Curious by Nature

12 min short documentary film

The 2021 North Carolina State Science and Engineering Fair went virtual amid the COVID-19 Pandemic. With reduced access to school resources, 65% fewer students entered the competition. Despite these challenges, four students completed impactful research in the hopes of competing at the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) and positively impacting their local community and environment.

I directed, produced, and filmed Curious by Nature as a part of my M.A. graduate thesis at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, “Capturing Authenticity: An exploration in brand-sponsored documentary video storytelling to define brand values, further social impact, and uncover the implications on the journalism industry.”

Integrated social impact Earth Month Campaign

In partnership with S’well’s Global Impact and Marketing Manager Kendra Peavy and marketing team, we developed an integrated Earth Month Campaign that included: Curious by Nature Webpage, More Students in Action Blog Post, social media posts, and email distribution. S’well utilized their partnership and social impact strategy to create further reach with North Carolina Science and Engineering Foundation, UNICEF Clubs USA, Lonely Whale, B Corp USA, Girl Scouts, and more. And finally, we created a ‘Thought Discussion Kit’ to prioritize environmental advocacy and youth leadership.

WHAT IS BRAND-SPONSORED DOCUMENTARY VIDEO?

Capturing Authenticity is an analysis, an explorative approach to documentary storytelling, a journal to ask questions, a workshop to complete activities, and a story. It is read as a journey in color-coded chapters with symbols that promote engagement including “Pause,” “Snapshot,” and “Activities.” Whether you’re a brand looking to engage in documentary work, a journalist wondering about its ethics, or an agency figuring out where you fall, your voice is in there.

I sought to understand a new form of brand advertising content and marketing strategies, identify trends, ethical challenges, and lessons learned. From October 2020 to February 2021, I spoke with 19 experts in creative agencies, in-house brand content teams, production companies, independent journalists, and nonprofits.

Although Patagonia is the most well-known for documentary video, my research found that dozens of brands create brand-sponsored documentary video stories. The time for understanding this large emerging influential industry is now before it runs away from its creators. My findings cannot be conclusive in this short time, but instead, I ask pertinent questions to develop a greater understanding. For example, are brands actually cutting through the content noise and making deeper connections with consumers? Or how do you uphold journalistic principles in marketing content? My analysis informed my approach to working with two companies, S’well and Burt’s Bees, in creating a short documentary and a documentary storytelling workshop series. The obstacles and conversations I uncovered in these partnerships brought up new questions, like, what does brand transparency mean today? Or, how do we value storytellers?

Thanks for reading if you choose to & Email me to work together!