Visual
Storytelling
As part of a Royal Roads University multimedia storytelling project, I worked with a group of professional communicators to create a public service announcement (PSA) engaging with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's calls to action.
The Purpose
This PSA follows the journey of a single coffee cup — from a careless toss out a car window to the feet of a Royal Roads University student who chooses to act. Along the way it draws a line between the exploitation of land and our everyday actions, opening a dialogue about personal choice and responsibility through the lens of Truth and Reconciliation.
The Challenge
Systemic problems such as land exploitation are easy to acknowledge and just as easy to file away as someone else's problem. Our challenge was to move an audience from apathy to ownership. Following one cup's journey became the device that made our message land.
The Approach
Our group came together for a two-week intensive shoot and collaboratively edited our PSA. But before a single frame was captured, we storyboarded the emotional arc, ensuring every shot had an intention and that the narrative moved the audience from awareness to action.
On-set
We used a range of filmmaking techniques to convey emotion and urgency. We experimented with oral storytelling and various design elements rooted in the land itself — letting the environment speak for itself.
Post-production
In post-production we leaned into our digital toolkits — layering voiceover and sound design to deepen the sensory experience, and applying text overlays to reinforce the mood and tone we had prototyped in our storyboard.
Intentional decision making
Intentional decisions carried weight: the student places the cup in the waste bin rather than recycling because its plastic lining keeps it out of standard recycling — a deliberate beat about informed choice, not just good intentions.