For our small impact, big change brief, we decided to look at the large problem surrounding the waste of plastic water bottles. We called this, 'The Plastic Project'. We were looking to target an audience between the ages of 15 and 35, as this is the age in which most people will be secondary or tertiary students, or in full-time employment. It's these people who are most likely to be on-the-go, and likely to purchase a plastic water bottle for convenience, rather than take a refillable bottle with them. Our aim, was to create an awareness of the damage this has on our environment, and how one simple, cost-effective change can actually have a significantly large impact on sustaining a healthy environment.
For our website, we decided to use a clean, crisp aesthetic, utilizing a few shades of blue, and white. These colours were used to act as symbols for water and the plastic, while the clean appearance helps to create a nice, tidy aesthetic, a symbol for the potential cleanliness of our environment. At the top of the page, we have a navigation bar, in order to assist with user interaction, and make it easier to navigate their way between each section of our website. The 'About' section, aims to give a general idea of what 'The Plastic Project' is all about, and is our website's introductory page. As the user scrolls down the page, there are a few other sections that they will come across, 'Video', 'Statistics', 'Visuals', and 'Join Us'. The 'Video' section has our video embedded, with a crisp design in the background, with white water droplets reversed out of a blue shade. The 'Statistics' section consists of 6 statistics aiming to awaken the user to the size of the environmental damage, and show why buying a refillable bottle is the best option. The 'Visuals' section has some info-graphics, running hand in hand with the statistics above, again trying to show the extent of the environmental impact. The 'Join Us' section down the very bottom gives a brief description about us, the two co-creators of 'The Plastic Project', and has some links to social media pages. The footer has again utilized the blue and white colour scheme which is apparent across our whole site.
The video, embedded near the top of our website, just below the 'About' section, has been used as our main 'call to action'. By having it near the top of the page, we are aiming to get the viewer to watch the video and become interested in the project, and then continue to scroll down the page and find out more information. In terms of the video editing, we have two contrasting parts to our video. Our establishing shots, which have some shots of nature, has a Maori voice-over, which helps to set the scene, and highlight that it is set in New Zealand. The Maori voice over translates to "Welcome one, welcome all, it's time to make a change". For the majority of the video, there is a voice-over talking about the problems at hand, and speaking about some of the negative statistics regarding the number plastic bottles being wasted. During this 'negative' section, all of the shots have been saturated, giving an almost dystopian feel to the video. The background also consists of some dramatic sounds, which slowly build up as the video goes on, during the rising action creating tension. The climax of our video, is when it comes to our call of action, where we instruct the audience to buy a refillable bottle. At this moment, the music changes to a much brighter, up-beat song, and the shots are no longer desaturated, and there is no more dialogue. Throughout the video, we have carefully considered the composition of each shot, and taken footage from various angles at all times (using a camera, phones, and a GoPro), so that we can get some interesting cuts within our video. We made sure that we used an iPhone to record sound at all times for increased clarity.
Overall, we are pleased with the outcome of both the website and the video. We feel that they both link together well, and effectively communicate our call to action, the issue at hand, and the small change required to result in the big impact. We had no troubles cooperating and collaborating as a group, and managed to find lots of time to work on this project together rather than individually. If we were to repeat this process we would consider topic more carefully as we wasted a lot of time trying to gain access to the land fill and dump, for no outcome.
Monday, 25 May 2015
Lesson Two - Week Six
Today in class we presented our final product to the entire class. We briefly spoke about our interpretation of the small change, big impact brief before giving a run through of our website. From there we showed our video content embedded in the website. We didn't receive any feedback which was good and bad, as it meant there where no major problems or faults that needed our attention. However we did notice some small mistakes in the video and website ourselves, that we were able to fix before the end of class. These consisted of small timing issues near the end of the video which were the result of a touch up of a section earlier on which had pushed some elements out of sync with the music. The issues surrounding the website where to do with the fonts, we had specified a font in our html however had failed to package the font file in our final folder. This was quickly sorted using a @font-face element before finding the file on our computer to add to the package.
Our final website is shown below:
This the fist section of the website that appears after the pre-load page. This section includes the header which contains redirects to the various sections on the website, the title of the project and our catch phrase before giving a brief overview of the purpose of the project and our desired outcome. Sitting adjacent to this is the logo for the plastic project.
From the video the website progresses to a section of statistics clearly laid out in order to allow the message to come across as efficiently and effectively as possible.
Continuing on from the statistic the website morphs into a section of info graphics which we have developed to incorporate our specific blue colours as well as a juxtaposition with the green in order to reference the effects on the environment.
To tie the website together we have developed a footer that contains information about the creators of the project, this was done in an attempt to formalize the website to a point whilst also showing it is a personal project and not run by a large corporation. We have also once again provided redirect links to the various sections of website. Social media links make up the last layer of the footer, these would redirect to the respected pages if the project where to actually come to life.
In terms of the video development, we have finalized our video after making a few small changes. We removed the pitch-shifters/bass boosters which were on part of the dialogue, as this was becoming quite distracting. The original audio however sounds much more authentic and less distracting.
In terms of the video development, we have finalized our video after making a few small changes. We removed the pitch-shifters/bass boosters which were on part of the dialogue, as this was becoming quite distracting. The original audio however sounds much more authentic and less distracting.
Fraser
Tuesday, 19 May 2015
Lesson Two - Week Five
This morning we presented our website and video to a small portion of the class. Our feedback was minimal, with one group stating that they like the domino 'metaphor' that is used throughout the video. One thing we took away from this presentation was a need to clarify our target age/demographic. After discussing this after wards we have decided to narrow it down to 15-35 year old to include students and young professionals who seem to to buy into the need for convenience products such as single use plastic water bottles.
From there we trouble shot a few specifics for the website with Tim. One of these was the need to place a background image behind the video segment. We have had trouble with this in the past and it was good to finally get it sorted, and have the know;edge and controls to manipulate between now and next week.
- Fraser
- Fraser
Monday, 18 May 2015
Lesson One - Week Five
Today in class, for the first hour, we spent it as studio time, just continuing to work on whatever we felt like we needed work on. The tutors were also coming around to offer feedback and help, although there wasn't enough time to get feedback on ours, so we will hope to get some feedback in tomorrow's studio. For the next two hours, we were given the chance to split ourselves between two floors, one dedicated to helping with web design questions, and the other focusing on Premiere Pro editing techniques.
After class, we continued to work on each of these aspects of the assignment. This evening, we shot some more footage, so that we can vary up some of our sequences and cuts. Below, I have attached our most recent video development. Once again, the video appears in low resolution, as it needed to be below 100MB to upload to Blogger.
After class, we continued to work on each of these aspects of the assignment. This evening, we shot some more footage, so that we can vary up some of our sequences and cuts. Below, I have attached our most recent video development. Once again, the video appears in low resolution, as it needed to be below 100MB to upload to Blogger.
With hand-in next week, we will make sure we are able to get some valuable feedback and critique in tomorrow's session, so that over the course of the next week we are able to make some critical refinements to our project.
- Blake
Sunday, 17 May 2015
Video Developments
Over the past week, we have been working on improving and refining the video, along with the website. In terms of the video, there has been a slight reshuffle with some of the dialogue and footage, and we have been playing around with moving bits around. However, some sequences are still quite similar, and we have tried to follow the "action-time" graph we were given at the start of the brief.
In terms of the video, I feel like it's coming along pretty well, and is conveying the intended message we were after. The start consists of the slow background music, along with voice overs, in order to portray a negative and almost dramatic atmosphere. Once the dialogue mentions "buy a refillable drink bottle", the music gets a lot happier, and the footage is no longer desaturated, and appears in it's full unedited colour, to further brighten the mood. In the 'positive' part of the video, where we are stating how to make a change, we have used the actual diegetic sounds from the recordings rather than voice-overs.There are still some parts where I feel the footage seems almost "repetitive", so we will try to get some more footage shot over the next couple of days, so that we can put this in if needed. One part I would like to experiment with more footage is just before the "cheerful" soundtrack comes on (dialogue saying "you know you should recycle that plastic bottle..."), as I think we could have some more interesting shots, which have better compositions and help to ensure the viewer stays focused and interested in the video, especially since our 'climax' and 'solution' are coming up (most important messages in the video).
However, we will continue to work on editing and developing this, and hopefully in class we will be able to get some more feedback on what to change, what's working well, and where we could experimenting on going next.
- Blake
Saturday, 16 May 2015
Website Developments
Over the past few days, we have been working on developing our website for 'The Plastic Project'. We have included some attached screenshots within this blog post, and the photos have annotations with them to explain what we are trying to achieve, as well as what we are going to develop.
The initial page that appears is a pre-loader page. Which has just the navigation bar, a blue screen, and a white globe icon appear. Once the page has completely loaded, the blue screen slowly fades away and reveals our website. The navigation bar remains at the top, even as you scroll down the page. The tabs on the navigation bar change colour as they're hovered as an indication for the user to click. Each tab is linked to a section on the page, for example the 'Video' tab will take the screen down to our Plastic Project Video.
Below, is a screenshot of the initial page. We've experimented with using an image behind the heading, with white text. Even though it looks quite appealing, and the gradient aesthetic draws the eye to the heading, it doesn't quite fit with our aesthetic, which is looking at more of a clean, crisp appearance. Utilising three different solid shades of blue. The text is currently centred, although we will look to left justify this. We will also look to change the fonts in each of our headings, do varying font widths and sizes in order to make certain parts of the blocks of text stand out as headings.
The initial page that appears is a pre-loader page. Which has just the navigation bar, a blue screen, and a white globe icon appear. Once the page has completely loaded, the blue screen slowly fades away and reveals our website. The navigation bar remains at the top, even as you scroll down the page. The tabs on the navigation bar change colour as they're hovered as an indication for the user to click. Each tab is linked to a section on the page, for example the 'Video' tab will take the screen down to our Plastic Project Video.
Below, is a screenshot of the initial page. We've experimented with using an image behind the heading, with white text. Even though it looks quite appealing, and the gradient aesthetic draws the eye to the heading, it doesn't quite fit with our aesthetic, which is looking at more of a clean, crisp appearance. Utilising three different solid shades of blue. The text is currently centred, although we will look to left justify this. We will also look to change the fonts in each of our headings, do varying font widths and sizes in order to make certain parts of the blocks of text stand out as headings.
In the screenshot below, we have included a 'Statistics' section, which consists of some shocking statistics which we are looking to emphasize. This page is directly below the 'About' section, and can be located by either scrolling downwards or clicking on the 'Stats' tab on the navigation bar. We really like how the blue circles really pop from the page, and add a nice aesthetic. Again, we will look to play around with the fonts. However, we would like to play around with adding info-graphics above or below our existing statistics, that way we will have more than 6.
Below, we have got our 'Video' section, which can be accessed via scrolling or clicking on the 'Video' tab in the navigation bar. We just have a placeholder video in there at the moment, since we are still developing our Plastic Project video. The image in the background is again much like a placeholder, as we were simply experimenting with how to put an image behind the text by using HTML or CSS code. We are going to move this 'Video' section higher up the page, as it is one of the most important parts of our project, and the best way to make sure viewers want to know more about The Plastic Project. This will help us draw them in, and then if they want to know more, they can continue to scroll down the page for more information.
In the below screenshot, is the bottom of our website. Currently, it has a small description about the two of us involved in the creation of 'The Plastic Project', and a small message saying "Buy a Refillable Bottle, and Spread the Word". Below that, we have some links in the footer, which, when clicked, redirect the user to the respective part of the page. We also have a few social media links, which just link to Fraser Malpas' Facebook and Twitter pages. If we were to make this project an actual project, we would have these link to Facebook pages created for "The Plastic Project". We are looking to change the colour of the footer to a blue (to match our logo), and the text/social media icons to white. We will also play around with the fonts used.
We will take our website to class on Monday and Tuesday in order to get some feedback and critiques. Also, if there is anything we need help with in terms of coding (that we can't find on the intenet, we will ask Tim for some help. Until then, we will look at making a few minor adjustments to a few sections.
- Blake
- Blake
Wednesday, 13 May 2015
Lesson Two-Week Four
Today was studio time were we could work on our projects in our groups with the tutors there to answer any questions.
We continued to develop the website and video and looked at how we could link these to create a continuous aesthetic. We realised that the starting frame of the video is the one that is displayed on the website, and that it will play a vital role in the websites appearance.
Screenshots of the website:
This is the middle of the website currently. The section outlines what the Plastic Projects is and aims to achieve before showing out video. We will code the video display so that it takes up the entire screen.
We continued to develop the website and video and looked at how we could link these to create a continuous aesthetic. We realised that the starting frame of the video is the one that is displayed on the website, and that it will play a vital role in the websites appearance.
Screenshots of the website:
This is the middle of the website currently. The section outlines what the Plastic Projects is and aims to achieve before showing out video. We will code the video display so that it takes up the entire screen.
The two boxes that contain the lists and headings "local" and "global" will contain stats specific to New Zealand and then Global. The boxes are coded to to expand as the mouse is placed over top of them. We plan for this to reveal info graphics for each of the different sections.
The rest of the page contains information on how they can reduce the amount of plastic bottles used in their day to day life, before a footer gives links to our various forms of social media.
Fraser
Video Development
Following the interim presentation on Monday, we have been working on developing and refining both our website and our video.
Below, we have posted our video development, which we have made a few changes to, as well as extending it to the full 2 minute mark. There is a section of about 20 seconds which only has dialogue at the moment, as we are still working on the footage to go in this section. We will continue to work on this so we can have a completely rendered video by Monday, where we will be able to get more feedback on what to keep, and what to change.
Note: The video render quality is pretty low, as the file size must be below 100MB to upload to Blogger, so it was rendered in H.264 at a medium bitrate.
Below, we have posted our video development, which we have made a few changes to, as well as extending it to the full 2 minute mark. There is a section of about 20 seconds which only has dialogue at the moment, as we are still working on the footage to go in this section. We will continue to work on this so we can have a completely rendered video by Monday, where we will be able to get more feedback on what to keep, and what to change.
Note: The video render quality is pretty low, as the file size must be below 100MB to upload to Blogger, so it was rendered in H.264 at a medium bitrate.
We are still playing around with adding more footage, cutting sections, and also experimenting with which parts of the dialogue to use (from our longer recordings), so there is still plenty of developing to do.
- Blake
- Blake
Monday, 11 May 2015
Lesson One - Week Four
Today in class we had a small interim presentation. We had 3 groups at a time head over and present their current mock-ups to Tim and Nikko, in order to show how much progress we had made, along with getting some valuable feedback, and clarifying what direction we were planning on heading in next.
For our website idea, we had presented a mock-up template made on Photoshop (an image posted in the previous blog post), and a basic cut of our video. Nikko and Tim gave us some good feedback, on what they liked and would like us to consider trying in our developments, which will help us refine our video/web page.
For the rest of the class time, it was just studio time working on our video and website in our groups, in order to further refine and develop our designs. We continued to edit and cut the video footage, while also trying to create the website mock-up in Brackets.
The video presented during the interim presentation has been attached below. The video quality has been reduced in order to lower the file size (to below 100MB), to allow us to upload the video to Blogger.
For our website idea, we had presented a mock-up template made on Photoshop (an image posted in the previous blog post), and a basic cut of our video. Nikko and Tim gave us some good feedback, on what they liked and would like us to consider trying in our developments, which will help us refine our video/web page.
For the rest of the class time, it was just studio time working on our video and website in our groups, in order to further refine and develop our designs. We continued to edit and cut the video footage, while also trying to create the website mock-up in Brackets.
The video presented during the interim presentation has been attached below. The video quality has been reduced in order to lower the file size (to below 100MB), to allow us to upload the video to Blogger.
- Blake
Saturday, 9 May 2015
Website Mock-up
Today we met up to put together a rough cut of the video content for our site, as well as a mock up layout of the website interface.
We are currently looking at only having one video which we will build our site around. This video will state the purpose of our project as well as ways to fixing the alarming stats surrounding the number of plastic bottles being thrown away.
This mock up uses a simple vertical and centered layout that makes the information clear to read as you scroll down the page. The Video content will be placed in between text that give information and context to the video before and after you play it.
Fraser
We are currently looking at only having one video which we will build our site around. This video will state the purpose of our project as well as ways to fixing the alarming stats surrounding the number of plastic bottles being thrown away.
This mock up uses a simple vertical and centered layout that makes the information clear to read as you scroll down the page. The Video content will be placed in between text that give information and context to the video before and after you play it.
Fraser
Tuesday, 5 May 2015
More Footage
This afternoon we went out and got more footage that we felt we could use in our video. We made sure that everything was shot from multiple angles (which would allow us to use various cutaway effects to improve the video), as well as filming it a couple of times over, that way we can choose the best shot, in case something unexpected occurred in any previous shoots.
We used a camera with a tripod, iPhone, and a GoPro to film this afternoon. This allowed it to be shot from the varying angles. By using smaller devices such as GoPro's and iPhones, it also allowed us to shoot some footage from angles or areas where the larger camera couldn't fit, or wasn't designed to shoot from (such as tight spaces, or even underwater etc.)
Tomorrow we will work on the script, where we can come up with exactly what we want the voice-over to be saying during our video, so we are prepared for Thursday afternoon's recording session with Mark. Now that we have a lot more footage, and have planned to have the script and recordings done by Thursday, I feel like we are comfortably on track to have a basic mock-up done for our interim presentation on Monday.
Over the next few days, we will prepare for the presentation on Monday. So we will have a rough idea of how we want our website to look, as well as a quick-cut video mock-up.
- Blake
We used a camera with a tripod, iPhone, and a GoPro to film this afternoon. This allowed it to be shot from the varying angles. By using smaller devices such as GoPro's and iPhones, it also allowed us to shoot some footage from angles or areas where the larger camera couldn't fit, or wasn't designed to shoot from (such as tight spaces, or even underwater etc.)
Tomorrow we will work on the script, where we can come up with exactly what we want the voice-over to be saying during our video, so we are prepared for Thursday afternoon's recording session with Mark. Now that we have a lot more footage, and have planned to have the script and recordings done by Thursday, I feel like we are comfortably on track to have a basic mock-up done for our interim presentation on Monday.
Over the next few days, we will prepare for the presentation on Monday. So we will have a rough idea of how we want our website to look, as well as a quick-cut video mock-up.
- Blake
Lesson Two - Week Three
Our homework to complete by today was to watch Tim's one hour video tutorial on an 'Introduction to CSS'. After watching this last night, it was interesting to see how much freedom you can have when actually styling your website. However, there was quite a lot to remember, although we were confident that once we started practicing, we would get the hang of it.
So today in class, we spent most of our time playing around with the CSS styling in Brackets, and seeing how we can make our 'playful' sites from yesterday look. Slowly but surely we started to get the hang of it, and even started using other sites to find new effects and make our page look a bit more interesting.
Also in today's lesson, we spoke with Nikko about our existing storyboard, and our plans for development. He quite liked a lot of our ideas, although insisted that we get the dialogue script sorted and recorded as soon as possible, so we can then have a better idea of how to sequence our footage. Therefore, we made arrangements with Mark Pope, who agreed to do the voice-over for us, and we will meet him on Thursday afternoon for recording. That way, we have this afternoon, tomorrow, and Wednesday to get a refined version of the script for him.
This afternoon we will go out and get a whole bunch of footage that we could potentially use in our video, based on our existing storyboard ideas.
- Blake
So today in class, we spent most of our time playing around with the CSS styling in Brackets, and seeing how we can make our 'playful' sites from yesterday look. Slowly but surely we started to get the hang of it, and even started using other sites to find new effects and make our page look a bit more interesting.
Also in today's lesson, we spoke with Nikko about our existing storyboard, and our plans for development. He quite liked a lot of our ideas, although insisted that we get the dialogue script sorted and recorded as soon as possible, so we can then have a better idea of how to sequence our footage. Therefore, we made arrangements with Mark Pope, who agreed to do the voice-over for us, and we will meet him on Thursday afternoon for recording. That way, we have this afternoon, tomorrow, and Wednesday to get a refined version of the script for him.
This afternoon we will go out and get a whole bunch of footage that we could potentially use in our video, based on our existing storyboard ideas.
- Blake
Monday, 4 May 2015
Lesson One - Week Three
Today in class we were introduced to the open source web editing program Brackets. We watched a 30min tutorial on editing html and how this can be updated live on the web page using brackets.
We were then left to explore writing html pages for about an hour, for this we each created a page about our group saying who we are etc.
For homework we are to watch a longer video on creating css pages, which control the aesthetics of the page.
Fraser
We were then left to explore writing html pages for about an hour, for this we each created a page about our group saying who we are etc.
For homework we are to watch a longer video on creating css pages, which control the aesthetics of the page.
Fraser
Thursday, 30 April 2015
Collecting Footage
Over the past few days, we have been going around and collecting some footage that we can hopefully compile and use in our video.
Yesterday (Wednesday), we went up Mt. Victoria, to try and get a couple of shots for part of our video, that we had planned in our storyboard. Most of these shots up the mountain were focussed on playing around with panning shots, and tracking shots. We used a camera on a tripod to get the panning shots, while also experimenting with the GoPro to try and get a few other shots.
Today, we went out to the Wellington South Landfill. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get up to the actual landfill itself, as we didn't have a car and we were informed against it due to health and safety risks, with narrow roads and blind corners where there were chances of getting hit. However, we went down to the office and spoke to Wendy, their waste education officer, who offered to take us around the recycling section and give us some insight into their current projects which are encouraging the recycling of plastic, glass, cardboard and paper, as well as what they are planning to do in the future. We didn't get much footage that we can use directly in our video, although Wendy said that she has an appointment for in 2 weeks or so with another student, and if we turn up then that she will drive us up to the main landfill so we can get some footage of the actual landfill.
Once getting home, I tried some experimental shots with the GoPro trying to get some interesting shots of drinking water, filling up water bottles and stuff like that. Over the next week or so we will make sure we continue to get out and get more footage that we are able to use within our video, that way we can start editing and creating a quick-cut draft video nice and early on.
- Blake
Today, we went out to the Wellington South Landfill. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get up to the actual landfill itself, as we didn't have a car and we were informed against it due to health and safety risks, with narrow roads and blind corners where there were chances of getting hit. However, we went down to the office and spoke to Wendy, their waste education officer, who offered to take us around the recycling section and give us some insight into their current projects which are encouraging the recycling of plastic, glass, cardboard and paper, as well as what they are planning to do in the future. We didn't get much footage that we can use directly in our video, although Wendy said that she has an appointment for in 2 weeks or so with another student, and if we turn up then that she will drive us up to the main landfill so we can get some footage of the actual landfill.
Once getting home, I tried some experimental shots with the GoPro trying to get some interesting shots of drinking water, filling up water bottles and stuff like that. Over the next week or so we will make sure we continue to get out and get more footage that we are able to use within our video, that way we can start editing and creating a quick-cut draft video nice and early on.
- Blake
Tuesday, 28 April 2015
Lesson Two - Week Two
Today in class, we started off with a one hour lecture in 'The Pit', which was showing us some good techniques with video editing, to help us when it comes to our editing process. Some of the videos that were used as examples were extremely well edited, and gave us all sorts of ideas to try out when it comes to our own editing. We also found good ways of cutting between clips, as well as effective ways to use audio and sound effects.
Afterwards, we returned to our studio class, to continue working on refining our ideas and the storyboards. We presented our idea to Tim Turnidge, and he seemed to like the approach we were taking. He helped us to clarify who we were targeting with this campaign, and also gave us some feedback on our storyboard. He seemed happy with our ideas for our storyboard, so said over the next week to get onto grabbing some footage and get into the editing process. That way, once we have a basic mock-up video done, we will be able to work out what needs developing, what needs to be changed or removed, and even what parts we need to shoot more footage for. While presenting our ideas to Tim, we also came up with a few more ideas which we are going to try.
Over the course of the next week, we will go out and get some video footage, so that we can start piecing together an initial video. From there, we can refine and develop over the next few weeks. Next week, are the HTML and CSS workshops for our web design, which should be pretty interesting.
- Blake
Afterwards, we returned to our studio class, to continue working on refining our ideas and the storyboards. We presented our idea to Tim Turnidge, and he seemed to like the approach we were taking. He helped us to clarify who we were targeting with this campaign, and also gave us some feedback on our storyboard. He seemed happy with our ideas for our storyboard, so said over the next week to get onto grabbing some footage and get into the editing process. That way, once we have a basic mock-up video done, we will be able to work out what needs developing, what needs to be changed or removed, and even what parts we need to shoot more footage for. While presenting our ideas to Tim, we also came up with a few more ideas which we are going to try.
Over the course of the next week, we will go out and get some video footage, so that we can start piecing together an initial video. From there, we can refine and develop over the next few weeks. Next week, are the HTML and CSS workshops for our web design, which should be pretty interesting.
- Blake
Monday, 27 April 2015
Intial Storyboard
Attached below is the section of the storyboard that deals with the introduction or 'exposition'. We have proposed a series of shots that introduce the topic and location in a unique and interesting way.
The first shot will be a time lapse of cars going through the intersection outside Te Papa here in Wellington. We have selected this location due to high profile nature of the building which is iconic among the Wellington cityscape.
The second shot we have planned is of a bottle being tossed into a rubbish bin, however this will be shot using a go pro from the bottom of the bin looking. The bottle and other pieces of rubbish will cover the camera giving a unique perspective.
We have decided to use voice over to 'guide' the viewer through the video, they will be introduced in this sequence of shots.
This section of the storyboard covers the Inciting incident section of our video. In this section the viewer is given a small insight to the negatives of using bottled water. This section will be shot at the Wellington South landfill.
The first font will be a panning shot of the landfill to show the mass size and scale of the waste that is produced by Wellington alone.
The next shot will be a pull shot which will shift the focus from the landfill in the background to an individual plastic bottle in the foreground.
Below is an image of the Rising Action/Crisis section of the storyboard. Stats will be introduced visually and by the narrator at this point.
The first shot will be of a series of objects (plastic bottles??) arranged in a line and being knocked over creating a domino effect. We have chosen to use this shot to symbolize the flow on effects created by using bottled water, not only on your wallet but also on the environment.
The next shot will be a panning shot (possibly spinning 360*) taken from the top of Mt Vic. This will tie in with the iconic shot from the introduction, giving context to the location of the video. Stats specific to Wellington will be included in these shots.
The 3rd shot will be of a bottle of water being purchased at a check out at a super market. We aim to show this is in a unique way (attach Go Pro to bottle??). Stats relating to the costs of purchasing bottled water will be displayed in this part.
The 4th shot in this section will use the Go Pro attached to either the outside or inside of a plastic water bottle as it is drunk from. Over top of this shot, stats relating to the chemicals often found in these mass produced products will displayed and stated by the narrator.
The 5th shot will carry on from the 4th shot and will be of water coming out a tap. The continuation of the same sort of stats will be displayed.
The 6th and final shot will be of plastic pieces floating in the open water. Just like the other shots the stats will continue however during this final sot they will be related to the environment.
The image below is of the climax part of the storyboard and will contain just one shot as it is a pivot point and is relatively quick, in order to show the shift.
The shot will be of a reusable water bottle and the narrator will instruct the viewer about the positive impacts of using a reusable water bottle.
The falling Action section of the storyboard is shown below. In this final part of the video we will conclude and show the positive's of using a reusable water bottle.
The 1st and 2nd shot will show positive community and nature shots whilst the narrator stats that the massive number and negative effects displayed before are able to be reduced with the use of a reusable water bottle.
The 3rd shot will show a subject waling of into the distance and out of focus. The shift in sound track/narration will be highlighted in this section of the video.
The last image will be of the website we have created.
Fraser
Sunday, 26 April 2015
Statistics Research
Over the past few days, we have been doing quite a bit of research into the statistics revolving around plastic bottle waste and the impact this has on our environment etc. It was insane to see all of these statistics, and it was a real eye-opener to see just how extreme the waste caused by plastic water bottles was. We feel like we could include some statistics similar to these, although possibly in relation to Wellington or New Zealand instead, as it would be an effective way of alerting the viewers to just how bad this problem is, and emphasize the effects that it could have on our environment for years to come.
- In 2006, Americans averaged purchasing one bottle of water every two days, only recycling 23%. That leaves 38 billion water bottles to waste in the landfill.
- Bottled water costs between $1 and $4 per gallon, and 90 percent of the cost is in the bottle, lid and label.
- It takes over 1.5 million barrels of oil to make a year's supply of bottled water.That's enough oil to fuel 100,00 cars for a year.
- Plastic bottles can take over 1000 years to biodegrade once buried.
- If everyone in New York City gave up buying bottled water for one week, they would save 24 million bottles from being thrown in the landfill. One month would save 112 million bottles, while one year would save 1.328 billion bottles from going into the landfill.
- Up to 24% of bottled water comes directly from the tap!
- An average of 3 to 5 litres of water is used to bottle 1 litre of bottle water.
- Approximately 78% of plastic bottles aren't recycled in New Zealand.
- Approximately 1500 plastic water bottles end up in the ocean or landfill every second!
Breaking down statistics on New Zealand...
Each New Zealander consumes approximately 31kg of plastic each year, while throwing roughly 25kg in the waste.
Population of 4.471 million:
Plastic in general:
- 111,775,000kg of plastic waste per year
- 9,314,583kg of plastic waste per month
- 306,232kg of plastic waste per day
- 12,759kg of plastic waste per hour
- 213kg of plastic waste per minute
- 3.5kg of plastic waste per second
Plastic Water Bottles:
- 168 plastic bottles per year (each)
- 751,128,000 plastic bottles per year
- 62,594,000 plastic bottles per month
- 2,057,885 plastic bottles per day
- 85,745 plastic bottles an hour
- 1,429 plastic bottles a minute
NZ: 24 plastic bottles a second (78% not recycled)
In New Zealand, based on statistics gathered from safebottles.co.nz, approximately 18 bottles per second are wasted, with roughly only 6 per second being recycled.
We could possibly use a breakdown like this within our video, as it is relational to New Zealand, and hopefully it shocks everyone when they realise that for such a small country, we waste roughly 18 plastic bottles per second.
- Blake
- In 2006, Americans averaged purchasing one bottle of water every two days, only recycling 23%. That leaves 38 billion water bottles to waste in the landfill.
- Bottled water costs between $1 and $4 per gallon, and 90 percent of the cost is in the bottle, lid and label.
- It takes over 1.5 million barrels of oil to make a year's supply of bottled water.That's enough oil to fuel 100,00 cars for a year.
- Plastic bottles can take over 1000 years to biodegrade once buried.
- If everyone in New York City gave up buying bottled water for one week, they would save 24 million bottles from being thrown in the landfill. One month would save 112 million bottles, while one year would save 1.328 billion bottles from going into the landfill.
- Up to 24% of bottled water comes directly from the tap!
- An average of 3 to 5 litres of water is used to bottle 1 litre of bottle water.
- Approximately 78% of plastic bottles aren't recycled in New Zealand.
- Approximately 1500 plastic water bottles end up in the ocean or landfill every second!
Breaking down statistics on New Zealand...
Each New Zealander consumes approximately 31kg of plastic each year, while throwing roughly 25kg in the waste.
Population of 4.471 million:
Plastic in general:
- 111,775,000kg of plastic waste per year
- 9,314,583kg of plastic waste per month
- 306,232kg of plastic waste per day
- 12,759kg of plastic waste per hour
- 213kg of plastic waste per minute
- 3.5kg of plastic waste per second
Plastic Water Bottles:
- 168 plastic bottles per year (each)
- 751,128,000 plastic bottles per year
- 62,594,000 plastic bottles per month
- 2,057,885 plastic bottles per day
- 85,745 plastic bottles an hour
- 1,429 plastic bottles a minute
NZ: 24 plastic bottles a second (78% not recycled)
In New Zealand, based on statistics gathered from safebottles.co.nz, approximately 18 bottles per second are wasted, with roughly only 6 per second being recycled.
We could possibly use a breakdown like this within our video, as it is relational to New Zealand, and hopefully it shocks everyone when they realise that for such a small country, we waste roughly 18 plastic bottles per second.
- Blake
Friday, 24 April 2015
Brainstorm
Today we met up again to brainstorm ideas before teasing them out for the purpose of developing shots for the storyboard.
We used the layout of the action over time graph as a guide to developing the shots we would use in each of the designated categories. These are the Introduction, Rising action/Information, Climax, Falling action and Resolution.
We generated a list of important shots that we would like to experiment with and if possible include in the video. The one we thought of was the use of the "Domino Effect", by using bottle or tiles we could represent the idea of one small action having a much greater follow on effect. Some other ideas utilize the Go Pro camera and it ability to be submerged in water fit or used in small spaces such as a rubbish bin, to capture a shot of a plastic bottle being thrown away. Together we would like to visit the Wellington South landfill in order to film some panning shots in order to show the mass amount/ large scale of the waste produced by Wellington alone, this could also be contrast by some idyllic scenic shots. Another major shot we have discussed is that of plastic bottle caps and waste floating in the ocean, which could be used to discuss the effect on seabirds and the environment if we so chose to include it.
On top of these shots we have also identified the need for a voice over to accompany. We will look for and authentic/experienced voice and person to for-fill this role.
Fraser
Thursday, 23 April 2015
Existing Examples
While doing some research on our topic, we began to search YouTube for some existing videos, to try and get a rough idea of how others have promoted the use of reusable bottles, and what we could do differently in our video. We also found a lot of useful sites which have some interesting statistics that we could use within our video. Some of these statistics are quite unbelievable, and would be a good way of trying to encourage others to participate in this 'small change, big impact' movement.
We have attached two videos in the links below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpB7Sgv2qm0
The video in the link above doesn't use much actual video footage as such, as it more focuses on basic animation of text and pictures to express it's point.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsjqep4X3Ek
The video in the link above is more dialogue based, with one lady talking about all the negatives of using reusing plastic bottles.
- Blake
We have attached two videos in the links below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpB7Sgv2qm0
The video in the link above doesn't use much actual video footage as such, as it more focuses on basic animation of text and pictures to express it's point.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsjqep4X3Ek
The video in the link above is more dialogue based, with one lady talking about all the negatives of using reusing plastic bottles.
- Blake
Tuesday, 21 April 2015
Lesson Two - Week One
In class today, we spent the first part brainstorming our ideas further, and discussing these with the lecturers to see their opinions on them. We had a couple of different ideas, some dealing with physical environmental change, others having social impacts instead.
One of our ideas was to have an hour a day where lights where all lights were turned off. We were planning on having this hour around sunset, as we figured that most people turn off their lights before they're required. This way, if we make sure they have their lights off for an extra hour, it will actually be getting darker at the point where they can then turn their lights on. This small change would overall help save a lot of power, as well as save each individual household some money on the power bill.
Another idea was more social based, where we were looking at a way to prevent awkwardness and possibly put people in a good mood when in close proximity with a stranger, in spaces such as elevators, or buses etc. We were trying to come up with some ideas on how to do this, such as having a pack of cards in the elevator, and when you walk in, it says something to do to the next person that hops in such as "Ask them how they are doing" in an attempt to promote conversation. We were hoping this idea would help people socially, as not necessarily make new friends, but possibly more acquaintances, and even just help improve people's day and make them smile (as we found that a lot of people find the silence in elevators stress inducing or increases feelings of anxiety). However, when discussed with Tim, he said that it could be difficult since talking to a stranger could be seen as a big step for those who are super shy and introverted.
A more physical idea we had, was one day a week where we would encourage people to bike or walk to work rather than drive. The intention of this was to decrease congestion on the roads, help get people more active, and reduce the carbon footprint caused from driving cars. This could be a decent idea to work with, however there are a few obstacles which could stop people participating. One being that people might not necessarily own a bike, could live too far away, or their work uniform might not be suited for walking or biking longer distances.
Our fourth idea, was to look at the damage caused by plastic bottles. When researching this idea, we found all sorts of shocking, unbelievable statistics about how many bottles were left in the waste, along with the large negative impact this had on our environment. Not only this, but by reusing plastic bottles there are all sorts of toxic chemicals which can get into your body, or go down the sink if rinsing the bottle. With this idea, we were considering promoting people to get a reusable bottle, which would have multiple positive effects. It would save them money in the long run, instead of buying bottled water, would help to avoid possible health risks, and also help to reduce the number of plastic water bottles that end up in the waste.
In the end, we decided to go with our fourth idea, the one regarding the waste of plastic bottles. We found this topic quite interesting, especially after seeing just how large the impact is on our environment, for an issue which most people wouldn't even take note of.
At the end of the class, we had a small workshop on filming, where we were introduced to some equipment available for hire from Massey, as well as how to use these to full effect.
Over the course of the next week, we will look to gather more research on our idea, some statistics and reliable information, as well as come up with a basic storyboard on what we might have in our video.
- Blake
One of our ideas was to have an hour a day where lights where all lights were turned off. We were planning on having this hour around sunset, as we figured that most people turn off their lights before they're required. This way, if we make sure they have their lights off for an extra hour, it will actually be getting darker at the point where they can then turn their lights on. This small change would overall help save a lot of power, as well as save each individual household some money on the power bill.
Another idea was more social based, where we were looking at a way to prevent awkwardness and possibly put people in a good mood when in close proximity with a stranger, in spaces such as elevators, or buses etc. We were trying to come up with some ideas on how to do this, such as having a pack of cards in the elevator, and when you walk in, it says something to do to the next person that hops in such as "Ask them how they are doing" in an attempt to promote conversation. We were hoping this idea would help people socially, as not necessarily make new friends, but possibly more acquaintances, and even just help improve people's day and make them smile (as we found that a lot of people find the silence in elevators stress inducing or increases feelings of anxiety). However, when discussed with Tim, he said that it could be difficult since talking to a stranger could be seen as a big step for those who are super shy and introverted.
A more physical idea we had, was one day a week where we would encourage people to bike or walk to work rather than drive. The intention of this was to decrease congestion on the roads, help get people more active, and reduce the carbon footprint caused from driving cars. This could be a decent idea to work with, however there are a few obstacles which could stop people participating. One being that people might not necessarily own a bike, could live too far away, or their work uniform might not be suited for walking or biking longer distances.
Our fourth idea, was to look at the damage caused by plastic bottles. When researching this idea, we found all sorts of shocking, unbelievable statistics about how many bottles were left in the waste, along with the large negative impact this had on our environment. Not only this, but by reusing plastic bottles there are all sorts of toxic chemicals which can get into your body, or go down the sink if rinsing the bottle. With this idea, we were considering promoting people to get a reusable bottle, which would have multiple positive effects. It would save them money in the long run, instead of buying bottled water, would help to avoid possible health risks, and also help to reduce the number of plastic water bottles that end up in the waste.
In the end, we decided to go with our fourth idea, the one regarding the waste of plastic bottles. We found this topic quite interesting, especially after seeing just how large the impact is on our environment, for an issue which most people wouldn't even take note of.
At the end of the class, we had a small workshop on filming, where we were introduced to some equipment available for hire from Massey, as well as how to use these to full effect.
Over the course of the next week, we will look to gather more research on our idea, some statistics and reliable information, as well as come up with a basic storyboard on what we might have in our video.
- Blake
Monday, 20 April 2015
Introduction to Kaitiakitanga
Today was the first class of the second term, and we all met in the Museum Building for our the 'Introduction to Kaitiakitanga'. We were introduced to the brief, in which we found out that we would be required to make a short video or series of videos which amount to 2 minutes in length. In parallel to the video, we would then make a website which would have the video embedded within. The site and video needed to be based upon a movement which encourages people to make a small change, which can overall have a big impact.
In class, we were told to get into pairs, and begin brainstorming, as we needed to have our final idea confirmed by the end of tomorrow's class. We came up with a whole range of possible ideas, and we were trying to think which one we would be able to turn into the vest video/website, as well as which one would be more likely to have a positive reaction from the viewers, and have them all follow suit in the 'small change, big impact movement'.
At the end of the class, we got sent to different lecture theatres to experience some 'shared moments' from former graduates or current Massey lecturers. It was quite interesting to see some existing projects, and it was crazy to find out that the "On The Fence" project has been being refined and developed for almost 14 years to reach the stage it's at today.
- Blake
In class, we were told to get into pairs, and begin brainstorming, as we needed to have our final idea confirmed by the end of tomorrow's class. We came up with a whole range of possible ideas, and we were trying to think which one we would be able to turn into the vest video/website, as well as which one would be more likely to have a positive reaction from the viewers, and have them all follow suit in the 'small change, big impact movement'.
At the end of the class, we got sent to different lecture theatres to experience some 'shared moments' from former graduates or current Massey lecturers. It was quite interesting to see some existing projects, and it was crazy to find out that the "On The Fence" project has been being refined and developed for almost 14 years to reach the stage it's at today.
- Blake
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