Sep 13, 2016
Module 03
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Module 03
This I Believe
Writing Warm Up: Advice to Future Students
The biggest piece of advice I can give to future students is for them to always plan ahead. Filming and editing becomes a lot quicker process if you have a very clear and direct idea in your head of what you want your film to look like. Some ways to do this are to work on the videos a little bit every day. I would also really recommend story boarding so you can get the right footage.
Production
Authorship: I am planning on narrating the video. However, if my narration is not working out (I am not a very talent voice actor…) I will try to find one of my friends to read the script for me instead. I also think that whoever I get to narrate (hopefully me) will play the role as some kind of news reporter. I want to interview people on the streets and then show me summing up the results like a news reporter would.
Content: I want to include interviews with people about important topics like the upcoming elections. I also want to focus on some viral rumors and phenomena like Kony 2012. The audience will hopefully have encountered some of the rumors and topics I will be discussing, so I will try to pick at least three big mainstream examples. I hope to create free flowing conversations that are easy to follow. I want the video to feel like a conversation, and not a lecture on what is right and what is wrong.
Shots: I want to make the video feel like a news report, so I want to include a lot of medium close up shots of the people I am interviewing. I hope to get a lot of various responses to the questions I am asking so that I can create a sequence of answers that shows the audience how different the responses can be to the same question.
Anxieties and obstacles: I think this project is a very big undertaking, so I am going to have to find ways to simplify examples and make sure that I am always being concise and to the point. I need to make sure that I have a very detailed outline of the video before I start shooting to make sure I represent the information I want. I am going to try to interview a lot of random people off the street, so I will likely not have a chance to go back and re-film them if I discover a mistake or left out a piece of information.
Pre Production
Topic: The topic of my video is going to be the power of words and how to avoid being manipulated by them. I came up with the idea because I am researching political history and I have discovered that there have been many instances where information has been purposefully misconstrued, and I believe that people need to be educated on the ways that the media can fool them. My manifesto is all about the power of knowledge, and I think this is along a similar vein.
Characters: I want experts and the everyday citizen in my video. I want to talk to the average person because they are the ones being fooled by the media and I want to see how much they do or do not know on a certain subject. I also want to see their reactions when they find out the truth (if they had the information wrong). I want experts in the video to give more credibility to the stories so that the people do not think they are again getting fooled.
Locations: I think it will be best to film around campus. I want to create an atmosphere of commonality and I want the audience to feel like they are a part of the video so I should shoot in locations that they will recognize. I want the audience to identify with the people in the video, so shooting in unknown places will make them feel disconnected. I want to shoot with microphones and a tripod this time, so I am going to have to make sure I film in the allotted rental time.
B-roll: I want to collect some videos around campus of people walking, mostly at times and places where campus is crowded. I am also going to try to see if I can find any footage of when Ron Paul came to campus. Mostly, I am going to use photos of ads or statements from magazines of the misinformation being presented to the public. I am going to try to do some very simple animation to make the photos not just static on the screen. I will try to use zooms, blur outs, and maybe incorporate some arrows to highlight the information I want the audience to read or look at.
Take away: I want the message of my video to be “stay informed.” I want the audience to recognize that they cannot take all the information given to them via the media as fact; they need to stay informed on the issues that matter. While it is impossible for them to become an expert in every topic, it is important to find the correct sources they can depend on and I am going to give them these sources. I want them to feel motivated after the video because I want them to develop the desire to seek out the truth.
Writing Warm Up: Questions
Do any of you guys have experience with animation? If so, any advice for me?
Who are some other people I could interview about misinformation?
Should I try to focus my topic down more? (i.e. do it just on political advertising?) What sort of misinformation would you be most interested in hearing about?
I haven't used any of the sound mics yet, what locations have you filmed in where you found resulted in really good sound quality?
Writing Exercise: Advertising
Espresso Royale coffee - I bought this because I was tried and needed a pick-me-up. The advertisement does resonate with my because they try to create the whole "indie" atmosphere with the type of music they play in their shop, and the items they promote like "going green" because you are able to fill up your own mug for cheaper. This especially appeals to my beliefs because I am trying to be more environmentallyconscious and this also helps me save money.
Betty Crocker Warm Delights - I bought this product because I wanted something chocolate and I love brownies. It is easy to make and tastes really good. It resonates with me because I have no cooking ability so anything that can be microwaved and still taste good is perfect. "Chocolate to the warmth degree" is their tagline, and I think it does appeal to my beliefs because I think there is a time in the day when you just need some chocolate to feel better.
The Hunger Games movie ticket - I bought this because I read the books and was really looking forward to seeing how they would adapt it to the big screen. The advertisement resonated with my beliefs because they trailers reflected the themes of the book (themes like the power of the individual, the cost of freedom, and the power of media).
Advertisers use a variety of strategies to entice people to purchase. The use appeals to emotion, reason, and the desire to be in a group. I think advertising is manipulative, and while there are laws in place to require ads be truthful, some information falls in the grey area where it is up to the individual to decide if they think it is moral or not. I think advertising should be held to a very high ethical standard especially when the products are being marketed to audiences like children. But, ultimately, the purchasers does still have resources available to them (like the internet) in order to research products and make an informed decision.
Writing Warm Up: This I Believe
My belief that people need something to believe in actually comes from the lyrics in a song by Aqualung called "Something to Believe In." I tend to become really inspired when I listen to music, and I have always loved to listen to lyrics and figure out what the artist is trying to express in the song. This line really resonated with me because it supported a lot of observations I have made in my life so far. People need to have something to believe, whether it is religion, a role model, a scientific ideal, a dream they have, anything in order to find meaning in life. Not believing in anything would make life seem very pointless. Therefore, I very firmly believe in this idea and I maintain it because it reminds me of the purpose of life. I doubt that anything could change this belief.
My beliefs that you choose your own path in life and that some people are born lucky go hand in hand. I think to a certain extent, people are lucky. They are born into rich or poor families, rural or populous areas etc. which all have an effect on how people grow up. However, I do feel that eventually, the individual has to decide if they are going to succumb to the limitations life dealt them, or do whatever in their power to overcome these limitations. This belief isn't as strong as the one I discussed above, but it is still something I really believe in. I maintain it because it reminds me that I have a very blessed life and need to make sure that I do not take it for granted. I'm not sure what it would take to completely change this belief, but I know it can waver when I see documentaries about disadvantaged countries that limit the freedom of individuals.