I SO love making films about products and services that make a difference to their users. It’s all very well companies saying good things about what they do, but hearing it for a third party has a reality that carries weight.
Thus when Essilor, spectacle lens manufacturer, asked me to make an end user film about their new Stellest product that addresses shortsightedness (myopia) in children, I was really excited to hear what the opticians had to say.
We’ve made many similar films for Essilor and others, but this was one that had the most passion I have ever seen. People were blown away – in fact moved – by the difference that the Stellest lens could make to a child. Generations of terrible short sight in families genetically predisposed to it had been halted in 6 months of using the product.
More than one optician talked about being on a mission now, and how Stellest will change the lives of so many of their patients. It was quite remarkable to film their evangelistic enthusiasm and to realise we were recording something significant and that so many children who would have struggled to see won’t now have that experience.
We visited practices in London, the North of England and the west coast of Ireland and all said the same thing. This film was a joy to make and remains fun to watch, even if like me you only use spectacles rather than dispense them.