The Grand Award for the best entry in the main category Corporate Videos went to the powerful branded video "The Power of Together" produced by the Netherlands production company 1Camera. Created for the insurance company Achmea, the film tells the compelling story of five fictional characters who experience life-changing events.
In our exclusive interview with 1Camera's founder and creative director Jasper Claus, he delves into the creative process behind his acclaimed work, shedding light on how he transforms corporate messages into compelling stories that touch hearts and minds. With a track record of 16 years in pushing the boundaries of storytelling, Jasper shares the secrets to translating corporate messages into relatable, emotional stories that captivate audiences and drive 1Camera's growth.
Watch our exclusive interview with Grand Award winner Jasper Claus from 1Camera here: https://www.usinternationalawards.com/media
Or read the transcript below:
Congratulations on your Grand Award! What does it mean to you, your team, and all the people involved in this project to receive this award?
We're very proud. This means a lot to us. It means that our work is not only successful with its audience but is also respected by its peers. And to us, that means the world. It means that the film was able to do what we set out for it to be able to do.
Can you run us through the creative process behind the winning work you entered into the 2024 US International Awards?
The aim of all of our work is to create emotional impact through storytelling. And we have a specific process in order to do that because a project always starts with a corporate message. And that, of course, has to be translated into something human, into a story, something that people can relate to in order for it to be able to move its audience emotionally.
So, our process consists mostly of finding what is the translation from the corporate theme of a project to a human, small, universal, personal theme that matches whatever the film is about. So, if it's either sustainability or diversity or innovation or history or reliability, or something like that, then we need to find a good translation. And in this film, the corporate theme had everything to do with corporate social responsibility.
And the human theme in which we translated it was solidarity, just being there for your neighbor and helping someone who's close to you out in times of need. That really allowed us to search for and find beautiful human stories that we were then able to translate to the screen. That's our process.
What were your expectations when entering? Did you assume you would be in the race for a Grand Award?
We always love sending our work in for awards. And of course, the best thing that can happen is if you don't only win a Gold Award, but also win the overall Grand Prix. We never expect it, obviously, but we always hope for it because it's the cherry on the cake.
Now, please tell us something about yourself. Can you give us a brief bio and disclose your background?
As for me personally, I studied social psychology, media psychology, so I'm very intrigued by affective emotions and how they impact perception, attitudes, and behavior. But after my psychology degree, I went to work for MTV Networks here in Amsterdam, and I really fell in love with creating videos. I also did a shortened program at NYU's Film Academy in New York, Tisch School of the Arts. That really inspired me. And after a couple of years at MTV, I decided to start my own company. I guess with the rise of social media and smartphones, the demand for short-form video and corporate video has risen ever since. And we've been riding that wave very, very proudly.
What are some of your works that played a major role in your professional career or that deem to be important to you?
There's a one-to-one correlation between the films that have the most emotional impact because creating a film with actual emotional impact is very difficult. So, it doesn't always succeed, and there are different degrees to which it succeeds. But that degree of success in emotional impact correlates one-to-one with how much it drives our business forward. So, every film that we make that really touches hearts also brings in new work and new connections, new directors that want to work with us. And that's how we've been able to grow for the last 16 years, just by keep pushing the envelope in our own craft, so to speak, in storytelling and prioritizing always the emotional effect.
And it goes without saying because it's the stuff that we're most passionate about because we love to create. I mean, I personally love to be moved by a film, to get goosebumps or tears in my eyes, and I cry very easily. And I just love that feeling. So, I love creating that feeling in the videos that we make. And we succeed better and better, we get better and better at it every year. And that's a catalyzing effect, because every year, as we make better films, we get more positive business impact from those films.
What was the most challenging project you worked on so far?
That's hard to tell. I think, in general, pressure creates diamonds. So, all of our best work, at some point, was also challenging. And I don't shy away, we don't shy away from it. Probably the most sort of practical challenges that we've come across were, of course, during COVID times, because it was hard to travel, it was hard to bring people together in a certain area to make films. And filmmaking is a team sport. So, this element definitely was hindered and at some points suffered. And we had a couple of big productions, including the one that we won an award for, that we had to do and film partly under COVID restrictions. And I hope we don't have to deal with that ever again, to be honest.
Can you describe your creative process for us?
It has everything to do with our mission to translate corporate messages into human stories. And what we mean by that is that we go and, first of all, for every project, set out to find what is the sort of overarching theme for the corporate message. It's probably something like diversity or sustainability or innovation or technology, you name it. And how can we find a personal human theme that matches that? And what I mean by personal human theme is something universal that you can experience as a human. It's translated more into family or love or solidarity or perseverance or friendship. And those types of themes are themes that you can create a story for. Now, once we have found a human theme, what we then need to do is figure out what is the core value at stake here. So, that's something that you can be, or you can feel like. So, happy, proud, self-secured, inspired, you name it. And then once you have that sort of core value or that thing that a human can be, then you need to go and look for the opposite of that, meaning insecure, unhappy, lonely, you name it. Because the story then happens in between those poles, so to speak, in between those ends of the axis. And then we believe good stories are not made up, they are found because stories already exist.
So, another crucial step in our process is to do thorough research and just go and find a story in which the protagonist experiences the negative end of the value, the transformation from the negative end of the value to the positive end of the value. If that makes any sense, that's our theory at least. And it seems to work.
In your opinion, what makes a “good” corporate video? And how important is branded video content for brands?
In my opinion, a good corporate film is really all about touching hearts, moving people, and creating a sort of emotional experience. Because then as a viewer, you feel like you've watched something valuable. And of course, there are corporate films that are meant purely to inform.
But I think in general, the audience for a very informative film is relatively limited when it comes to corporates. Maybe for government purposes, it's different. But for true corporate films, I think what we want to do, especially in the context of social media timelines, is provide just a couple of minutes of valuable entertainment, so to speak, of creating an emotional experience that has value and that makes you feel good and makes you want to share this with others.
Just think about commercials or ads or corporate films that you've seen that you wanted to share, wanted to comment on. Those gave you a good feeling. And I think that's what defines a good corporate film, is that effect.
What advice would you give to aspiring filmmakers and video creators looking to enter competitions and make a mark in the industry?
With regards to sending your work in for rewards, I mean, we always do it and we've always done it. And I think I would tell aspiring filmmakers to just try it. Just try to send stuff in. If you're young and relatively inexperienced, it's usually a lot cheaper. There are special rates. Just try it, because it's not only the recognition that is a value that you get out of it but also the process of sending it in forces you to think more about what you do. And because you're involved in it, you may watch more of your peers' work, which is very insightful and inspirational, usually. So, I would definitely get yourself involved in sending your work in for awards.
