#module 03

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.

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.

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?

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). 

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.