Rutgers: 12 Big Ideas to change the world

The background

When Rutgers launched its Big Ideas initiative in late 2018, the team behind it couldn’t have possibly imagined the relevance it would carry into 2020 and 2021. 

What started as a challenge to faculty and staff to “Bring us your most imaginative, disruptive, and visionary proposals for bold initiatives that will positively transform our community and change the world,” quickly turned into a movement in its own right. More than 200 proposals submitted. 40 teams selected. 12 final Big Ideas. 1 school working with its best and brightest to make the world a better place, solving the critical issues of our time. 

As part of our ongoing work with Rutgers University, we signed on to help Rutgers bring its Big Ideas to life. 

Here’s how we did it.

 

 

The challenge

12 Big Ideas. Not one, not two. 12. 

From day one, our mission was to give each Big Idea its time in the spotlight. To showcase each project in a way that was as big and bold as the idea it represented. To do so in a manner that the project champions would not only feel proud of, but part of. 

All during a pandemic. 

 

 

The approach

We knew film was going to be the best and only option. We also knew coordinating logistics for 12 videos was going to require some organizational prowess. Fortunately, our Project Managers are rockstars. 

So, over the course of four months, our team conducted more than forty interviews with project stakeholders, champions, volunteers, and even some beneficiaries. We spent three weeks traveling across the Garden State, filming at all four of Rutgers’ Campus Led Units, safely navigating COVID-19 and holiday break in the process. 

The result? 8 terabytes of footage. 24 film deliverables. And a couple feet of snow. 

 

 

The results 

On March 3,  2021 our work will be unveiled along with all 12 Big Ideas to donors and the public. Here’s a sneak peek.