Photo Credit: SPNN (Dawn directs a video for the St. Paul Public Libraries for SPNN)

That's what they're calling this winter storm on all my Twitter channels. "Snowmageddon!" Yes, I have succumbed to the Social Networking world. Not only that, I LOVE it! So if you want these crazy updates from me, just "follow" me on Twitter.

Beyond the Twittering, 2009 has been a monumental month for Emergence Pictures and me personally. I've started consulting on projects for other firms as a producer/director (thus the pic from SPNN), as well as teaching! This winter I became Adjunct Faculty at Ottawa University, teaching a class called "Filmmaking for Social Change". Turns out out love teaching. Who knew? Plus this class gave me the opportunity to go to Sundance 2009 and soak in some of the best documentary film's I've EVER seen, as well as meeting future collaborators for Emergence Pictures projects. More on that in the near future . . . In the meantime, I hope you enjoy my report from Sundance 2009.

New projects, new clients, new opportunities to grow as a storyteller and help my clients navigate the new world of video content distribution! It is getting easier and easier for nonprofits and businesses out to make a difference to really connect with and mobilize their supporters through video content, teamed with a strong web strategy. Stay tuned! In future updates we'll reveal some of the most exciting projects we've been a part of to date!

Thank you again for your continued interest and support of our work!

Peace,
Dawn Mikkelson
Founder
Emergence Pictures

Tweet Me! - emergencegrrl

Photo Credit: Amanda Vallo (Dawn teaching Ottawa University Students at Sundance 2009)

As mentioned above, this January I had the opportunity to not only teach "Filmmaking for Social Change", but to teach it at the premiere film festival in the world! Sundance 2009!

Best Documentary Films to come out of Sundance this year? My favorites were "Reporter", "No Impact Man", and "We Live in Public" (winner of Best Documentary at Sundance this year) . Why? Let's start with "Reporter".

"Reporter", beyond its amazing website, is a story of a New York Times Columnist as he takes a couple of budding journalists with him into the Congo to speak with a warlord. This film was an exciting journey, but also a larger statement about what moves people to get involved in the world. They used this phrase, "Psychic Numbing" to describe how humans shut down emotionally when faced with the suffering of more than one person and how it lowers their ability to care. By extension, studies prove that the story of ONE person is exponentially more effective in raising empathy and thus support and money, than any intellectual or statistical data or the telling of multiple stories. You'd think that if people saw multiple stories and stats, they'd feel like the problem was bigger and feel the desire to help MORE, but in fact the OPPOSITE is true. Crazy stuff, but reinforces a lot of things I've learned in making fundraising videos for nonprofits.

"No Impact Man" was about a writer whose family lived for an entire year in New York City trying to make no carbon footprint. This included eventually turning off all electricity in his home, not using toilet paper, only buying local food and eating whatever was available by season. It was a very humorous piece. I especially enjoyed his wife, a Business Week reporter, who loved him enough to take the journey with him, but "hated nature". She added a wonderful element of levity and reality to his more tortured-activist character.

Finally, there's "We Live in Public" In some ways I want to just say "Watch the Trailer!!!!". But beyond that, "We Live in Public" turns the viewers eyes back on themselves as we now have the ability to be as "famous" as we want to be online. Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, all the stuff I love can also have an interesting underbelly.