Stories
News, project launches and thoughts from our team.
IndieGoGo Campaign Video & Live Webathon
Back in 2014, we partnered up with Kitestring Creative & BraveNewCode to launch the #HamOntForever Digital Literacy Fund. Our aim was to raise $10,000 in 60 days to support workshops aimed at providing digital industry skills to those who might not have the opportunity. Then, the Hamilton Community Foundation came along and offered to match all funds raised and things really took off! We produced a video, then a live webathon, and subsequently hit our goal.. and then some.
From Marketing Magazine:
HAMILTON SHOPS BAND TOGETHER ON DIGITAL LITERACY CAMPAIGN
Hamilton, Ont.’s social media community has launched a crowdfunding campaign to improve digital literacy in the city.
Launched on Dec. 2 (Giving Tuesday), the goal of #HamOntForever fund is to raise $10,000 in 60 days. The money will be given to Hamilton Community Foundation, which will dole out grants annually to projects that give people online access and tools to participate in the digital world.
The idea was born when Chris Farias, partner at creative agency Kitestring, was thinking about what’s next for Hamilton’s strong digital community. “My idea was more people need to get involved with this community and there are a lot of people who just don’t have access to digital tools or the internet in general,” said Farias.
The point was driven home when Farias read comments on an article about online voting when the municipal elections were taking place. “In Hamilton, there is no online voting and somebody mentioned that would be just for the elite,” said Farias. “And that really struck me… I had never even thought of being able to access the internet as something that would be elite. And yes, more people need to be able to access the internet.”
So, Kitestring teamed up with Double Barrel Studios and Brave New Code to create the #HamOntForever fund on fundraising site Indiegogo. Hamilton Community Foundation will match the first $10,000 raised. Donors can contribute a hashtag, tweet, post and more based on their donation amount to an online time capsule viewable at HamOntForever.ca.
“The time capsule is really about what your hopes and dreams are for the Hamilton community in the future,” said Farias. At the end of the crowdfunding campaign, the time capsule will be closed and re-opened in 2030.
“I just think it will be interesting to think, ‘remember when we used to tweet?’” said Farias.
Broadcast Commercial
We teamed up with the DeGroote School of Business to create a video campaign that would showcase their current focus on the transformation of technology in business. Using DeGroote’s unique vision, our animation team took iconic symbols in business such as Newton’s cradle and the globe to depict the evolution of technology around the world.
Original Educational Series
For people who have recently been diagnosed with cancer, one of the first challenges is overcoming the amount of information that exists when it comes to care and treatment options. In the digital age, opinions are everywhere, and sorting through them to discover which are accurate and which are bunk can be an overwhelming task.
At Double Barrel, we’ve all lost loved ones to cancer. So when Wayne MacPhail of the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer approached us with an innovative way of educating patients about how to separate the wheat from the chaff we were thrilled.
This was a unique project as Wayne came to us with concept in hand. CPAC wanted to create an online educational series that was dramatic, comedic – and demanding. In fact, the entire piece depended on a pitch-perfect embodiment of our two leads, Franny & Zooey, two 12-year-old budding scientists. Knowing that we needed rock-solid talent, we decided to reach out to ACTRA. For web series this can seem daunting, but their fantastic industry liasons walked us through the process effortlessly. Our two actresses – Chelsea Okyere and Zoe McGarry came in prepared and ready, doing such an amazing job in the audition that we ended up using their second rehearsal take in the completed video.
The final piece is everything we had hoped to achieve, and definitely goes into the Double Barrel vault as one of the most original concepts we’ve executed. Says MacPhail, “It was a pleasure (as always) working with Double Barrel on this project. From our first conversation about the unusual concept they got it and brought a ton of creative value to the end product. This is the type of idea, as we said in the meetings “that had a hundred ways to fail”. But, through casting, direction, animation and post-production, they didn’t let any of them happen. The result is delightful.”
We’re excited to see where this goes. Thanks for inviting us along, Wayne!
