I made an anti-slavery video! Why? As a response to the United Nations 7 Billion Actions campaign, and to promote the great work of Free The Slaves. A few weeks ago, I posted my intention to help end slavery through video and song, and I’ve spent the past two months thinking about, shooting, procrastinating and creating said video. To have finally uploaded it and be in a position to share it with you now is a major achievement (and relief) for me.
What am I trying to say?
That I am directly connected to modern-day slavery, namely through forced labour and the products I buy. Amazingly, this is something I didn’t even know until a few short months ago.
In creating it, I owe a great deal to my friends Kevin and Stella, and this YouTube tutorial. If you’re thinking of making a stop-motion video using iMovie, this will clarify a few things. For those interested, I took the images using a Panasonic Lumix TZ20.
One thing I’ve had to overcome in making this film was this: I have a hard time asking others for help. Despite this, I pushed myself and found the response was wonderful. It’s taught me to ask for help more often, lest I attempt everything solo and have a hard and lonely time doing so, unnecessarily.
Download the song
The song We Are featured in Slavery & Me is available as a free download. If you dig it, it’s yours.
Pass it on
Please share the video with friends using the links below. Leave a comment, too, and throw me any questions if you have them. I’d love to achieve 1,000 views in the first week.
-April
Wonderful video!!
Fantastic video! Well done and keep up the awesome work
Amazing April! Well done on starting the conversation on slavery. It’s hard but it’s about time we were really honest with ourselves! looking forward to some more fantastic instalments from Later, Slavery.
So simple yet so effective. Very thought provoking.
So important not to assume – or, inadvertently, to abuse. Great message April
Not only have you have made me think about modern slavery…you’ve also made me think deeply about how much crap food I eat in a day…two birds with one beautiful video/song
Great vid. I love the personal connection to the topic. So often it seems like a faraway problem. Very wise to localise it. Well done, Apes!
Hi April,
Well done with the video! It’s really very good and the song too. It will make
everyone more aware of what we consume in our daily lives.
regards Angie and Gabriel
Absolutely love it Apes! You’re amazing and can do anything you set your mind too!
LATER, SLAVERY!
Love you all. Thanks so much for watching and supporting what I will henceforth call “the reversal”!
April
What an awesome video Apes…you’ve certainly got me thinking about all the things I use on a daily basis. We all need to have a long hard think about what can be done about modern day slavery. Thank you for raising our awareness. I look forward to continuing to follow your blog and discover ways I can help make a difference.
xo
Written, produced, directed, edited, uploaded and a score all done by you? So talented I had no idea!
I definitely admire your intentions and attempt to raise awareness. Had no idea the statistics are so staggering and that the problem supersedes sweatshops and sex slavery – which to me are the two biggest connotations of the word “slavery”. I think also on a personal level, there’s a significant realisation that my problems are not that big compared to what these people are facing and now that I am aware of it, there’s big challenge ahead to not forget about it.
Great job April for your first short film and spreading the word on a worthy cause!
Powerful video April. Modern-day slavery is in our lives in one way or another – it’s time we put a stop to it. Great work!
Thank you for making this personal. While I have been aware of modern slavery, I have never really thought about how my daily habits of consumption are actually a cause for it to exist. Your song and chosen imagery also places the message in ‘this’ (our) world, rather than ‘that’ (their) world. I am already thinking differently…
Awesome work Apes, the Vid and song work so well together. Great images, great music and a great message! With you passion and words, you have already made so many people aware of slavery in modern society. Always here to help, u know it =)
Love the song and the lyrics, very clever!
Inspiring and thought-provoking, Apes! You rock and I am so proud of you for raising your voice!
Awesome vid, Apes!
Proud of you! You keep fighting the good fight and I’ll be there to support you! Thanks for being you! You’ve reminded me that one person CAN make a difference!
Its something I never really thought about… thank you for making us aware of this issue. Good job!
great work april! it’s amazing, and a little scary, to look at the day in the life of a sydney-sider and realize how everyday things are connected to slavery. it’s also interesting how we are able to communicate this message about slavery through computers/macs, which as has come to light recently, are built in terrible conditions in China… looking forward to seeing what we can all do to resolve these issues! xxoo
The video is great April. Very inspirational & you are making a difference! Your beautiful voice spreads a great message that people can relate to directly. Well done
Amazing video April. You r such a talent. Extremely inspirational!
How nice Vid cousin….
What a beutuful voice…cousin its me nheri