The intent of this assignment is to create a Public Service Announcement video that can be used in an appropriate venue. Some topics are more appropriate for children, adolescents, or adults. The intent of the video is to educate an audience on the need to respond differently to the identified crisis. Most television PSAs are 15–20 seconds long. An example is the classic PSA of “This is your brain… this is your brain on drugs” with the image of an egg frying in a frying pan. However, for this assignment you are given 3 minutes. This video time period will allow you to accomplish the required elements noted on the grading rubric.
The first element is to identify the crisis and the affected population. This can be accomplished visually. For example, a video shot of a person’s Facebook page with words that reflect cyber bullying. The second element is identifying the current prevalence of the crisis. This usually involves statistics. Again, this can be done visually, or with words at the bottom of the screen. The third element is to identify the current community response. Again, this can be captured with an image, words, your original lyrics and music in a song playing in the background, etc. The fourth element is to identify a healthier response to the identified crisis. This element can be captured with an image and/or a hotline number with the words, “Don’t ignore the signs…call now.” The elements really depends on how you want to create the video.
This is your PSA, so be creative. You can use a flip camera, video camera, computer camera, etc. to film your segments. You cannot use existing video footage, pictures, or other copyrighted materials from another source to create your video. Also, if you use children in the video, their identity must be concealed. For example, you can only see the back of the children, not their faces.
