Industry Pros Team up for Anti-Domestic Violence PSA
A powerful spot for the National Domestic Violence Hotline, produced with the support of Rock Paper Scissors and a52, raises awareness of this enduring problem.
Industry Pros Team up for Anti-Domestic Violence PSA
A powerful spot for the National Domestic Violence Hotline,
produced with the support of Rock Paper Scissors and a52,
raises awareness of this enduring problem.
A group of production professionals have banded together to produce a powerful PSA that has a special resonance for all of them. Titled "Mistake," the spot supports a website from the National Domestic Violence Hotline, www.thehotline.org, that provides women with an outlet to seek help should they be the victims of physical or mental abuse.
The PSA was initially produced to run during National Domestic Violence Awareness Month back in October, and currently can be found on The Hotline web site and on other video sharing sites. Among the companies that threw their support behind the project were the L.A. and New York-based creative editorial shop Rock Paper Scissors and its sister VFX boutique, a52. It was directed by Anthony Wilson and produced by Rania Hattar, who's a production manager at MJZ. It features a music track provided by the artist Moby.
Working on the spot had a special meaning for the people who participated in the process, Hattar says, noting that many have had firsthand experience in violent or abusive relationships or home, or is close to someone who's been the victim of domestic violence.
The spot opens on a woman sitting at a vanity, surrounded by darkness as she recalls a horrific accident and begins to apply makeup that reveals cuts and scars. Suddenly, the action cuts to another shot of her, this time in slow motion, as she recoils, bloodied, from unseen blows. As the tension builds, a man's hand appears on her shoulder as she sits at the mirror; his knuckles are bruised black and blue. She tenses, and we cut to a shot of her trying to escape, on her hands and knees, as the man rears back to land another punch and we hear Moby sing, "please don't let me make the same mistake again" as she reaches her hand towards the screen and the viewer. The screen then goes dark and the words "while you were watching, this took place 9 times in the US alone" appears onscreen.
Hattar says that the PSA not only supports the existence of the hotline, but the campaign that the National Domestic Violence Hotline organization undertakes each year to raise awareness and provide education. The group travels to different states around the US and holds conferences and symposia to drive home the fact that domestic violence is still prevalent in society, with reported incidents happening on average, as the spot points out, nine times a minute, each and every day.
"Our story with the PSA is a one year adventure of sadness and hope," says Hattar. "This spot is the result of a group of producers, production managers, EPs and crew who went above and beyond the call to help."
Wilson, who's originally from Seattle, wrote the PSA through a collection of people's experiences – his as well as his own observations, Hattar adds. "The idea that domestic abuse only happens amongst the poor, minorities and the uneducated is a very wrong assumption, and this is what he hoped to bring to light," she says, explaining the use of what appears to be a white, middle-class couple in the spot.
Hattar says that the National Domestic Violence Hotline doesn't have the funds to produce its own PSA content, but rather depends on donated spots that fit its mission and its communications strategy. Wilson and Hattar began collaborating on this effort in the fall of 2011, but couldn't start shooting until the spring of 2012. The spot almost didn't happen, as Hattar says their plans to shoot fell through the day before they were to go on set. That's when a flurry of phone calls brought in donated gear from a host of L.A.-based production vendors.
Among those who helped make the shoot possible, Hattar notes, were Jennifer Schmidt, Emma Wilcockson, and Maria Carpenter at Illumination Dynamics, Shannon Holmes of Camtec and Emily Miller and Sue Robert from Alternative Rentals. "They came to our rescue and helped made everything happen," she adds.
From there, the creative team was connected with Carol Lynn Weaver, an Executive Producer at Rock Paper Scissors, who teamed them up with RPS Editor Neil Meiklejohn, who cut both sixty and ninety second versions. "And a52 EP Megan Meloth worked with us on the spot for months," Hattar says, "squeezing us into their extremely busy schedule and being patient with ours and making it magical."
Hattar also says acknowledgements should be paid to Express Lighting & Grip Inc.'s Ron Arredondo; Siren Studios' Jay Lieberman Ilardo; Showbiz Studios' Scott Webley; and Abel Cine's Jeff McLeod.
"Mistake" Credits:
Director/Writer: Anthony Wilson
Producer: Rania Hattar
D.P.: Roger Chingirian
Make-up: Christina Zavala
Cast: Anastasia Leddik, Eric Nenninger
Music by: Moby
Track Editor: Mathew Peluso
Editorial: Rock Paper Scissors, L.A.
Editor: Neil Meiklejohn
Executive Producer: Carol Lynn Weaver
Producer: Juliet Batter
VFX and Post: a52, Santa Monica
Color: Paul Yacono
Executive Producer: Megan Meloth
Audio Post: Union Editorial
Sound Mixer: Milos Zivkovic
Published 3 January, 2013
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