Recap: Cyberwellness PSA-making Workshop

On December 17th, 2010 Krizia Says

On December 8th and 9th, 2010, MOUSE Squad partnered with The LAMP (Learning About Multimedia Project) to learn “What is a PSA? (Public Service Announcement)” in a two-part workshop.

On Day 1, students discussed the purpose of PSA’s to get across an important message, students learned about ALL the different types of PSA’s, like radio, TV and online advertisements, and ALL the different topics that PSA’s talk about like staying in school, recycling or being aware of other people’s safety.

On Day 2, students got their heads together to talk about important messages they could share about Internet safety. The best part is that after doing lots of planning, students got to use video cameras, laptops and software to create, film and edit their own PSA’s!

Check out the process students went through to make their PSA’s:

Students first learned “What is a PSA (Public Service Announcement)?”

Then students brainstormed their ideas, put them on a storyboard, and filmed their PSA’s.

Finally, students collaborated on editing their PSA’s. They’re quick learners!

Watch their awesome final products here:

• Sumo Cyberbullying by I.S. X318 Math, Science & Technology Through Arts
• Don’t Do Drugs by I.S. X318 Math, Science & Technology Through Arts
• Cyberbullying Over Text by MOUSE Squad students of ACCESS School M356
• Know Your Friends Online by MOUSE Squad students of ACCESS School M356

Thanks to our partners at The LAMP for an exciting and useful learning experience all about PSA’s and CyberWellness!

"Dove: Evolution"

“We are now two weeks in to our “Taking Pictures, Telling Stories” workshop at the Mount Hope Community Center in the Bronx. With a group of around ten high schoolers, the sessions have been rich with interesting discussion and insightful analyses. We noticed that last week, the students were really interested in our discussion about advertising, and so, in that vein, we decided it was time to pull out the big guns—we showed them the Dove Evolution video.

For me, this was by far the most exciting and interesting thing I’ve witnessed during the workshop so far, although it’s only the second week. The students in our workshop had never seen the video before, and they were actually stunned. In short, the video shows in fast-motion all of the physical grooming and manipulation that goes into creating a billboard advertisement—the final product is far from ‘natural’ beauty. After watching the video for a second time, we started asking the kids what the video revealed them about images, about beauty product advertising and about Dove as a company. One of the students commented that you can’t trust an image. Another noted that usually in beauty product ads, the ideal is portrayed, but in this Dove advertisement they were concerned with reality. The students seemed energized by the message of the commercial: “No wonder our perception of beauty is distorted.” We talked about this message in relationship to image, self-image, and business logic. It was clear that the story of the Dove Evolution video was an insight to the stories of the images around us—what is real? What is ideal? What are we encouraged to understand as real? In short, the students were feeling pretty happy with Dove as a company.

"The Axe Effect: Billions"

Next we showed a commercial for Axe body spray. Students quickly pointed out that this commercial was blatantly displaying an ideal fantasy. Suffice it to say, it is opposite of Dove Evolution commercial in every way . . . except one. Dove and Axe are both part of the same company: Unilever. When we revealed this fact—and oh it hurt us so!—all students were shocked. One of our typically quiet girls asked: “How can they do that?! It’s so hypocritical.”

What was most valuable out of these discussions was the understanding of the decisions made behind the image, whether print or video, and how these decisions cultivate a story that is very powerful. A story of beauty. A story of comfort. A story of success. The students seemed particularly interested in how these stories intersect with consumerism, a theme we plan to weave into the rest of the workshops.

The second half of the afternoon, the students worked with Gamestar Mechanic, an educational video game program that both educates and entertains. Representatives from Gamestar Mechanic were on hand as well. While playing the video game, students are challenged to think like a game designer–a very challenging job! To pass exercises and levels in the games, students must think critically about the rules and goals, limits and possibilities of the software. It will come as no surprise, the students really enjoyed this. And even they’d tell you it wasn’t all fun and games–sometimes more like frustration and work! But by the end of our session, kids were glued to the games; they were up for the challenge.

The next couple of weeks will be very exciting for the students, as we will do exercises that will help them focus and define the trajectory of their own projects. We’re looking forward to taking all of the lessons we’ve covered, and putting them into action!”

Lorenzo Tijerina

Occupation: Currently, I am doing freelance videography and editing, working on everything from music videos to weddings to profile pieces. I’m also involved in some very rewarding work with The LAMP, teaching kids how to be more proactive when it comes to their media consumption.

Favorite blogs & websites: I use blogs to stay in the loop about what’s going on in Brooklyn and the rest of the city: Kinetic Carnival, McBrooklyn, Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn, Brooklyn Vegan. TheSkint is a great place to find great deals around the city. I have an electronic subscription to The New Yorker and I’ll also turn to the New York Times Online and the Guardian for news. The Onion has a great website and I enjoy checking out their A/V Club. Sites like Gawker, Geekologie, and Videogum keep me hip. My son and I spend a lot of time together on YouTube not only posting our own content, but watching old music videos. Another favorite site of his is Sploder, where we can make our own video games. And with Netflix and Hulu it seems there are less and less reasons to turn on the television these days.

What got you interested in media literacy? I would have to say my interest in media literacy began with watching television as a child and recognizing patterns in the shows and commercials. I began asking myself why these patterns existed. Why, for example, did cartoons like He-Man always go to a commercial about eight minutes into the show and how did that effect the structure of the show?

In school I gravitated toward whatever audio/visual options were available, even if it was just operating the projector on movie day. By the time I was in high school I was very aware television was always trying to sell something and viewed even my favorite shows with skepticism.

In college I studied radio, television and film and that took my media literacy to a whole new level. We studied mass communications and learned the techniques used by broadcasters to manipulate their audience. When you think of what the average young person is up against when they turn on a television or, now, their computer, the need for media literacy is more important than ever.

You used to be an editor at Fox News. How does that experience change the way you look at media? I worked at several news stations. It was a great experience and I would be less than honest if I didn’t admit that I absolutely loved it. The pace and the excitement of live television is undeniable. Working in television you see that there is no grand conspiracy. The higher ups are driven by ratings and everybody else is just trying to do the best job they can. It’s very competitive. A great deal of what you see on television is motivated by stations just trying to keep up with one another. A lot of the theory I learned in school went out the window and it all became a matter of trying to outdo what the other guy’s where putting up. I did, however, see the answer to my He-Man question first hand. News has a very strict format dictated by commercials, i.e. all the real news is in the first block while the last block is reserved for the kicker (a fluffy story about water skiing squirrels or whatever).

You’re also teaching one of The LAMP’s workshops at Brooklyn Prospect Charter School. What has surprised you the most so far in working with the students? Working with the kids at Brooklyn Prospect, the biggest surprise was how aware so many of them are about things like target audience and viewer tracking. These kids are very cognizant of their value as consumers and as the children of consumers. It was just below the surface, but once we started asking them questions their response was immediate. You could literally see the realization on their faces when they were asked to think about why their favorite websites are set up the way they are. (Click here to see pictures from this workshop and others!)

We know you do a lot of video projects with your young son. Tell us more about that–why do you think that’s important, and what do you hope to impart? For us it’s mostly about having a good time, exploring ideas creatively. I want my son to be able to express himself any way he sees fit, so that’s part of it, too. I also try to pass on whatever knowledge I have about technique and get him to think about the ways stories are told, but mostly it’s just a way for us to spend time together.

Media are most usually barred from an event or place for political reasons, as they famously were during the Buddhist monk protests in Myanmar during the summer of 2007.  In this situation, news often comes from citizen journalists who somehow manage to break through established barriers. Even then, however, the number of people who can report are limited, as walls are made greater and stronger by officials charged with restricting media and press freedom. A tree falls in a forest, even if no one is there to see it, but the report that follows is vastly different from what can be provided by an eyewitness account. All we have left to look at is the event that already happened, forcing the reporter to act as a detective with only a few solid facts to use. Example: Almost any news story from Guantanamo.
As mentioned earlier, this is happening right now in the Gaza strip, with Israel barring journalists from entering the battleground. The international news is dominated by Gaza, and yet nobody is there to tell us what’s happening. Israel claims that some of this is tactical, as they fear the media would allow Hamas to see too much of their military operations, thus compromising their efforts. There is evidence to back this up, as the media spoiled rescue efforts of the Jewish hostages in the 1972 Munich Olympics, and television has been blamed for assisting terrorists in the recent Mumbai attacks.

Freedom of press relies upon unfettered access. That is without debate. Nobody likes it when someone tells them that they just don’t get the right to know about something, like right now when we don’t get to know about Gaza. The question of whether or not the public needs to know, or has a right to know about everything that happens everywhere in the world, is a slippery one. But, it all comes back to the central point that when watching the news, we have to consider how we know what we know.

Dates: December 1st, 8th and 15th

Times: 3:00-6:00pm

Ages: 6th-8th grade

Cost: FREE!

Explore the many ways you can present yourself on the Internet through social networking websites and blogs.  Learn what to include (and what not to include) in an online profile, and how to build your own blog!

To register, call us at 718-789-8170 or send us an email.

Dates: October 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th; November 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th

Time: 3-6pm

Ages: Families of all ages

Cost: FREE!

The whole family comes together to make a video memory book! Shoot and edit a video of parents and children interviewing each other, sharing favorite memories and stories while creating a lasting record to be enjoyed now and forever.

Skills learned include:

• Group collaboration
• Exploring representations of family in commercial media
• Using visuals, words and sound to create a family narrative
• Video editing

To register, call us at 718-789-8170 or send us an email.