Employee Spotlight: Meet BDI Video Manager Nate Ingalls

An Insider’s Outlook… Video Manager. Sense Maker. Puzzle Master.

“I have the privilege of telling the stories of our clients – listening, concepting and synthesizing experience and impact into narratives that help communicate the heart of a person or an organization. At the end of the day, I like to think of my work as “sense-making.”

As Video Manager, Nate Ingalls and his department are at the core of BDI’s Storytellers Studios, which offers full-service production solutions (from concept to final deliverables), integration with broader campaigns and a variety of video services depending on a client’s specific needs. 

“In this day and age, I don’t think anyone would argue with the notion that video is a critical medium or language in our world,” Nate says. “It is absolutely essential that organizations are leveraging video to share stories of impact with their donors. Our brains are wired for storytelling and organizing the information we receive in that format. Video is an especially powerful way to communicate a story to an audience. It helps donors to connect with the heart of an organization and to place themselves – and their own story – to the context of the organization’s or subject’s narrative.”

While the department itself is fairly new, it is made up of a number of seasoned professionals who are experienced at every step of video development – from pre-production through post-production – and for projects of every scope and scale.

Nate graduated from what is currently known as Biola University’s Snyder School of Cinema & Media Arts. Throughout his career, he has produced music, event and documentary videos, built and led two university video teams and taught Design Thinking to graduate students at Azusa Pacific University (APU) in Azusa, California.

“I’ve always been in love with the idea of the moving image – I find it so compelling,” Nate says. “In my time at Biola and especially at APU, we told a lot of stories through video – the nursing student in Kenya who started a hospice organization, or how the football player who had been impacted by his coach was now impacting his own players. A seed was planted. So doing this for BDI seemed like a natural progression.”

Working closely with the customer and BDI client services team, Nate and his staff glean a full understanding of the big picture – who’s involved, who’s the audience, what are the ultimate goals – from the first concept meeting to the product’s debut. “We’re along the way for everything so we can make sure we’re creating exactly what the client wants; it’s tailored to their needs and it’s meaningful to them.”

Sometimes a client may need a smaller, intimate piece – perhaps telling an individual testimony story. But there are also opportunities to create something bigger… to scale up… to build awareness and new audiences.

Yet while the cinematic elements of a video project are what catch eyes and ears, it’s the content – the story itself – that moves hearts… and drives Nate’s passion.

Empathy. Depth. Impact.

“That’s our Storytellers Studios motto,” Nate says, “and I think it’s also core to who I am. One of the things that attracted me to working with BDI was this idea that we’re going to be anchored on empathy and understanding of the subject in the video and also the organization that we’re partnering with. We wanna go deep and have genuine understanding of the needs and what we’re trying to achieve. 

“And then the impact piece is huge. Whether it’s driving giving from donors or developing a deeper awareness of who the Mission or organization is in their community, we want there to be results in that the engagement with the video is leading the viewer to take action.”

Is it true? Meaningful? Distinctive? 

“Another part of storytelling through video is the ongoing series of choices and decisions – similar to a branching tree,” Nate explains. “There are so many directions the narrative could go. At each fork in the road, I like to ask, ‘Is it true… is it meaningful… and is it distinctive to this organization and to this person who is willing to be vulnerable with us and share their story?’ I think that’s been a really great compass for us.”

Regardless of the purpose, it’s about people.

Obviously there are times when the message of a video speaks to the broader role of the Mission in the community or the state of philanthropy in the country, as was the purpose of the project Storytellers Studios produced for Citygate.

Regardless of the purpose, Nate says, “we want to go through the lens of people. Because people connect with people.”

For the Citygate video, Nate and his team combined poignant highlights from interviews with as many as 15 individuals in leadership positions at Missions across the country. “Then, like a puzzle master, we pieced all the voices together into this big puzzle – and you get the bigger picture through the tapestry of people who are living it out.”

The state of the art

Going forward, Nate says, he and the team at Storytellers Studios see a significant need for high-quality, strategic video content in the nonprofit space, and they’re working to earn the distinction of the go-to production studio for nonprofit organizations.

“We’re consistently listening to our clients, keeping our eye on trends and discerning the types of deliverables we feel will be most effective, because platforms and tools are constantly changing,” Nate says – like the growing use of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

While the mere mention of AI can strike fear in the hearts of many, Nate sees it as simply a new brush, allowing users to paint with new strokes. “It becomes a tool that cuts out the time it takes to create animation. Or it allows us to create scenes we know exist in real life but are obviously sensitive or difficult to capture. With AI, we can tell a story effectively that otherwise would be unattainable.”

Releasing generosity

“Something I’ve been touched by is the story of BDI’s founder, Randy Brewer, and his deep care for the clients we work with. It’s not just a business. This idea of releasing generosity is a real thing. On the video side, it’s exciting to see it come to fruition as we move to serve our clients more effectively.”

Thank you, Nate, for sharing your passion, talent and experience to impact our clients, their communities and the world.

“My faith as a Christian is at the core of who I am – striving to be like Jesus, to love and serve others (especially the most vulnerable). I’ve been really struck these past several years by the concept of Shalom and striving to create spaces of deep peace and wholeness wherever I find myself. I have the opportunity to be kind, compassionate and gentle with the people I encounter. I hope that when someone leaves an interaction with me, that they feel heard and seen.” – Nate Ingalls

– Nate Ingalls

Stay tuned for more Insider’s Outlook articles, where BDI team members share their insight!