Debuting with the launch of this website is Voices, a series of videos profiling diverse members of the UCSF community — from all levels of the University — to emphasize the importance of diversity to UCSF’s identity.
Profiling the unique and interesting stories of faculty, staff, students and trainees, Voices exemplifies both individual and institutional diversity, highlighting and humanizing the wide range of experiences, cultures and perspectives of an inclusive health sciences community.
The brainchild of Lisa Cisneros, assistant director of UCSF Public Affairs, the video series gives individuals the opportunity to tell their own story in their own words.
“Over the 14 years that I have reported for UCSF, I have learned that the stories that readers enjoy the most are profiles of the many fascinating, talented and dedicated people who work and study here,” says Cisneros, who serves as executive producer of the series. “Voices takes these profiles to a new level giving us insight into an individual’s life history and hopes for the future.”
Voices is produced and directed by Shipra Shukla, an experienced broadcast journalist whose news segments have aired on ABC, KTSF and Current TV. Shukla joined the UCSF Public Affairs team in September 2007.
UCSF Public Affairs collaborated with Campus Life Services’ multimedia team in Documents, Media & Mail to create the opening sequence, design the motion graphics and film the first segment, which has met with rave reviews during its initial screenings to select campus groups.
“In terms of design, we wanted to establish a look and feel that was modern, fluid, timeless and, most importantly, inclusive,” says Monica Mapa, communications and marketing strategist for Campus Life Services. “We took as our inspiration UCSF’s mission, advancing health worldwide™. And you’ll see in the opening sequence that the word, Voices, first appears onscreen, moving and pulsing with light, illuminating the faces of a global community, until focus comes to rest on the individual subject of the video.”
“Music is also tricky,” Mapa points out. “It’s easy to associate rhythms or beats or melodies with specific cultures, groups of people or generations and we wanted the music to be effective with any person or subject used in the Voices project. So we decided on a sound that can best be described as global urban techno.”
The multimedia team from Documents, Media & Mail who created the look and feel of Voices are Kyle Knobel, director of photography and editor; Reggie Sparks, art director; Marco Sanchez, lighting designer; and Andy Co, graphic artist and sound designer.
Voices is part of an overall communication campaign spearheaded by both the UCSF Diversity Initiative and the UCSF Strategic Plan. The strategic plan, released in June 2007, contains the idea of nurturing diversity as one of its seven priorities over the next decade.
To ensure that those profiled represent a cross-section of the campus community, UCSF Public Affairs is working with campus committees, including the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Academic Diversity, and others to get suggestions about prospective candidates for Voices.
For more information about Voices or to suggest a person to be profiled, contact Shipra Shukla, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), producer and project manager.