Project Background
Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade (DFAT) invited us to submit a proposal for their video campaign that could make the case for why Australia should be elected to a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2029-30 term.
We won the tender (yay!!) and got to work immediately.
Winning that vote for a seat depends on diplomatic audiences across the Pacific, Southeast Asia, Africa and the wider Indo-Pacific so our past experience in the Pacific region and other high level projects was a big plus.
Filming at Parliament House
Our team of four (Will, Siena, Jack and Claire) had the privilege of spending a day Parliament House filming:
- The Hon Anthony Albanese MP, Prime Minister
- Senator the Hon Penny Wong, Minister for Foreign Affairs
- Senator the Hon Malarndirri McCarthy, Minister for Indigenous Australians
- The Hon Dr Anne Aly, Minister for International Development
How We Approached the Brief
We’ve worked with DFAT before, and we brought years of government and Pacific production experience to this one too, including documentary work with the AFP across Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Samoa and the Solomon Islands, so we came in already understanding the diplomatic and cultural sensitivities a project like this carries.
The concept for the main film was developed together with DFAT, from the kick-off briefing right through to the final cut. Production moved through ministerial interviews, location filming and archival research, with drafts shared along the way so DFAT could weigh in before anything was locked in. We ran our Sensitive Storytelling framework throughout, because every person on camera deserves to feel informed and comfortable, whether they’re a community member or a federal minister.
That collaboration is what let us deliver a video campaign that’s creatively distinct and shows an authentic snapshot of modern, multicultural Australia, while still hitting DFAT’s specific strategic aims. That balance mattered most when we filmed senior ministers: we set up shots and directed a delivery tone that felt authoritative, while still carrying the friendly diplomacy that’s characteristic of how Australia presents itself to the world.
Team Notes
“Spending the day at Parliament House and being a fly on the wall in the corridors of power was one of the more surreal privileges we’ve had at Laundry Lane. From setting up an interview with the Prime Minister in a room normally reserved for meeting foreign dignitaries, filming a short piece with the Foreign Minister while she was in the middle of dealing with a real-time geopolitical situation, and passing former leaders while walking to and from lunch, it’s a day that won’t be forgotten any time soon.”
The Final Edit
The Campaign in the Wild
