A. Topic: brainstorming and research
For this writing exercise, you will explore and develop the possibilities you have to devise or solicit a promotional subject. First, devise a list of possible subjects and determine the project that you will develop. Work with your team to come up with a list of 2-3 possible subjects and clients.
- School organization or need – Is there a particular course, organization, or other entity that might need a promotional or informative piece filmed for their use?
-Sports Teams, or political organizations/clubs on campus.
- Business or fundraising enterprise – Are there any clients that might need an ad to promote their commercial endeavors? A school store?
-Some sort of food bankor charity in the
- Music or the arts – Is there a band or another artistic group that could use a short promotional subject about them? Is there a theatrical production currently in rehearsals that might need a short to promote their opening?
-The schools dancing show at the end of the academic year.
-Possible Orchestra Concert at the end of the year?
- Public service – Are there any current topics of note where there is a demonstrated need for public service messages? Check out ongoing competitions or upcoming competitions that are available to young filmmakers concerning the production of public service segments (for example, antidrunk driving or driving safety, anti-dropout messages, suicide prevention, and so forth).
-Maine Outdoor Festival
-Midcoast Film Festival, story based on true story
- Sports – Is there a need to promote attendance or participation in a particular sport?
-Sports Team on campus, like football, lacrosse, hockey etc.
- Other – What other organization or group could use your promotional skills?
-Humane Society in Bangor
-A Food Bank?
B. Sounds
Now use sound as a catalyst for crafting a scene and message for this short.
- Noise – What noises do you associate with this topic? Are they pleasant? Can they be used in any way to interest the viewer, either through humor, action, or in another way?
-When it comes to a Humane Society, I mostly think of dogs and cats. I think of the dogs barking a whining, and a lot of times, I think of animals that have been left behind by their owners. However, I don’t think making the footage extremely sad would be very effective. With past videos I’ve seen for animal shelters specifically the ASPCA, I’ve seen people get very emotional with the sad sights and sounds, others however turn it off, because it makes them too upset. If my group and I could find a balance between the sad fact, that people leave their animals behind, and the happy, hopefulness of the fact that they’ll find a good home, if you help, people would be more likely watch it, and want to help.
- Voice – Is there a particular message that needs to be said? What type of voice would you seek to address this topic?
-The message that should be said is that there are a lot of animals that need good homes, just because they’re not purebreds, or puppy’s doesn’t make them less worthy of a loving home. In order to get this message across, I would see whose voice is the most calming, and the least threatening.
- Music – Are there any types of music that suit this topic? Begin to create a list of possibilities to develop an approach to crafting style and setting tone in the commercial.
-If the film were to show the happier side of the animals, and show them playing or being cute, to get a positive reaction from the audience. We could take some ideas from all the cute animal videos, by using happy music, and getting funny footage of the animals.
C. Writing
Draft a proposal for the project. Include the following:
- Client & Audience – who is the client and who is the intended audience?
-The audience would pretty much be anybody that would listen. Hopefully people that love animals, and would be likely to adopt them. The client would be the humane Society, and of course the animals that need to be adopted.
- Objective – what is the goal of the project in terms of the message that will be conveyed?
-The goal is to hopefully get people to realize that animals from shelters need just as much love, as puppies, and animals that aren’t from shelters. Just because an animal is from a shelter doesn’t mean that they are messed up, or bad, or impure. Many of my family’s dogs have come from the animal shelter and we’ve had wonderful experiences with them. They may have some problems but they are still loving animals that are just looking for a happy home and a wonderful family.
- Content – Write a brief summary of the images and sound in the video. This should be approximately five to ten sentences.
-We could probably open with a view of the sign, of the humane society. Then have the sounds of barking dogs, and meowing cats, possible an short interview with a staff member, talking about the animals, and how many they get in a specific time period. Then to add a funny and cute aspect to the video, we could show the animals playing together and with people, to show how loving they can be.
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