Astronomy at Yale

Branding / Fundraising

The Unknown Awaits

Background
Exploring the cosmic forces shaping the universe, astronomers today depend greatly on three things to do their work: human capital, high performance computing, and super-telescopes. In order to remain competitive in attracting talent and to continue producing ground-breaking research, Yale’s astronomy program needed to elevate their profile and to raise funds to insure access to the next generation of tools. They asked us to tell the story of their program — the people, the science, and the technology.

Challenges
The process of making this film began with in-depth pre-production interviews with professors, graduate, and undergraduate students. Once we had an understanding of the state of the field and the research being conducted at Yale, we chose, in consultation with program leadership, areas of focus, and formulated a strategy for filming in classrooms, labs, super computer facilities, and at observatories. The project’s biggest challenge was to find a way to communicate the complex science of astronomy, its significance, and its relevance, in clear and understandable way.

Results
The completed film screened at two special events on Yale’s campus for University officials and potential foundation and individual donors. The response was overwhelmingly positive and the fundraising campaign reached its $40 million dollar goal in record time. A short version of the film was created for the Astronomy program’s website to facilitate student and faculty recruiting efforts.

Our Client

Yale University

Our Role

Content Strategy
Story Development
Production
Post-Production

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