Challenge:

Capture a personal, intriguing story about how—despite heavy odds—schools in rural, Kentucky successfully improved public education.

Results:

A genuine video portrait of senior high school student, Lakeisha Crum. Additional stories, featuring other students and teacher innovation, grew out of the project and appeared in the gatesnotes blog, social media and Bill and Melinda Gates’ Annual Letter.

Challenge:

Capture a personal, intriguing story about how—despite heavy odds—schools in rural, Kentucky successfully improved public education.

Results:

A genuine video portrait of senior high school student, Lakeisha Crum. Additional stories, featuring other students and teacher innovation, grew out of the project and appeared in the gatesnotes blog, social media and Bill and Melinda Gates’ Annual Letter.

Mining A New Future

Creative Strategy:

Quickly and authentically build trust with the local community in order to create a poetic, candid student profile that resonates with viewers— connecting them to the struggles and successes of this rural population.

Strategy in Action:

Residents of eastern Kentucky are inherently wary of the media, so it was key that we establish a relationship with the community. We dedicated three days to get to know students, teachers and community members—this included volunteering in the high school’s Media Studies class to prepare students to interview Bill and Melinda Gates.

The people of Betsy Layne opened their homes and school, sharing sorrows, as well as hopes. Most surprisingly, they granted us access to an active coalmine, normally off-limits to film crews.

CASE STUDIES