Across the country, local planning and advocacy efforts are being reshaped by digital tools. Community workshops are livestreamed, public comment is gathered online, and stories travel farther and faster than ever before. In this context, video has become one of the most powerful tools available to cities and community partners.
A well-crafted short film can do things that reports, slide decks, and plans often can’t. It can:
- Capture the conditions people navigate every day
- Amplify voices that are often left out of decision-making
- Offer a shareable, accessible way to make the case for change
For communities working to address historic transportation barriers, these kinds of stories are invaluable. They build momentum, secure funding, and foster understanding among regional, state, and federal partners.
The Barrier Stories Video in Rexburg, Idaho is one example of how digital storytelling can support local planning, advocacy, and equity-centered infrastructure projects. Horizon 54 worked with Cadmus, the Reconnecting Communities Institute (RCI), and the City of Rexburg to produce a 5.5-minute film that centers community voices and clearly illustrates the impact of a key infrastructure barrier in the city.
Capturing Community Voices in Rexburg
This year, Horizon 54 partnered with Cadmus and RCI to help tell the story of transportation barriers in Rexburg, Idaho. Our role focused on outreach, community coordination, project management, and full video production for a Barrier Stories Video that highlights how residents and local leaders are navigating infrastructure challenges and reimagining mobility and connectivity.
Through on-the-ground filming and interviews with more than a dozen community members, we worked to create a video that is:
1. Locally grounded: a story arc co-developed with the community
From the outset, our goal wasn’t just to “film a project.” It was to help Rexburg tell its own story on its own terms.
Rather than arriving with a pre-set script, we started with questions:
- What do you want people to understand about the barrier?
- How does it shape daily life in Rexburg?
- What do you hope this project will change?
Rexburg stakeholders’ answers shaped the storyboard, interview questions, and visuals. Themes that emerged, from emergency response times to access to schools, jobs, and community resources, became the backbone of the narrative.
2. Human-centered: collaborating closely with local partners
Relationship-building was at the heart of this work. From the first planning call to the final on-site shoot, we worked closely with our community contact in Rexburg, Mary Flanary, Grant Coordinator for the City of Rexburg, and a core group of local stakeholders to define the video’s purpose, tone, and content.
As drafts of the storyboard and interview guide evolved, Mary and other local partners provided regular input. We adjusted language, focus, and framing to ensure the story reflected how the community understands its own challenges and opportunities, not just how outside technical experts might describe them.
We also coordinated with city staff, first responders, residents, and community leaders to schedule interviews and secure locations that felt meaningful, from historic landmarks and key crossings to civic buildings and neighborhood streets. Through this process, the video became a product of shared authorship: a collaboration between Rexburg’s storytellers and Horizon 54, the team behind the camera.
3. Action-oriented: designed to support long-term planning and funding
The video was never intended to stand alone. It was designed as a tool that local partners could use to support ongoing planning, engagement, and funding efforts.
Alongside local partners, we developed a detailed storyboard, conducted location scouting, and built a filming schedule that centered community priorities. Over two days of filming, we captured interviews, b-roll, and establishing shots that connect the lived experience of Rexburg residents with the physical form of the infrastructure barrier. Our interview style was conversational and collaborative, aimed at drawing out authentic stories rather than rehearsed soundbites.
In post-production, we guided the process from early concept to final edit, facilitating communication between Cadmus, RCI, and local partners—managing timelines, synthesizing feedback, and ensuring the final product stayed true to the community’s vision. The result is a 5.5-minute film that local leaders can share in public meetings, with decision-makers, and in grant applications to make the case for investment in reconnection.
From Outreach to Final Cut
From Outreach to Final CutCommunity Coordination: We worked with the City to identify key storytellers, residents, advocates, first responders, and local officials, whose experiences reflect the broader transformation underway in Rexburg. Our team led outreach, invitations, and follow-up, ensuring participants knew what to expect and felt comfortable sharing their stories on camera.
Production Planning: Alongside local partners, we developed a detailed storyboard, conducted location scouting, and built a filming schedule that centered community priorities. We selected sites that made the barrier and its impacts visible, while also highlighting places where residents are imagining new possibilities.
On-Site Filming and Interviews: Over two days of filming, we captured interviews, b-roll, and establishing shots that connect the lived experience of Rexburg residents with the physical form of the infrastructure barrier. Our interview style was conversational and collaborative, aimed at drawing out authentic stories rather than rehearsed soundbites. Though this meant cutting hours of interview footage to a 5-minute clip, it was invaluable to hear interviewees tell genuine accounts that informed the major themes presented in the final cut.
Ongoing Project Management & Post-Production: We guided the process from early concept to final edit, facilitating communication between Cadmus, RCI, and local partners. This included managing timelines, synthesizing feedback from multiple stakeholders, and ensuring the final product stayed true to the community’s vision both visually and narratively.
Why It Matters
Why It MattersRexburg’s transportation barrier reflects a broader challenge: infrastructure that once met regional needs now splits communities in half and complicates daily life for growing cities.
The Barrier Stories Video translates a complex planning issue into a clear, human story. It lifts up the voices of people who live with these impacts every day and gives Rexburg and its partners a concrete tool to:
- Support public engagement and conversations about the barrier
- Illustrate local needs in funding and policy discussions
In a digital-first era, pairing technical analysis with community-driven storytelling isn’t just “nice to have”, it is essential. This project reflects what we do best: bringing community voices and stories to the forefront to link lived experience with policy and planning strategies.
