon 5D Mark IV

• Aerial: DJI Inspire

• Lighting: LED panel kit for indoor/outdoor flexibility

• Audio: Wireless lavalier system and boom setup

• Stabilization: Gimbal and tripod systems

Production Style

• Documentary-style interview approach

• Natural lighting supplemented with LED panels

• Run-and-gun b-roll capture

• Time-lapse sequences of community activities

• Drone footage for establishment shots