NEW YORK — On the one month anniversary of the date when millions of Americans took to the streets to voice their political concerns, an inspirational public service announcement marking the Women’s March on Washington has gone live on the organization’s YouTube channel. Produced on a pro bono basis by CinemaStreet Pictures (cinemastreet.net.), a woman-owned New York City production company, and directed by company owner Dana Offenbach, the video uses a dynamic, split-screen visual style to tell a densely-layered story of commitment, passion and concern for the rights of women.
Why I March was edited at BlueRock Editorial and finished at Scarlett, both of which are part of The Lively Group of post production companies. The editor on the project was Noelle Webb, and the executive producer at Scarlett overseeing the project was Wendy Brovetto.
Shot in a documentary style, the PSA includes a range of testimonials from women and men who talk about why they’re marching. Reasons range from “for my daughter, my granddaughter, my mother and every woman in America” to “for this country and democracy.” The piece was shot by Ed Han, a former agency creative director who’s now directing advertising and original content through CinemaStreet.
In addition to conducting interviews at the Women's National Democratic Club in Washington, where Offenbach and Han spoke with people from all walks of life, the video includes scenes shot during the march itself. The Women’s March in Washington was one of over 400 marches that took place around the US, and one of 616 coordinated marches worldwide.
“This is a project that’s meant so much to me since I first looked to see how I could contribute to the effort and document history,” says Offenbach. “As a storyteller, I knew there would be the need to capture the excitement of the march itself and convey the mixture of outrage and optimism that came out of the experience. I also wanted to create a piece of content that enabled the viewer to feel and hear what it was like to be there. I think we’ve succeeded at that with this video, thanks to Noelle’s edit.”
“As soon as Dana told us about ‘Why I March,’ we were one hundred percent behind the project,” says Scarlett’s Brovetto. “Making our studios and our talent available to her is one small way we can help spread the passion and conviction of this noteworthy cause. We’re delighted to have partnered with CinemaStreet on this.”
Vera Quispe handled sound recording on the project. Scott Zeitlen, Elaine White and Chenelle Damas served as assistant editors. Yohance Brown at BlueRock performed the color grade. Daniel Belardinelli and Ramblin Man composed the original soundtrack.