Eva.Stories

How they made it

Timeline of the creative process

Inspiration: How can we democratize history? This is the question that inspired us to create Eva.Stories

Workflow: We had to adapt the very way we filmed Eva.Stories to the DNA of the project.

Results: When you are passionate about an idea - first make sure it’s good. Don’t lie to yourself. Really check it. And once you are confident in it, don't stop until it has been manifested.

You can do it too with monday.com!

Webby Awards partner monday.com is so impressed with Eva.Stories that they created a workflow inspired by the project!

Try this template

Expand the Board

Tips from the Team

“Eva is unique in the way it combines the past with the future, but what made it all so believable and strong was the strive to deeply understand and imitate the present." - Ido Shor, VFX, K's Galleries

"The most important thing I've learned from Eva is: Graphics and symbols in vertical stories are living "In peace" with traditional storytelling." - Arik Lahav Leibovich, Editor, K's Galleries

"To get into the depth of Eva's story I had to take my heart and forget myself" - Shabtai Itzhak Edan, Line Producer + 1 AD, K's Galleries

"Vertical content on mobile is a powerful sophisticated genre of storytelling. It provides the viewer new perspectives, intimacy and dynamics that are missing from the big screen." - Maya and Mati Kochavi, Writers, K's Galleries

See the full team

Inspiration

In order for us to improve today we must look to the past, understand it, and learn from it.

What was your inspiration?

“How can we democratize history?”

This is the question that inspired us to create Eva.Stories, and that continually pushes us forward in our work.

In order for us to improve today we must look to the past, understand it, and learn from it. We want to bring history to the youngest social generation, so we chose Instagram, the free platform where the majority of young people already spend much of their time.

We give them a real story, told in their language and on their terms, as a way to relate to very complicated historical moments. And once they internalize the story, they’re empowered to become the newest storytellers of history.

How did you approach this challenge?

We are a new, family-owned media company. Our team includes a highly diverse group of storytellers, data scientists, philosophers, artists and musicians, and we all sit around the same table for every project.

We rely heavily on research, data and historical records to preserve the truth, balancing facts with art, emotion, and passionate storytelling. We work fast and hard, and are brutally honest with each other. Eva.Stories was our first project; It began as a concept and was continuously tested and analyzed right up until its release.

Workflow

We rolled out the 50-minute film as 220 separate 15-second stories. This allowed for a real peer-to-peer experience which made it feel like Eva was the owner of her IG account.

How does your team work across capabilities and disciplines?

In a way, Eva.Stories is the creation of a new genre: an Instagram film. For almost everyone on the team, this would be a new experience. So we needed to deeply study the process as a team before filming began.

We designed a set of new rules that we felt were necessary for such a project to feel authentic, and constantly reminded one another of this.

After each day of filming, we sat together around the table—writers, directors, DoP, production, post production, compositors—and watched our footage together to be sure we were realizing our vision.

How does your approach adapt to the needs of a project?

We had to adapt the very way we filmed Eva.Stories to the DNA of the project: we had to film vertically for IG Stories, and we filmed on a phone. We developed a unique camera that uses two connected smartphones facing opposite directions. Each side of the camera has a handle: one for our DoP and one for our leading actress, which constantly had to be negotiated. The filming became a highly dynamic process that lead to a more authentic outcome.

Was there anything out-of-the-box about your approach for this project?

We rolled out the 50-minute film as 220 separate 15-second stories. This allowed for a real peer-to-peer experience which made it feel like Eva was the owner of her IG account.

We premiered it on Israel’s Holocaust Memorial Day and timed the release of each story to match the audience’s experiences that day. As they woke up, we released the first stories showing a happy Eva, pre-Nazi invasion. By the time Israeli kids walked home from school, Eva filmed her streets being invaded by Nazis. As kids got ready for bed, Eva was transported to the Ghetto, and the next morning, as sirens blared marking the end of Memorial Day, we saw Eva’s final story as she was forced onto a train to Auschwitz.

How do you digitally manage your projects?

Instagram can be a harsh environment for film content, it’s so simple for a viewer to tap out of a scene. So we had to develop a methodology that could predict the interest level of each story, a “weight” tool to evaluate how likely people were to come back for the next story.

We also had to consider the amount of time in between story releases. Sometimes it was 20 minutes, sometimes more. We constantly asked ourselves how much time the audience needed between each highlight, and what discussions and emotions they might be having during those breaks.

How is the pandemic and remote working impacting your team?

We are eagerly waiting to shoot our third movie but this is currently quite complicated. In the meantime we are still able to effectively work on research, writing and designing as a team. We are looking forward to being able to go out and shoot again!

Results

Don’t be scared, that’s boring! Do work that makes you feel alive!

Any advice for creative teams looking to make great digital work?

When we started Eva, people didn’t understand the project. They varied from skeptical to angry. We tried to hire writers and directors to help us but they couldn’t adapt to IG. We realized we had to write and direct on our own.

A day before the premiere, we had no idea if people would watch it. But that day Eva became the third largest IG account in Israel and the sentiment of people flipped entirely: they embraced it!

The key is to not give up. When you are passionate about an idea, first make sure it’s good, and don’t lie to yourself. Really check it. And when you are confident, don’t stop until it’s realized. Don’t be scared, that’s boring! Do work that makes you feel alive!

What does being named "best of the Internet" mean to you?

It is an absolute honor! We believe that social media is an incredibly powerful storytelling tool. These platforms create highly intimate and emotional experiences that are much more personal than a big screen.

The vertical IG story adds a fascinating capability – it allows creators to understand and communicate with their audience in real time through interactive methods. Viewers often took screenshots of Eva as they watched; Eva is now a personal memory in their photo gallery alongside friends and family. Serious and powerful content can live vertically, and we are committed to this new kind of storytelling. Being honored by Webby reinforces our passion – thank you !!!