Matter & Method

Good stories. Clearly told.

Creative communications studio
Vancouver, BC

We help organizations communicate ideas, connect with audiences and tell stories that matter.

From video production and documentary storytelling to animation, design and digital content, we bring creative thinking and hands-on expertise to every stage, from the first conversation to the finished product.

View our work → How we think
Work

Selected work

Directed, shot and edited in-house, with specialist crew when a project needs it.

Case studies

The thinking behind the work

01Vancouver Coastal Health / UBC Emergency MedicinePatient safety · Health technology
2023

Showing clinicians why a shared drug-reaction record matters

Challenge
When a patient has a bad reaction to a medication, that information often stays in one hospital or pharmacy. ActionADE lets clinicians record adverse drug events so the warning follows the patient across BC.
Approach
Let clinicians who use the tool explain it in their own words, so other clinicians hear the case for it from peers.
What we made
“User Stories”, a short film edited from clinician interviews for the research team.
02Vancouver OphthalmologyPatient education
Current

Helping patients choose a lens before cataract surgery

Challenge
Patients have to choose between lens options with different costs, trade-offs and public coverage, often with little time to understand them.
Approach
Short videos that each answer one question, with the surgeon on camera and plain-language scripts, matched to the practice's visual identity.
What we made
Patient-education videos, graphics and print explaining cataracts, astigmatism, glasses dependence and what public insurance does and doesn't cover.
03Centre for Hip Health and MobilityHealth research · Aging
2012–2019

Taking falls and mobility research beyond the journals

Challenge
Researchers had findings on falls, mobility and aging that needed to reach older adults, families, clinicians and program partners.
Approach
Work directly with researchers on concepts and scripts, and let older adults tell the story in their own words.
What we made
I'd Rather Stay, a documentary on how the built environment affects older adults' wellbeing, plus program films for Choose to Move and Tai Chi for Elders.
04Township of LangleyCity planning · Finance
2018

Showing residents how a growing city pays for itself

Challenge
Development cost charges, amenity contributions and grants are hard to picture, and hard to film.
Approach
Animation, so the money could be followed from new development to the parks, roads and facilities it pays for.
What we made
An animated explainer, produced, directed and edited in-house, with original motion graphics.
Approach

Matter first. Then method.

Most communication problems are understanding problems. We work out what's true, who needs to know it and what will help them act on it, before we decide what to make.

01 · The subject

We learn the issue

We read the research, talk to the experts and the people affected, and find the few things an audience needs to understand.

02 · The audience

We design for who's listening

Neighbours of a new housing site, patients before surgery, older adults, council: each needs a different way in.

03 · The medium

We choose the form last

Documentary, animation, a short spot or plain-language writing, whichever explains the subject best, captioned and accessible.

  • Housing
  • Public health
  • Health research
  • City planning
  • Infrastructure
  • Climate
  • Aging
  • Migration
  • Science
Services

What we do

  • Video and documentary

    Explainers, short documentaries and campaign spots, from interviews with the people affected to footage of the places it happens.

  • Animation and motion design

    Animated explainers and motion graphics for ideas that are hard to film.

  • Writing and digital content

    Plain-language scripts, web and social copy, and print materials that work alongside the video.

  • Communications strategy

    Who the audience is, what they need to know, and which formats will reach them.

  • Studio setup and training

    In-house studios, workflows and training for staff who make their own content.

AlwaysCaptions on every deliverableAccessibility best practiceOne point of contact

All work

About

Led by Farzine MacRae

More than 15 years with cities, health organizations, researchers and nonprofits, turning complicated subjects into work people understand.

Farzine directs and shoots most projects himself and brings in camera, sound, animation and design specialists when a project needs them. You work with the same person from the first conversation to the finished product.

Formerly MacRae Multimedia

Based in
Vancouver, BC
Clients
City of Vancouver, Vancouver Park Board, Township of Langley, BC Centre for Disease Control, Vancouver Coastal Health, UBC, Parks Canada, Vancouver Foundation, CBC Arts, Toyota
Recognition
Canadian Association of Labour Media Awards: Best narrative video or video series/documentary (50 Years of FPSE); honourable mention, Best short video (Indigenous Educators)
New Urbanism Film Festival, Los Angeles
Screened at the BC Environmental Film Festival (The Bison Cultural Project)

Working on something worth telling?

fmacrae@macraemultimedia.ca
Let's talk →
Tell us who it's for, where it will be shown, your timeline and a rough budget.