Every mile means something.
Two fundraising events for Willen Hospice: a ten-mile walk through the night, and a cycle sportive on the lanes around Milton Keynes. Two films about why people turn up, not just what they did.
★★★★★
“He walked the whole 10 miles with the sisters, finishing around 2am. A beautiful video that will be paramount in driving registrations and donations next year.”Willen Hospice · Midnight Moo
Not a highlights reel. A reason.
Most event coverage gets shot like a highlights reel: a bit of this, a bit of that, cut to music. It's fine, and it's forgettable. Willen Hospice needed films that would make next year's walkers and riders sign up, and that only happens when people feel something.
So I shot both events to a story arc: the build, the peak and the payoff, with four beats inside them that people actually feel. Anticipation, action, emotion and aftermath.
Leah and Jen.
Two sisters walking for their dad, who was receiving end-of-life care from the hospice team. One family's story, so thousands of walkers could see themselves in it.
The story arc, beat by beat
- 0:00Anticipation
Willen Lake at golden hour, the hospice garden, face paint going on, a message to Dad hung on the memory tree. Quiet, before the noise.
- 0:15Action
The start arch, the cow costumes, the drummers and hi-vis volunteers. Ten miles of Milton Keynes in the dark.
The start is so great, when everyone is excited and cheery.
- 0:35Emotion
The reason they are there. Lanterns in the dark and the line the whole film is built around.
Every mile will mean something to all of us.
- 0:50Aftermath
The medal, the photo of their dad, the team at the finish. One last line, straight to him.
You're always our number one fan, and you're the best dad ever.
Behind the edit
- Interview first, at the hospice, in daylight. Everything after it was shot to that conversation.
- Filmed on foot for all ten miles, finishing around 2am. No cutaways from a parked car.
- A warm grade and slow motion only where the feeling needed room, never as decoration.
- Delivered as a 9:16 reel with captions, plus a clean version without, for every platform the hospice uses.
One day, many reasons.
Event coverage with no single hero. Riders, a sponsor, a company team and the organiser, each carrying part of the story.
The story arc, beat by beat
- 0:00Hook
A rider in a Midnight Moo shirt, fixing his bike. One sentence about his mum, before anyone has seen a road.
I lost my mum three years ago. Riding for her today.
- 0:12The ride
Riders out through the start arch and onto the lanes. Held shots, cut on movement, no app transitions.
What an honour it is to use bikes to ride in the sun to honour a good cause.
- 0:30Why it matters
A team riding for a colleague the hospice cared for at the end of his life.
One of our employees last year tragically passed away, but was supported throughout his last moments with Willen Hospice.
- 0:44Payoff
The organiser closes it. Not a voiceover, a person who ran the day saying thank you.
That's the cyclists, the sponsors, the volunteers, the people at the pit stop. Real team effort.
Behind the edit
- Restraint over effects: longer holds, cuts on action, and no swipe or spin transitions.
- Every interview line arrives a beat before its picture (a J-cut), so voices lead the film.
- Real sound kept in: wind, freewheels, the pit stop. It reads as real because it is.
- One consistent grain and grade across a full day of changing light.
Story first. Care always.
Find the reason
Before the day, we pick the people whose story can carry the film, and talk to them properly.
Handle with care
Grief, families and patients come first. Nothing is filmed or used that anyone isn't comfortable with.
Be there for all of it
Walk the route, ride the day, stay to the end. The best moments rarely happen at the start line.
Cut for next year
Reels with and without captions, ready for sign-up campaigns, supporter emails and paid social.
Got an event with a reason behind it?
Tell me the date and what you'd want people to feel. We'll start with the story.
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