First your body starts to fail bit by bit, then you lose the ability to move your arms and legs, then you lose your life. This powerful spot shows the harrowing impact of motor neurone disease.
Australian musician, actor and comedian Tim Minchin and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) have performed a moving rendition of Crowded House hit ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’ to raise awareness of the debilitating symptoms of motor neurone disease (MND).
'The Fading Symphony’ was created The Works for MND Australia and features Minchin and the SSO performing, and as the piece goes on each section of the orchestra shuts down, to show the impact of MND.
MND is a progressive terminal neurological disease with no known cure or effective treatment. Each day in Australia two people die from and two people are diagnosed with MND. People living with the disease progressively lose the use of their limbs and the ability to speak, swallow and breathe whilst their mind and senses usually remain intact.
Once Minchin and the orchestra fall abruptly silent as if they were affected by MND, viewers are asked to donate and if they do they are rewarded with the orchestra coming back to life and performing the rest of the song.
Filmed at the City Recital Hall in Sydney, Minchin, the SSO and all creative and production partners gave their time for free, while Crowded House frontman Neil Finn gave special permission to use ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’.
A microsite that includes behind the scene videos of the making of ‘The Fading Symphony’ has also been created for the campaign.
The Works also developed a digital and social strategy to amplify the content which is also being supported by Twitter Australia.
Credits:
Client: MND Australia
Creative Agency: The Works
Founder and Creative Partner: Damian Pincus
Creative Partner: Paul Swann
Creative Leads: Guy Patrick and Nathan Bilton
Creative Project Manager: Erica Wong
Digital & Social Strategist: Vanessa Hartley
Content Producer: Patrick Mazzolo
Head of Digital Production: Dave Flanagan
Creative Technologist: Dave Ganley
PR: Poem
Production: Photoplay Films
Director: Husein Alicajic
Director of Photography: Simon Chapman
Editor: Joe Morris
Executive Producer: Oliver Lawrance
Producer: Suzanne Kim
Post Production: Cutting Edge
‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’: Arranged and conducted by Benjamin Northey
