Proposal · Prepared for
Dominican Friars
Province of St. Joseph
Province of St. Joseph
Video in Service of
Your Capital Campaign
Your Capital Campaign
Narrative Film · Anthem Film · Two Creative Directions
This proposal covers two video deliverables in service of your capital campaign. CCS Fundraising identified both as priorities: a narrative film and an anthem video. Both are built to show donors and prospects what is at stake and why it matters now.
A capital campaign asks people to fund something they can't yet see. A case statement gets you partway there. Film gets you the rest of the way. These two pieces are built to make the mission visible and felt, each in its own way.
Both are shot in the same window across New York, Washington D.C., and Ohio. One production block, two deliverables.
The main piece. Three to five minutes that show the scale of what's already happening, the quality of the men doing it, and why this campaign matters now. Made for moments when you have a captive audience: major donor meetings, campaign launch events, and any setting where the film can run without competing for attention.
We've developed two creative approaches. Both serve the campaign. The question is which one fits the audience and the ask. Both are laid out below.
Shot during the same production window, cut to a completely different purpose. Ninety seconds, music-driven. Made for digital ads, social media, and campaign events where attention is borrowed, not given. It works before someone has decided to care.
Both concepts share the same crew, locations, and shoot schedule. The difference is creative. Read both and pick the one that fits the audience the Province most needs to reach.
"Sed Contra", "But on the contrary", was Thomas Aquinas's move in the Summa Theologiae: acknowledge the objection, then take it apart. It's the most Dominican phrase in the history of ideas.
This film opens with honesty, not inspiration. It names the objection, then answers it with the calm precision of people who have been doing this for 800 years.
Campaign role: For the sceptic in the room. The donor who needs a reason before she writes a cheque. It makes the case directly, with evidence. Good for prospect events, university audiences, and younger major gift donors who want the argument, not the feeling.
Format: Documentary interview-driven. The story is carried by the friars themselves, on camera, in their own words. No narrator.
Cold open. Fr. Dominic Legge, O.P., President of the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception and former DOJ trial attorney, speaks directly to camera, calm and unhurried: "The objection is real. The data is real. And a Dominican is not afraid of either." Cut to black. Text in stark white serif: the data on religious decline, the cultural narrative of empty pews. Then, in Dominican blue: SED CONTRA.
The Dominican House of Studies, Washington D.C. The chapel first. Friars in white habits at Vespers, chant settling into stone. Then the classroom. These men pray before they argue. Over 50 in formation.
College classroom. Fr. Ambrose Little, O.P., Director of the Thomistic Institute, in heated discussion with students. On-screen: 4 campus chapters in 2015. Today: 100+ on three continents.
The Godsplaining studio. Frs. Pine, Briscoe, Kress, and Chapman: four friars, one podcast. The same ideas, now travelling at the speed of a download. Hundreds of thousands of listeners. Fewer than 300 friars.
The sound of a banjo. The Hillbilly Thomists, friars in white habits, take the Grand Ole Opry stage. The crowd erupts. Fr. Austin Litke, O.P. on Bill Monroe and Aquinas, grace and music. People who came for the bluegrass. They didn't know a Dominican would be waiting.
St. Joseph's Church in Greenwich Village, Sunday evening. The line stretches around the block. A baptism. The 6pm Mass, standing room. Fr. Jonah Teller, O.P. from the steps: "They say this generation doesn't want the Church. I'd say this generation is starving for something real."
We return to Fr. Legge, where we began. His voice, steady: "The objection has been raised. The evidence has been presented. Sed Contra. Come and see."
Where Sed Contra makes an argument, Set the World Ablaze makes an impression. It doesn't address the narrative of decline. It just shows you what the alternative looks like.
Campaign role: For the donor who is already close and needs to feel the full weight of what she's funding. Better for campaign launch events, major gift solicitations, and the moment right before the ask. It works by feel, not argument.
Format: Documentary interview-driven. The friars speak on camera, but the interviews serve the larger visual arc rather than anchoring it. More observational in feel than Sed Contra, though the same interview structure underpins both.
"She dreamed that a dog leapt from her womb with a burning torch in its mouth, and as it bounded into the world, it set the earth ablaze."
Near-darkness. A single voice reads from a medieval text. A candle flame. Then a satellite view of a city at night, light spreading outward from a single point. "St. Dominic's mother had this dream before he was born. His sons are still at it."
The Dominican House of Studies. Chapel first. Friars in white habits at Vespers, chant settling into stone. Then the library. The habit bent over a book at midnight.
Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P., in full habit on a university campus, entirely at home: "The world doesn't have a shortage of certainty. It has a shortage of wisdom." Cut to Aquinas 101, a student watching at a laptop in a coffee shop, pausing, rewinding. Something is catching.
The Godsplaining studio. Fr. Patrick Briscoe, O.P.: "The culture has told itself that God is not interesting. We disagree. Loudly and with evidence." Hundreds of pieces of content, reaching hundreds of thousands, from fewer than 300 friars.
The Hillbilly Thomists take the Grand Ole Opry stage, friars in white habits, banjos catching stage light. Fr. Austin Litke, O.P.: "People hear bluegrass and their defences come down. They're singing along before they realise they're singing about grace."
St. Joseph's in Greenwich Village. In Vino Veritas in the basement. The 6pm Mass, full to overflowing. A baptism. Fr. Jonah Teller, O.P.: "They say this generation doesn't want the Church. I'd say this generation is starving for something real."
Return to the candle. Camera pulls back. It is lit inside a full church. Then the satellite view again, light spreading from a single point outward. "Eight hundred years. One mission. A fire that does not go out. Come and see." Hillbilly Thomists music swells.
Sed Contra works for the prospect who needs convincing. It makes the argument directly. Better for newer relationships, campus audiences, and donors who want a reason before they commit.
Set the World Ablaze works for the donor who is already close and needs to feel the weight of what they're funding. Better for established relationships and launch events.
This is the piece that circulates. It plays at the gala before the ask, runs on social through the public phase, and keeps the mission visible between meetings. It is not a summary of the Narrative Film.
Shot during the same production window but for a different purpose and in a different style. Rhythm and surprise. The white habit against the Opry stage. The packed nave at St. Joseph's. Chant cut against a banjo.
It plays at the gala before the ask. It gets forwarded. It works in rooms that aren't already warm.
The first frame earns attention or loses it. Opening image drawn from the strongest visual of the shoot. Music in immediately.
Fast intercutting across the apostolates, chant, lecture, podcast, banjo, crowd, baptism. Minimal titles. One mission, many faces. The pace builds.
The music peaks. One sustained image, the full nave, or the Opry crowd on its feet. A beat of silence. Then the Province seal.
Title card with URL or campaign prompt, depending on where it's being used. Music out.
The following is a planning-level estimate based on a coordinated production window across New York, Washington D.C., and Ohio, covering both the Narrative Film and the Anthem Film. Travel is included in the production block.
| Line Item | Detail | Estimate |
|---|---|---|
| Creative Development | Story architecture, shot planning, interview development, concept refinement for chosen narrative approach | Included |
| Anthem Creative Development | Distinct tonal approach, music direction, editing logic | Included |
| Logistics & Scheduling | Coordinating access across three states, friar scheduling, location clearances | Included |
| Pre-Production Total (4–5 days) | Included in production block | |
| Line Item | Detail | Estimate |
|---|---|---|
| New York | St. Joseph's Greenwich Village, Godsplaining studio, additional NYC coverage | 2 days |
| Washington D.C. | Dominican House of Studies, chapel, library, classroom, formation | 2 days |
| Ohio | Thomistic Institute campus chapter, Hillbilly Thomists | 2 days |
| Shared Production Block (6 shoot days, including travel) | $42,000 | |
| Line Item | Detail | Estimate |
|---|---|---|
| Narrative Film | Story edit, narrative shaping, rough and fine cuts, colour grade, sound mix, music licensing, two rounds of revisions | $10,000 |
| Anthem Film | Footage selects, rhythm edit, colour grade, sound mix, music licensing, revisions | $5,000 |
| Post-Production Total | $15,000 | |
| Line Item | Detail | Estimate |
|---|---|---|
| Travel & Expenses | Flights, accommodation, and ground transport across New York, Washington D.C., and Ohio. | Included |
| Total Project | $57,000 |
All footage captured during production is the property of the Dominican Province of St. Joseph. It can be used for future edits, additional content, or any other purpose the Province sees fit.
The following are available as additions to the core project scope.
If the Province wants to maintain a presence through the campaign, reels can be produced from footage captured during the shoot. Delivered at 30–60 seconds, formatted to spec for YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.
Two options:
Both include captions, basic title cards, and platform-appropriate formatting for YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. Scope and timing confirmed once the campaign calendar is set.
All footage from the shoot — across all three locations and both productions — organised, labelled, and delivered via a structured cloud folder. Clips sorted by location, subject, and date with a simple index so anyone on your team can find what they need without digging.
This is particularly useful for an organisation with ongoing content needs. The footage captured during this production has value well beyond the campaign — vocation recruitment, anniversary content, future appeals. Organising it properly means it stays usable.
For organisations producing content regularly, this can also be structured as an ongoing service, keeping your archive current as new material is captured.
Flat fee: $1,500
Happy to talk through concept, timeline, or anything else. Just get in touch.