National Catholic Forester

Summer 2017 — www.ncsf.com 7 The Year of Mercy video series produced last year by the Communications Office of the Archdiocese of St. Louis has been awarded the 2017 New Media Campaign of the Year Gabriel Award. Other Gabriel Award winners this year include CBS's 60 Minutes, National Geographic, and EWTN among others. The 2017 Gabriel Awards Presentation was held on June 22 in Quebec City, Canada. Watch the series at www.stlouisreview.com/bsJ. NCSF staff interviewed the creative team: Elizabeth Westhoff, Director of Communications and Lisa Johnson, New Media Journalist for the St. Louis Archdiocese. We spoke with them on the day before their trip to receive the Gabriel Awards Presentation in Canada. The joy, passion, and deep belief in spreading the Word of God was evident in the voices of these extraordinarily talented women. The pair was still full of creative vision as we spoke with them. They shared the feeling that the Holy Spirit guided them in their work. When the Year of Mercy was first announced by Pope Francis, Elizabeth and Lisa sat with Reverend Nicholas Smith, Associate Pastor and Archdiocesan Master of Ceremonies Director, Office of Worship in St. Louis to present their ideas of how to mark this important year. They decided to create short micro-movies (about a minute long) based entirely upon scripture that could be easily disseminated across all social media platforms. With Lisa behind the camera and Elizabeth directing and scripting – filming began. In April 2016, Elizabeth and Lisa were invited to the Holy Land as part of a delegation of journalists. There they shot breathtaking footage of the Holy Land. Lisa used artistic film angles, lighting, and effects – turning an ordinary shot into something poetic, pensive, visceral, and extraordinary. They called it "eye candy" – "You WANT to look at it." Money was very limited, so they had to put a lot of care into what they spent. "When we say shoe-string budget – we mean it!", they explain, "like when we had a camera on a skateboard with a string pulling it along." That is where the NCSF grant came in. There are seven micro-movies in the Year of Mercy Series. Each was created for a specific a season of the year: Meditation, Holy Land, Pentecost, All Things New, Greater than Sin, Life, and Christmas. The NCSF grant funds were used to purchase the musical scores. Whether meditative or invigorating – it is the music that helps bring the series to life. The music guides you through the Words of God as they appear on the film and accents the power of the scene. "It sinks in, in a way," they said, "We used music that is so passionate – you want to share it – you want your friends to see and hear it. You want to share your faith!" The micro-videos were noticed by the Office of Worship in New Orleans. They were able to get the videos as trailers before blockbuster movies in AMC theaters. EWTN also noticed their incredible work. They made a gift of additional funds so that the Year of Mercy series could expand its reach in the media. "It is like a shot in the arm" Elizabeth says, "it gives you an injection of your faith – for people of faith and not of faith ... I'm committed to being where the people are" Elizabeth shares. "Moses brought down God's message on tablets. Tablets have changed, but the message hasn't. This isn't our message, it is the message of the Gospel ... it is ours to spread." The series was submitted for the Gabriel Award. "We decided to send it in and we won!" "What an honor!" Elizabeth recalls fondly how they literally jumped for joy. "Thank you to NCSF! We couldn't have done it without you!" they said. NCSF is proud to have helped these talented people in the St. Louis Archdiocese bring their creativity to life. Congratulations! We wish you continued success in your endeavors! NCSF COMMuNICATION gRANT WINNER hONORED WITh PRESTIgIOuS gABRIEL AWARD!

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