Villars Symposium 2022 | The Villars Institute
Giving young people a voice
In June 2022, we took the train to The Villars Institute in Villars-Sur-Ollon in Switzerland. The Villars Institute is an exciting new institute, that wishes to transform the biggest issues happening in the world today.
Our Chocolate Films team was invited to the conference Villars Symposium, where experts and young people discussed the climate and how we can prevent climate change in the future. They invited an intergenerational group of up to 200 people from around the world to share their ideas and knowledge about the environmental landscape.
Their main focus is on young people. The institute invites people aged 14-19 to be a fellow. As a fellow, you become part of a membership scheme with other young people from across the globe and will be invited to similar conferences in the future. We got to interview and produce several videos featuring both the experts and fellows.
International environment
At the conference, there were fellows, faculty members, stakeholders, and speakers. The symposium also included a range of activities and events in and around the institute with a focus on transitioning to a net zero economy. The aim was to combine the energy and ideas of the young people with the accumulated skill and knowledge of the faculty members to find solutions.
The purpose of the videos was to share and showcase the work and innovation of the fellowship and faculty. The target audience was potential fellows, young entrepreneurs, and people who work with young people. The films should be informative, but still engaging and inspiring.
It wasn’t our first time working in an international environment. We have previously worked on international shoots and aim to make the videos as accessible as possible. The conference was held in English and the videos are in English as well. But with the opportunity to add French and German subtitles.
Three types of films
Chocolate Films was commissioned to produce video content focusing on fellows and experts. We aimed to keep a great balance between the two and make sure each film had the right tone of voice.
It resulted in three types of films:
A hero video explaining the fellowship and what it is about. It gives the audience an overall idea of the new institute and its goals.
We also created interview-based videos (2 minutes long) with fellows. These are less formative and more personal videos showcasing young people’s thoughts and concerns about climate change. We asked them questions about the institute as well as why it is relevant to them and what they have learned.
Last, but not least, we produced mini-documentaries concentrating on a specific topic (5 minutes long). The documentaries bring together experts who share their expertise within the field.
Drone content: Amazing nature scenery
The Villars Institute is located in the incredible Swiss countryside. We shot some beautiful drone content of the stunning surroundings.
The institute also has large windows and a lot of natural light shines through the windows. We tried to use natural light in our videos and the unique location as much as possible.
Big YES to trains
In many ways, the Swiss countryside was a perfect location for a conference focusing on the environment. Being in the incredible nature reminded us how important it is to take care of our planet. As a video production company, we are also committed to reducing the environmental impact of our business activities.
Therefore, we chose to take the train from the UK to Villars-Sur-Ollon in Switzerland. We had a team of three filmmakers and one producer who went by train and bus to the Swiss countryside. The journey took around 10 hours. As you can see, spirits remained high despite a long journey!
The team enjoyed their time at The Villars Institute and the overall feedback was great. The institute shared the video content on their different social media platforms and has invited us back for their next conference in March 2023. We are excited to go back and film more content!
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We can produce video content for your next conference
We have years of experience shooting conferences, panels, and breakout sessions, and turning them into captivating online content. We are flexible and can meet you where you are whether it is a conference abroad like Symposium or in the UK. Our key offices are in Glasgow and London, but we have satellite offices in the EU and US, and a network of filmmakers and production companies around the world.
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