Budding videographers make sense of diabetes
November 17, 2009 – 2:08 pm by Gina MonariTen people with diabetes from across the United States and as far as South America were honored for their moving portrayal of how the chronic condition affects their everyday life through the Making Sense of Diabetes online video contest. The contest was sponsored by the Diabetes Hands Foundation, an advocacy organization in social media, and made possible through support provided by Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc.
“The creativity and reality captured through this video contest embody the spirit of World Diabetes Day,” says Manny Hernandez, president of the Diabetes Hands Foundation, who has been living with diabetes since 2002. “There are no better ambassadors to communicate the experience of living with diabetes and raise awareness of the condition than those living with it themselves.”
A compilation of the winning videos premiered at MakingSenseofDiabetes.org to mark the importance of World Diabetes Day on November 14.
Making Sense of Diabetes encouraged people living with diabetes to visually reveal its effect on their lives through one of the five senses: sight, hearing, taste, touch, or smell. The videos submitted took various approaches ranging from hopeful to dramatic, inspirational, and funny. Winners of the Making Sense of Diabetes contest were Dennis Adair, Pennsylvania; Fabiana Couto, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Patricia Harmon, New Jersey; Scott Johnson, Minnesota; Andrew Jones, California; Terry Keelan, California; Joseph Nielsen, Texas; George Simmons, California; Bill Woods, Connecticut; and Lorraine, Connecticut.
Submissions needed to be original videos under three minutes in length and had to convey a compelling message that relates to the person’s personal experience with diabetes through one of the five senses. All of the winning videographers have diabetes.
One winning video about the sense of sight offered a view of how most people see a bowl of candy — colorful and sweet. When the filmmaker sees candy, however, he sees a pile of insulin syringes. Another videographer used the sense of smell to show how diabetes “stinks” because figuring out what to eat is like doing math problems. Other videos revealed feelings of frustration, anger, hope, and triumph through the various senses.
The online diabetes community, including bloggers and those within social networks, was extremely enthusiastic about the contest. Video submissions were viewed thousands of times by people globally, and many viewers posted comments in support of the videos and the people who made them. The resulting compilation video is intended to raise awareness about what it feels like to live every single day with diabetes.
“The online community is an important source of inspiration for anyone living with diabetes,” says Terry Keelan, one of the contest winners. “I’m glad to have had the opportunity to share my perspective and hope my videos will offer encouragement, hope, and humor to others living with diabetes.”
In June 2009, Boehringer Ingelheim announced its pipeline of oral antidiabetic compounds, establishing itself in the type 2 diabetes therapeutic area. The company is investigating compounds in Phase II and Phase III clinical development worldwide.
With an eye on the relevance of the online diabetes community, including bloggers and those within social networks, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals was pleased to support the contest. The company wanted to support the Diabetes Hands Foundation in creating a relevant outlet for diabetes patients to express concerns and fears about living the disease.
As a result of the compilation video at MakingSenseofDiabetes.org, the Diabetes Hands Foundation reached the “top 25 most viewed non-profit YouTube channels this week.”
Final selections were made by Manny Hernandez. Each qualified submission was judged on a 100-point scale as follows:
• Number of unique views: 5 points
• Average stars (rating) received: 10 points
• Quantity and quality of comments received: 25 points
• Creativity and originality of the video: 30 points
• Compelling nature of the video in connection to the sense it is about: 30 points
Comments about the compilation video on YouTube and Twitter also honored the winners:
“Thank you everybody from TuDiabetes_who made this video possible! 
It is amazing!”
“Fantastic! I love how the contributions are blended together to make such_ a powerful message!
“Excelente, profesional y con un mensaje muy positivo sobre la vida.
Tags: Boehringer Ingelheim, Diabetes, Diabetes Hands Foundation, disease awareness, social networking
