Video

A Summer To Remember Across the Nation

Camp Simcha (lit. happiness) is a camp for children and teens who are affected by serious medical challenges. When the pandemic disrupted normal life, Camp Simcha started a travelling day camp in five cities across the U.S. to bring the same excitement and joy the campers were used to experiencing every summer to their own neighborhoods. Now in it’s third year, Camp Simcha Without Borders is stronger than ever thanks to the dedicated counselors, staff, and community members who devote their energy towards enriching these children’s lives.

This documentary was filmed in Summer 2023.

Credits: David Fisher - Videographer/ Editor. Director - Matt Yaniv. Producer - Jack Tabbush.

Can These Rocks Reduce Flooding?

I'm proud to share this video I worked on, which was the product if many months of hard work with USGS scientist Dr. Laura Norman and many other amazing people.

It can often take a long time to reach your goals, big or small. With this project, we set out with a goal to produce an explainer video with the production quality that you see on a lot of major YouTube channels. We thought about the storyline, rewrote the script multiple times, and went through many iterations in the editing room. But at some point you have to stop and say, it's done. Now it's time to apply the lessons learned to future videos.

Meet Anderson, a Camp Simcha camper, and his mom, Alexis, as they discuss his medical journey and experiences with Camp Simcha and Chai Lifeline.

Meet Atara, a counselor for Camp Simcha who found herself on the receiving end after getting her cancer diagnosis.

Camp Simcha Without Borders Midwest is a weeklong day camp in Chicago for children and teenagers affected by serious medical challenges.

In “Dear Mom”, a Camp Simcha camper writes a letter home to mom, telling her the amazing time he’s had at camp. (2021)

Fundraising for Family Food

This video served as the primary video for a fundraising campaign to raise money for feeding families in need, which successfully raised $625,000, exceeding its initial goal of $600,000.

It’s not just the big rivers and streams. USGS MD-DE-DC Water Science Center scientists also collect samples from local parks. Zach and Leah collect sediment auger samples from Langdon Park in Washington DC as part of a study to find the sources of sediment runoff. The sediment will later be analyzed at in-house and third-party labs for geochemical signatures in a process known as sediment fingerprinting.

Filmed by David Fisher and Neel Hodgkinson. Edited by David Fisher. https://www.usgs.gov/media/videos/sediment-fingerprinting-langdon-park