IEHP x St. Paul AME Church PSA Commercial Video Production
Commercial Video Production Project Description
Long-time client Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP) contacted Ezra Productions to produce a commercial public service announcement (PSA) video that centered around their heartwarming collaboration with St. Paul AME Church in San Bernardino, California. This collaboration brought COVID-19 vaccines to hundreds of community members. IEHP produced the video to encourage others to get vaccinated, and to inspire future partnerships. The video would as TV and posted on social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
Company Description
Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP) is a non-profit Medi-Cal and Medicare health plan in Southern California that serves over 1.2 million residents in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. IEHP celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2021.
Our Concept
We worked with IEHP to tell a story about what can happen when public and private organizations come together to create change in a community. St. Paul AME Church is largely made up of minorities who face many types of inequality, including at the doctor’s office. Due to the historical traumas faced by minority communities as well as their current experiences with the healthcare systems, many black and brown Americans were hesitant about getting vaccinated for COVID-19. However, by working together, IEHP and St. Paul were able to vaccinate hundreds of community members and to build a relationship that has begun to restore the community’s trust in the healthcare system.
In the video, we featured interviews with real members of the community whose stories were especially compelling. The director helped them tell their stories organically and then summarize them in short, impactful statements. We showcased how these people’s personal stories about loss, facing adversity, and finding connection in a pandemic, intertwined to tell one cohesive narrative about this unique partnership that helped bring vaccines to a traditionally underserved community.
At the end of the video, the choir sings the words, “Hope is alive,” and which signals the beginning of a long partnership between IEHP and St. Paul AME Church. The videos portray IEHP as not just as another health insurance company, but as an organization that truly cares for its community and is taking action to make change that matters.
Video Production Deliverables
One 30-second commercial for broadcast and web, as well as two 3-minute hero video for web, and one 15-second vertical video for social media.
Our Role
- Producing
- Creative concept development
- Storyboarding
- Scriptwriting
- Casting
- Location scouting
- Production design
- Directing
- Filming
- Editing
- Motion graphics
- Color grading
- Music composition
Our Approach
We shot b-roll inside of the church to capture the beauty of the location that served as the setting for the story. We decided to shoot several slow-motion shots for a dramatic, cinematic effect. We also shot b-roll at the vaccination clinic to highlight the real people that this collaboration impacted, and the coming together of IEHP healthcare professionals and St.Paul church members.
From the moment we started the project, we knew we wanted to heavily feature the St.Paul choir. The choir sets the emotional tone throughout the video. The video starts on a somber tone and builds up to an ending that’s full of hope and light.
Just as the music sets the tone for the story, the color plays a large role in the viewer’s experience. We intentionally made the shots at the beginning of the videos black-and-white in order to immediately set a somber atmosphere. As the story gets brighter, the shots become colored.
The Result
30-second Video for Broadcast and Social Media
15-second Vertical Video for Social Media
Winner of 16 Video Production Awards Including
