Holly Powell - Final Major Project
Context
Section One: Rationale
While filming seemed straightforward enough, I gained experience in editing as I hadn’t done it prior to my course and I also learnt about the equipment provided. I also learnt how to use programs such as Photoshop, which I didn't know how to use beforehand, and putting campaigns together. In terms of research skills, there wasn’t much that expanded my knowledge as I had previously completed subjects which required doing a lot of research and knowing how to reference it all. I also discovered that my style of learning is preferably hands on experience, and taking the leadership role of all of the groups I’ve worked in. These skills influenced my topic of alcohol abuse for my final major project because it’s an issue that I can exploit well through different media outcomes, and due to it rising as a worrying addiction, there’s a lot of important and useful information to take from it to raise awareness for the public.
Section Two: Project Concept
The concept of my project is that I want to show the public how dangerous alcohol can be for a number of reasons, and I want to scare them into wanting to beat their addictions, to live a life that means more than just drinking. My aim for this project is to raise awareness and advertise help, so drinkers know that they can turn their lives around and reach their potential while leading a sober existence. I also aim to use persuasive techniques such as fear, anger and guilt, to make my audience realize just how damaging alcohol can be – I want to expose them to the brutality of the consequences they disregard, because I can imagine how difficult it is to admit you have a problem.
I plan to produce posters surrounding the different issues within alcohol abuse – drinking driving, liver damage and mental and physical health deterioration, in addition to advertising help such as psychotherapy. I also want to create an animation, in which I want to draw everything out myself, because I really enjoyed learning how to animate drawings frame by frame in some of my previous work. I want to use this to detail information which may get lost in my other creations, as they are based more on capturing images and film to shock the audience, rather than tell them too many things that may be forgotten very easily.
I want to make a 30 second advert showing the bad side to alcohol, possibly involving a bad situation occurring as the result of being too intoxicated. I also want to interview someone that has experienced alcoholism or knows someone that has an alcohol addiction, whether it’s a family member or friend, in order to get a realistic perspective of alcohol, to help advertise psychotherapy.
I use my own camera for filming and photography because I believe it is of better quality than the cameras that can be provided. I also hope to use some of my own editing programs for my filming, and possibly my photography. However, I may also need to use programs such as Photoshop for my photography too, and I will also need to use After Effects to create my animation. I’m also planning on using a voice over, which I know I will be able to create myself instead of using a voice recorder that can be provided.
Section Three: Evaluation
I plan to reflect on my myself as a media practitioner by evaluating how the skills I’ve developed prior to the Final Major Project will help me with different aspects of my work and I will write evaluations after each lesson to keep track of my thoughts and feelings.
Section Four: Project Action Time and Timetable
I want to research information before I start creating something each time, instead of doing all of my research first. I want to focus on one thing at a time and execute my media creations perfectly, before worrying about confusing my information trying to remember what I’m using for what.
I'm going to spend a day gathering information and planning out my animation, including what I’m going to draw and what I’m going to write. I want to use this time to draw out a storyboard and plan out what information I can animate, which is also going to be interesting, plus hold some of the persuasive techniques I’m going to be using throughout my campaign.
I'm spending around 3 days planning my 30 second advert, because I have to create another storyboard and fill out all of my pre-production documents.
Also, I want to spend another 3 days doing the same for my interview, because I believe I’ll have to fill out more documents for this too and have a plan for it beforehand.
In addition to this, I want to spend a day just researching information I can put on my posters as I plan to make these on more than just one topic within alcohol abuse, to expand my campaign and have a variety of issues highlighted.
Altogether this pre-planning will make up 8 days, but I plan to do all of this before each creation instead of doing it all at the beginning. I think it’ll be easier doing it this way because it will allow me to focus on one thing at a time and allow me to execute things to the best possible standard.
Finished production schedule
Section Five: Proposed Research Sources and Bibliography
Finished bibliography
Bibliography Websites Used (At End of FMP):
"How To Detect The Signs Of Alcoholism" - For Interview Research
"Interview: Signs Of Alcohol Abuse" - For Interview Research
"UK Drink Driving Statistics, Drink Driving Facts, Penalties, And Legal Alcohol Limits" - For 1st Poster and Animation
"Psychotherapy For Treatment Of Alcoholism" - For 2nd Poster
"Consumption: Adult Drinking in the UK" - For Animation
"Consequences: Adult Drinking in the UK" - For Animation
"Alcohol-Related Deaths in the UK" - For Alcohol Animation
Alcohol Concern | Alcohol Statistics - For 5th Poster Research
Alcohol and Mental Health - For 5th Poster Research
Physical and Emotional Effects of Alcoholism - For 5th Poster Research
Mostly all of the presentation screenshots above have text underneath a black horizontal line - this is because I took out information from my slides but I still wanted to say them during my presentation. I copied the entire piece of text from each slide and wrote it in my notes section, and added more information so that I knew exactly what I was saying in order, instead of having to remember when I had to say certain pieces of information. I did this because I didn't want my slides to be overcrowded with information, and this way I could read out everything I wanted to and I could follow what I was saying as well, but the information wasn't shown on screen. I also took out the graphs on American teenagers drinking alcohol and replaced it with a graph on binge drinking by area in London.
Pitch (Final Version)
Pitch (First Version)
1). What was feedback? What did other students and teachers say about your project idea? How was your idea received?
I was described as confident throughout my pitch, and my presentation was very thorough. I had a lot of information and I was able to stay calm throughout my presentation, which was a good point for me because of dealing with a lot of anxiety. Hearing that I came across as confident made me feel like I had accomplished taking a step forward with how well I can present and talk in front of an audience. I was able to explain all of my information well and show that I knew exactly what I was talking about - I understood everything I was explaining and I was completely comfortable with the information I showed to my audience. I know that sometimes not showing confidence makes people question whether you actually understand what you're presenting, so I'm glad that everyone knew that I was fully aware of what I was presenting.
I also received some points on which I can improve on. I was told I was reading a lot of my presentation because I knew that trying to memorize everything I had to say would be too stressful and probably wouldn't be able to be done. However, I was adding my own points which I was thinking of on the spot, which I didn't even think I would do. I just started speaking about different points I was thinking of, because I felt if I stopped speaking for too long during my presentation, I would be too nervous and anxious to continue.
I was also told my presentation was too long - despite all of the requirements that my presentation needed, which I made sure I included as many as I could.
I was also told I needed to be more captivating and connect more with the audience - constantly being anxious or nervous makes it more difficult to be confident, and I felt like I had taken a step forward with trying to be more confident with my pitch. My main aim was to get through the presentation, so being captivating wasn't really high on my priority list. I don't really know how to make the topic of alcohol abuse captivating in a pitch when talking about mental and physical health problems.
I welcome constructive criticism because I want to improve, but not being told how I could make my presentation on this particular topic more interesting just felt like my peers were telling me things without expanding on what they meant. It felt more so as if they were doing it just to find faults, instead of acting wanting to give me feedback which would benefit me and help me learn what I could do to make my presentation better.
I also find the comment concerning connecting with the audience to be a little annoying too - nobody let me know how I could do this, whether I should be making more eye contact with my audience (which I was doing quite a bit anyway), or possibly having visuals to present, or even trying to involve them in someway, possibly by asking them questions.
I felt that the points I needed to improve on weren't expanded enough so that I could actually learn what I could do if I present another presentation. My criticism wasn't enough to benefit me - it felt like my audience were trying to find faults just for the sake of it rather than telling me more than just the basic points they had given me, so that I could actually take their comments on board and learnt from them.
I didn't think that the things I could improve on were very helpful, especially since I was trying to tell others about certain things they could do to make their presentations better, and give them honest opinions on the content of their presentations. Whereas my feedback was needing to connect more, but not telling me on how I could do that, plus that it was too long and a lot of it was just being read. It also frustrated me because a lot of people had already done the exact same things, and these points weren't being picked on by anyone.
Some of my other feedback was a lot more helpful. I was given recommendations on being more specific with my campaign and avoid the age group of middle age women drinkers who refuse to acknowledge their problem, plus I was also told that young people are starting to drink less now. I was informed that presentation was very good and I was confident too.
My idea was received well - it was a good topic to cover because it can affect anyone, so it's best that everyone is aware of the bad side to alcohol.
2). What will you change?
I'm not really interested in changing anything about my campaign because I think I'll be able to achieve exactly what I want to. I want to look into a variety of topics, even if it's just through one type of media creation, such as my posters. I want to aim my campaign at people aged 18 and over, because this is the legal age to drink, and from catching glimpse of a graph during my previous research pitch, I saw that there is becoming a problem with the elderly drinking, so I want my age group to reflect that alcohol can become a problem even as you get a lot older.
I think that by looking at more than one topic in alcohol abuse means I can spread a bigger message with my campaign. I believe I can execute my ideas really well and spend an equal amount of time on all of my creations. My passion for this project means I already have a lot of ideas, and my efficiency means I'll be able to get everything done, to the highest possible standard.
3). Re-write ideas for what you are going to make.
For my two Digital Media creations, I plan to make posters based on the different problems alcohol can cause, such as drink driving, liver damage, and mental and physical health deterioration. I want to shock my audience, so I plan to use their emotions against them and be aware of alcohol - I want them to know what it does, and I also want to advertise help such as psychotherapy. I also plan to make an animation, in which I'm going to draw everything frame by frame, because I really enjoyed doing this previously for my first animation project. I want to cover all of my topics within alcohol abuse in this animation ass I think it will be beneficial to bee consistent with the information I'm giving out, and this will also make my campaign more memorable.
For my two Moving Image creations, I plan to make a 30 second advertisement detailing alcohol damage, and I also want to record an interview with someone who knows the effects of alcohol either by experiencing it themselves or knowing someone that has had problems with it, such as a family member or friend. I want to do this because I want to get a realistic view on alcohol - I want to use the brutal truth to get others to realize they need to change. I also want to make sure the interviewee has received or witnessed someone who has received help, which has bettered them.
4). What obstacles do you envisage? What challenges do you think you might face in regards to your project such as production issues, timing, target audience, research etc.
I think the only problem I would have with the production schedule is when the project is office to start and when it ends. Without a clear date for either the start of the campaign and the end, it's more difficult to make a production schedule.
The timing isn't really a problem for me because I know how passionate I am about this project, like with all of the other projects I've done. I know that I will want to work on it a lot in my free time too, especially my animation, and I have programs at home that will be beneficial for my time frame too. I know that I'll be able to execute all of my work to a high level standard and I will not be running late with my timing, so I don't consider this to be much of an issue.
I have taken into consideration that I need to focus on a certain age group for my campaign, and I decided to aim my campaign at people aged 18 years and this the legal age to begin drinking. I think that it will be beneficial because having a wider audience means that my campaign will relate to a larger amount of people and give it more recognition. My campaign is also covering an issue that can affect anyone if they develop an alcohol addiction, so I should make my campaign available for everyone.
My research is not an obstacle because I want to look at a lot more things anyway. So far I've looked at alcohol in a general sense, so I want to research more facts to include in my animation, plus I need to look into the issues of drink driving, mental and physical health deterioration, and liver damage, in order to construct my posters.
5). Give an idea of your timescale for research and production (for each practical outcome).
We're supposed to have 10 weeks to complete all of our media work:
Moving Image:
30 second advertisement: 3 weeks
Interview: 3 weeks
Digital Media:
Animation: 2 1/2 weeks
Posters: 1 1/2 weeks
6). What further research will you do? What academic research/ theories will you refer to? How will you focus your research (on your topic)?
I want to look at drink driving, the damage alcohol does to the body, the impact alcohol has on mental and physical health, plus psychotherapy and how it can destroy alcohol addiction. I want to refer to some of the biological and physical causes of alcoholism in my campaign, because I think it's important to understand that addiction is a medical disease, which I had found out through my research. I also want to re-look at the stages of alcoholism to use that information and the causes of alcoholism as points in my animation.
I will focus my research on my topic by sharing my time equally - before I can do a lot of work on anything I need to research information to put on my posters and animation, plus maybe for the end of my advert. I also need to do research on what I should know on alcohol before I conduct an interview.