Tourism Group's Documentaries Win Emmy Award

Short Films, Starring Loudoun

By Catherine Cheney

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Jeremy Harvey sat in the conference room of the Loudoun County Convention & Visitors Association and played a series of short videos on the large television at one end of the room.

"We debated if we should have a disclaimer saying, 'These are real events and real people,'" joked Harvey, the association's marketing director, referring to the goal of capturing the people and places of Loudoun County as authentically as possible.

In the nearly 50 videos that the association is displaying on its Web site, there are no actors or scripted voice-overs. Each segment, two to five minutes long and focused on a unique Loudoun attraction, features only the music of local artists and the voices of residents and visitors.

A video on the Mom's Apple Pie bakery in Leesburg, for example, has footage of a wide array of desserts and characters. A couple from Kentucky, "here for a weddin'," tastes a slice of pie and comments on the flavor. Outside the shop, a mom shopping for fresh vegetables at the bakery laughs as her daughter makes a face of disgust at the mention of green beans.

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Filming Loudoun's Tourism Documentary

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Morven Park Executive Director Will O'Keefe describes the history of steeplechase racing to Cile Elley of Electro-Fish Media at the Morven Park Steeplechase Races. Courtesy of Loudoun Convention & Visitors Association. ()

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Electro-Fish Media prepares to film at the Bluemont Fair, in the historic village of Bluemont. Camera man is Dave Rehm, cardholder is Chris Elley, sound guy is John Mckallip. Courtesy of Loudoun Convention & Visitors Association. ()

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Captain Lou Bittner of Whites Ferry describes the experience of riding on the ferry. (camera man Dave Rehm, cardholder Chris Elley, sound guy John Mckallip). Courtesy of Loudoun Convention & Visitors Association. ()

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The short features are part of the association's new strategy of using documentary-style storytelling to lure tourists to Loudoun.

It's an approach that won industry recognition this month, as the agency received an Emmy Award from the National Capital Chesapeake Bay Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. The five videos singled out for the award describe the Waterford Fair, White's Ferry, Ball's Bluff Battlefield, Morven Park steeplechase racing and Great Country Farms.

Beyond the praise bestowed by the academy, officials at the Loudoun association think the videos, which have been online since August, are having a strong impact on visitors to the agency's Web site, Facebook page and Twitter and YouTube accounts.

"People can picture themselves here," said association President Cheryl Kilday. "It's believable and it's beautiful."

Harvey said the emphasis on social networking sites is also a key part of the new marketing strategy.

"We know social networking outlets allow us to reach young people," he said. "The average age of visitors to Loudoun County is 51. The baby boomers aren't going to travel forever. Who's going to be the next Loudoun visitor? Generation X and Y."

The videos were shot by Electro-Fish Media, a production company in Austin. Loudoun officials decided to work with Electro-Fish after seeing its film "Barbecue: A Texas Love Story," which focused not only on the food but on the people and the stories behind the meat's flavor.

The visitors association selected local professionals with diverse backgrounds to decide which Loudoun sites, businesses and events the videos would feature. Then, with a cargo van and a film crew, Electro-Fish went to work.

Chris Elley, the company's president, traveled from Austin to Loudoun four times with his wife and three other crew members between late August and early November 2007 for the first phase of production.

"We know everyone has a story," Elley said. "We wanted to tell stories in places where, when we speak about the stories, we speak about the character of the place itself."

Electro-Fish returned to Loudoun in December to produce a series of videos on the holiday season, including a story about the Middleburg Christmas Parade. And the collaboration continues, with other projects in the pipeline.

"When people think of tourism videos, they think of long sweeping shots and classical music and the voice of God," Elley said.

Even before being contacted by Loudoun officials, Electro-Fish had been working to develop a genre of tourism marketing videos that would focus on people and their real-life stories. Elley said that when he heard Harvey and Kilday had similar goals, "I felt like we were made for each other."

He described Harvey and Kilday as "pioneers" because of their willingness to expand beyond traditional methods of marketing and try something new.

"We wanted everything to be real. There are no actors; there is no script," Kilday said. "We wanted the star to be the story."

Tagged: award, tourism

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