Neighborhood Centers – Latest News from MediaStorm

MediaStorm Presents: H-Town Stories II for Neighborhood Centers

Post author:Cortney Cleveland
Post published:November 6, 2014

In this new installment of H-Town Stories commissioned by Neighborhood Centers Inc., MediaStorm takes an intimate look at two lives that have been transformed by the power of work. Neighborhood Centers provides services to 400,000 Texans every year and MediaStorm hoped to create intimate portraits of just a few of these men and women who benefit from such assistance. Fred, a pilot and Vietnam veteran, spent decades taking care of his ailing wife. As a cargo pilot, he split his time between the stress of flying and the stress of watching his partner slowly die. With his savings finally gone and the passing of his wife, he decided at 60 to start his professional life again. Teresa was born in Mexico. She and her ex-husband traveled to Houston as undocumented workers. Despite the stress of her new life, and even an attack on her life, Theresa has managed to not only survive,…

“Swan Song” Receives 3rd Prize in 2014 World Press Photo Multimedia Contest

Post author:Cortney Cleveland
Post published:March 24, 2014

MediaStorm is proud to announce that Swan Song has been awarded 3rd Prize in the Online Feature category of the 2014 World Press Photo Multimedia Contest. Swan Song follows the story of Marilyn, diagnosed with dementia at age 58, and her daughters as they refocus their lives to care for her during her most precious years. They try to juggle it all until they are forced to make a heartbreaking decision. The film grew out of a project commissioned by the Neighborhood Centers Inc. to profile the organization’s work in the city of Houston. While documenting the stories of the people the organization works with everyday we discovered “The Greer Girls.” Swan Song takes a deeper look into this amazing family of women dealing with dementia, using their personal narrative to illustrate the struggles of families dealing with this difficult disease. First place in the Online Feature category was awarded to Witnessing…

Attendees of Neighborhood Centers' "H-Town Stories" premiere interact with displays. Photo Credit: Neighborhood Centers Inc.

Data, Dollars And Love: How MediaStorm Measures the Impact of Our Films

Post author:Samia Khan
Post published:September 23, 2013

Today’s post is from Samia Khan, MediaStorm’s Director of Partnership Development.

One of the questions I am often asked is “what is the impact of MediaStorm’s films?” It’s a reasonable question. After all, we ask clients to invest their time and resources into a project that simply unfolds. We ask our clients to trust us and to understand that no matter what happens, we’ll deliver a product that tells their story like none other. It’s a lot to ask. We get that. So we’ve made a commitment to measure impact, to develop metrics that help us answer that fundamental question – “why should I invest my limited resources in a MediaStorm production?”

In the coming weeks, you’ll see the results section of our most recent project, H-Town Stories for Neighborhood Centers Inc., packed with data. We’ll tell you how many people attended the film premiere on September 18th; how many people were moved to sign up as volunteers as a result of the film; whether any dollars were raised. We know we live in a world obsessed with numbers so we’ll jump on that bandwagon too.

But what I won’t be able to describe is the sense of connection, empathy, and love that took place at Sundance Cinema on September 18th. I won’t be able to accurately describe how moved everyone was by the stories they saw, and how inspired they were by the families portrayed in the films.

Attendees of Neighborhood Centers’ *H-Town Stories* premiere interact with displays. Photo credit: Neighborhood Centers Inc.

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MediaStorm Presents “Swan Song” and “These Bones of Mine”

Post author:Cortney Cleveland
Post published:September 19, 2013

How do you tell the story of a massive organization with a broad scope that brings resources, education and connection to hundreds of thousands of people throughout Houston and the Texas Gulf Coast? This was the challenge Neighborhood Centers Inc. brought to MediaStorm. With Swan Song and These Bones of Mine, we answer the question of why Neighborhood Center’s work matters with intimate, cinematic narratives of the people they serve everyday. Swan Song is the story of The Greers, a 3-woman unit of mother and daughters nicknamed “The Greer Girls.” When Marilyn is diagnosed with dementia at age 58, her daughters refocus their lives to care for her during her most precious years. They try to juggle it all until they are forced to make a heartbreaking decision. These Bones of Mine is the story of Syed, the black sheep. When he told his family he wanted to convert to a minority…

Neighborhood Centers and MediaStorm Present “H-Town Stories”

Post author:Cortney Cleveland
Post published:August 22, 2013

Neighborhood Centers Inc., is a not for profit organization that brings resources, education and connection to over 400,000 people throughout Houston and the Texas Gulf Coast region every year. Dozens of different social sectors fall under its scope. Neighborhood Centers asked MediaStorm to create a film that addressed the question: why does our work matter? H-Town Stories offers an answer. Rather than tell the history of how Neighborhood Centers came to exist and explain all that this massive organization does, we took the approach of telling personal stories about the people they serve everyday. Intimate, cinematic narratives bring the heart and soul of the organization to life. Houstonians can view an edited version of the film on Saturday, August 24th, 2013 at 5:00 pm on KHOU 11 News. The full-length feature will premiere on MediaStorm.com on September 19th, 2013.