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My Manhattan College, NYC, media writing and production students are engaged in creating 5 minute news feature pieces that will shed light upon some social issue. We will be creating these pieces with the input of students from both the University of Denver, Haifa University, and whoever else joins us upon the way. Not only are we sharing information, but also media that will be part of the videos, as well. Everyone is welcome to be part of these projects as they develop and finally see the light of broadcast.
Larissa (U. of Denver), Rivka (U. of Haifa) -- hope to hear from you and your students soon!
Jackie Guzda
Manhattan College
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HI, My name is Nicole.
ReplyDeleteI'm doing a script about eco-fashion.
It highlights the problems with the waste caused by the fashion industry and different ways we can help reduce their eco footprint.
So far, I've decided on a documentary style for this feature, and just need to figure out which stores and brands I want to highlight under the eco-fashion umbrella.
I'm also deciding on whether or not to shoot a model with some of the visual aids I plan on using.
Hello hello everyone. My name is Tom Cush and I'm a senior student of Prof. Guzda's media writing class. My writing project focuses on homelessness in New York City. I hope to shed light on a problem that is global by focusing on the city I live in. Interestingly enough, another student (Brendan) in my class is focusing on the same topic in Ireland. It would be interesting if we could incorporate this topic with a student from UD and Haifa. This would allow us to focus on homelessness in two U.S. cities as well as two international locations. This has the potential to be great, hope we can work this out.
ReplyDeleteHi my name is Ernesto
ReplyDeleteMy project is involving a young man named Robert and his involvement with the organization Leave Out Violence (LOVE). In the piece he will be followed around doing the activities as part of the organization matched with an interview along side that.
What is to be shown is that in a world where it seems that the youth are all violent, there are those of the same age range that are being activists against youth violence.
Hi My name is Julia & I'm in Professor Guzda's Media Writing class at Manhattan College.
ReplyDeleteThe topic of my news feature is the Children of Darfur. The structure of my story and script is problem, causes, solution.
I want to target college students and try to motivate & inspirte them to take action and help the children of Darfur. In my script I am showing the differences between children in the U.S. vs. children in Darfur. I give some background about the crisis and how it is affecting children in particular. There is an emphasis on the fact that the children do not have adequate food, water or medicine and that they must work and cannot go to school.
My piece ends by showing different ways college students, like us, can help. There are many groups we can join, humanitarian groups we can donate to and activites we can engage in to help raise funds for Darfur.
Hi! My name is Dinorah and I am a senior here at Manhattan College. For this project I chose to discuss the increasing unemployment rate of Latinos within the US more specifically NYS/City.
ReplyDeleteI chose to focus on the lives of two Latinos whom have both obtained degrees in their respective fields (business administration and finance) and have been vicitims of the current economic standing of our nation.
I have also contacted a professor from Columbia University hoping that he could further elaborate on this increasing issue and discuss opportunities and resources that some Latinos might not be aware of. Our projects must consist an international/national piece, so I am interested in finding out about the current economic standing of your state/country respectively and find someone who would might be going through a similar predicament and does not mind sharing their story.
Thanks!
My name is Brendan, I am working on a script about the homeless problem in Ireland. A little background on the problem: Just like in America, during the '90s there was overspending and a heavy reliance on credit. This led to the economic bubble that collapsed across the world. Unlike most industrialized nations, Ireland has not taken any steps to help solve the problem. This has left thousands of people homeless. Homelessness in America is getting smaller, but in Ireland it is continuing to grow.
ReplyDeleteI could use some help in ending the script. Currently I lay out the causes of homelessness in Ireland and then the problems following it. I would like to end with a call for action or a generalized statement of where the solution might come from, but I've drawn a blank. Right now I have that the Irish haven't done anything, and they are looking to America to help, but it makes the Irish look bad, which might be bad for my message.
Thanks for any comments/help,
Brendan
Hi, my name is Chris and I am working on a script for a piece about encouraging college students to become actively involved in gaining knowledge and spreading information about the crisis in Darfur.
ReplyDeleteI have issues with visualization... I can see it in my own imagination but it is difficult for readers to understand the approach. Also, I intend on inspiring students who view the film. I need exciting elements that will spell out my goal.
Does anyone have any advice on shots that will draw viewers in or make my subject more interesting? Are there any other angles that I haven't thought of yet? Can I make more of a statement? How do I express my intentions without seeming as though I am trying too hard to get their participation?
Hi, my name is Alex. The subject of my news feature is eating disorders and how they are influenced by the media's obsesssion with thin celebrities. I plan on opening up with extremely fast image editing of magazine covers from Vogue to People portraying thin celebrities. I will incorporate Anne Becker as an expert to discuss the changes in self-esteem once girls reach a certain age and how serious and common eating disorders are in America. I will use a voice over from an E! special of the announcer saying "We combed the beaches everywhere looking for the 25 sexiest beach bodies, but someone had to be number 1." I will then follow America's obsession of weight to "The Skinny" website where people blog about the fluctuation in celebrities' weight. My international piece will examine how diets were unheard of in Fiji before 1995, when television was introduced. I will show typical Fijians prior to 1995 and currently, illustrating the drastic change in average weight. I will cut again to Anne Becker where she will describe the lasting affects that eating disorders are having on the girls who suffer from them. I will use the clip from The Tyra Show where she lashes back at the media who criticized a photo of her in a bathing suit where she is noticibly heavier than usual and she tells the media to "kiss her fat ass." I will have a voice over of a girl reading the beginning sentences of Seventeen's Body Peace Treaty while displaying pictures of the celebrities who signed it.
ReplyDeleteThe part that I am having difficulty with is finding something for the Field & Post to shoot, since all of my material is pre-recorded. I was thinking maybe of an interview with a number of different girls on the college campus asking if they obess over their weight, or see anything wrong with their body. Does anyone have any suggestions for an interview?
Hello! My name is Mary Ellen and I am taking a Scriptwriting class with Prof Guzda. My topic deals with the awareness of alternatives to placing the elderly into nursing homes.
ReplyDeleteThe opening of the script takes place in a diner [filming from the outside and coming inside] with two sisters discussing the problems they are having with their Mom. The sisters intend to investigate for other options because they believe their Mom is not ready for a nursing hom, but she is unable to live independently.
[The camera is now inside one sister's home following her work on the computer] The sister locates a website where she finds information about Assisted Living communities, calls her sister, and they decide to check it out.
They end up selecting an Assisted Living facility close to where they live. [As a narrators talks about the amenities of this place, photos will 'dissolve' of the outside, the inside, and how happy their Mom is there].
My fellow students have given me some good suggestions on camera improvements, and on the final display.
If there is anything else that you could suggest, especially without actually reading the draft of the script, I am all ears.
Thanks for any help.
Sincerely,
Mary Ellen
Hi all! My name is Leslie and I am a student in Laressa Bachelor's Journalism and New Media course at the University of Denver. I wanted to give a few of you some feedback on your ideas.
ReplyDeleteAlex Mohr - I think you have a really strong visual concept and love your topic. Body image and weight are huge hot button issues and I think all the media examples you have planned for your video will make a strong statement. I would definitely recommend interviewing students to give the video some tangible characters and emotions to connect to. I also think it might be interesting to get some B-roll of people interacting on campus (what are the girls wearing? do they mess with their hair? reapply their makeup?) and to interview some girls about their own body image and perception of health and weight in the media. You could even just ask two simple questions: What is your favorite thing about your body? What is your least favorite thing about your body? Also, you might want to check out the work the Dove Real Beauty campaign has done to combat these images in the media (http://www.dove.us/#/cfrb/about_cfrb.aspx/). I'm excited to see how your project turns out!
Brendan - I like your ideas as well and think it'll be interesting to see homelessness from the Irish perspective, especially in conjunction with your classmate Tom Cush's work on homelessness in NYC. As for the call to action piece, I would suggest focusing on how the Irish might use America as a model for working to eradicate homelessness (which might make it look less like the Irish are relying on America to "fix" their problem... although I don't know much about Ireland so you'd have to do the research on that one). You could also look into specific organizations or programs in Ireland that are addressing the homelessness issue, however small the changes they effect may be. For example, one American program that I know has helped work toward eradicating homelessness is Project Homeless Connect (read more about Denver's project at the DU student newspaper at http://www.duclarion.com/2.964/phc7-students-give-back-1.45276).
Good luck and I look forward to hearing your feedback on me and my classmates' projects soon!
Leslie
The students in the Journalism and New Media class at the University of Denver will be commenting on the video topics that the Manhattan College students have outlined in their blog comments above. Please check back for more updates and let us know how else we can help.Thanks,
ReplyDeleteLaressa Bachelor
Hi my name is Jaz and I am a student in Laressa Bachelor's Journalism and New Media class at DU.
ReplyDeleteI really like your idea Chris (Mays). The crisis in Darfur is an extremely important issue that is in need of ongoing worldwide attention and immediate action. Your most powerful media component would definitely be video footage and photos but I understand that these options are very limited given the current situation there. I think that an audio slide show would be an extremely powerful way to convey your message. I think it is crucial for you to, in some way, equate the current crisis to a somewhat similar situation that we have experienced. Although there is nothing in the least bit comparable that we can identify with, we can all recall 9/11 and the fear, sadness and concern that we shared as Americans afterward. Maybe you could reflect on 9/11 with the intention to get your audience feel a certain level of emotion that would invoke compassion for the crisis in Darfur. It would also help if could explain what life is like for people living there and what a typical day would entail. I think that once you get your audience to identify with the crisis you can advocate for action. Also when spelling out your goal (in terms of active involvement) it would be helpful to your audience if you clearly state what you are trying to do, what you want from your reader and how they can track the progress in attaining the goal.
I am very excited to see how your piece turns out! Good luck
Hey Manhattan College,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Shannon and I am in Laressa Bachelor’s New Media class at DU. All of your ideas sound very interesting! There are a couple that would be a bit tougher to capture on film, but I think that they all have a good chance of making nice videos.
One idea that I really liked was Nicole’s. I think that the eco-fashion topic is a great story. While most people would agree that making clothing that is both fashion forward and earth friendly is great, I think there is also a perception that it is expensive. Maybe you could focus on brands in eco-fashion that are also affordable. Another idea would be to offer tips or examples of how college students in particular could reduce their fashion eco footprint by reusing and redesigning articles of clothing already in their closets. I think that using models and showing different looks would be good. You could also do side by side comparisons of clothing and stores that are eco-friendly versus those that aren't.
Alex, I think that your topic is fascinating and relevant to college campuses. It seems like you have a lot of background knowledge on this issue. Interviewing college age women is a great way to reveal real life examples of our societal obsession with thin. I think interviewing college age men about their preferred women’s body type would also add an interesting element because our culture focuses on having women be thin in order to be attractive or sexy. Another way to bring out the depth of the issue would be to ask little girls why pictures of certain adult women are pretty. Little kids are usually honest and direct when asked questions like this and I bet you’d get some answers that show just how prevalent these ideas are.
Best of luck to you all!
~Shannon
Hey fellow bloggers, Patrick Morris here from Prof. Bachelor's class at DU. All of your topics have some good stuff in them and are very interesting overall. Here are a few that I pinpointed with some suggestions...
ReplyDeleteTom Cush & Brendan: The homeless issue is definately one that is not only extremely timely during this recession, but also something every city in the world can obviously relate to on some level. I can tell you that, from first-hand observations, homelessness is by far a major problem in Denver. The University of Denver has a program they do every year called Project Homeless, where people who have no where to go are fed and kept company by DU students and faculty for a day. It obviously doesn't solve the problem, but it's a step in the right direction. Brendan--I would not get too discouraged if you're struggling to find things that Ireland does to help solve this problem. Even if it's something as small as the Project Homeless DU does, there's bound to be some group of people that are working to make a difference towards the homeless problem over there. If you can't find anything, though, then perhaps that is the focus of your piece right there. Yes, it will make Ireland look bad (which I know would suck; I'm Irish too), but speaking out against Ireland's lack of support towards the homeless might be exactly what the country needs more of.
Alex: Love your idea as well, and I think the interviews would really help your project. It's definately a sensitive topic to go up and ask random girls, but could be exactly the thing you need to pull this all together. If I were you, I'd interview random girls who vary in their appearances and sizes. In order to make it equal for each girl, they should all be asked the exact same questions. What might be interesting to find is if the "prettier" girls see eating disorders as more or less of an epidemic than the less "pretty" ones. You could even keep track and possibly make some sort of chart or graph out of your results. You'll have to be careful not to offend anyone, obviously, but being a little aggessive towards finding what others think could really help your project out.
That's all I have for now. Good luck with your stuff everyone. Hope my advice at least got your brain churning a little...
- Pat
Hey all, my name is Joey Mark and I'm also a student in Laressa Bachelor's class here in Denver. I found all of these topics interesting but the one that struck my attention most was Nicole's about the fashion industry and the waste problem that it has. My only suggestion would be to focus on the problem and be sure to explain it. I have never heard of eco-fashion and had no idea that the fashion industry was a big problem with its carbon footprint. I think if you focus on this problem and explain it clearly, you might be able to open a lot of eyes to a problem that many of them never even knew existed. This could be the kind of project that is needed to start large scale change throughout industries like the fashion industry that have problems that are not so large scale as global warming and consequently slip through the cracks.
ReplyDeleteKeep it up, I think your idea has a ton of potential.
lata,
Joey
Alex Mohr:
ReplyDeleteHi Alex,
I really like your idea, I think you can do a lot with it. Leslie mentioned it, but I think that Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty could be a strong base for your story. Dove is preaching “real” beauty, yet not really practicing what they preach.
Although the Dove ads appear to be putting out a good message in the media to women (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYfwIAWWH6M), I would also take into account the political economy – from a production point of view, because the company that owns Dove is Unilever. Unilever also owns Slimfast and Axe. Axe, being the cologne spray for men that features commercials with men spraying on Axe and having beautiful, skinny models jumping on them, and Slimfast is a well-known diet drink. A bit ironic, don’t you think?
Also, it took Dove's Campaign For Real Beauty more than two years for the public to really catch on. They had an electronic billboard in Toronto that featured a curvy woman, and Dove asked viewers to vote whether the woman was "Fat or Fab?" The billboard was taken down soon after when “fat” pulled into the lead.
I think it would be awesome to analyze how the media is claiming to be changing it’s ways, but then investigate whether or not they really are, and if people’s minds are changing. As for your interview, you could take a still photo of the model from the end of the YouTube clip (Dove’s ad called “Evolution”) and interview some girls on campus about what they think she is like in real life. You may get some interesting responses about how glamorous she is, and then show them a still of what she looked like in the beginning of the ad/before all the makeup and airbrushing.
It seems really interesting, and I can’t wait to see where you go with it!
Meghan Sobel
Ernesto,
ReplyDeleteI think it would be interesting to possibly start out your video with audio of statistics of teen violence over some images of deterioration or something related to that theme of helplessness. Your idea that in this world where every day we are confronted with the idea of rising teen violence, there is actually this light and this hope highlighted through this individual is really awesome. I think that it could turn out so well, but in order to get that contrast and that convincing argument, I feel that the opposition must be recognized.
Therefore by stating plainly these facts that everyone is bombarded with (http://www.safeyouth.org/scripts/news/statistics.asp), then you are recognizing the issue. When you enter in this portrait of this teenager who is opposing the violence in detail then the audience will be left with that hope and that empowerment to make a change as well.
I know that it would be nearly impossible to get any of your own film or photos of teen violence without staging it (I don't think that you should stage it), and so that's where I think more symbolic imagery could come in.
I think that either way, though, this focus on the individual is the perfect way to enter hope. People become attached to individuals through details. So I think the more odd details that can be put into the portrait, the better. Personally the more tangible smaller details about people make me feel inspired when hearing about someone who does great things, not just simply that those things are being done. Otherwise I tend to feel disconnected in a way if that makes sense.
Alright, I'm done rambling.
:)
Richelle
Hello Alex,
ReplyDeleteI think that your idea about dieting is excellent. I feel like this topic is virtually undiscussed in the current social discourse and would greatly benefit from further attention like the piece you have proposed. All of the elements that you are suggesting will work wonderfully with your subject matter. I think that you could expand on your topic further by incorporating the print media into the fray as well. I am referring particularly to the cases of Self magazine photoshopping their models like Kelly Clarkson. They are a magazine that supposedly promotes a "healthy" body image yet they slice off any bits of their cover models that they deem unappealing like inner thigh fat. I think that this would be another interesting aspect of your media package. I look forward to seeing this come together! Thank you for your proposal!
Hey everyone! My name is Monica and I’m also a student in Professor Bachelor’s class here at DU. First off I’d like to say that you all have really interesting ideas that have great potential. The one topic I really enjoyed and relate to the most is Nicole’s script about eco-fashion.
ReplyDeleteNicole-
You’re idea sounds like it could turn in to something really great. I think it will help people become much more aware of eco-friendly fashion and it will allow them to become familiar with different brands that are eco-friendly. One perspective you could take that I think would really add to the piece is showing them the process of how eco-friendly clothes are made. This will give the viewer the opportunity to actually see first hand what they are wearing and what the differences are specifically between eco-friendly clothes and non eco-friendly clothes. This perspective I think will help educate those interested in eco-fashion even further.
I can’t wait to see how these documentaries turn out. Best of luck to you all and I hope all the input we students here at DU have given will help!
Monica
Hello from Denver! You guys picked some important and interesting topics! Can’t wait to see how these evolve! Here is some initial feedback:
ReplyDeleteTom, I think homelessness is a great topic, but I’m wondering on how you’re thinking of narrowing this. What angle would you take? Do you have access to homeless people who can tell their own stories? How would you humanize the topic? I want to know more!
Julia, I love that you’ve picked a region of the world that doesn’t get much coverage, and want to bring attention to such an important issue. I’m curious how you’re going to treat the visual component of this story. I wonder what ideas you have about supporting footage for this piece since obviously you can’t fly to Darfur to do interviews… maybe focus on activists based in the U.S.? I’m sure you can make it work—you just might have to be creative!
Alex, I love the detail with which you described your piece. It’s a perfect topic for a visual medium rather than a print story since this topic is all about image. As you’ve suggested, you can show the audience images we’ve seen a thousand times and make us think about them in new ways and cause us to question the images we consume on a daily basis. I also really like the Fiji piece for context. It’s a powerful example of the power of culturally held beliefs about the ideal body- and one that comes across simply with a stark visual contrast that needs very little verbal explanation to hit home.
Good luck you guys!
Kim
This is Eric from Larissa's class at DU.
ReplyDeleteJulia, I like your idea on Darfur. Certainly an important topic to cover. I'm also interested to see how it turns out because I feel pretty disillusioned by the options I have on campus to support such a cause. The organizations here are mired in petty bureaucracy and the community on campus here is, at least in this type of context, virtually non-existent. Jaz made a comment about using an audio slide-show, and I think this would be a very effect way to get across "problem" portion of your piece. We watched this slide show today in class, and I think it's emotionally powerful in the same way that you want your piece to be. As for how to inspire those of us like me who are disillusioned, I don't know. Sorry. (But good luck!)
Chris, you're also looking at Darfur, but it sounds like your focus is entirely on the "take action" aspect (which I've already said I don't know how to cover). However, if you're looking to get people excited, it sounds like you may want to get some footage of demonstrations. I also think you may have to take a similar approach to Julia, and introduce the topic to your viewers. Not many people know much about the conflict (myself included). Tug at our heart strings to pull us in first, then get us excited to become actively involved in the cause.
Good luck to all of you.
Eric
Thanks Jaz and Eric for your feedback.
ReplyDeleteJaz - I think you're right about using 9/11 or possibly Hurricane Katrina to invoke feelings of crisis. It would be extremely helpful in identifying with pain.
Eric - "Tugging at heart strings" is definetely part of the approach. The issue I am having is in using the information about Darfur, in a slide-show-like way and making it touch home.
Hopefully I can combine both your feedbacks to clarify my goal and make my project neater. The idea is to cause action from emotion, so I see what both of you are saying. Thanks a lot for your insight! Hope to talk again soon.
Hi everyone, thank you so much for your feedback!
ReplyDeleteShannon, Pat, Meghan, and Whitney - I was thinking of combining all four of your helpful ideas by maybe having two pictures side by side and ask college aged students which is more attractive. I think it would be interesting and relevant to use the photograph of the Ralph Lauren model who was just fired for "being too fat" at 120 pounds. I could have the ad of her where she was photoshopped to look extremely thin next to one of her other modeling photos and see which picture the students find more attractive. Then, as a comparison, we could show the same pictures to the 4th grade students and hear their honest reactions as well.
Kim - Thank you very much for your feedback as well, I'm glad you think that because I was trying to pick drastic examples to really get the point across how serious this epidemic is becoming thanks to the media.
Thank all of you for your ideas and opinions and I will check in again soon!
Hi everyone,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your input. I just handed in my finished script & based off of the slideshow Eric sent, I used a montage of still shots to show the children of Sudan. Thanks for the idea - I think it was great! I also tried to add in easy steps college students can take to help out. I'll let you know if my script gets picked for production.
Thanks to everyone for your comments and advice!They were all good ideas, I wish I had enough time to do everything! I am definatley going to show common stores, versus eco friendly stores so people can see some of their options and where they can go.
ReplyDeleteI'm excited to see how it turns out!
Patrick-
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments. Part of the direction I went with at the end of my script was finding out what the Irish Could do (by talking to an expert), since they haven't done many positive things yet. Since I couldn't find anything directly, I showed why they haven't done anything and the confusion over why that is.
-Brendan