Production Attic are proud to have worked with the Equality Network over the last year to see their video campaign from concept to final product. You can see the main video that we created below, which pulls together all the elements that have went into the campaign.
The story of how we came to work with the Equality Network, to produce a series of over 40 films, and to bring together the voices of some of Scotland’s most well-known faces, started on the 25th of July with a single tweet.
The tweet that started an 11 month project
If ever there was proof of the efficacy of social media marketing, I suppose this would be it. I’d followed the equal marriage campaign for quite a while, and upon hearing that the Scottish Government would be bringing forward legislation to legalise both civil and same-sex marriage, I sent a simple tweet to Tom French of the Equality Network to congratulate him on his work as a campaigner.
Tom replied, we got talking, and 11 months later the project is finally complete.
We were tasked with the brief of creating a positive and upbeat campaign. I pitched the idea of “A Day in the Life”; a video that would portray couples, both mixed-sex and same-sex, enjoying a Sunday together. The idea was allegorical. It was intended to be a portrayal of love, highlighting that love was something to be shared and experienced by everyone, and, most importantly, was no different between the mixed-sex or same-sex couples.
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I wanted to use real couples to tell this story, to keep it honest and open. The second part of the campaign was to shoot interviews with every politician and celebrity who gave their time to the project, to ask a simple question: Why is this campaign important to you?
The Equality Network signed off on the idea, and Tom started approaching people who were interested in being a part of it. It was after this we began discussing how we could get the famous Scots and politicians we wanted involved in the campaign.
Filming the Proclaimers with the Blackmagic Design Cinema Camera
When we first started, we had no idea of the scale of the project. It wasn’t so much that our vision was in any way limited, but rather that we had no idea we would receive so much support from across the country. As we approached more celebrities, we got more confirmations and the project grew and evolved. The story changed.
As the project expanded, Production Attic received some good news too. We had been waiting for over 8 months on the delivery of the Blackmagic Design Cinema Camera, which had been held up by production issues. Finally, after an extensive wait, we got a hold of ours, making us one of the first companies in the UK to have one. Our first outing with the Cinema Camera was to film the Proclaimers, talking about equal marriage, in a recording studio in Edinburgh. We used it through the remainder of the campaign.
We found, as we progressed, that there was a lot of support from the religious side too. During the campaign we interviewed many religious folk who wanted to be able to conduct same-sex services in Scotland, but couldn’t under the current law.
Religious support for same-sex marriage
It was inspiring to meet so many people, from religious, political, and arts backgrounds, who were willing to give up their time to meet with us and talk about this issue, and we in turn are proud to have contributed to the massive body of work being created to make Scotland a fairer and more progressive country.
Whether it was meeting John Michie on the set of Coronation Street, Sharleen Spiteri in King Tuts before a private gig (that we managed to swing tickets for), or Billy Boyd outside of the Kelvingrove Art Galleries, it was fantastic to meet so many interesting people. I’ve listed three, but there were plenty more who cogently explained why marriage equality in Scotland made sense.
To have worked on this campaign has been trying at times, but infinitely rewarding. I hope that our work will have a positive and meaningful influence on the hearts and minds of those who have the power to make the right choices for Scotland.
If you like you like our work, please follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or drop us an email to say hello. You can find our contact details here.
