A project film makes a publicly funded project clear when it starts not with the technology, but with the question citizens ask themselves: what’s in it for me? That is why the project film for Grenzflug+ tells the story of a rescue mission from the perspective of the people being helped. Interviews with all six project partners add the technical and legal facts for funding bodies and policymakers. This way, a single project film does two jobs: it documents the project and builds public acceptance.
Grenzflug+ is a collaborative research project from the border region of Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. Automated drones are designed to help rescue services survey operational areas quickly from the air and find missing people, including across national borders. The City of Aachen commissioned us to produce the project film on behalf of the consortium. We developed the storyline, guided all partners through concept, interviews and approvals, and completed the project film in four months.
The project at a glance
| Client | City of Aachen, on behalf of the Grenzflug+ project consortium |
| Consortium | RWTH Aachen University (Chair and Institute of Flight System Dynamics), City of Aachen, StädteRegion Aachen, TEMA Technologie Marketing AG, Vodafone, DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung |
| Film type | Project film with explainer video and corporate film elements, interviews with all project partners |
Who is Grenzflug+?
Grenzflug+ is a collaborative project on drone-based air rescue in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine, the border region of Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. From January 2022 to May 2024, six partners from research, public administration and industry worked on enabling a fleet of automated, 5G-connected drones to survey operational areas across borders and search for missing people. The aerial images are analysed automatically and transmitted to the emergency services via a virtual reality application.
The roles within the consortium are clearly divided: the Institute of Flight System Dynamics at RWTH Aachen University develops the aircraft and the mission control system, DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung (the German air navigation service) makes sure drones and manned aircraft don’t get in each other’s way, Vodafone provides the data connection and TEMA the VR application. The City of Aachen and the StädteRegion Aachen contribute the perspective of public administration and the emergency services. The project’s motto: ‘Fly without borders, rescue without borders.’
What does an explainer video for a publicly funded project need to achieve?
A corporate film or explainer video for a publicly funded project has to convince two audiences at once: funding bodies and policymakers, who expect evidence of the project’s results, and the public, who need to understand why the project matters. Grenzflug+ added a third task: six project partners all needed to have their say and be equally present.
Publicly funded projects have to account for themselves at the end. Usually this takes the form of a final report that hardly anyone outside the field reads. I have often handled this accountability in funded projects with a project corporate film – also called an explainer video or project film – because it works not only for the funding bodies, but for the public at the same time. With Grenzflug+, this was particularly important: a project that flies automated drones across national borders needs the acceptance of the people who live there. And acceptance only comes once people understand what a project does and why it matters.
How do you explain a complex research project so the public understands it?
Citizens understand a complex research project when the corporate film or explainer video doesn’t tell the project partners’ own perspective, but answers the questions from their everyday lives. For the Grenzflug+ project film, we therefore moved the storyline away from technology, frameworks and processes towards the benefits for people.
The storyline follows three questions every citizen asks:
- Why do I need this? Because I might get lost in the border area, for example. Or so that the fire service can survey difficult terrain from the air in advance and plan the rescue better.
- What do I have to do? Nothing except call the emergency number. That is why our project film begins in the emergency call centre, because that is where the process starts. Whether the Grenzflug+ drone is deployed is decided by the emergency services alerted.
- How does the funded project help me in everyday life? The project film shows how rescue teams survey the terrain with the drone, make decisions together and then fan out to search in a targeted way. So that viewers can see what the drone sees, we filmed aerial footage from its perspective with our own camera drone and also showed the Grenzflug+ drone in flight.
At the end, it is not a project partner who has the last word, but a citizen: ‘I definitely feel safe and good knowing that I can get help at any time, wherever I am.’ This is exactly the effect an explainer video for a public project should have.
‘With publicly funded projects, it is tempting to tell the story from the project owners’ point of view: technology, frameworks, processes. But most viewers ask themselves one thing above all: what’s in it for me in my everyday life? If you answer that question, you reach everyone else too.’ – Tom Wolt, Marketing Consultant & Director
How do you give every partner in a collaborative project equal space in a corporate film?
Every partner in a collaborative project gets equal space in a corporate film when images and interviews take on different roles. In the Grenzflug+ project film, the images tell the story for the public, while the interviews with all six partners provide the technical and legal framework for funding bodies and policymakers.
In funded projects with several partners, this almost always comes up: everyone wants to say something and be seen equally. So we gave each partner a topic of their own that only they could explain:
- Thomas Sprank, District Fire Chief of the StädteRegion Aachen: the time advantage for the emergency services in an emergency and across borders
- Dieter Moormann, Head of the Institute of Flight System Dynamics at RWTH Aachen University: fully automated aircraft that don’t tie up emergency personnel
- Dirk Heidermann, TEMA AG: the virtual operations centre and VR technology
- Douwe Lambers, DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung: safe integration into airspace
- Sebastian Herbst, Vodafone: the data connection for flights beyond visual line of sight
- Edelgard Bially, City of Aachen: putting people at the centre
‘From my experience with corporate films for publicly funded projects, I know the art lies in the balance – between technical project background and benefits for the public, but also between interviews and storytelling. Each interview gets its own topic and roughly the same amount of time, the voice-over ties everything together into one story, and the project film still stays short enough for people to watch it to the end.’ – Yvonne Schwalowski, Marketing Consultant & Film Producer
How we turn many voices into a clear concept for interview films:
The Grenzflug+ project corporate film involved hardly any additional effort for the City of Aachen and the project partners. Coordination took place in the project’s existing regular meetings, and the concept, script and finished project film were each approved by all partners. From the initial enquiry to the finished project film, the project took around four months.
Our contact for the organisation was the City of Aachen. On content, we worked in regular feedback rounds with everyone involved, and we planned the interviews with each partner individually. This gave every partner a say in their role in the project film without any extra meetings.
What did the project film achieve for Grenzflug+?
The project film for Grenzflug+ won over the consortium: feedback from all partners was very positive, and the project led to follow-up commissions from the City of Aachen, RWTH Aachen University and the StädteRegion Aachen, including a new corporate film for the fire services.
The project film is aimed at all of the project’s target audiences at once: citizens, funding bodies and policymakers, and specialists. It is in German with burned-in subtitles and is used on the website, among other places.
Which publicly funded projects benefit from an explainer video?
An explainer video is worthwhile for any funded, research or collaborative project that wants to present its results not just in the final report but to the public as well. It is particularly valuable when a project needs public acceptance or when many partners are meant to be equally visible.
Typical clients for project films include:
- Local authorities, districts and other public sector clients
- Universities, research institutions and educational institutions
- Project sponsors and consortia from industry and research
- Projects funded by national, regional or EU programmes
What can other publicly funded projects learn from the Grenzflug+ project film?
- Tell the story from the citizens’ point of view, not the project owners’: what’s in it for me in my everyday life?
- Divide the work between images and interviews: the images tell the story for the public, the interviews provide the facts for funding bodies and policymakers.
- Give each partner their own topic, so that everyone is visible and nothing is repeated.
- Schedule coordination in existing regular meetings, so the project film creates no additional effort.
- Combine accountability and public relations in one project film, rather than handling them separately.
Our services for Grenzflug+
- Consulting and concept development: target audiences, messages, the role of each project partner
- Storyline from the citizens’ perspective and script
- Coordination with all six partners in the project’s regular meetings, approval process for concept, script and film
- Interview planning and conducting interviews with all project partners
- Voice-over script
- Filming in the emergency call centre and with the emergency services
- Aerial footage with our own drone
- Editing, sound and burned-in subtitles
Frequently asked questions about project films for publicly funded projects
Planning a project film for your funded project?
We would be happy to advise you on how your project can reach funding bodies, policymakers and the public alike – with no obligation and as equal partners.
Yvonne Schwalowski · +49 2251 773 99 66 · office@pathfinder-studios.de
