Blog Entry #7

I learned many things from doing this PSA project. I learned what it really means to work as a group, how to use a camera, and how you use your camera makes a huge impact on what comes across in your footage. I learned a lot of this from Alex and Jon, but some of it also came from my other group members. I think we all learned a little something from one another. The most challenging aspect was the due date. It seems like you have forever and then suddenly the PSA was due in a couple weeks. There could be a little improvement but not much. I liked that we had to have our storyboard and pitch approved before shooting to know that we were on the right track. I wish that those dates would have been sooner though so more time could be used in the end to film and put the perfect touches on the PSA. It was also hard that the camera training dates started later on in the year. That made it hard to begin filming if you hadn't had the training yet. Overall though I am happy with this project and the work that myself and my group did.

Blog Entry #6

I believe that my groups PSA is effective. I think we chose a topic that is really important to be shown to high school and college students in particular, but also everyone else. Some people don't even know that Adderall is taken by people who don't have ADHD let alone what this drug even is. We will inform a majority of the audience about something they don't even know is going on in their society. Our PSA will also show those that do try and use/abuse Adderall for focusing and such in school that it is not a good idea to do this and hopefully persuade them to stop.

Blog Entry #5

My group doesn't have our draft done yet, but we are almost finished so I am pretty content. We have all of our footage taped and have done one editing session. I feel that compared to other groups we are donig well. I wish that we would be done with it now, then we wouldn't have to be worried about time this weekend. I know that it will be done by Monday because we have started and know what is needed to complete the draft. I'm confident that our draft will be presentable and ready to be shown to Alex or John by Monday.

Blog Entry #4

I think that my group is a little behind in the video process. I know that a lot of other groups also haven't began filming, but I am mostly concerned for my own group. We haven't filmed any material yet. We had one day set up but that fell through. We have a whole PSA to make, including filming and editing, to complete in a little over 20 days. My group knows when we want to film though and are motivated to do so which is good, it just hasn't happened yet. I think our strength is the fact that we are motivated to make this PSA and are all interested in presenting our topic really well. The obstacles are getting everyone together at the same time by fitting our schedules together and where to begin. We need to organize what to shoot first, not just go in order of the storyboard since that changes so fast.

Falling Polar Bears blog

Three points stuck out to me from this article. One was that you have to get the audience into physical action, not just have them be more aware of your topic. Another was that your message should still be able to be conveyed if the t.v. is muted. The last point that stayed with me is to pull at the audiences heartstrings. I believe that my group has thought of these three things when creating our PSA. We have a strong message that Adderoll is only for people with ADHD. It is a prescribed drug and shouldn't be passed around from student to student. Also if the t.v. was muted I think that our message would still get across. We have a story going on throughout our PSA and hardly have any audio going on. Our PSA depends on visuals so we have this idea covered. We also pull at the heartstrings by the PSA being about a student, a lifestyle that our target audience can relate to. I may want to think more about the walking the fine line rule. We may be going too far by showing the girl pass out in the end of the PSA. That may be unlikely and push our topic too far. I will discuss this with my group. I believe that my groups PSA will be very effective because we put a lot of thought into our topic, and are showing the effects which will leave an impact on our audience.

Blog Entry #3

For me, the most challenging part has been having everyone in our group agree on what should be done in our PSA. We all have so many ideas to put forward, but we can't include them all otherwise the PSA would be too long. It's hard to say yes to someone's idea and then no to another's because they are your friends. I want to make everyone happy, but when working in a group I feel that it is almost impossible to do that. We are doing really well it's just something that I have noticed. When one of us brings up an idea and it is shot down it is hard to witness. Also if we experience this ourselves.

Blog Entry #2

I think that my groups pitch went really well. We all had our parts planned out, used a lot of details, and practiced multiple times before. Everything went smoothly. We also got a lot of good feedback from the class. They gave us good suggestions and many people said they appreciated how detailed and prepared we were. That made me feel really good.
I believe that my groups message is of public interest. I feel that not many people know that teens use Aderol as much as they do. Also that the teens get this drug from others with ADHD. A drug used for someone who really needs it shouldn't be used or abused by someone who doesn't have it. Our target it everyone so they can be informed that this drug is being used inappropriately, but more specific towards high school and college students who are the main users of Aderol. Using a teen and a typical student activity filled day will appeal to teens we are sending a message to. They will relate that this may be similar to their lifestyles, and if it is to not go down the road of using Aderol.

Blog Entry #1

The role of PSAs are to inform the audience about current issues. They are very important to our media culutre. They inform us about what is going on in the world today. Topics that are often seen on television or heard on the radio are about drunk driving, wearing a seat belt, staying off of drugs, etc.
There were only a few topics discussed in my group for our PSA. The first was the effects of teenage consumerism and how it affects our spending habits. The second one was the abuse of Aderol, a medication for people with ADHD. Once this topic was suggested we all decided it would be perfect. It was original and we all thought it was good, which would make it much easier to make. We are going to show a girl get her Aderol pills from her brother, who has ADHD. In the beginning she gets good grades, can focus in class, loses a little weight. But after being on the drug for a while we show how the abuse of this drug can weaken your body, lose too much weight, and fail your classes. As to certain roles in creating the plan, we all threw out our ideas and combined them all to make this idea. Personally, I shared my thoughts and would either agree or disagree with others ideas. We were all thoughtful and appreciative of our groupmates ideas and made an effort to incorporate everyones ideas. I think we have a strong plan thanks to everyone in my group.

Blog Post #2

An effective advertisement is the commercial about droid phones. I believe this is an effective advertisement because it is showy, appeals to my age group, and has a catchy voice at the end. The commercial shows all the special features droid phones have, hopefully making the audience think that the droid is better than the phone they already possess. My generation is interested in having all the newest technologies and having the best to show their friends. Appearance is really important, which is a concept that Droid has become aware of. At the end of Droid phone commercials there is a robotic voice that states simply "Droid". That is the vocie I associate the commercials with. This technique Droid uses is apparently affectice because I can remember the parts of their commercials, so I'm sure others can too. Advertising plays a huge role in what you buy. If the commercial is appealing, makes you feel or look cooler, and has catchy slogans the audience is more likely to remember the product. Advertisers want their products to look the best they can which causes the audience to think that the product is that best.

Blog Post #1

From the last two MTN visits I learned about analyzing and production of media. When analyzing you have to think about all the factors that go into making the clips you see in movies, PSA's, or commercials. You have to create a purpose of your media clip, the tone of your piece, how the shots are arranged and angles that are used, plus many more factors. For production there are more steps that go into creating the media clip. First you have to have an idea, then you write your synopsis, your story, your script, the break down, create a story board, and then you're ready for production. I am thinking of writing my visual communications critique on a Mormon commercial that you see on t.v. I would discuss whether the creators are trying to have this be seen as a commercial or as a PSA. If I decide to not use this media clip, I am also thinking about using a Droid commercial. Media literacy is important for many reasons. It is a way to challenge us to think and understand the nature of media representation and what it takes to put something together. Through media literacy you think, learn, and express yourself using media causing you to grow as a person.