Farmshare

Farmshare exemplifies how our storytelling technique inspires audiences to care about a business and the people who run it.

Mission-driven narrative  The goal of this film is to increase enrollment and retention in Picadilly Farm’s community supported agriculture (CSA) program. We believe that shareholders sign up not just for the organic vegetables, but also to become a part of the local farm movement. Emphasizing this sense of belonging encourages new members to join, and it strengthens the farm’s bond with existing members.

Primary photography  Picadilly Farm is owned and operated by Bruce and Jenny Wooster, who live on the farm with their family. Jenny handles much of the office and administrative work, and Bruce spends his day out in the fields. His monologue, edited from a wide-ranging and unscripted interview, drives the story. Photography on the farm took place on a single day, with Ben shooting, interviewing, and recording sound.

Careful editing  The film opens with close-ups of a few people preparing vegetables in a bright kitchen, before cutting to early morning shots on the farm as the fog slowly burns off. Leaving the opening scene unexplained creates a slight tension. This is relieved at the end when we see that the vegetables are from the day’s harvest at the farm, and the friends are CSA shareholders. (In true documentary fashion, the meal, a weekly potluck at a Boston co-op, was not staged for the camera—even the vegetables were from the day’s box from the farm!)

Deliberate pacing and control is also evident in Bruce’s narration, which is edited with long pauses that allow us time to contemplate his words and look out at the farm. Using tension, employing delayed revelation, and giving the narration space to breathe are all methods we employ to create strong, textured films.

Building character  Farmshare embodies our ideas about how advertising should be done: lead with character, and deliver with message. We give your audience somebody to relate to, and then use that connection (carefully, and honestly) to transmit your message. Bruce’s description of the CSA program as a way to share in “the risks and rewards of agricultural production” means so much more when we hear it late in the film, after getting a sense of the joys and sorrows of farm life.

More information  To sign up for a CSA from Picadilly Farm (pickups available in the Boston area and at the farm in New Hampshire), visit picadillyfarm.com.