The French National Forestry Office commissioned one technical film from us. We delivered two. Following the brief would have been a mistake.

The Impossible Brief

Cévennes Massif, Spring 2025.

The French National Forestry Office (ONF) launches a mycological protocol of rare ambition: measuring over several decades the link between fungal health and forest health, in a context of climate upheaval.

The challenge? 55 sites distributed across the entire territory. Dozens of already overloaded forestry technicians. And a detail that changes everything: their participation is entirely voluntary.

The initial brief was clear: create a 15-minute film explaining step-by-step the sample collection protocol. Environmental DNA. Scientific precision. Zero margin for error.

Deadline: 2 months. Three days of shooting in remote areas of the Cévennes massif.

A standard technical project for a typical production agency.

But during the first meeting with the communications department, one sentence changed everything.

The Insight That Reveals the Real Problem

"The foresters have no obligation to participate."

As an engineer turned filmmaker, I've learned one thing: the best technical explanation in the world is useless if the human isn't engaged.

I asked the uncomfortable question:

"Why would an overworked forestry technician, with no contractual obligation, sacrifice their time to collect soil samples?"

Silence.

The communications department was focused on "how to do it." So were the scientists leading the project. They had even planned a script with humorous touches to "lighten" the technical explanation.

But no one was asking the question of "why should they care."

That's when I understood: we had two audiences with two radically different needs.

Foresters already convinced → need the precise technical protocol
Foresters to mobilize → need to understand the meaning of their contribution

I proposed a solution that wouldn't cost an extra euro: optimize the shoot to create TWO films with the same resources.

Film 1: The detailed technical protocol (15 min)
Film 2: The motivation film no one had asked for (3 min)

The communications manager seized the opportunity immediately. No additional cost. Enormous differentiation potential. Approved without hesitation.

Three Days in the Forest, Two Stories to Capture

The shoot in the Cévennes was a balancing act.

The constraints:

• Remote forest areas, equipment transported on foot
• Humid weather just before a Cévennes weather event
• Scientific protocol still in development, adjusted in real-time by researchers
• Absolute requirement for precision to avoid any sample contamination

Our proven methodology:

We never film without having mapped out the narrative structure in advance. Rigorous pre-production phase: validated objectives, characters identified through pre-interviews, narrative structure built to capture the right phrases during on-camera interviews.

Each stage, a deliverable. Each deliverable, client validation. Zero surprises at delivery.

On the ground, we captured two layers simultaneously:

For the protocol film:

• Each technical gesture filmed with surgical precision
• Detailed scientific explanations
• Rigorous sequencing of the 12 sample collection steps

For the motivation film:

• The passionate gazes of mycologists in the forest
• Hands in the earth, the ancestral gesture connecting humans to the ecosystem
• Moments when scientists talk about their deep "why"
• Wide shots of the Cévennes reminding us of the scale of living systems

My engineering background was essential for deciphering an evolving DNA protocol. My filmmaker sensibility for capturing the emotion behind the method.

The same shoot. The same budget. Two radically different impacts.

The Reaction That Validates Everything

Delivery, a few weeks later.

Gérald Gruhn, head of the Meta-Myco project — totally focused on the protocol film — discovers the motivation film.

His face changes.

He instantly understands what we had seen from the first meeting: without emotional buy-in, his perfect scientific protocol would remain a dead letter.

A few weeks after distribution, he writes to us:

"Beyond the institutional film, the project actors have their own enthusiastic motivations. The idea of leveraging this energy around our film project proved very beneficial. Especially since these images could also be used to communicate externally about our project. Time savings, energy, impact and broadened perspectives. Buena Onda Stories production lives up to its name!"

— Gérald Gruhn, Meta-Myco Project Manager, French National Forestry Office

He adds:

"The added value really came from the approach, the listening, the communication and the schedule management, for a quality result, beyond our expectations."

Translation: We are no longer perceived as "video vendors." We are now considered strategic partners capable of seeing what the client doesn't yet see.

That's exactly what we aim for with every collaboration.

The Impact Beyond the Commission

Deployment:

• ONF public website
• Internal distribution across 55 sites
• Official YouTube channel

The unexpected twist:

The protocol film, initially intended for a restricted internal audience, remains an effective operational tool.

But the motivation film opened a door to external communication that ONF hadn't anticipated.

It shows scientists' passion. It humanizes an organization perceived as purely administrative. It contributes to the visibility of a national institution.

Three minutes that reposition an entire organization's image.

Our status with the client?

We are no longer perceived as "video vendors." We are now considered strategic partners capable of seeing what the client doesn't yet see.

That's exactly what we aim for with every collaboration.

What This Project Confirmed for Me

1. Technique without motivation is a sterile investment

You can have the best protocol in the world. If field actors don't understand the "why," you will fail.

2. The Double Impact Framework works

Two films. Two audiences. Two complementary objectives. One budget.

Film 1: Motivation → Create emotional buy-in
Film 2: Protocol → Provide operational tools

3. Engineering + storytelling = strategic differentiation

My dual background isn't a marketing gimmick. It's a methodology that translates technical complexity into human narrative without betraying scientific rigor.

ONF scientists validated it. Not out of politeness. Out of professional satisfaction.

The Question I Ask You

In your organization, how many technical projects fail due to lack of human buy-in?

How many perfect protocols remain unapplied because no one took the time to answer the "why" before explaining the "how"?

How many communication budgets are wasted producing content no one watches because it informs without engaging?

This project with ONF demonstrates a conviction:

Impact-driven organizations — whether in environmental research, cleantech innovation, social economy, or ecological transition — need science-backed strategic storytelling.

Not polished corporate videos.
Not animated PowerPoints.
Narratives that engage the human BEFORE deploying the technique.

If you lead projects where human engagement conditions operational success, let's talk.

Because between one film and two films, there's sometimes all the difference between failure and impact.

#Storytelling #CommunicationImpact #ONF #EnvironmentalScience #ChangeManagement #StrategicStorytelling #MissionDriven

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