There must be something in the water. Over the past year, multiple media and film organizations have released useful, eye-catching, and comprehensive guides to impact production. And they’re all free, to boot. Whether you’re an old hand, or just beginning to explore the field of impact production, there’s certainly good reason to take advantage of all this summer reading.
Media Impact Project - Offline Impact Indicators for Documentary Film
What’s it for?
Back in May when SCOTUS legalized gay marriage, Facebook created a function which allowed users to give their profile pictures a rainbow filter. Over 26 million people did so. That’s the online impact of Facebook’s little project. It’s easy to measure using the website’s internal tracking tools. But what about the offline impact? Did those rainbow profile pictures change anybody’s mind? Did they put pressure on a governing body? Did they lead to structural change? That is much harder to measure. Media Impact Project put together a guide to help filmmakers measure impact IRL.
What’s inside?
The guide breaks down the different kinds of offline impact, defines methods for impact measurement, and provides a few concrete examples from impact documentaries like Food, Inc. and Blackfish.
What’s the verdict?
Ultimately it’s not much more than a well organized (and useful!) glossary of terms. Great for beginners to the world of impact production. But if you’re looking for more in-depth material, read on!
Active Voice - How Do We Know?
What’s it for?
This new initiative from Active Voice is more than a set of resources; it’s also a series of workshops and conversations, both in person and online. The aim is to shift the evaluation of impact projects away from a top down model of measurement and encourage collaboration. The above graphic shows Active Voice’s “ecosystem of change,” laying out all the actors that should be involved in this collaborative impact production and evaluation. If you fall into any of those colorful circles, this guide is for you!
What’s inside?
The main section of this guide is called “Horticulture Tools.” Using gardening metaphors, it helps media makers decide what kind of impact project they want to make — is it a rake? or a trellis? For each tool, the guide explains it’s purpose, strengths, and weaknesses. It also provides a film example for each. These include useful summaries of campaign strategy and outcomes. The guide also includes a handy roundup of free impact measurement tools from around the internet.
What’s the verdict?
Whether or not you’re interested in gardening, this can be a very handy tool at the start of your production process. Helpful for determining the goals of your film and working out the parameters of your impact strategy. Stay tuned for opportunities to meet and discuss these ideas with other participants in that “ecosystem of change.”
What’s it for?
If you know exactly what you’re looking for, then this field guide can operate as a reference book. Do you need help figuring out your distribution plan? You can head straight to the section on distribution and then go on your way. If you read it through from start to finish this website can also be considered an online course in impact production. But in essence this field guide is just that, a guide. It’s designed to be used as a constant companion on your journey through the various stages of production.
What’s inside?
A lot! For many filmmakers, the biggest draw may be the field guide’s nine very extensive case studies. They give a remarkable amount of insight into the campaigns of some of the most impactful films of the last few years. In addition, the guide walks filmmakers through four steps in the impact production process: planning, equipping, distributing, and evaluating. In each section the guide refers back to the case study films as well as other impact projects, tools, and resources from around the web.
What’s the verdict?
There is something here for everybody. If you have no idea where to start with impact production, this guide will show you the ropes. If you’re an old hand, there’s still a treasure trove of resources to help you hone your craft. Either way, block out a good chunk of time in your calendar for this one, because there’s a lot to explore.