Embrace Life
Encyclopedia
Embrace Life is an award winning short British public information film
made for the Sussex Safer Roads Partnership
(SSRP) about the importance of wearing seat belt
s. Released on 20 January 2010 and initially only shown in the local Sussex
area, the short film became an international phenomenon after it was distributed on the internet, through social networking sites and YouTube
, gaining over a million views in its first two weeks. By 13 February 2010 it had reached 129 different countries, was the 5th top rated video that month on YouTube and was the most top rated YouTube film of all time in the education category. The film achieved the highest rating of #8 Top Rated (All Time) film on YouTube, and as of 22 August 2011 it has had over 14,066,000 views. The film has been praised for its beauty and its emotional impact. The film has so far not been shown on television as part of a road safety campaign; it was primarily designed for and its spread has been almost entirely through the internet.
body in the East Sussex
and West Sussex
areas of England, and was looking to produce an internet-based road safety campaign film with a positive message, rather than one using more graphic shock tactics. Double BAFTA award-winning writer and director Daniel Cox learned of the proposed campaign, and approached the Partnership with an idea for just such a film:
The name of the film, Embrace Life, reflects its focus on life rather than the death and injury often associated with car crashes. Producer Sarah Alexander joined the project and immediately was faced with the challenge of the logistics of bringing Cox's vision to fruition. He specifically wanted slow-motion photography, requiring state of the art camera technology and 93,000 watts of lighting required by the high-speed filming.
was used in the making of the film. It has a running time of 1 minute 29 seconds.
The music was specially composed for the film by Dutch
composer Siddhartha (Sid) Barnhoorn, and is available as a download from his online music store.
A full list of credits can be found at the Sussex Safer Roads Partnership website.
, with the father play-acting at driving a car: he turns an imaginary ignition key, operates an imaginary footpedal
and steers an imaginary wheel
. His family watch from the sofa. The father turns to look at them, and as he turns back, his concentration momentarily taken from the road, he sees some sort of peril approaching. He grimaces and turns the wheel to the left to avoid the oncoming threat. Realising the danger he is in, the daughter rushes to him and embraces him around the waist; his wife follows, putting her arms around his upper body. The impact occurs, and the man is violently thrown in his seat; his legs jolt out and kick over a table with a bowl holding small metallic decorations. The bowl is thrown upwards and the metal decorations shower down. The daughter and mother successfully restrain the father, and he recovers, bringing his arms up to embrace his family who have saved him. The legend "Embrace Life Always wear your seat belt" appears on the left of the screen, and as the film fades to black the triangular grey, orange and blue Embrace Life logo
is shown above that of the Sussex Safer Roads Partnership.
part of the road in the UK) to avoid the oncoming danger. If the film was shown in mirror image
, it would correct these apparent inconsistencies for audiences in those parts of the world where cars are driven on the right hand side.
The daughter is wearing fairy wings. Some commentators have seen these as angel wings, symbolising a guardian angel. The small metallic decorations graphically represent the shattered windscreen glass and metal fragments generated during a car accident.
, West Sussex on 20 January 2010. Alexander said of this occasion:
The marketing and promotion strategy for the film comprised a direct mail
campaign in Sussex, which directed people to the Embrace Life website, which at the time only had a countdown clock and the Embrace Life logo (which represents a stylised seat belt). This generated interest on Twitter
and other social networking sites. A poster/flyer campaign in Sussex followed, and the campaign was picked up by the local media in Sussex. At the same time, a council-sanctioned graffiti
campaign was undertaken around Brighton and Hove, with Embrace Life logos (some up to 20 feet high) and the Embrace This website address painted by graffiti artist Aroe and his team. (The Embrace Life website address had already been taken, and so was not available. Embrace This was chosen as the alternative.) At the same time a public space art gallery was set up in a disused shop in Horsham. The existing web front page - at that time just the countdown clock and the logo - was shown on a large plasma screen along with props from the film and stills. These were all designed to give nothing away, to heighten curiosity about the campaign. Children were encouraged to interact by drawing a picture of what made them feel safe, and then to add it to the wall. By the end of the installation, the walls were covered with children’s drawings, and visitors and participants were given a flier with the campaign's web address.
The film was launched on the website on 20 January 2010. The film was put on YouTube
by the Sussex Safer Roads Partnership on 29 January 2010.
By 13 February 2010 it had reached 129 different countries, was the 5th top rated video that month on YouTube and was the most top rated YouTube film of all time in the education category.
The film was discussed by the British Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety
.
Comedian Ze Frank
blogged about the film, and American Idol
presenter Ryan Seacrest
also embedded the YouTube film in his website, describing it as "beautiful", "visually arresting" and "poignant".
An article in the New York Daily News drew a comparison between the poorly-received (and expensive) advertisements during the Super Bowl XLIV
on 7 February 2010 and "the breath of fresh air" of Embrace Life. The film was shown at the TED
conference on 13 February in California immediately before James Cameron
's speech.
Josh Levs
on CNN
said that he was "stunned" by the film, "which has been praised by people around the world for its beauty." After watching it during his report, a visibly-emotional Levs said "It gets me every time." The film was featured on The Wanda Sykes Show
on Fox
on 15 May 2010.
On 2 May 2010 it was reported that the Sussex Safer Roads Partnership had received enquiries from bodies such as the United Nations
, from European schools and American traffic police, and from major companies about the licencing the film for broadcast. The film's Executive Producer, Neil Hopkins of SSRP commented: "From a really small start it's become a global monster. It's smashed all our expectations. We're handling licensing requests from state troopers in the US, big firms like Shell
, talk shows, the French government, schools and road safety organisations." The money raised from licencing will be used by the SSRP for further road safety schemes in Sussex.
So far, the film has not been shown on British national television as part of a road safety campaign, although it was featured on Live from Studio Five
on Five on 19 April 2010 and there is a Facebook campaign to get it shown on British television as part of a road safety campaign.
Neil Hopkins said of the film's success:
, in the Public Health & Safety category. Embrace Life was also shortlisted for the UK's Chartered Institute of Highways and Transport / Atkins ‘Road Safety – Reducing All Casualties’ Award, in the awards ceremony of 16 June 2010, but did not win. In November 2010 Embrace Life won the inaugural YouTube Advert of the Year Award, winning with three times more votes than its nearest competitor.
As of 14 December 2010, Embrace Life has had 12,399,302 views on the Sussex Safer Roads channel on YouTube. Highest honours for the video on YouTube include #8 Top Rated (All Time), #1 Top Rated (All Time) Education and #1 Top Favourited (All Time) Education. It reached its highest Top Rated (All Time) rating in late April-early May 2010.
Public information film
Public Information Films are a series of government commissioned short films, shown during television advertising breaks in the UK. The US equivalent is the Public Service Announcement .-Subjects:...
made for the Sussex Safer Roads Partnership
Sussex Safer Roads Partnership
Sussex Safer Roads Partnership is a local government initiative in the area of the historic county of Sussex in England, aimed at increasing road safety and reducing road casualties across Sussex, through education, engineering and enforcement....
(SSRP) about the importance of wearing seat belt
Seat belt
A seat belt or seatbelt, sometimes called a safety belt, is a safety harness designed to secure the occupant of a vehicle against harmful movement that may result from a collision or a sudden stop...
s. Released on 20 January 2010 and initially only shown in the local Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
area, the short film became an international phenomenon after it was distributed on the internet, through social networking sites and YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, gaining over a million views in its first two weeks. By 13 February 2010 it had reached 129 different countries, was the 5th top rated video that month on YouTube and was the most top rated YouTube film of all time in the education category. The film achieved the highest rating of #8 Top Rated (All Time) film on YouTube, and as of 22 August 2011 it has had over 14,066,000 views. The film has been praised for its beauty and its emotional impact. The film has so far not been shown on television as part of a road safety campaign; it was primarily designed for and its spread has been almost entirely through the internet.
Development
Despite being a legal requirement for all car drivers and passengers in the UK, some people fail to wear their seat belt. The Sussex Safer Roads Partnership is a local governmentLocal government
Local government refers collectively to administrative authorities over areas that are smaller than a state.The term is used to contrast with offices at nation-state level, which are referred to as the central government, national government, or federal government...
body in the East Sussex
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
and West Sussex
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
areas of England, and was looking to produce an internet-based road safety campaign film with a positive message, rather than one using more graphic shock tactics. Double BAFTA award-winning writer and director Daniel Cox learned of the proposed campaign, and approached the Partnership with an idea for just such a film:
"Key to the film's creation was to focus on a message that didn't take a conventional route to shock and scare the audience; rather it was my intention to bring the audience in on the conversation of road safety, specifically seat belts, and the best way to do this was to make a film that could engage the viewer purely visually and could be seen and understood by all, whoever they are and wherever they lived." (Daniel Cox)
The name of the film, Embrace Life, reflects its focus on life rather than the death and injury often associated with car crashes. Producer Sarah Alexander joined the project and immediately was faced with the challenge of the logistics of bringing Cox's vision to fruition. He specifically wanted slow-motion photography, requiring state of the art camera technology and 93,000 watts of lighting required by the high-speed filming.
"I wanted to create a visual metaphor addressing how a single decision in a person's day can greatly influence both their own and their loved ones' lives. Choosing to film the story inside the family living room represents the feelings many people equate with their own car, in that it represents a level of safety and protection from the 'outer' world. So to create the emotion of this dramatic moment, I wanted to tell the story using slow motion to allow the audience the time to be drawn into the film's world and to let them connect with and project their own feelings onto the scenario playing out before them. I wanted to give the audience the time to breathe, to absorb our message and using slow motion was the right technique to allow this to happen." (Daniel Cox)
"It was central to the development of the project that we root the concept of wearing a seat belt firmly in the family domain, and create the advert so that it could be viewed by anyone of any age. Children are so important as opinion formers within their family that we felt it imperative to have a child take a pivotal role in relaying our message. One key aspect to the storytelling is that we developed Embrace Life to be non-language specific, so that the message wouldn’t become lost when viewed by visitors to, or residents of, the UK where English might not be their first language." (Daniel Cox)
"The inspiration for Embrace Life came from wanting to offer a positive message towards road safety really. A lot of the campaigns focus on the more graphic and horrific outcomes of accidents, whereas I really wanted to bring people into the conversation. The house represents a safety area, an area where you're normally surrounded by your loved ones, and the car can be an extension of that, but it's not only yourself that's impacted if something unfortunately goes wrong, but also family and friends too." (Daniel Cox)
Making of
The film had a small budget of £47,000 (US$72,000) and was shot over two days in the summer of 2009 at Halliford Studios in London. The film was shot on a Phantom HD digital camera, with speeds of up to 1000 frames per second, and no CGIComputer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
was used in the making of the film. It has a running time of 1 minute 29 seconds.
The music was specially composed for the film by Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
composer Siddhartha (Sid) Barnhoorn, and is available as a download from his online music store.
Main credits
- Writer/Director: Daniel Cox
- Producer: Sarah Alexander
- Executive Producer: Neil Hopkins (Sussex Safer Roads Partnership)
- Director of Photography: Luke Scott
- Music Composer: Siddhartha Barnhoorn
- Production Designer: Aoife Wilson
- Art Director: James Custance
- Cast
- Father: Austin Spangler
- Mother: Lara Corrochano
- Daughter: Clare Denning
A full list of credits can be found at the Sussex Safer Roads Partnership website.
The film
A father, mother and daughter are playing in their living roomLiving room
A living room, also known as sitting room, lounge room or lounge , is a room for entertaining adult guests, reading, or other activities...
, with the father play-acting at driving a car: he turns an imaginary ignition key, operates an imaginary footpedal
Automobile pedal
An automobile may have two to four foot pedals. The arrangement is the same for both right- and left-hand traffic. From left to right:* normally operated by the left foot:**clutch pedal, not in the case of automatic transmission...
and steers an imaginary wheel
Steering wheel
A steering wheel is a type of steering control in vehicles and vessels ....
. His family watch from the sofa. The father turns to look at them, and as he turns back, his concentration momentarily taken from the road, he sees some sort of peril approaching. He grimaces and turns the wheel to the left to avoid the oncoming threat. Realising the danger he is in, the daughter rushes to him and embraces him around the waist; his wife follows, putting her arms around his upper body. The impact occurs, and the man is violently thrown in his seat; his legs jolt out and kick over a table with a bowl holding small metallic decorations. The bowl is thrown upwards and the metal decorations shower down. The daughter and mother successfully restrain the father, and he recovers, bringing his arms up to embrace his family who have saved him. The legend "Embrace Life Always wear your seat belt" appears on the left of the screen, and as the film fades to black the triangular grey, orange and blue Embrace Life logo
Logo
A logo is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition...
is shown above that of the Sussex Safer Roads Partnership.
Imagery
The daughter's and mother's arms represent the two parts of a seat belt. The film was made for a British audience; cars are driven on the left hand side of the road in the UK and so the positioning of the mother's arms reflects the position of the upper seat belt strap for a driver in the UK. Similarly, the father turns the wheel to the left (the shoulderShoulder (road)
A hard shoulder, or simply shoulder, is a reserved area by the verge of a road or motorway. Generally it is kept clear of motor vehicle traffic...
part of the road in the UK) to avoid the oncoming danger. If the film was shown in mirror image
Mirror image
A mirror image is a reflected duplication of an object that appears identical but reversed. As an optical effect it results from reflection off of substances such as a mirror or water. It is also a concept in geometry and can be used as a conceptualization process for 3-D structures...
, it would correct these apparent inconsistencies for audiences in those parts of the world where cars are driven on the right hand side.
The daughter is wearing fairy wings. Some commentators have seen these as angel wings, symbolising a guardian angel. The small metallic decorations graphically represent the shattered windscreen glass and metal fragments generated during a car accident.
Campaign
The film was first shown to the Sussex Safer Roads Partnership members, including emergency services representatives, at The Capitol, HorshamHorsham
Horsham is a market town with a population of 55,657 on the upper reaches of the River Arun in the centre of the Weald, West Sussex, in the historic County of Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester...
, West Sussex on 20 January 2010. Alexander said of this occasion:
"The scariest part of making anything is the first time you show other people. Touching people’s emotions is not a science at all, it is an incredibly difficult thing to do and even after working on it for months you are still not sure how people will react. We always aimed to make something of TV/cinema quality so that is where we launched it. The first time I saw it on a cinema screen in front of an audience of hardened Police officers and realised they were touched, I was sure we had succeeded." (Sarah Alexander)
The marketing and promotion strategy for the film comprised a direct mail
Direct mail
Advertising mail, also known as direct mail, junk mail, or admail, is the delivery of advertising material to recipients of postal mail. The delivery of advertising mail forms a large and growing service for many postal services, and direct-mail marketing forms a significant portion of the direct...
campaign in Sussex, which directed people to the Embrace Life website, which at the time only had a countdown clock and the Embrace Life logo (which represents a stylised seat belt). This generated interest on Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
and other social networking sites. A poster/flyer campaign in Sussex followed, and the campaign was picked up by the local media in Sussex. At the same time, a council-sanctioned graffiti
Graffiti
Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....
campaign was undertaken around Brighton and Hove, with Embrace Life logos (some up to 20 feet high) and the Embrace This website address painted by graffiti artist Aroe and his team. (The Embrace Life website address had already been taken, and so was not available. Embrace This was chosen as the alternative.) At the same time a public space art gallery was set up in a disused shop in Horsham. The existing web front page - at that time just the countdown clock and the logo - was shown on a large plasma screen along with props from the film and stills. These were all designed to give nothing away, to heighten curiosity about the campaign. Children were encouraged to interact by drawing a picture of what made them feel safe, and then to add it to the wall. By the end of the installation, the walls were covered with children’s drawings, and visitors and participants were given a flier with the campaign's web address.
The film was launched on the website on 20 January 2010. The film was put on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
by the Sussex Safer Roads Partnership on 29 January 2010.
Reception
The lack of dialogue means Embrace Life is accessible to all viewers, no matter what nationality. Once it was put on to the internet it rapidly spread around the globe, gaining over a million views in its first two weeks. By 10 February 2010 international interest in licensing the film for broadcasting on national or province/state TV channels had resulted in enquiries from some Persian Gulf countries, from Brazil, France, Ontario in Canada and from four states in the USA.By 13 February 2010 it had reached 129 different countries, was the 5th top rated video that month on YouTube and was the most top rated YouTube film of all time in the education category.
The film was discussed by the British Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety
Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety
The Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety is a United Kingdom Parliament Associate Parliamentary Group which exists "to promote human life through the promotion of transport safety for the public benefit"....
.
Comedian Ze Frank
Ze Frank
On March 17, 2006, Frank launched the daily video program the show with zefrank. The format of the program combined commentary on media and current events with viewer contributions and activities...
blogged about the film, and American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
presenter Ryan Seacrest
Ryan Seacrest
Ryan John Seacrest is an American radio personality, television host, network producer and voice actor. He is the host of On Air with Ryan Seacrest, a nationally syndicated Top 40 radio show that airs on KIIS-FM in Los Angeles and throughout the United States and Canada on Premiere Radio Networks,...
also embedded the YouTube film in his website, describing it as "beautiful", "visually arresting" and "poignant".
An article in the New York Daily News drew a comparison between the poorly-received (and expensive) advertisements during the Super Bowl XLIV
Super Bowl XLIV
Super Bowl XLIV was an American football game between the American Football Conference champion Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference champion New Orleans Saints to decide the National Football League champion for the 2009 season. The Saints defeated the Colts by a score of...
on 7 February 2010 and "the breath of fresh air" of Embrace Life. The film was shown at the TED
TED (conference)
TED is a global set of conferences owned by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, formed to disseminate "ideas worth spreading"....
conference on 13 February in California immediately before James Cameron
James Cameron
James Francis Cameron is a Canadian-American film director, film producer, screenwriter, editor, environmentalist and inventor...
's speech.
Josh Levs
Josh Levs
Joshua Levs, commonly known as Josh Levs, is an American broadcast journalist based in Atlanta, Georgia, who reported for the CNN news television network. He received his undergraduate degree from Yale University, where he was elected president of his United Synagogue Youth chapter and where a...
on CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
said that he was "stunned" by the film, "which has been praised by people around the world for its beauty." After watching it during his report, a visibly-emotional Levs said "It gets me every time." The film was featured on The Wanda Sykes Show
The Wanda Sykes Show
The Wanda Sykes Show was an American talk show hosted by comedian Wanda Sykes on Fox that debuted on November 7, 2009. The show was announced in March 2009 by the president of Fox, Kevin Reilly...
on Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
on 15 May 2010.
On 2 May 2010 it was reported that the Sussex Safer Roads Partnership had received enquiries from bodies such as the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
, from European schools and American traffic police, and from major companies about the licencing the film for broadcast. The film's Executive Producer, Neil Hopkins of SSRP commented: "From a really small start it's become a global monster. It's smashed all our expectations. We're handling licensing requests from state troopers in the US, big firms like Shell
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
, talk shows, the French government, schools and road safety organisations." The money raised from licencing will be used by the SSRP for further road safety schemes in Sussex.
So far, the film has not been shown on British national television as part of a road safety campaign, although it was featured on Live from Studio Five
Live from Studio Five
Live From Studio Five was an early evening, British magazine programme which was produced by Sky News for Channel 5. The show was presented by Kate Walsh and a line-up of other co-presenters during its run. It consisted of interviews and discussing topical issues, with an emphasis on showbusiness...
on Five on 19 April 2010 and there is a Facebook campaign to get it shown on British television as part of a road safety campaign.
Neil Hopkins said of the film's success:
"Originally, we wanted something to run on local cinema screens, on my workplace’s website, and on DVDs at educational interventions within our countyCounties of the United KingdomThe counties of the United Kingdom are subnational divisions of the United Kingdom, used for the purposes of administrative, geographical and political demarcation. By the Middle Ages counties had become established as a unit of local government, at least in England. By the early 17th century all...
. We never dreamed that the campaign would touch so many people."
Awards and honours
On 12 June 2010 Embrace Life was awarded the 2010 Gold World Medal for Best Digital and Interactive Campaign at the New York Festivals International Advertising Awards ceremony in Shanghai. On 26 June 2010 it won a Bronze award in the Cannes Lions International Advertising FestivalCannes Lions International Advertising Festival
The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is a global event for those working in advertising and related fields. The seven-day festival, incorporating the awarding of the Lions awards, is held yearly at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès in Cannes, France...
, in the Public Health & Safety category. Embrace Life was also shortlisted for the UK's Chartered Institute of Highways and Transport / Atkins ‘Road Safety – Reducing All Casualties’ Award, in the awards ceremony of 16 June 2010, but did not win. In November 2010 Embrace Life won the inaugural YouTube Advert of the Year Award, winning with three times more votes than its nearest competitor.
As of 14 December 2010, Embrace Life has had 12,399,302 views on the Sussex Safer Roads channel on YouTube. Highest honours for the video on YouTube include #8 Top Rated (All Time), #1 Top Rated (All Time) Education and #1 Top Favourited (All Time) Education. It reached its highest Top Rated (All Time) rating in late April-early May 2010.
External links
- Embrace Life on YouTube, on the Sussex Safer Roads channel
- The Embrace Life website
- The Sussex Safer Roads Partnership website
- CNN report on the film, with an interview with Daniel Cox, the writer and director
- Bright FM radio interview with Daniel Cox and Neil Hopkins (Executive Producer, SSRP) (scroll down page)
- Interview with Neil Hopkins
- Neil Hopkins' website page about Embrace Life
- Embrace Life campaign photos