The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) helps and protects the rights of refugees across the globe. That includes in Yemen, where a long-running civil war has made millions of people refugees in their own country. Ascribe was called on to draft the script for a video that would support UNHCR’s important work.

How Ascribe helped

Years of civil war in Yemen have left more than half the population in need of humanitarian assistance and protection. UNHCR provides assistance in a variety of forms, including cash, to Yeminis displaced by conflict. To instill confidence in donors and potential donors that their contributions go to people who need it, UNHCR wanted to create a short video outlining the key steps in its cash assistance program — and reinforcing the challenges and scale of the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.

An existing client of Simple Story, UNHCR approached the video production agency for the visual elements. The video also needed a script that communicated UNHCR’s key messages clearly and concisely to meet the video’s short runtime target. For this essential component, Simple Story turned to its sister company Ascribe, which had recently come under shared ownership.

Ascribe’s team of experienced writers quickly produced a script featuring brief, focused narration and a suggested visual flow. 

From there, Simple Story used the script to create a storyboard, followed by styleframes, then produced an animated draft with voiceover and music. 

The final video has a runtime of under 90 seconds, and outlines the need in Yemen and the particulars of UNHCR’s cash assistance program in plain language. It ends with a call to action to donate and help displaced Yeminis and their hosts across the country.

The video was well received by the client, who appreciated the high quality of the product despite the short turnaround time.

Ascribe Deliverable: Video Script

Our process:

• Client briefing and background review
• Writing, editing and revisions
• Coordination with video production partner

Simple Story Deliverable: Video

Simple Story's process:

• Client briefing and background review
• Storyboard
• Styleframes
• Styleboard
• Voiceover recording
• Music selection
• Animation