Q: Evaluate the PSA project unit --- what did you learn? What helped you to learn? What was the most challenging aspect of this unit? How could the unit be improved?
A: Overall, I would give the PSA project a solid 9 on a scale of 1-10. It was a fun unit, yet also required a lot of thinking and effort to complete. I learned about what exactly a PSA is, what makes a PSA successful, how to make a storyboard, how to make a pitch for an idea, and many more tips on filming and editing. Alex and John were helpful in the beginning stages of the unit (the pitch, the storyboard), and really got us off to a good start, which in turn made the rest of the project a lot easier. The most challenging aspect of this unit was meeting the length requirement for the PSA, which we didn't exactly meet with our final draft. We basically had too much important footage to cut down to 90 seconds, and ending up being around two minutes. Not too far over, but still not at the original goal. This unit could be improved by maybe bumping that length requirement to around the two-minute mark, but it's all good, since you still accepted our final draft.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Thursday, December 9, 2010
PSA Blog Post #6
Q: Overall, do you think your PSA is effective? Why or why not?
A: Yes, I do think our PSA is effective. I think it's effective because we have a central message (self-expression) and we thought of a creative way to promote it. Our PSA is interesting and original, which I think is its true strength. No effective PSA is boring or has an over-used/uninteresting topic. Even now, as a rough draft, I believe that we have created an effective and successful PSA.
A: Yes, I do think our PSA is effective. I think it's effective because we have a central message (self-expression) and we thought of a creative way to promote it. Our PSA is interesting and original, which I think is its true strength. No effective PSA is boring or has an over-used/uninteresting topic. Even now, as a rough draft, I believe that we have created an effective and successful PSA.
Monday, December 6, 2010
PSA Blog Post #5
Q: Are you content with the rough draft of your PSA? Why or why not?
A: I am extremely content with our rough draft. It is very well edited and also goes directly with our storyboard and initial plan. The scenes are arranged in a coherent manner and also are effective and interesting. The music worked perfectly and fits our PSA quite nicely. I think we have to do very little to this rough draft to make it our final draft. I'm very content and proud of our groups's effort and the outcome of our hard work and creativity.
A: I am extremely content with our rough draft. It is very well edited and also goes directly with our storyboard and initial plan. The scenes are arranged in a coherent manner and also are effective and interesting. The music worked perfectly and fits our PSA quite nicely. I think we have to do very little to this rough draft to make it our final draft. I'm very content and proud of our groups's effort and the outcome of our hard work and creativity.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
PSA Blog Post #4
Q: Where is your group in the video production process? What needs to be completed? What is working out well? What have been the obstacles?
A: As of right now we are in the process of figuring out dates to reserve a camera. We're thinking after Thanksgiving break will be the best time, but we definitely want to do it as soon as possible. Basically everything still needs to be completed, but we set ourselves up well with our storyboard - we have a nice guideline to follow throughout the production process. Our group is working well together, so basically everything is working out well. The only obstacle we see as of now is the snow, we would have liked to shoot our PSA without the poor weather, but I know we can figure out a way to work around it.
A: As of right now we are in the process of figuring out dates to reserve a camera. We're thinking after Thanksgiving break will be the best time, but we definitely want to do it as soon as possible. Basically everything still needs to be completed, but we set ourselves up well with our storyboard - we have a nice guideline to follow throughout the production process. Our group is working well together, so basically everything is working out well. The only obstacle we see as of now is the snow, we would have liked to shoot our PSA without the poor weather, but I know we can figure out a way to work around it.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Falling Polar Bears/Effective PSA
I think my group is making somewhat of an effective PSA. I feel like we cover most of the criteria addressed in the link, but I think we might want to reinforce our message a bit more strongly after reading the article. To be effective, it has to have a strong central message, which I believe we have, but reinforcing the idea might help our PSA be more effective.. But this article also talked about tugging at one's heart strings and using drama to create a strong PSA, something our PSA definitely isn't centered around. We like our idea of using a more positive tone than described in the article. Our PSA is going to be effective because it relates to our target audience while delivering an original and unique but also important message - a strong combination that I believe will yield positive results.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
PSA Blog Post #3
Q: What has been the most challenging part of the PSA project thus far?
A: Honestly we've had little to no problems through these first weeks of the PSA project. We had no trouble picking a topic, our pitch went very well, and we finished our storyboard a week in advance. The most challenging part for us, I guess, was the drawings for our storyboard - none of us are talented artists. I think our semi-stick figure drawings go hard and still get the job done effectively. Mrs. Hodge gave us the thumbs up to keep our storyboard on the notebook paper instead of the large cardstock sheets provided today for those who hadn't finished yet. I'm still feeling very confident in my group and the success of our superfly PSA.
A: Honestly we've had little to no problems through these first weeks of the PSA project. We had no trouble picking a topic, our pitch went very well, and we finished our storyboard a week in advance. The most challenging part for us, I guess, was the drawings for our storyboard - none of us are talented artists. I think our semi-stick figure drawings go hard and still get the job done effectively. Mrs. Hodge gave us the thumbs up to keep our storyboard on the notebook paper instead of the large cardstock sheets provided today for those who hadn't finished yet. I'm still feeling very confident in my group and the success of our superfly PSA.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
PSA Blog Post #2
Q: 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?
A: I thought our pitch went really well. We did exactly what we set out to do - we layed out our general idea and main message of our PSA then proceeded to go into further details. Our pitch seemed to be widely accepted by our audience (both students, John and Alex, and Neil and Ms. Hodge), which added to our group's confidence towards our idea. I think our message is of public and community interest, because the class was intrigued and gave a lot of positive feedback and new ideas after hearing our pitch, so it obviously tirggered a fair amount of interest and thought from our audience. Our pitch audience (the majority of it), conveniently, was also our target audience - teenagers. I think our style will definitetly appeal to our target audience, because we think like they think since we are also teenagers. I feel like we will have no issue with that whatsoever.
A: I thought our pitch went really well. We did exactly what we set out to do - we layed out our general idea and main message of our PSA then proceeded to go into further details. Our pitch seemed to be widely accepted by our audience (both students, John and Alex, and Neil and Ms. Hodge), which added to our group's confidence towards our idea. I think our message is of public and community interest, because the class was intrigued and gave a lot of positive feedback and new ideas after hearing our pitch, so it obviously tirggered a fair amount of interest and thought from our audience. Our pitch audience (the majority of it), conveniently, was also our target audience - teenagers. I think our style will definitetly appeal to our target audience, because we think like they think since we are also teenagers. I feel like we will have no issue with that whatsoever.
Friday, October 29, 2010
PSA Blog Post #1
Q: 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 groups plan for your PSA? What role did you play when creating the plan?
A: Public service announcements play an important role in exposing and fixing social issues. Obvious examples are the "above the influence" PSAs dealing with teen drug use and alcohol abuse. I think their campaigns are successful because their PSAs are thought-out and creative. Two topics my group thought of right off the bat were the use and importance of AEDs and the importance of self-expression. We chose the expressing yourself topic, and we plan on showing the importance and benefits of self-expression by showing a boy, played by Josh, breaking out of a clothing norm and expressing himself by wearing something he likes and feels like it shows what kind of person he really is. I played a large part in drafting the PSA with a loose plan for our pitch and the subject matter of our PSA.
A: Public service announcements play an important role in exposing and fixing social issues. Obvious examples are the "above the influence" PSAs dealing with teen drug use and alcohol abuse. I think their campaigns are successful because their PSAs are thought-out and creative. Two topics my group thought of right off the bat were the use and importance of AEDs and the importance of self-expression. We chose the expressing yourself topic, and we plan on showing the importance and benefits of self-expression by showing a boy, played by Josh, breaking out of a clothing norm and expressing himself by wearing something he likes and feels like it shows what kind of person he really is. I played a large part in drafting the PSA with a loose plan for our pitch and the subject matter of our PSA.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
10/14
Q: Think about an effective advertisement or media campaign. Why is it effective? How does advertising play a role in what you buy?
A: The Axe product line campaign is my media campaign of choice. I, for one, think their commercials are very effective. They are effective because they pump up their product by using adrenaline-inducing scenes and hot babes. This manly combo is effective on its intended customers, teenage dudes. Seeing a motorcycle stunt man doing cool flips while applying Axe body spray and then being attacked by a mob of extremely dimey chicks actually does kind of make me want to go out and buy their product. On the real, though, I like the smell. The ads just reassure my decision to buy Axe products, because what dude doesn't want beautiful women fighting each other over him? I realize this doesn't happen (well, for most dudes) but its still a good marketing ploy.
Advertising is key to boosting a product's demand to the general public, and definitely plays a large role in how we make purchases. Firstly, advertising gets the product out there. It draws attention to the product, which is necessary in the purchasing process. How the advertisement is composed to its intended product audience is extremely important; these Axe commercials are obviously not aimed towards the sample audience of 50+ year-old women. How they are filmed and what they consist of plays an important role in how the product is received by the public.
A: The Axe product line campaign is my media campaign of choice. I, for one, think their commercials are very effective. They are effective because they pump up their product by using adrenaline-inducing scenes and hot babes. This manly combo is effective on its intended customers, teenage dudes. Seeing a motorcycle stunt man doing cool flips while applying Axe body spray and then being attacked by a mob of extremely dimey chicks actually does kind of make me want to go out and buy their product. On the real, though, I like the smell. The ads just reassure my decision to buy Axe products, because what dude doesn't want beautiful women fighting each other over him? I realize this doesn't happen (well, for most dudes) but its still a good marketing ploy.
Advertising is key to boosting a product's demand to the general public, and definitely plays a large role in how we make purchases. Firstly, advertising gets the product out there. It draws attention to the product, which is necessary in the purchasing process. How the advertisement is composed to its intended product audience is extremely important; these Axe commercials are obviously not aimed towards the sample audience of 50+ year-old women. How they are filmed and what they consist of plays an important role in how the product is received by the public.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
10/13
Q: What have you learned from the last two MTN presentations? What clip do you plan on using for your visual communications critique? Why is media literacy important?
A: John and Alex have been pretty straightforward with their last two presentations. The first was mostly showing examples of successful PSAs and showing us what makes a good PSA - shot selection, message, and composition being a few key things to consider. I learned what shots work and what shots don't, and how the central message of the PSA is probably the most important part of the entire project. The PSA must have a point or message to be a true PSA. On their second visit, John and Alex gave us an activity to complete in class: make a storyboard for a PSA about one of our class norms. This activity was good practice for our own PSAs to come, I learned how to successfully make a storyboard with synopsis and planned-out shots.
I plan on using an existing PSA about drug use, probably from The Anti-Drug campaign. I feel that their PSAs are extremely effective and at times can be very graphic, which I think is why they work so well. Using one of their pieces would provide me with a good opportunity to seriously critique and think about what they are trying to say and how they are saying it.
Media literacy is imporant because a lot of media would not be possible without it. Without media literacy, PSAs would not carry the same weight and message that they do now. Being able to design and create a PSA that effectively does the job is the definition of media literacy.
A: John and Alex have been pretty straightforward with their last two presentations. The first was mostly showing examples of successful PSAs and showing us what makes a good PSA - shot selection, message, and composition being a few key things to consider. I learned what shots work and what shots don't, and how the central message of the PSA is probably the most important part of the entire project. The PSA must have a point or message to be a true PSA. On their second visit, John and Alex gave us an activity to complete in class: make a storyboard for a PSA about one of our class norms. This activity was good practice for our own PSAs to come, I learned how to successfully make a storyboard with synopsis and planned-out shots.
I plan on using an existing PSA about drug use, probably from The Anti-Drug campaign. I feel that their PSAs are extremely effective and at times can be very graphic, which I think is why they work so well. Using one of their pieces would provide me with a good opportunity to seriously critique and think about what they are trying to say and how they are saying it.
Media literacy is imporant because a lot of media would not be possible without it. Without media literacy, PSAs would not carry the same weight and message that they do now. Being able to design and create a PSA that effectively does the job is the definition of media literacy.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Welcome to Willie Pudvah's blog
Ayyyy I just finished creating my blog and just started following my boy J. Ryley Kramka's blog! Chyea chyea!
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