Andres, originally from Colombia, and is currently a student of BA (hons) media production   of Bournemouth University. He has been working at Archipelagos for 3 months and will stay in the organisation for 4 months. During his internship, he has been working on an emotion-led film, presenting the Aegean Marine Life Sanctuary that is currently under construction on Lipsi Island. He is promoting the work of the Sanctuary working with the medium of film to securing potential funding for this ambitious project. He is aiming to use narrative and storytelling to create a far-reaching positive impact.
He is crafting a story about the sanctuary as a “vision story”, “Human beings are highly emotional and so many of our choices are based on emotional connections first, even if we don’t like to admit it. This is why as filmmakers we need to aim to connect emotionally with our audience if we want them to care and hear our message.”

During his studies at Bournemouth University Andres has learnt to make powerful videos, using compelling plots to engage audiences. “There are a lot of studies on human psychology and biology that back all this up, which is fascinating from a film perspective. For instance, when we see a character-driven film, be that fiction or factual, our brains produce oxytocin which is a hormone that relates to empathy. The more you release this hormone, which means the more connected you feel to a character-driven film, the more likely you are to help others and be more empathetic afterwards.”

Andres has learnt technical skills, such us working with cameras, editing videos and managing the audio. The crucial skill that has been the most useful to him is understanding the craft of storytelling, which relates to exposition, themes, arc, developing and building a narrative frame amongst other important elements.