Non-Profit Videos in Boston (Part 2)

Indresano Studios loves to show the work that non-profits do through a creative lens by providing high-quality videos that highlight their outstanding employees, as well as people who’s lives they change for the better.

The Importance of Non-Profit Videos

Non-profits often struggle with fundraising – that’s where we come in. Videos are so versatile and can have a long shelf-life, even after being launched at an event. They can be front and center on your website’s about page, or spliced up into clips that can be used in email blasts or throughout social media!

Creating a video is a huge step in showing people exactly what a difference their donations make to your cause. It’s not often a donor is able to get an insider look into everything your organization offers. Showing your organization’s work in a creative manner is a great way to gain familiarity.

We have a new section of our website to highlight some work we have done with non-profits based in Boston. This blog is a part 2 – check out part 1 here. Now, let’s recap some of the non-profit videos we have made for SPOKE!


About SPOKE

SPOKE (formerly Medicine Wheel Productions) is a non-profit organization founded by Michael Dowling. Their mission is to transform Greater Boston communities from the inside out by inviting all members to participate in the healing and transcendent power of public art.

They are forging a Common Path—one of inclusion and civic engagement—using art as a threshold to help individuals gain awareness of self, community, and the human condition. These next five videos show how they achieve this.

SPOKE At The Threshold Video

This video tells a story at the intersection of art, human interconnectivity, and emotional healing. The goal of the video was to showcase the transformation happening within our client’s organization and to also serve as a tribute piece of the owner’s lifelong work.

SPOKE – Hand-in-Hand Program

Hand-in-Hand, a program created by SPOKE, is an opportunity for at-risk youth and Boston Police officers to meet, bond, and develop a sense of compassion and understanding by spending a day working on art projects together. Hand-in-Hand gives them a space to see one another as human beings and peers, rather than as adversaries on the streets.

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Hand-in-Hand Videos

We had the pleasure of hosting the 2019 series of Hand-in-Hand events here at Indresano Studios. In addition to hosting the event, we also produced a promotional video to help SPOKE spread their message of inclusion. Former Boston Police Commissioner William B. Evans made a special appearance in this short documentary video addressing the need to raise our own awareness and take an active role in making a difference.

No Man’s Land Video

This video is one we will forever hold dear to our hearts. Thank you to Michael Dowling of SPOKE for inspiring us to create this magnificent video.


We at Indresano Studios have a vast amount of experience in working with non-profits in the Boston area. A video is an amazing way to show people what a difference your non-profit makes in the community.

We are a full service video production studio that handles all aspects of a shoot. Everything from vision & conceptualization to editing & color grading is done in-house at Indresano Studios. This includes story boarding, casting, production, filming, editing, color grading to final deliverables – you name it, we do it.

BEST PHOTOGRAPHY AND VIDEOGRAPHY OF 2016!

With the beginning of 2017 upon us, it’s a good time to reflect on all the highlights and video and photo accomplishments of 2016. Here are just some of the exciting and rewarding projects we were able to work on throughout the past year.

The year started out with a trip to warmer climates for the first leg of an executive video interview series for a corporate client. Our team packed up as much of the video equipment as they could and headed off to San Diego!

The rest of the interviews took place in the snowy wonderland of Massachusetts. While the weather was a bit colder, the interviews were all just as warm and friendly, and the clients loved the final videos!

Next up was the completion of an ad campaign for a master’s program at Brown University. The high end photography was complimented by some explosive videography to push the program to the next level.

The video portion was very well received, and even won the agency, NAIL Communications, a Hatch Award towards the end of the year!

While the Boston Bruins season was in full swing, we released the exciting video of Tuukka Rask we started in 2015. His killer reflexes and crazy saves continued to excite and entertain us through the 2016 season!

Near the close of the winter, we worked with SCENE magazine to capture their Spring cover of Boston Police Commissioner William Evans. Working with the commissioner’s busy schedule, Michael and the team worked quickly to make sure the location and set up was just right. We LOVE how the final image looks on the cover of the magazine.

With the spring came new projects for new clients. The Wynn Casino opening in Everett needed a photographer to capture all the details of their 3-D model, and the Indresano team were just the ones to do it!

Before the football season got into full swing, we worked with SCENE magazine again to do a 2-day cover shoot with New England Patriots Wide Receiver Danny Amendola. We started with some shots in full (and partial) uniform at Gillette Stadium

The next day, Amendola came to the studio to show off his fashionable side. While he is a great asset to the Patriot’s team, he could certainly have a back up career as a model!

Fall was quickly here and the leaves began to fall. Our friends at Liberty Mutual took this as a time to partner with Medicine Wheel on a clean up of No Man’s Land. Our video production team captured the collaboration for all to see!

When Thanksgiving started to approach, we worked with the fun team at ’47 Brand to get some holiday-worthy images of their sports team apparel to share through the rest of the year to take us into 2017! It was a lot of moving pieces to coordinate, but in the end the results were more than worth it!

A theme throughout the 2016 year for us was ICE CREAM! As a Boston Food Photographer, we wanted to share several new GIFs and videos made throughout the year showing the many ways you can enjoy a frozen treat.

With so many exciting projects all packed into 1 year, we can’t wait to see what video and photography projects 2017 will have in store for us!

MEDICINE WHEEL PRODUCTIONS – HAND IN HAND

Hand in Hand is an ambitious project of building rapport and extending the circle of friendship to include two often misunderstood groups of people – police officers and young adults. This project is the brainchild of Quincy native and visionary artist Michael Dowling. For over 22 years, he has spearheaded the well respected non-profit organization called Medicine Wheel Productions as its founder and artistic director. Mr. Dowling’s commitment to the positive transformation of troubled youths through art and community building has won him extensive recognition.

Michael Indresano, a board member of Medicine Wheel, did not hesitate to create a powerful video documentary that celebrates commonality and inclusion, further addressing hot-button social/racial issues that dominate our national conversation today.

Filming the the video took place for a few months and required countless hours of post production. Michael and his team were instrumental in organizing all the interviews, documenting the workshops through video, photographing the portraits, editing the footage together, and acted as technical consultant to all matters relating to video and photo. The video creation process started with a dedicated team of professionals bringing together their diverse skill set and industry know-how into conceptualizing a story. Many hours of brainstorming took place at our 33 A Street studio in South Boston. Michael Indresano led the team as director overseeing the entire creative process. With over 22 years of award-winning photography expertise, he is no stranger to the world of visual story telling. A true seasoned professional and master of detail, Michael directed the camera crew and lighting technicians with precise angles and adjustments; infusing every shot with a consistent degree of thought, emotion, and impact, further driving the message with vigor and determined vision.

The final video release was launched at the Medicine Wheel Turning The Wheel Annual Fundraiser at the Nixon Peabody law firm to exuberant applause. Attendees of the event included Boston Police Commissioner William B. Evans, Boston City Councilor at large Ayanna Pressley, Community Affairs Liaison for the Boston Redevelopment Authority Mark McGonagle (MW Chair of the Board of Directors), Boston Police Deputy Superintendent Nora L. Baston, Vice President at Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare Karen Young, Community Involvement Director for Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Janelle Woods-McNish, Executive Director of South Asian Arts Council Amit Dixit, State Auditor Suzanne M. Bump, along with many more prominent high profile public officials and loyal Medicine Wheel supporters voicing their support for this project.

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Nixon Peabody where the Turning The Wheel Annual Fundraiser took place.

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Boston Police Commissioner William Evans sits down with us for an interview.

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Chairman of the Board of Directors at Medicine Wheel Mark McGonagle addresses some of the finer points.

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Boston Police Deputy Superintendent Nora L. Baston.

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Medicine Wheel Director of Advocacy Richie Dinsmore talks about the Hand in Hand project.

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Daniel Morrison Fellow Shane Hampton preps for an interview as Michael directs the scene.

Special thanks to all members on the Medicine Wheel Board of Directors, the Host Committee, and the Medicine Wheel participants for their continued commitment and support. 

Host Committee: Suzanne Bump (State Auditor), Linda Dorcena Forry (State Senator), Robert Lewis Jr. (President & Founder of The BASE), Julie Burros (Chief of Arts and Culture City of Boston), Paul McDevitt (President of Modern Assistant Programs, Inc), Anita Walker (Executive Director of Massachusetts Cultural Council), Karen Young (Vice President & Chief Inclusion Officer Harvard Pilgrim Health Care), Constance Cervone & Janet Deegan (Cervone & Deegan Associates), Janelle Woods McNish (Director of Giving & Services Harvard Pilgrim Health Care), Paul Regan (Regan Associates), Ed Condry (Vice President of JJ Bodner).

Medicine Wheel Board of Directors: Michael Dowling (Founder), Mark McGonagle (Chairman), Dennis Pellecchia (Treasurer), Rick Winterson (Clerk), Jane Bowers, Maureen Dahill, Barbara Loftus, Roberto Valdez, Susan Nalband, Michael Indresano, Amit Dixit, Roy Rider.

Advisory Board: Ruth Raphael

The Boston Police Department Participants: Nora L. Baston (Deputy Superintendent), Skye Robinson, Janine Busby (Detective), Mark Bordley, Alexander Reyes, and many more.

Medicine Wheel Members: Richie Dinsmore, Gregory Variste, Shane Hampton, Annina Ibrihim, Kawanza Butler, Noel McKenna, Anna Dinaburg White, and many more.

PAVING A COMMON PATH

It’s amazing what can be accomplished when we all work together! Naturally, we felt so proud and inspired after completing this project for Medicine Wheel Productions. Just last year the Edward Ingersoll Browne Fund awarded Medicine Wheel with a grant to install an accessible, paved path connecting the Boston National Historical Park. We couldn’t be happier to help Medicine Wheel promote their goal of having 600 engraved bricks donated to line the path. We tried our best to capture the essence of the project and help spread awareness to have bricks donated. Check out our finished video below and see what a great time we had!

Here is the final video we produced!

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We were lucky it was such a beautiful day!

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Michael Dowling laying a good foundation.

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Attention to detail.

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Richie Dinsmore getting his hands dirty.

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Making a splash!