Frederick company wins Capital Emmy for localized storytelling

Jun. 29—A Frederick-based company received a local Emmy Award on Saturday for its work telling the story of a local charitable foundation.

88Visual, which won a Capital Emmy, was founded in March 2020 by Brandon Chapman and De'von Wellesley. Wellesley, who previously won four local Emmys, said the latest one is special.

The Emmy was for a video that 88Visual created and produced about "Love for Lochlin," a charity that educates the public about sepsis, a life-threatening condition.

88Visual worked with The Frederick Scanner, which provided an online platform for the "Love for Lochlin" video. The Frederick Scanner posts news, videos and audio that often focus on emergencies and first responders. 88Visual and The Frederick Scanner shared the Emmy.

"All the videos showcase something about Frederick, so why not partner with someone like The Frederick Scanner," Chapman said.

Capital Emmys are awarded for work done in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia.

The duo also was nominated for three other videos.

The "Love for Lochlin" video won in the Health/Medical — Short Form Content category.

88Visual and The Frederick Scanner had a second nomination in that category. It was for "Not Worth the Risk," about a COVID-19 survivor urging people to get vaccinated.

Another nomination was in the Historical/Cultural — Short Form Content category. It was called "Stories and Stones." It's about the history of a cemetery.

The fourth nomination was in the Societal Concerns — Long Form Content category. It's called "Don't Count Us Out." It's about people trying to recover from drug relapses during the pandemic.

For Chapman, the win was proof that 88Visual is on the right path. The company has only been around for two years, Chapman said, and getting four Emmy nominations shows that the risk can bring rewards.

When they learned they received the Emmy for their "Love for Lochlin" video, Wellesley and Chapman danced up the red carpet to the stage, which Wellesley said is how people should always accept their awards.

Their company started out making free videos and advertising for local businesses during the pandemic. Since then, they have created videos about everything from local politicians to child care centers.

The team puts in a lot of work for their short videos. Their Emmy-winning video required research, interviews with the charity's founders, shooting B-roll, and editing. They condense hours of video footage into a short video, trying to find the most hard-hitting moments, Wellesley said.

Brooke and Bill Desantis created the organization Love for Lochlin to honor their 5-year-old son. Lochlin died of flu sepsis.

Love for Lochlin is exactly the kind of community organization that 88Visual wants to talk about, Chapman said.

"They're doing this to make sure that someone else's little brother, little sister, auntie, uncle will understand the signs of sepsis," he said.

Wellesley said he also wanted to show that a person or organization can make a difference without massive amounts of money or corporate backing.

Chapman does interviews for each video while Wellesley films. The conversations he has can be extremely heavy, he said, and he has to make sure to build trust and a connection with the people he's talking with.

Brooke Desantis, the CEO of Love for Lochlin, said she wanted to tell Lochlin's story, and 88Visual was the best place to do it because of the kindness of Chapman and Wellesley.

"They're very real and I couldn't ask for anything better," she said.

The video is helping spread Lochlin's footprint, DeSantis said. Because he only lived to be 5, Lochlin was never able to put a mark on the world himself, his mother said.

While the Capital Emmys were happening, the foundation was holding its 2022 Sepsis Gala. DeSantis didn't find out about the award until the next morning, she said.

She had no words when she found out. Getting recognition for their work with sepsis made DeSantis feel like "Lochlin was with us," she said.

Love with Lochlin and 88Visual want to continue working together. 88Visual also wants to continue helping and supporting the community and create a longer documentary, Chapman said.