PSA Project Blog Entry #7

Evaluate the PSA project unit—what did you learn? What helped you to learn? What was the most challenging aspect of the unit? How could the unit be improved?

I learned many things by doing this PSA project. I learned many valuable camera and editing skills that I will hopefully be able to use later on in life. I also learned how to better work with others.

The editing sessions at MTN definitely helped me learn camera and editing skills, and having someone there to help us with our ideas when we were editing was definitely also a huge help.

Making a PSA project and having so many different ideas and opinions to sort through and consider was definitely the most challenging part. Luckily, we didn't have very many disagreements throughout the process, but the few we did have were pretty big.

There really isn't much room for improvement for this project, I think. We had enough time to complete the project, and enough resources to get it done. Neil and Ms. Hodge were both very flexible with us missing class to go film/edit, and I really don't have any complaints when it came to completing this project.

PSA Project Blog Entry #6

Overall, do you think your PSA is effective? Why or why not?

I do think that our PSA is effective. I believe that texting and driving is a huge issue not only among teens, but everyone. I feel like people don't take texting and driving as seriously as they should, so in our PSA, we compare it to things that you would never do like have your dog drive your car, drive blindfolded, or read while you're driving. By comparing texting and driving to these things, we are showing how ridiculous and truly dangerous texting and driving is, which was our goal in making this PSA.

PSA Project Blog Entry #5

Are you content with the draft of your group's PSA? Why or why not?

Well, we haven't edited our PSA yet, but we have filmed most of the shots for it. Although we haven't filmed all of our PSA, and we aren't gonna have the first PSA in our draft (because we didn't have enough time to film it before the camera was due back), I am pretty content in the filming process. We have a lot of short shots in our PSA, so for how many shots we have, I think that we did a good job of getting most of them done before the final draft is due. I would have liked to have all of the filming done, but not all of us were able to get together all the time do to jobs, college apps, etc. We've scheduled our editing time for Sunday 4-8, so I definitely think that'll be enough time for us to edit our draft.

PSA Project Blog Entry #4

Where is your group in the video production process? What needs to be completed? What is working out well? What have been the obstacles?

As of right now, our group is still in the planning stage of our video production process. We are just figuring out what days we're going to be filming, which people (and animal) we're going to be using in our PSA. We are also deciding what days we're going to film, and figuring out when to call and rent video cameras. We've also assigned different jobs for each person, for example I am responsible for some of the fiming, and bringing some of the props.

We need to film our PSA. We haven't called into MTN yet and reserve cameras, because we're still deciding which days we are filming. We are planning to do most of the filming over Thanksgiving break, so we need to call in and reserve the camera for those days.

Our planning has worked out really well. For the most part, we have all had similar ideas, so figuring out what our actual PSA is going to look like, and the specific shots we're going to be using, haven't caused any arguments.

The time until the due date has proven to be the biggest obstacle so far. The final date is sneaking up on us and we have yet to do any actual filming. I think that filming and getting the project done and edited on time will end up bring the biggest obstacle for my group.

Falling Polar Bears Blog

I think that my group is doing what we should in order to create a good PSA. One of the main things that I got out of the falling polar bears blog is that the visual is usually a lot more important than and audio in a PSA. The visuals are what sticks with the audience, so when making a PSA we should try watching it without the audio and see if we still get the same message. I feel like we don't need to change much, because we rely very little on the audio in our PSA, our message is mainly expressed through the shots. Our PSA is going to be effective because we're comparing texting and driving to many things that you wouldn't even consider doing behind the wheel.

PSA Project Blog Entry #3

 What has been the most challenging part of the PSA project thus far?

I would have to say that the most challenging part of this project so far has been the whole process of pitching our idea and making our storyboard. We had to change a lot about our PSA, so coming up with new things was difficult, but I am pleased with our new ideas. Also, coming up with the specific camera shots for each scene in our PSA was very difficult. Having to be that specific and detailed was difficult, but now that we have the story board all written out, the actual filming and editing is going to be a whole lot easier.

PSA Project Blog Entry #2

Overall, how did your group's pitch go—reflect and evaluate? Is your message of public/community interest? Who is your target audience and how will your form/style appeal to them?

I feel like our pitch went okay, we were all a little nervous so it took a while to get started. We were a little unsure about which exact shots we are going to use in our actual PSA, but I think that we did a decent job going over the general idea. Our PSA did change a bit, since our PSA is supposed to be kind of funny in the beginning with the dog driving and then blindfolded person, after our pitch we took out the drunk driver because it didn't really fit with the funny mood it's supposed to have. We got some good feedback, and we're taking it into consideration when we begin to make our PSA.

Our message is definitely of interest. It's a huge topic that affects everyone, whether you're in the car with someone who's texting and driving, in a different car, or just a pedestrian walking down the street. We felt that the general public doesn't really take texting and driving as seriously as they should. By comparing it to having your dog driving, or being blindfolded behind the wheel, we're showing that texting and driving is just as crazy and reckless as doing either of those things. You would never do either of them, so why would you ever text and drive?

Our target audience is every driver out there. Texting and driving ads are mostly directed toward teenagers. However, when I look over to the car next to me and see someone texting at a red light, it's not usually the teens that are guilty. There are so many adults that text while driving too, but many ads are directed toward teens because it's thought that since most adults have been driving for longer than teens have, that they can handle texting behind the wheel when truthfully, they can't. To make it appeal to adults as well, I think we're going to have one of our parents play the role of the texting driver in our PSA, to show that it's not just teens that are guilty of this, and that the law applies to everyone.

PSA Project Blog Entry #1

What is the role of public service announcements in our media culture? What are some of the topics your group thought of for your PSA? What is your group's plan for your PSA? What role did you play in creating the plan?

Public service announcements play an important role in our media culture. They inform us of different issues that are relevant to what is happening, and give us possible solutions for those issues.

Our main topic that we came up with was texting and driving, because that is a huge issue that we face daily. Although we knew that this subject had already been done, we felt that many people still didn't understand the possible consequences of texting and driving, and that they take it too lightly.

Many texting and driving ads we see today focus on teens, mainly females. We want to make a PSA that will not only target teens, but adults as well. We're planning on comparing texting and driving to various things you wouldn't do behind the wheel. We'll start with humorous things such as letting your dog drive, or driving blindfolded. Then we will move on to more serious things like drinking and driving, and then end with someone texting and driving, and we will show a possible result to texting and driving.

Along with my other group members, I helped in coming up with the initial idea of having texting and driving as our topic. Nobody in our group did one specific thing, we all worked together to come up with the idea, and making it a little bit different than the other ads by comparing it to other things you would never do behind the wheel.

Blog Post # 2

An effective advertisement for me is the commercial for the Magic Bullet. It is effective because although I know that it probably doesn't work, and that I could make all of the same foods without it, the advertisement for it make me want to buy it. The infomercial has many funny cheesy characters that catch my attention, and then they go on to make many foods that look delicious. Advertisements usually relate to a specific audience that would most likely buy their product, and they show this audience how the product would improve their life, and why they need it.

Blog Post #1

I was not in school when MTN came to class on Thursday, but on Tuesday we learned about production. Since I wasn't here on Thursday, and I just found out about our assignment where we choose which clip we're going to critique, so I haven't put much thought into it. I think that I'm going to do a PSA.
Media literacy is important because if you didn't have the ability to analyze certain ads and commercials, you could be easily swayed to think one way or another. By being able to create videos, you can help educate others on a certain issue and make a certain issue known.