First filming

After emailing the Education Manager in RSPCA, Lauren Preston for 2 weeks. We have finally reached a day with each other in arranging an interview as our qualitative research.

The interview is going to be about 10 minutes long and the content would be cover on the problem of animal abandonement and the role of RSPCA in the society.

Lauren and another staff, Stephanie brought a dog waiting to be adopted for our interview. The interview took place at a classroom in blue building.

This is our photo!!

The whole filming ended successfully and although there were some NGs during the filming because of the dog but finally we made it to be completed!

A story on animal torture

Hi I found this online while doing my research thought I'll share it with you...

"A Pennsylvania dog groomer has been ordered to stand trial on animal cruelty charges for selling “gothic kittens” with ear, neck and tail piercings.
Holly Crawford’s home outside Wilkes-Barre was raided Dec. 17 after the county Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals got a tip.
A prosecutor says Crawford inflicted pain on the cats, which were listed for sale for hundreds of dollars on the Internet. Crawford’s attorney says state law says nothing about piercing cats or docking their tails.
At a preliminary hearing Tuesday, Wilkes-Barre District Judge Paul Hadzick called it a gray area that needs to be decided by a trial judge or jury."

This story is unbelieveable but unfortunately is true. After doing everything the guy who does the piercing says "Trust me, the cat didn’t feel any pain. I used ice cubes and put a potato behind his ear and heated up the needle with a Bic lighter before I jabbed it through".

As if he could understand what the poor cat was going through. Such people in my suggestion should be tortured and tortured until they realise that torturing an animal is a crime and is no less than breaking a law.

-Shreshta. B.

Camera Angles,Sizes and Movements

Hello, members, it's Boae!

I'd like to have a review of camera angles, sizes and movements that we have learnt in the last semester. We have to use the camera in a right way so that we can have beaufiful shots for our film. I found a useful website that introduce the basic information of camera sizes, angles and movements. This will help you guys to remind what we have learnt in the semester 3, and it is good to remember the visual literacy so that we can plan the shots for each scenes to look the best.

For the first film, as it is an interview with people from RSPCA, we will mainly use mid shots and close up shots. When we want to shoot all people including interviewer and interviewees in one screen, we will use wide shot or panning.

For the second film (advertisement), as we have decided to film in a park, we will mostly use wide shots to view the park and dog at the same time. Using close up shots of dog will be good when we want to catch the dog's emotional face. Anyway, Let's try to use variety of sizes, angels and movements in our film.

Camera Sizes

Shot	Code	Description	Purpose	Example
Extreme close-up	ECU	This is a very close shot showing the detail of an object or the physical features of a person.	To make the viewer aware of some specific detail in the film. It can be used to heighten tension.
Very close-up	VCU	This is a face shot taken from the mid-forehead to above the chin.	This shows the close detail of the character's eyes and mouth. It can be used to heighten tension.
Big close-up	BCU	This is full head height and the head takes up the entire screen. It contains little or no background.	This shows the detail of the character’s face.
Close-up	CU	This is a shot taken of a person’s head from just above the head to the top of the upper chest. It can also be used to film an object at close range. It contains little or no background.	This used to introduce a character and allows the character to show emotions. It can be used to heighten tension.
Medium close-up	MCU	This shows the upper half of the body. The shot is taken from the above the head to lower chest.	Good for conversation between two characters.
Medium shot	MS	This shows half of the body. The shot is taken from above the head to just below the waist.	This allows you to get to know the character more closely by viewing their facial expressions and body language.
Medium long shot	MLS	This shows the whole person as well as some of the background.	Places the person in context.
Long shot	LS	This shows the whole person and other characters, but the background dominates the shot.	This allows the viewer to understand the relationship between the characters and their environment.
Extra long shot	ELS	This shows the landscape of the film or a barely visible character in the distance of a background.	This gives information to the viewer about where the action is to take place. It often sets the atmosphere of a film.

Camera Angles

Angle	Description	Purpose	Example
High	The camera is placed above and looks down on the subject or object.	It is used to make the character look small and also indicate that the character is weak or inferior.
Eye	An eye angle places the audience on eye-level with the character.	It is used to indicate that the character is on equal footing with the audience. It suggests reality.
Low	The camera is placed looking up on the subject or object.	It is used to make the character look big and indicates that the character is powerful and dominant.
Overhead/ Bird's eye	The camera is placed overhead or directly above the object or scene.	Characters and objects are made to look small and vulnerable. A character or object could be followed at a different speed or pace.

Camera Movements

Angle	Description	Purpose	Example
Zoom	The camera moves towards or away from a particular object.	It is used to make objects appear closer or further away.
Panning	The camera turns from side to side, i.e. from left to right or right to left.	It is often used in the opening scene of a movie or can be used to show the landscape from the view of the characters.
Tilt	The camera moves diagonally from the top to the bottom of the frame.	It is used to show the character from head to toe and can emphasize size. It can also indicate speed and reaction.
Dolly	The camera moves towards or away from the character. The camera is often placed on wheels to allow for a smooth movement.	It allows you to follow the characters or the action, from one place to another.
Tracking	The camera moves along with the actors or the action. The camera is usually on wheels.	It engages the viewer in the action where they can feel part of it.

Source from http://portals.studentnet.edu.au/literacy/Minisites/SCEGGSDarlinghurstrevised/vliteracy/shots.htm

Short Video Example

Hi. This is Boae Kang, a member of Big Cat Media. We are currently producing a campaign called ‘Mate in Love: I think Therefore I am’ to give people awareness of abandoned animals and need for animal protection. Our project aim is based on RSPCA and we will emphasize on the importance of animals welfare in our video projects. I found a short video from RSPCA. It will help us to get some idea for our video project. Thank you and enjoy.

YouTube video Click RSPCA advert - I'm an animal, help me out

Hiya, Our Roles

Our roles and responsibilities were addressed to the members of group which include Boae Kang, Sunny Choi, Shreshta Belani, Yammi Lee, Kayu Lee and me ( Tim He -_- ).
Our group roles for the production of our video are as follows:

Producer/Production Manager: Yammi & Shreshta

Director/Writer: Sunny & Boae

Camera Operator: Tim

Sound Recordist: Kayu

Every role was carefully thought and planned as we discussed and explored each others strengths and how experienced and comfortable they are with performing their assigned roles. By assigning roles that they show interest and enjoy they are more likely to perform with better precision and quality

At the moment what we have decided to do (although it is subject to change), was the create 3 video one being a long formal video and another 2 which are short advertisements.

It is a great way to sell the campaign’s idea one through a formal interview with an official source and another 2 for short advertisements that would be shown at presentations as well as on our website that we have created.
Podcasts will also be made through a series of interviews through a sound recording device that we will implement while the interview is underway.

With that said, the name of our company has also gone under discussion, as the name IOPA (International Organisation for the Protection of Animals) was too long and was not “catchy” name for someone to actually remember. So we had come up with Tiger Media, which we thought was a good idea, but after further reconsideration we had come up with Big Cat Media, which was original and related to topic of animal welfare seeing that Tigers are treated as a form of endangered species. We have decided to stick with our campaign name Mates In Love, people showed interest and believed it to be a heart warming name of an animal campaign.

With the logo I have started to think of possible design elements for it and hopefully I can get it done as soon as possible, for the rest of the group to see. It is important because not only will it be the basis of our video logo but will serve as the primary visual identity for our campaign and company as a whole.

I am quite happy with the progress with my group as everyone seems to acknowledge each other, hear each other out as well as share the work that we expected and assigned to do, overall I’m quite contempt with my group at the moment.

Hopefully finish the design by next week.

~~ Timmy

First video - Interview II (from Kayu)

So, the first step is done already. Afterwards, we decided and made few questions for Lauren during the interview. There are about 5 to 6 questions which can allow the video last for at least 8 to 10 minutes. Morever, those questions are focusing on the the area of RSPCA, like what is thier job, what is their object, how do they help animal and so on. Our question is to make the whole interview go smooth and let Lauren to be more comfortable to say as much as she could.

We have send Lauren the quesrtions we just made, just to let her perpare. Morover, Lauren decided to bring a pupil and a celebrity who works for RSPCA and will do part of the interview as well.

After the interview, perhaps we would like to ask Lauren to make comment on our self - designed media products which are for the othe relevant subjet. Since I reckon her professional experience from working in RSPCA would help just to gain good improvement in our animal care organization.

Video found during research

Hi I just found this video on some website while doing my research. This video is about animal testing. According to some people animals are being tortured and killed in the name of science. They are being tested upon with new experiments which might be good for the future of humans. Studies suggets that science does this because humans and animals are similar but when it comes to humanity and justice they argue that both are different and shouldnt be linked together or humans are more superior. This video about animal testing is a voice raised to stop torturing animals and killing them for science,


http://www.petatv.com/tvpopup/video.asp?video=testing123&Player=wm


I found the cinematography of this video very interesting. The back to back shots of animals and words such as pain, suffer, in juxtaposition with the people talking make the video very attractive. The use of the music int he video also gives it a dramatic feel and gives rise to the emotions of the audience.

This video will surely help us in shaping our ideas of our video and raise a voice against the using of animals in science.


-Shreshta.B.

I found an interesting ad !! ~

Hey Guys ~ It's Sunny

I found an interesting ad made by RSPCA!

It is made in 1992 (quite old video:-b) and it mainly tries to show those pets really need their owners. Also, owners need to consider that for having and adopting pets, it requires lots of attention and care for pets because when they grow up, they need a education and more food, and when they are sick and need to go to a hospital, the cost will be expensive.

Moreover, the visual style is interesting as well. All scenes are taken as a wide shot. Also, at the center of every scene, there is a dog and with the dog, the ad plays a narration. For me, the narration evokes my sympathy as I am one of pet owner. Some parts of narration were really good and memorable. For example, it says “remember they grow up. They need good food and education”, “they need to get on family” and at the end of scene, it says “so, remember they won’t be babies forever.”

Overall, it is well-made advertisement. Also, I think it will be helpful to get some ideas for making our short film (the advertisement).

Plz. Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4onNWSbOIw and enjoy :-D

Quantitative Research

We 've conducted a survey with 50 respondents in Insearch. The aim for it is to find out whether the respondents have enough awareness of animal welfare and what level they think the public in Australia are aware of animal welfare issues.

I've summarized the results as follows:

1. Do you agree the problem of cruelty to animals is serious in Australia?

2. Do you think the public are aware of animals welfare issues?

From the above results, it proves our group is having a correct objective of making the video, that is the public is not having enough social awareness for animal welfare issues, thus there is a need for us to make the video, so that it can help to raise the awareness of animal welfare of the public.

First video - Interview (from Kayu)

Few weeks have gone, and we eventually sucessfully contact with one of the RSPCA staff through the conver conversation on phone. Her name is Lauren Preston, i forgot what is her postition in RSPCA, but she is kind of manager.

We decided to take the interview somewhere in city. We have been trying to look for a suitable location, such as UTS library, outside the front door of UTS library, coffee shop....and so on, as long as it is a place with nice atmosphere. However those places are always full of people or noise. Therefore, we have no choice and asked for permission to shoot the video inside the blue building (one of the lecture rooms in the ground floor of blue building).

It is not that easy to organize a suitable day to do the interview, since both of our side and Lauren's side have stuff to do in weekday (whatever day we say is ok and she says no, whatever day she says yes and we would not be free). Finally we jump to the conclusion and decided to do the interview on 7th of April which is during the Easter break.

Ps. During the interview, Shreshta will be the intervieweer because she has nice voice and good communication skill. Then Boea and Sunny will be the camera man and assistance, since they are good in controlling the camera and know more about the camera techniques.

Responsibilities

Today after a long talk and understanding the production process we ended up deciding our roles and responsibilities for the project which are as follows:

1. Producer/Production manager: Yammi & Shreshta

2. Director/Writer: Sunny & Boae

3. Camera Operator: Tim 

4. Sound Recordist/Boom swinger: Kayu

And the post production will be looked after the whole group which includes:

1. Video logging sheet

2. Transcribe interviews

3. Paper edit

4. Editing process

We have also decided upon our shooting times which will be the 7th and 8th of April and the locations.

- Shreshta.B.

 

From Kayu

hi guys.

For this subject, COMM 416. We were told to produce self-made video. like the one that we did in semester 3. This time, eventhough it is a group project as usual, however each one has to work out thier own develop process. Such as research material, treatment, script and storyboard....etc. So that, here we have the blog for all the group members to do so.

Our videos are considered to be something about the company which we create for another connected subject. In fact, that company is called as Big Cat Media.

Just a brief introduction...
Basically, Big Cat Media is actually based on the concept of RSPCA, one of the well known internetional animal care organization. so what we are doing is to create some of the media stuffs which deals with animal care, like abandon, abused animals and so on.

Then, we are going to create '3' videos and they are all about animal care stuff. The first 2 will be short advertisment in two different version, just like the one that RSPCA did. Those 2 ad are designed as promotion, and will be filmed with using Dog and a Cat as the character respectively. As in dog and cat are alwasy the symbolic of Pet.

The last one will be a fomal Interview with the staff works in RSPCA, but the thing is we still have no reply yet after we have been sending permission request mail like many times.

Anyway, we decided to finish the 2 short ads by week 7 or week 8, like during the study week.

probs, thats all for this week.

Creating the Idea

Hey guys

We are hard at work for planning and assigning our roles to the members of our group. But first we had to get to know each other, which was to first know each others strengths and what they can offer to the group. By doing this will be easier for us to distribute roles as well as aim for a better result.

We had thought the subject of our campaign, and that is a animal welfare group that is closely related to RSPCA, this includes the name of our company, IOPA (International Organisation for the Protection of Animals). Although it does sound long, I guess it sound pretty formal for a company name.

As for our campaign name it is Mates In Love, which sounds pretty sympathetic as a campaign name as it is based around being nice and showing more love towards animals in general. Our slogan will be “I Think, Therefore I Am” a famous quote by philosopher René Descartes. It is a nice play on words to indicate that the animals have are beings too, they can think as well and should be shown the respect and care that we show to each other as humans, and animals should receive no different.

But all in all this week was dedicated to deciding and finalising our ideas as a group and we have come up with these decisions. As a whole the group as worked really well together we acknowledge each others ideas as well as help improve them. Next weeks job will probably making one last check on finalising our ideas. Though we have many great plans it will be organising them and putting them into action that may prove to be a challenge, but I’m confident our group can do this because we are intelligent bunch and with just a small complication won’t stop us.

~~ Timmy

Summary of our ideas about the project

Our Team Member

-Boae
-Yammi
-Tim
-Kayu
-Sunny
-Shreshta

Our Aim and Purpose

-To raise awareness about abandoned animal and welfare
-To encourage people to know and prevent cruelty to animals
-To educate and inform people about responsibility of pet ownership

Our Target Audience

-The target audience will be generally young people of 18-35 years old who might be more concerned about animal welfare and look to charities to facilitate the changes they want to see in the treatment of animals.

Moreover, it will be targeted towards the students of UTS: Insearch, mainly the international students, to help them understand the animal rights laws and how serious it is in Australia. It is more likely targeted towards consumers who may potentially own a pet dog, which is the most common household pet.

**
Key Themes - Informative
Genre - Visual Doucumentary
Viedo - 2 x short videos (ads)
1 x long video (interview)

Say no to injustice

Animals are like humans therefore need to be taken care of instead of being cruel to them we need to realise the fact that they are living just as we are. We need to stop being unjust and cruel towards them. This blog 'Big Cat Media' is formed to fight the cruelty. These include rescuing animals from abuses and freeing them from fear and/or pain.

Till this day, in some parts of the world animals are being tortured and given shocks to perform in zoos, circus' and are being used as a form of entertainment so that they can earn money. We as a society should encourage organisations such as the RSPCA, Respect for Animals. and many more that are fighting towards such injustice and support them in any possible way.

There is nothing wrong if these animals are being used as a source of entertainment as far as it is done in a humane way which means without torture, injury or suffering. The pet owners should be aware of the various kinds of animal cruelties which may include starvation, neglecting their pets, not providing them proper shelter in weather conditions or irregular vetenary visits and should avoid them.

Animals have their own rights just as humans do. It is our duty to protect them against cruelty as they cannot protect themselves against us. Raise your voices and save animals against injustice and cruelty by supporting our blog.

-Shreshta. B.

Akon - Lonely (Background music Example)

Hello members,

We are thinking to put a song 'Lonely' by Akon as a background song for our advertising.

I don't have a MP3 file for this song, but i found a YouTube video.

Please listen and give your opinions.

This song is cute and the title of the song is well matched with the lonely abandoned animal in

our advertisement.

Especially this part, 'loney ~~~ i am so lonely~~~ i have nobody,,, for my own..♬' (from 1:16~)

I will try to find other songs.

Thanks guys!


Click here -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9oSld45--I

Adoption from RSPCA

Rosie - 384024

Jack Russell, cross10 Year(s)

Gender: FemaleAnimal

Colour: WhiteCurrent

Shelter: BallaratAnimal Identification

My health has been checked by Ballarat.My vaccinations are up to date.My worming is up date.I haven't been desexed.

Here's a bit of an insight into my background and personality:

Im a dear old girl who needs a quiet, indoor home to spend the rest of my years. My sight is not as good as it used to be due to my age and an old injury to one of my eyes so I dont want to be dodging young kids or boisterous dogs. Im a great little lap warmer with a sweet nature. Im a bit overwhelmed in here so I appear to be quite shy. Im waiting patiently for a nice warm home to relax in. Im a darling dog.


If you would like to meet me or find out more about me please speak to a member of the adoptapet staff team.
Visit me ONLINE at http://www.adoptapet.com.au

This is one of the file from the waiting list of animals to be adopted. Rossie is not the only one who age quite old and one of the possible reason is that she stayed in with her previous owner for a long time, she already got use with her life with love and care or at least having a shelter. Take Rossie as an example, she's old now and got health problem because of aging. To a large extent, I think it is an intoleratable deed to abandone one's pet if it doesn't look or act like the way that it do in its younger time if this is the cause of the abandonement of Rossie. This is simply not a mature way of treating animals as this is the owner's responsibility to take care the animals starting from the day they become their owners.

Although shleters have been set up for abandoned animals, but then, the only way to reduce or stop the problem from happening is to raise the awareness of animal caring on pet owners as well as non- pet owners.

Hello~This is Sunny :-)

Hello Guys~:-D It’s Sunny. This is my first post of blog for class comm416. For the project, as you know, we should develop our concept of project with blog posting every week.

Our group topic is mainly focused on RSPCA and based on this. Especially, it will be more about abandoned animals. We need to create our campaign.(As Yammi mentioned it) For the campaign, we are planning to make 3 short films. One of films will be a interview with one of RSPCA staff. The other 2 films will be advertisement to promote and raise people’s awareness about abandoned animals and animal welfares as well.

Anyway, I hope we can make work really well ~

Welcome

Welcome to Big Cat Media, we are public relations company that dedicates our work to the protection of animals who may potentially be mistreated, abused and left abandoned with no home and owner. We feel this is an important and serious issue that should be addressed.

Our Blog will serve the purpose of educating and sustaining an intelligent public opinion regarding animal welfare. We seek to raise the awareness for the community that animals have a mind of their own and deserve to have a loving and permanent family which will care and shelter them from harm.

Keep visiting our blog for further information and news about ways you can help as well as the information needed for you to understand our objectives. "I think, therefore I am".

~ Timmy :)

Pre-production - Planning your shoot

Without planning you cannot make a good film. I found a good article about ‘planning your shoot’. I summarised the article and highlighted the importance elements for the pre-production. This will be very helpful for our group’s shooting plan.

Why and Who

Firstly, you have to think about why we shoot this film and who this is for. Defining target audience is the first step to design the filming. If we are shooting for a younger audience like MTV, we may need camera movements to be quicker and less fluid than for productions for an older audience.
Secondly, you should clearly know about the purpose of the video. You should think about why we are promoting this video and what outcomes we expect from this video.

Where and When

Doing a location scout is one of the best ways to prepare for a video shoot. It is good to visit the shooting location before the shooting day to find out what the location looks like, in case there are any problems such as traffic, light and noise levels. These will help to prepare for the actual shooting.

What and How

This part you should make a script for the video. Filming without the script is much like building a house without a set of blueprints. The best way to determine what is to make a comprehensive list of everything you want to see and hear in the video. The list will become a shot list. Then, we should create a shooting schedule to be most efficient with time, money, cast and crew. After creating the schedule, write up the shot list, including all of the different camera angles and shot sizes we may want of each action.
Plan your shoot and Shoot your plan!

Members, this is the original article. Please read and get some tips!
Click here --> Planning your shoot

Problem of animal abandonment.

Stray Animals

The plight of strays is one of the most visible animal welfare issues in the world today. Dogs are one of the most affected animals - of the estimated 500 million dogs in the world, approximately 75% are strays.Life on the streets is hard. Stray dogs will fight over the limited amounts of food and that which can be scavenged. Injuries sustained this way are rarely treated.Tumours, skin infections and open sores are common for stray dogs. Over three quarters of puppies in developing countries die in agony from diseases including rabies and distemper.Conflict with human communitiesStray dogs, frequently suffering from hunger and illness, seek food and shelter in human communities. They are often seen as a nuisance and health hazard by the people who live alongside them.With a lack of knowledge and resources, communities in developing countries frequently resort to randomly culling strays, by poisoning, electrocuting or shooting dogs.These methods are inhumane, causing the animals great pain and suffering. They are also ineffective in the long term as they do not address the cause of the problem.

Responsible pet ownership

A stray dog in Thailand© WSPAIn many countries the majority of stray animals have been abandoned by their owners or are owned but allowed to roam freely. The unsupervised dogs then breed, resulting in unwanted puppies.WSPA works to provide education about responsible pet ownership: dog identification, vaccination and neutering means fewer animals will end up on the street.Our vision is that all countries will use effective and cruelty free methods of stray population management that address the roots of the problem.

The above article is obtained from WSPCAhttp://www.wspa-international.org/wspaswork/strayanimals/Default.aspx which is an organization aiming to improve animal welfare and make animal cruelty to an end.
Other than the organization of RSPCA in Australia, there are still quite a lot of small organizations like WSPCA who also participates in improving animal welfare. But then, it is still a long way for the whole world to cooperate with each other to help improving animals' lives.

Project Ideas

As mentioned before, the project in this subject is going to make 3 separate videos. The major one is the filming in RSPCA with staff and animals. The first thing we have to do is to contact RSPCA see if they are availabe and willing to help us.


Other than that, the remaining 2 short videos will be about one of my groupmate's dog--Kayu's dog. But still we havn't decided the content of the video.


Overall, the 2 videos we are going to make will be relating to animals. We hope they can arouse people's attention not just in the animals' appearance, but then is the appropriate amount of moral value towards animal treatment.