Our friends at Western Reserve Academy asked us to help them tell the story of Frederick Douglass’s first and only commencement speech, delivered on their campus in 1854. The project spanned three states across four productions.
The documentary debuted at the Chagrin Film Festival (winning Best Local Documentary) and won two Gold Addy Awards.
It was important for us to help keep the audience engaged through dynamic visuals. We combed through dozens of archives and sourced hundreds of Douglass and the time period. This allowed us to pull the audience into the zeitgeist of the day.
Another key element of this project was interviews to help guide the audience through Douglass's speech. We handled production in three states while staying on time and on budget.
The most important element of this project was Frederick Douglass's speech. We worked with the students to capture performances based on their interpretation of Douglass's intent. This gave each student the ability to perform what felt true to them based on their lived experience.
