Meet Nora Long | Producer, Director, & Founder

We had the good fortune of connecting with Nora Long and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nora, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
Hey, there! I’m Nora Long, a film producer, director, and cinematographer, and the founder of Phlogiston Films, an impact-focused, full-service production company.

When I first set out to be a filmmaker, the impact my work would have isn’t, admittedly, something that was at the forefront of my mind. Like many young artists, I saw my medium as a vessel for self-expression, creative fulfillment. While I still deeply wanted to believe my work could create real change in the world, it seemed like an impossible goal, one completely out of my control and up to luck, the universe, or a room full of executives to decide.

That belief changed when, in 2015, I was commissioned by PNC Bank’s Grow Up Great initiative to produce a documentary illustrating the collaborative work of the Head Start programs in Baltimore, MD, where I was an undergrad student at Stevenson University. This project was an incredibly illuminating one for me, launching my passion for factual filmmaking, demonstrating the necessity of elevating women’s voices, and making clear to me the importance of artistic work that has real meaning and the capacity to inspire change. And, even better, it proved I could make art I loved that could also achieve true impact.

Having taken what I learned from that production, as a producer, I now begin planning for a film’s impact and conducting research into the communities who can most benefit from the issues the film will explore, while still in development (or even earlier, at the concept level). This goal-setting step not only increases the likelihood that those goals are achieved, but also demonstrates the necessity (or lack thereof) for a particular story to be told.

To date, Phlogiston Films has partnered with hundreds of non-profit organizations, inspiring individuals, socially conscious small businesses, and beyond to create content designed to change the world. By setting our focus beyond a film’s final frame from the inception of a project, our work has changed minds and lives, illuminated what was once unseen, incited crucial conversations, and celebrated changemaking communities.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Impact-focused and deeply inspired, our carefully crafted digital content goes above and beyond to connect powerful stories with engaged audiences as well as nurturing and fostering creativity in others. We develop and produce original documentary and narrative films, episodic web and television series, branded digital content, and more. From concept to completion, we create dynamic, purposeful, inspired media with its mission in mind.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Support one of Georgia’s remaining small, organic, and/or family-owned farm; either at a farmer’s market or directly!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’m incredibly grateful to have had the education, training, and mentorship that has led my to this point in my career, first in broadcast journalism classes at the Milton Hershey School, then in the Film, Video, and Theatre department at Stevenson University, and the Film & Television MFA program at the Savannah College of Art and Design.

Website: phlogistonfilms.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phlogistonfilms/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/norajanelong/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/phlogistonfilms

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/norajlong