About us
Success Story Videos is a video production partner to nonprofits, social causes and small businesses. Using digital storytelling tools, we put a face on your accomplishments. We create online videos that tell your story. Success Story Videos is owned by journalist, filmmaker and educator Phil Daquila. A portfolio of reporting projects can be viewed at PhilDaquila.com.
Our clients include Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, HealthCamp, Hospice & Palliative Care Center of Alamance-Caswell, Project Spirit Sight, TDx Media, TurnHere, UNC Center for the Study of the American South, UNC Institute for the Arts and Humanities, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School and WallStreetJournal.com.
When is VIDEO the right choice for your website?
When you want to:
see people interacting
If you answer yes to any of these reasons, your organization and your website can benefit from video.
Success Story Videos’ mission is to create change for clients and their audiences alike by using
digital tools, photo and video to tell their important stories and thereby move people to action.
Contact Success Story Videos to learn more about both documentary-style and scripted pieces.
writeme@SuccessStoryVideos.com or [919] 641-8745
News
January 17, 2011Car show in Detroit yields five WSJ videos
Success Story Videos founder Phil Daquila is back from several days in Detroit, where he was part of The Wall Street Journal‘s coverage of the North American International Auto Show. As an extension of my work with auto columnist Dan Neil in North Carolina, I produced five videos of Dan’s reviews and impressions, ranging from one to six minutes running times. We covered a VW preview party, two Mercedes, a Honda and a notebook with nine vehicles. More than 5,000 journalists were there for the press preview days, and working a large trade show proved great field experience. I am credited as multimedia producer. Please click the WSJ Video Center and select Life & Style > Autos. Or try these direct links for a few videos from the show: Motorama Drama and Honda Civic Concept.
November 29, 2010Elon University iMedia Program
Success Story Videos founder Phil Daquila is completing his first semester teaching at the Elon University School of Communications and is looking forward to the spring semester, starting Feb. 2. I have been asked to create a new course, COM 562 Interactive Storytelling, which is an exciting opportunity. It will be a production course for 25 master’s students in the Interactive Media program eager to create polished portfolio pieces. I am also revamping COM 350 Web Publishing to apply the many lessons I have learned and will be eager to meet my 36 undergrads for that course.
If you have questions about Elon or suggestions as I plan my courses, please drop me a note or call [919] 641-8745. My freelance work with Success Story Videos continues as my professional activity, and I would love to hear from you about your video storytelling needs.
October 8, 2010UNC Kenan-Flagler MBA Student Experience now live
Please have a look at the UNC Kenan-Flagler MBA student profiles, four new videos produced by Success Story Videos and Chris Carmichael Multimedia. Phil Daquila and Chris Carmichael completed post-production this summer on the documentary-style short profiles for the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School. It was a treat to work with the marketing communications department at Kenan-Flagler (and Anthony, Jen, Michel and Zac) and we hope that prospective applicants to the program make these stories viral! The four new videos are featured at the top of the page.
Contact me by email or mobile [919] 641-8745 if you are interested in online video that puts a face on what sets your organization apart.
September 27, 2010Project Spirit Sight
Success Story Videos founder Phil Daquila completed post-production on an eight-minute video story about a young humanitarian in Durham, N.C., who planned a service project that started with a violin recital and ended triumphantly in southern India. Project Spirit Sight raised donations of both money and used eyeglasses to help with eye camps in two rural villages around Tiruvannamalai, India. Rasika Rajagopalan and her mother traveled to these villages to assist Aravind Eye Hospital and local volunteer organizations in spreading the word and bringing people to the free clinics to receive treatment.
I shot the North Carolina portions (recital, packing and interviews) and Siva’s Video shot the superb India material, following Rasika and Usha’s efforts and the patients’ journeys. A success story indeed!
If you are interested in producing a video about your organization’s philanthropic efforts, please contact me by email or mobile [919] 641-8745.
August 29, 2010Elon University School of Communications
Success Story Videos founder Phil Daquila has joined the faculty of the Elon University School of Communications and will teach Media Writing and two sections of Web Publishing in the fall semester; classes start Tue, Aug. 31. As a result of teaching audio and video for the web at UNC-Chapel Hill while completing my master’s degree, I discovered my love for sharing the craft with others. I am grateful for this opportunity to start my career as a professor. In July The Chronicle of Higher Education named Elon to its list of 97 great colleges to work for. The School posted this news item announcing my start along with six other new colleagues.
If you have any questions about Elon and my role there or suggestions for a newcomer to writing syllabi, please drop me a note or call [919] 641-8745. My freelance work with Success Story Videos will continue as my professional activity, and I welcome learning about your video storytelling needs.
July 17, 2010Wall Street Journal video reporting
Success Story Videos founder Phil Daquila has been contracted by The Wall Street Journal (wsj.com) to produce video reports for the site. Initial assignments have been to shoot and edit segments that accompany the writing of Raleigh-based auto columnist Dan Neil. We take cars for a spin and point out some of the storylines that are fleshed out in Dan’s articles. So far I have produced videos on Hyundai, Aston Martin, Range Rover and Jaguar. Porsche is next!
Phil also has been invited to pitch non-automotive reports so if you have ideas that you believe may appeal to the WSJ audience and can be shot in NC, please drop me a line or call [919] 641-8745.
June 22, 2010Documentary Video Institute at Center for Documentary Studies
Success Story Videos founder Phil Daquila will spend a few days this week assisting at another superb video storytelling immersion workshop, the Documentary Video Institute at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University. As a video editing coach for the Final Cut Pro portion of the week, he will see that this year’s group of filmmakers is on the right track with the software.
Phil is a resident of Durham and longtime fan of CDS. He counts his fist serious foray into video directing and editing the courses he took at CDS with Erika Simon and Randy Benson, both instructors at the DVI.
If you are interested in producing a video about your organization or need video production training, please contact me by email or mobile [919] 641-8745.
June 7, 2010Video storytelling seminar at Bull City Forward
Success Story Videos founder Phil Daquila and colleague Wil Weldon, a fellow UNC master’s alum, will lead a session on using video to tell your organization’s story. The 90-minute seminar will be Thursday, June 10, at Bull City Forward, in the Kress Building, downtown Durham, at 4:30 p.m. Using examples from attendees, we will show how to effectively incorporate video into the storytelling strategy of social cause campaigns and other entrepreneurial efforts.
The event is fully booked so if you made a reservation, we look forward to seeing you.
Success Story Videos is a member of Bull City Forward and supports innovation with a social impact in Durham.
If you are interested in future educational presentations or tailored video production training, please contact me by email or mobile [919] 641-8745.
May 27, 2010Carolina Photojournalism Workshop
Success Story Videos founder Phil Daquila is just back from an intense week of immersion storytelling in the North Carolina mountains near Little Switzerland. As a member of the coaching faculty for Carolina Photojournalism Workshop (better known as CPJW), Phil helped direct students’ efforts crafting photo/video documentary shorts about the people and culture of the region. As an alum of the workshop (see One Way In, One Way Out from 2008), Phil was delighted to get the invitation from UNC-Chapel Hill Professor Pat Davison to assist this year’s group of talented shooters and editors.
The site will be live soon, so feel free to contact me for an email alert so you can see all the promising work of Carolina students.
If you are interested in hearing more about videojournalism for the web and video production training, please contact me by email or mobile [919] 641-8745.
May 5, 2010HealthCampRDU
Success Story Videos has been chosen as the official video producer for HealthCampRDU, a conference in Durham, NC, May 14. HealthCampRDU aims to be a highly-collaborative day-long conference with a focus on issues related to the changing face of healthcare. Health industry experts, practitioners, consumers, disease charities, insurers, technologists, journalists, entrepreneurs, bloggers, government and academic institutions will converge to openly exchange views and ideas in a think-tank atmosphere on topics including mobile health, telemedicine and social health.
We are delighted to be participating as an Innovator Sponsor for this event and will do our best to ensure that people who do not attend the sessions also receive the message.
Founder Phil Daquila will be leading a session with examples of how documentary-style video and photo projects are helping health organizations put a face on their accomplishments and thereby move audiences to take action. The full schedule is now posted.
If you are interested in Success Story Videos producing video for your organization, please contact me by email or mobile [919] 641-8745.
April 6, 2010Full Frame Documentary Film Festival
You can find Success Story Videos roaming all over the Full Frame festival grounds April 8-11, video camera and tripod in tow. Founder Phil Daquila will be documenting filmmakers and filmgoers alike as they enjoy four full days of fascinating documentaries and panels. The video will be edited into one or more sizzle reels for publicity use for the festival. This is Phil’s ninth year as a volunteer for FFDFF, the previous five as a still photographer.
If you are going to be attending Full Frame and want to meet up, please contact me by email or mobile [919] 641-8745.
April 5, 2010Bull City Forward
Success Story Videos will spend much of the week of April 5-9 camped out in the Kress Building in downtown Durham in order to test drive the new cooperative workspace Bull City Forward. Founder Phil Daquila is drawn to BCF’s mission to combine entrepreneurship and social innovation and to build community that will contribute to the greater good. Diggin’ on Durham!
If you have an interest in Bull City Forward, please contact me by email or mobile [919] 641-8745.
March 25, 2010UNC Kenan-Flagler MBA Student Experience
Success Story Videos is in production on a series of marketing videos for the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School. In the final weeks of the Spring 2010 semester, we are following the activities of four second-year MBA students to reveal actual experiences at UNC-Chapel Hill. The marketing communications department at Kenan-Flagler has elected to use the documentary style to create short profiles that prospective applicants to the program can relate to. Our goal is to depict what sets UNC Kenan-Flagler apart. I am delighted to be working with Chris Carmichael on these productions.
Contact me by email or mobile [919] 641-8745 if you are interested in online video that puts a face on your activities.
March 8, 2010We Media Miami
Success Story Videos will be participating this week at the We Media conference in Miami.
Founder Phil Daquila was selected as a 2010 fellow, which means he will contribute to the coverage of the information sessions for those who could not make it. The fellowship also means Phil will research media trends and blog occasionally for WeMedia.com through the coming year.
Follow the twitter tag #wemedia Wednesday and Thursday, March 10-11, to track the conversation about making media work. Contact me by email or mobile [919] 641-8745 if you are in Miami and want to talk. I’d love to meet you!
Resources
Considerations for nonprofit organizations thinking about adding video to their online strategy
Using Video to Spread Your Nonprofit Group’s Message and Mission (Chronicle of Philanthropy)
What Kind of Videos Should Nonprofits Make? (Yes! MediaWorks)
The Sustainable Nonprofit Video Strategy (The Case Foundation)
Contact
Success Story Videos is located in Durham, NC, USA.
Contact us with any questions about video production. We’d love to hear about your project ideas.
writeme@SuccessStoryVideos.com
Call me at [919] 641-8745