This week we were given the task to produce an alernative media campaign video whos purpose is to raise awareness of a particular cause of issue of your choice.
The video had to be around 3-5 minutes in length or a series of shorter videos that would constitute a campaign. We were encouraged to film using cheap and more accessible digital media tools such as our phones (in my case that means an Iphone 4s). When it came to editing we were given a selection of choice from iMovie, Adobe Premiere and Final Cut Pro. I decided to use Final Cut Pro.
"The Internet is a site for participatory culture where anyone with access is free to publish as well as consume content. The Internet has been described by some as a new extension of the Public Sphere because it enables a chance to report our own experiences and free speech ultimately ending in debates based on opinions."
In order to gain a greater understanding of alternative media Amanda Koster was given as an example to look at, as Amanada Koster explains in her talk in correlation to Salaam Garage, social media such as Youtube, Facebook even Flickr all offer huge opportunities for raising awareness and story telling via citizen journalism all across the globe.
"Plugging untold stories into social media to make a difference in peoples lives."-Amanda Koster
Below is the video I watched as inspiration for my campaign video;
After watching Amanda Koster's video I not only had a greater understanding of the power the opportunities digital media and the Internet enables, but also gave me inspiration to what I would like to create my alternative media campaign on.
My chosen topic is Autism. This disability is very close to me as my older brother Jack has the condition asperger's syndrome which is a autism spectrum disorder. This closeness to the topic allowed me to already have background knowledge on the subject to a certain extent. I also looked on the National Autistic Society for more information and to watch campaign videos produced by the charity themselves.
When researching further into the disability I found not only was it World Autism Awareness Day on the 2nd April 2014 but the anchorage for the day was 'Bounce for Autism'.
When brainstorming ideas for my alternative video I knew straight away I wanted to produced a simple campaign video full of rhetorical questions, facts and a short clip of my brother talking about his disability. I also wanted to introduce the theme 'Bounce for Autism' in some how.
Another thing I cam across was the use of the colour blue. Over 7000 buildings and landmarks across the globe shall light up blue on 2nd of April 2014 to mark World Autism Awareness Day, because of this I plan to use blue as my colour theme throughout my alternative video.
Below is my finished campaign video;
