Public Service Advertisement

DirectionsEach team will create a PSA incorporating a song that deals with a social issue and promotes a positive action.

The music will be the soundtrack for the video and your task is to combine meaningful and relevant audio, images, and text that will amplify and illuminate the songs message and help to raise awareness of the problem and also serve as a call to action.

GatheringProcessingApplying

ThinkingRelating to others

Using text, language and symbolsManaging self

Participating and contributing

Meaningful and Effective Use of Text

1. Identification of the social issue with text must appear somewhere in the video along with at least two statistics providing evidence of the problem.

2. Include at least one Dale Carnegie Principle or quote in your video in a meaningful way. http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/d/dale_carnegie.html

3. Include at least two quotes related to the social issue from people involved and be sure to identify them and their position including the government agency or non-profit organization they work for.

Meaningful and Effective Use of Text

4. Important lyrics from the song should also appear in the video. To emphasize their meaning and importance the words should appear in your video at the same point as the listener hears them in your song. Remember to be creative in your selection of text font, size and style. Again use your discretion, a good rule to follow when selecting any content for your video is “less is more”.

5. At the conclusion of the video you must reference and provide contact information for at least one non profit organization or government agency /program that is working to ameliorate the social issue through positive actions and is also a good source of information and resources. If you want the viewer to take some kind of action, include that near the end of the video as well.

Meaningful and Effective Use of Images

1. At least three images must appear in the video providing evidence of the problem.

2. At least one meaningful symbol should appear in the video. It may be a symbol of cultural and historic significance. The image should reference the social issue in some way. It could refer to underlying causes or it may provide possible remedies or solutions to the problem.

3. If specific individuals, places and events are referenced in your song, they also provide excellent opportunities for the use of images. Consider the placement and amount of time an image appears. Use this technique to emphasize certain images more than others.

Leave some space, man!Do not try to fill the entire video with content or it will become too “busy” and less effective.

You don’t want the viewer to be reading the entire time. You must leave “space” for the viewer to interject their own thoughts and feelings while listening and reacting to your video.

Examples

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5C5zuvijtE&feature=youtube_gdata_player

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7h7aCqnBJM&feature=youtube_gdata_player

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OX3yxmKN8U&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Format questions to consider...1. Does the text appear long enough for a person to read it? If not can you shorten the text or perhaps

make two separate slides?

2. Did you consider placement of the text? It is better to display it in a lower portion of the screen so the image behind is not covered or blocked.

3. Did you make sure the text is partnered with a specific image and they both appear and disappear together? (The video doesn't flow right when the text remains and the image below goes away)

4. Can you read the font or does it blend in with the image behind it? The color, size, and style of your font should compliment the image but also contrast with the background so it can be read easily.

5. Did you try to match the images/text with the song lyrics and the music; do they compliment each other or contrast?

6. Have you considered the pace of the song? Listen for the drum and bass line so your images are timed to appear in conjunction with the beat of the song. If there is a pause in the music have you placed and timed an image to appear with the strike of the drum or resumption of the chorus?

7. Did you incorporate a variety of visual effects and transitions between images?

8. Have you considered using darkness/absence of any image for transitions?

9. Did you spell check?!

*******Do not use thumbnail images!!******

When using Google images you must open the thumbnail image and then select and save as the full size image into your project. Thumbnail images will appear blurry and distorted in your video.

Content Check list...

Did you use text/images/symbols to refer to the issue?

Do you include at least one Dale Carnegie principle or quote?

Did you include at least two quotes and identify the individuals and organizations or agencies they represent?

Did you include at least two recent statistics and citation?

Did you include the song lyrics?

Did you conclude with contact info for organization or campaign?

Did you remember to credit band and song at end of PSA?

Assessment Schedule

Achieved

• Identifies an issue.• Includes a range of visual and verbal

features.• Creates an advertisement that

encourages the audience to take some action.

Merit

• Identifies an issue.• Includes a range of relevant visual

and verbal features.• Creates an advertisement that

persuades the audience to take action.

Excellence

• Identifies an issue.• Includes a range of relevant and

striking visual and verbal features.• Creates an advertisement that

effectively persuades the audience to take action.

Bibliography

Thanks to Johnathan Chase for the idea, resources and instructions.