Acting for group B

Today was a day that our group had set not to do any filming, and instead Emily and I agreed to act in group B's production. We had to look depressed in four different places, as Emily fades out of the shot. We filmed in the middle of the College garden, The Loaf, the sixth form computer room and college sixth form common room.
Group B are going to make Emily fade out of the shot during the editing process. In all four of these places, group B filmed a shot wih Emily an view, and an identical shot, but with Emily out of view. These will be edited together with a fade transition in the middle.

Production: Shooting the vomit scene

Today we shot a scene of one of our characters vomiting into the toilet, for our second public service broadcast. We shot the scene through a close-up point of view shot which was faced down into the toilet as the character vomited. We also used the diegetic sound of vomiting noises to make the scene more realistic. All of us stuck to our roles (example: Megan as director, and I was filming). As listed in the props section of our pre-production booklet, we used a can of soup as the vomit. 

The shot went very well after struggling to get the camera in a position of not having the can of soup in shot. We also struggled to get the actors hair in shot, as suggested we would in the storyboard, so we may have differed slightly to the origional idea explained on the storyboard. We are all very happy with the lessons work.

Next we hope to work on shooting an actor infront of a green screen for the first PSB idea we had (mine). We also plan to start shooting the hospital and letter background. All of these will be shot at John Mason School's drama studio.

Emily's PSB Idea

Here is a copy of Emily's PSB idea. Mine can be found on this link.

"The public service announcement begins in a darkened room. There will be a medium shot of which you can see a chair in the middle of the room. The chair will be spotlighted with a harsh white light to emphasize the dark features underneath the girl’s eyes. The chair will be facing away from the camera and you will be able to see the back of the girl’s hair. The girl will then speak. “At the time… It was fun”. The shot will then change to a flashback. The camera will be blurry and handheld, creating a drunken, out of control atmosphere. In the background you will hear the sound of laughter and booming music. However this sound will be distant and muffled. The girl will then raise her glass to her mouth (the camera) and down a beer. The shot will then switch back once again to the scene of the girl in the chair. There will be a gradual zoom into the spotlighted chair, becoming closer and closer. She will then speak again “at the time... I didn’t care”. Once again it will switch to the flashback of her in a toilet full of girls and the camera will be leaning over the toilet. The camera will be handheld and shaking and you will be able to see glimpses of girls in the bathroom looking concerned at the camera. It will then switch back to the girl in the chair. “At the time… I didn’t think”. The next shot will be then of the girl walking down an alley way, from her point of view, and you will see out of the corner of her eye (at the side of the camera shot) a boy next to her. It will then switch back to the girl in the chair. By this time the camera will have zoomed quite close into the girl. We will then begin to hear her cry. She will say “at the time… at the time I didn’t realise the consequences”. It will then suddenly switch back to the alley way. You will see quick shots of the boy pulling down the girl’s trousers, and pushing her to the floor. The shot will be getting very wobbly and blurry by this time as its still through the girls eyes. It will then switch back to the girl in the chair. She will slowly turn around and you will be able to see her face. The camera will now be much zoomed into her. She will look scruffy and makeup will be smudged down her face. She will be in tears. “At the time… I didn’t think it could make me feel this cheap.” The camera will then zoom out once again to a position above her, making her seem venerable. Another voice will then begin to talk. “Remember… the consequences don’t just appear on the outside. Drinking causes vulnerability. Don’t put yourself in that position. Think. By this time the camera will have fully zoomed out and it will be pointing down on the girl to emphasize how small and vulnerable she is. She will have buried her head in her hands."

Some useful tips...

Visit the website http://www.essortment.com/all/tiphowtowrite_rjbk.htm for information on PSB tips. A small extract is quoted below. I think this'll be very helpful to me.

"What do you want the world to know? That’s the central question when you prepare to send out a public service announcement or news release. What can you compose that will give you an advantage in getting your PSA announcement on the radio or your local TV station? As a radio news director for 10 years, I’ve seen some of the worst, and a few of the better PSA’s and news releases.


The essential information for a Public Service Announcement (PSA) or a News Release you want to include are the details about “who”, “what”, “when”, “where”, and “how”. Simply, the answers to those questions should be included. But that seems to be where many organizations trip themselves up. They leave out some portion of the essential information. Since many local media people are usually pressed for time, releases that don’t include some of the vital information will likely be tossed in the trash because they don’t have time to follow up to try to get a correction." More continued...

This site can help me when writing my review to compare my PSB against the information on this site.

Public Service Broadcast Research (Secondary)

For my Media coursework, I am creating two public service broadcasts with a group of three other students, one of which, I have thought of and planned myself. Our broadcasts are going to be based on binge drinking, and mine, the way binge drinking can prevent you from

Public Service Broadcasts are an effective way to provide a message to the public. According to Wikipedia: "A typical PSA is part of a public awareness campaign to inform or educate the public about an issue such as obesity or compulsive gambling. The range of possible topics has expanded over time." One of these more recent topics is alcohol and binge drinking.

PSBs are also used by religious groups to give a message: "Some religious organizations produce PSAs on non-religious themes such as family values. Examples include the long-running homefront campaign from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and campaigns by the Seventh-day Adventist Church and the United Methodist Church."

-- Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_service_announcement

Poster

Below is an image of my poster:

I have chosen this picture of a baby as it is bright and contrasts well with my black background. The ideology behind it is to show the contrast between family and drinking. The picture is also deliberately placed inside the text to create the effect of the family being blocked away, as if behind bars.

I have chosen the words "Stop Drinking Daddy" as these are the words I imagine the baby would say.

I have also used a logo to make the poster look professional and reliable. A website has also been given for more information.

I have chosen to use the colour yellow for the text at the bottom of the poster to represent alcohol.

Large amounts of black space has been used to represent lonliness.

I have used a picture off of the internet, though I have edited it to suit the poster. I have handed in the poster and the image before being edited into my teacher.

Primary Research: Yahoo! Answers Question

As part of my primary research, I have decided to post a question to Yahoo! Answers, as I can easily get the opinion of somebody elsewhere in the world. 

I kept the question simple, to try and provoke a response:

 

Response:

 

This response suggests to me  that the narrative of the advert has a huge role in creating a meaning to a target audience. Of course, however, the target audience for the adverts in my question may not have been aimed at the person who responded. This still shows that, however, the circumstances used in the advert play a huge role in who listens.

PSB: My Idea

I shall use this blog post to explain one of the idea's I've had for an anti alcohol PSB.

The advert starts off with a long shot of a male stood in a busy Oxford street, holding a bottle in his right hand. As soon as he takes a drink from the bottle, the background wipes away to the left, leaving the man, his bottle and a black screen. The camera will also start to dolly towards the main actor, and do so throughout the whole advert. After stumbling about a bit, looking confused and drunk, the screen then wipes again to a blurred background with spontaneous colours dotting around, as if in hospital but too drunk to see properly. Hospital sounds such as the 'beep...beep...beep' will sound in the background. The background will then wipe to a close up of a baby, making the main actor look small in front of it. Note that the hospital beeps are still here, even though the scene isn't. The baby will say "Daddy" in an echoed voice. The background will then wipe to a "Your Fired" letter, which then gets thumped by a fist. The shouting sound "Your Fired" will be echoed in the background. These three background will then be repeated twice more as the camera dollies closer to the main actor and the sounds begin to double and triple up, becoming confusing.All sound will then stop, and the words "Alcohol will wreck your life ...and your families. Visit giveupalcohol.co.uk".

Second PSB Analysis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZFBjoTYD5E&NR=1&feature=fvwp

This is the second analysis I have carried out on an anti drinking PSB on my Media blog.

I have chosen this particular advert as it fits my future PSB's target audience: Young males aged 20 upwards (explained in another post).

Analysis

This Public Service Broadcast consists of six shots. The first shot shows a young man sat on a chair talking to the camera. He is telling the audience directly what happened on his night out, but through his eyes (the eyes of a drunk person). He then leads to explain how he got into a fight, and the shot changes to a close up of his hands, and back to him. This time he now has a bleeding nose. He then explains how is didn't think he could have been hit by a car, and the shot changes to one of his feet, then back to the side of his face. This time his face is covered in blood as if he's been hit by a car. He then turns and faces the camera one last time, to connect with the audience, and the shot changes to a piece of text reading "Don't turn a night out into a nightmare".

Now, in more detail, the first shot is a medium face and shoulder shot, as if the man is stood in front of his audience as he looks at them and talks. Editing techniques are used in this shot to repeatedly alternate between blurring the background and blurring his face. This creates the effect of a drunken person's vision. The non-diegetic use of sound throughout the entire PSB also create this effect, as the sound is distorted and un-recognisable, yet also uncomfortable. 

Cinematography is also used throughout the PSB for the same purpose. The shaking camera movements create the sense of a drunken person staggering home with no balance, which the sober audience would hopefully recognise and realise how uncomfortable that also is. 

Editing is also used throughout the PSB to de-saturate the colour in the ad. This gives the ad a bleak and very unwelcoming atmosphere.

So far, the techniques I've analysed work well to make the audience imagine binge drinking as something that they wouldn't want to experience again. The use of the character talking directly to the camera is also a well used technique to gain control of the audience and provoke the intended response. The audience may be able to relate to the night this man has had and therefore might want to change, as the ideology behind this PSB is that binge drinking is harmful and not nice.

Lighting is natural room lighting which works well with the de-saturated editing, and provides the audience with something relate to (as it looks like a normal room).

The ending text is white, contrasting well on a black background. No bright colours have been used as this would wreck the effect of the PSB. A voice over has also not been used, as the text makes the reader become involved and read the text itself, taking in the message.

Primary Research: Questionnaire

This questionnaire was given to seven people who drink alcohol regularly. I have used males to answer the questionnaires, as this will be my target audience for my PSB idea.

Here is a copy of the questions I gave my candidates to answer:

1.     When going for a night out, do you often drink more alcohol than you can handle?

[] Yes            [] No

2.     If yes, do you think public service advertisements on TV could change your drinking habits, if they were effective?
[] Yes, greatly  [] Yes, but not much  [] Not really…

3.     With (1) being most effective, and (3) least, please rate how effective the following narratives would be to you in an anti drinking campaign:
[] The effects your drinking has on your friends
[] The effects your drinking has on your family

[] The effects drinking has on yourself

4.     Tick all of the following factors an anti-drinking broadcast could show in order for it to have an effect on your drinking habits for the better:
[] Gross graphics (such as sick, etc)
[] Violence
[] Health Issues
[] Emotional Trauma / Instability

[] Others

5.     Do you think you would remember an effective anti-drinking campaign on a night out?
[] Not sure  [] Maybe  [] Definitely  [] Sometimes [] No

6.     Lastly, please mark all of the following factors in real life that would influence you to stop drinking:
[] Loneliness
[] Bad Health
[] Abuse and / or violence caused to you
[] Abuse and  / or violence caused by you
[] Hangovers
[] Emotional problems

Thank you.

The results are shown below in graphs and tables. They are ordered in the order in which they were asked.

 

 

 

 

This questionnaire has helped me gain an insight as to what sort of things trigger the attention of an audience in a Public service Broadcast. I have got the opinion from my target audience, which has helped me plan my PSB.

Primary Research: Interview

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caU5dLDHKaQ

I have interviewed my twenty five year old cousin about what he thinks of the advert above. I have chosen to interview this particular person as the advert is aimed at people from his age group, and below.

Firstly, what do you think of the advert?

- It’s gross! Especially the sound…

When you’re out drinking, do you think you’d remember this advert?

- Yeah, definitely. It’s discusting.

Would remembering this advert affect your drinking habits?

- Well I would make sure I don’t drink enough to get in this state… and I would definately remember the advert

Do you think the advert would have a different affect if the shots weren’t close up?

- Yes, it wouldn’t be so bad if the shots weren’t made close up, but it just makes everything even worse. The writing on the screen is good as well because it tells you what sort of stuff their drinking to get into that mess in the first place…

Would the advert have as much affect without the writing?

- No because we wouldn’t know what’s happening.

Thank you.


--

This interview shows me that something distressing or graphically abnormal will stick in the mind of the audience. They're more likely to remember what they've seen on TV if they react to what they see when they are watching it on TV.

PSB Secondary Research

I have found some small extracts of helpful PSB information:

"Effective PSA’s
A well made PSA will motivate people to take action to improve their communities, families and their own lives. Make sure to consider whether the ad will attract attention, whether the audience will recall important ideas, whether the message is personally relevant, believable and interesting to the target audience.
Effective Psa content should:
build awareness,
reinforce positive beliefs
change negative behavior
initiate dialogue
If you want your PSA to be successful, it must do three things for your audience:
Grab their attention!
Hit them with your message!
Get them to act!"

-- Source: http://chs.smuhsd.org/bigue/art_of_video/index/psa_proj.html

This information will be useful to me when i'm writing my report, as I can compare the PSBs made by my group with the information given here.

Attached Primary Research

As quoted from above:
"If you want your PSA to be successful, it must do three things for your audience:
Grab their attention!
Hit them with your message!
Get them to act!"

I have carried out an interview to see what peoples reaction to this message is:

Male, aged 27

"Do you agree that public service broadcasts need to grab the attention of the audience?
- Yes, anything does that's trying to convince the audience to believe something.
Do you not feel that short, frequent messages written on screen will start to stick in people's minds?
- They probably will at first, but people will start to get used to them as they become part of everyday life, and they'll start to ignore them
Do you feel that hitting the audience with a message is important?
- Well, again, if the audience isn't shocked or in someway affected by what they're seeing, why would they act?"


 

Group Pitch Information

In Media Studies today we discussed our groups ideas with the class. We have chosen to use my idea and Emily's pitch ideas.

Feedback
We recieved feedback from the class asking us about whether we would use non-diegetic music in Emily's PSB, which is something we'd definately take into account.
We also recieved feedback about my idea, because, as it is so technical (using the green screen and actor in sync) we would need to make sure we definetely know what we're doing. This is something we also need to consider when filming.

Binge Drinking: Girl's Night Out

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAmI1MJECZ4

Evaluation

This is an evaluation of the YouTube video shown above. It is an example of a PSB against drinking alcohol.

The target audience for this advert appears to be young females. This audience is targeted through the use of a young girl actor, and the non-diegetic music playing throughout the advert that may appeal to this audience. Doing this helps the advert capture the attention of the audience to make them watch and take notice of what's being said. 

The main narrative of the broadcast is of a girl who is getting ready for a night out who rips her clothes, messes her hair and breaks her shoes before she leaves her home. Obviously this is representing what people would do normally when they are drunk, but the advert is emphasizing how stupid people act when they are drunk. Most young girls would hate going out the house like this one has done, so it makes them think. A rhetorical question is also used in the ad, which also encourages the audience to think about their actions. No voices are heard throughout the ad. Instead, the viewer has to become involved in the advert and read the on screen words.

Lighting and music also create the idea, at first, that this is a normal commercial for something such as clothes. It creates the sense of shock when the character start tearing up her outfit and messing herself up.

People don't want to be like this, so it deters them from getting drunk.

The Home Office logo and the "Alcohol, Know Your Limits" logo is used to make the advert look official and reliable to the person watching , which may make them take more notice.