“The scars of the past lay dormant in the shadows, whilst a new chapter is being built in the daylight”
Visit Treorchy got in touch with our team to develop a social media promo film to accompany a very special campaign.
Unsurprisingly, the past few decades have been tough to Welsh valley towns; more closely associated with industrial decline, rising crime rates, decline of the Welsh language etc. Yet what is surprising is how one town has been bucking the trend and changing the narrative being followed by its neighbours.
Treorchy’s high street has grown into an impressive bespoke retail space, bustling with unique products, hand-made gifts and fresh produce from gorgeous blooms of flowers to fresh Welsh meat and vegetables. In the past 5 years alone the street has transformed from sitting on the brink of desolation with boarded-up shops and deserted streets to a thriving space for retail, food and even household furnishings; giving locals and visitors a traditional high-street experience not seen since the demise of high-street shopping in the 80’s.
So impressive is this recent resurgence in high street appeal, Visa decided to shortlist them for their annual ‘Great British High Street’ competition. The mission of the contest is to celebrate the very best high streets across the UK, and this was the first time a small valleys town has ever been considered for the prestigious award; an award normally collected by far more prestigious high streets.
It was our job to make a promotional film that reflected Treorchy’s rich and scattered history, but in the context of positive change and growth. We knew from the start that our biggest advantage over the competing towns would be Treorchy’s rise from ruin. Other towns in the contest seemed far more ‘well off’, whereas Treorchy stood out as a rank outsider. We decided to not ‘sweep history under the carpet’, we wanted to include Treorchy’s post-industrial decline and show how it is truly a phoenix rising from the ashes of its troubled past.
After just two days of shooting on the trusted Panasonic GH5 we were able to assemble a cut, using a mixture of documentary-style shots using real community members and scripted shots with local talent Molly Palmer guiding the viewer through the video.
The final result was shown to judges in Treorchy during a visit to the town who gave it much acclaim. We then launched the video on the Visit Treorchy Facebook page to the general public whose reaction was overwhelmingly positive, with many users commenting on how proud they were to be a part of the town. The video attracted 75,000 views in 30 days, with many of those from people living in Australia & America, who shared their fond memories of Treorchy from years past.
Overall, we set out to achieve an impassioned statement about a truly inspiring town. Treorchy is an example of a town fighting the norm and refusing to conform to the headlines in the papers.
Using just a one-man crew, an almost non-existent budget and barely a week to put the whole idea together from script to screen, FFILM Productions were able to promote a unique town with an incredible story and help raise Treorchy’s profile even further.