A storyteller’s selfie
“I see myself as a video storyteller and very briefly, here is how I often work: At first I am a journalist, observing reality from different angles. Next I’m a camera operator who captures that observed reality. Then as an editor and animator I play around with what I have captured. And the result is a story that is more rich than the one I originally found.”
Biography
Gazelle Gaignaire was born in Paris, grew up mainly in Los Angeles, and studied mass media and political science at UCLA. She began her career at the European Television Center based in Hollywood, where she worked as a field producer and director on news reports, shows and documentaries covering mostly topics linked to the entertainment industry and destined for broadcast on French TV stations (TF1, France 2, CANAL+).
In 1999 she directed “On the Medical Frontlines” for the New York office of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). This promotional film was used widely by the international organization as a successful fundraising tool and on a personal level it triggered her desire to “go to the field” as a Communications Officer with MSF.
While based in Pristina, Kosovo, and then in Moscow covering ten countries of the Former Soviet Union, Gazelle wrote extensively for donors and the general public, organized media events and developed communication strategies with MSF teams – for example, speaking out against human rights violations in Chechnya, or raising the alarm about a tuberculosis epidemic raging in Siberian prisons.
>> See article “Siberia: A Struggle Against TB”
The focus of her work became more internal during her missions in Afghanistan and West Africa: she functioned as a mobile “inside-reporter” for MSF.
She earned a reputation for efficiently gathering information from a variety of sources — from local refugees to foreign diplomats. The analyses she drew from her research strengthened MSF’s understanding of the complex environment in which its medical teams were operating and helped improve their responses to emergencies.
>> See article “Changes Creep to Afghanistan"
After settling down in Brussels to start a family, Gazelle left MSF and in 2006 joined the company MCI as a marketing and communications manager. One of her major clients was World Kidney Day: she worked closely with MCI's graphics and web designers to create a brand identity for World Kidney Day and liaised with more than 150 organizations to help raise awareness about the prevention of kidney disease in 66 participating countries.
>> See designs and events info
The desire to return to her passion — making videos — led her to become a freelancer in 2010 and the first project she worked on was a short film entitled “Who Cares Wins” which she wrote, directed and edited for the United Nations Leaders Summit on sustainability.
>> See photos and more info
For the past ten years now Gazelle has been growing her services and her clientèle as a freelance video director and producer. Short (3 to 5 minute) web videos have become her speciality and her main areas of focus are humanitarian / medical / health issues, social / technological innovations and artists.
