I found these good rotoscoping tips while searching the internet. When I go back to do corrections for my project 2, hopefully this will make the whole process a little less daunting.
1) There is no such thing as a perfect matte. Rotoscoping is an art form that takes into account the background image, the movement of the object, and the new elements to be composited in the background.
2) Try to start your shape at its most complex point in time, where it will need the most control points.
3) Break a complex shape into multiple simple shapes. If you are rotoscoping a humanoid form and an arm becomes visible, consider rotoscoping the arm as its own element, rather than adding extra points on the body that will serve no purpose when the arm is obscured.
4) Imagine you are the animator who created the shot. What would your dope sheet look like? No matter the medium, whether CG, live action or otherwise, most movements are rarely linear. They normally move in arcs; they normally accelerate in and out of stopped positions. Try and understand the mechanics behind how things are moving in your shot. This will help you to minimize keyframes.
5) Watch and study the shot before you start working. Where are the changes in directions? These will normally have keyframes. Where are the starts and stops? Are there camera moves that can be stabilized to make your work easier?
6) Don’t be afraid to trash your work and start over. Beginning roto artists often make the mistake of trying to fix a flawed approach by adding more and more keyframes. Experienced roto artists learn to quickly identify an inferior approach and are unashamed to trash their work and start over, often many, many times. It is very difficult to get a good matte without a conscious effort to keep the keyframes to a minimum.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Entry 66 - Project 3 Keying
I found this list of things to keep in mind when using the greenscreen. If i do need to refilm greenscreen aspects of my project 3, this list will come in handy so I don't have the same issues I had before.
Top 10 Tips for Better Greenscreen & Bluescreen Chroma Keying
General Specialist recently posted some excellent advice for better chromakeying. Read on for our Top 10 Quick Tips culled from those suggestions, as well as a tutorial on chromakeying in Adobe After Effects.
1. Keep It Blurry
Turn off all in-camera sharpening and skin detail settings. Seperate the talent from the screen and strive for a shallow DOF. Seperation also helps control light spill.
2. Resolution and Framing
Shoot as high rez as you can afford. Disregard TV safe areas and framing, you need that extra 10%. Tilt the camera 90 degrees for shots of standing people and flop the image in your comp during post-production.
3. Blue or Green Screens?
It depends. Green is a brighter color channel with less noise than blue. Blue is better for blonde hair. Blue light spill is also less sickly looking than a green cast.
4. Don’t Depend on Imagination
Don’t assume that the talent or crew understands what you are after. Good storyboards will save you time and frustration. It’s hard to act in a vacuum, so give the talent something to look at and interact with.
5. Garment and Costume Colors
Greens, browns and khaki are all no-no’s for greenscreen work. Jeans and blue colors are just as uncool for bluescreen.
6. Proper Props
Ensure that shiny props don’t reflect the color of your screens. Or don’t use shiny props.
7. Lighting is Key
Get a crew that knows how to light if you are unable to, proper lighting is more critical than ever for chromakey work. You cannot fix the lighting in post, don’t bother trying. Get it right the first time.
8. Preview On Set
Provide some method of previewing at least a rough version of each comp as you shoot. Your talent and lighting crew will thank you and hopefully reward you with better performances.
9. Chroma Sampling and Codecs
If you can afford it, capture a 4:4:4 image without color compression into a codec that doesn’t discard any of that info. For DV keys, blur the U and V channels before pulling a key, or use software that does this for you.
10. Progressive Frames, not Fields
Shoot progressive instead of interlaced if at all possible. If you are forced to shoot interlaced, properly deinterlace the footage before keying it.
Turn off all in-camera sharpening and skin detail settings. Seperate the talent from the screen and strive for a shallow DOF. Seperation also helps control light spill.
2. Resolution and Framing
Shoot as high rez as you can afford. Disregard TV safe areas and framing, you need that extra 10%. Tilt the camera 90 degrees for shots of standing people and flop the image in your comp during post-production.
3. Blue or Green Screens?
It depends. Green is a brighter color channel with less noise than blue. Blue is better for blonde hair. Blue light spill is also less sickly looking than a green cast.
4. Don’t Depend on Imagination
Don’t assume that the talent or crew understands what you are after. Good storyboards will save you time and frustration. It’s hard to act in a vacuum, so give the talent something to look at and interact with.
5. Garment and Costume Colors
Greens, browns and khaki are all no-no’s for greenscreen work. Jeans and blue colors are just as uncool for bluescreen.
6. Proper Props
Ensure that shiny props don’t reflect the color of your screens. Or don’t use shiny props.
7. Lighting is Key
Get a crew that knows how to light if you are unable to, proper lighting is more critical than ever for chromakey work. You cannot fix the lighting in post, don’t bother trying. Get it right the first time.
8. Preview On Set
Provide some method of previewing at least a rough version of each comp as you shoot. Your talent and lighting crew will thank you and hopefully reward you with better performances.
9. Chroma Sampling and Codecs
If you can afford it, capture a 4:4:4 image without color compression into a codec that doesn’t discard any of that info. For DV keys, blur the U and V channels before pulling a key, or use software that does this for you.
10. Progressive Frames, not Fields
Shoot progressive instead of interlaced if at all possible. If you are forced to shoot interlaced, properly deinterlace the footage before keying it.
Entry 65 - Face Type 2
 |
| "Type Face 2" |
 |
| "Type Face 3" |
Type face 3 actually conveys a concept I hope to incorporate into my type face: shading.
Since the words are being piled up, they create darker areas, which can simulate shading. This would give my type face a good amount of needed depth, and it would make the overall video a little better.
Since the words are being piled up, they create darker areas, which can simulate shading. This would give my type face a good amount of needed depth, and it would make the overall video a little better.
Type Face 2 uses alot of different fonts for the image, and that might help as well. New shapes can be found by using that practice.
I'll likely experiment with different fonts for my Type Face.
I'll likely experiment with different fonts for my Type Face.
Entry 64 - Face Type 1
 |
| "Type Face" |
For my video, I want to make my face out of the words I pull out of the word cloud. This seems like the right way to go for the project.
Though, I feel my version will be a bit more simplified since I'll only have certain words to warp and work with.
Entry 63 - Self Portrait Research 3
These 2 videos were odd, but interesting in their own right. They don't do everything right, but they're nice. I've included them below:
I will admit though, the 1st video wasn't really structured. It just seemed really random.
Then again, that could represent what type of person made that video.
Then again, that could represent what type of person made that video.
Entry 62 - Text Clouds 2
I found this version of the text cloud shortly after I found the first 2. I feel for the video I'm doing, this actually is better for the scope of my project. The original 2 were linear, but very bland. This one takes my original idea, but makes it more plausible. Because of this, I'll most likely go with this design for the text cloud.
 |
| "Text Cloud 3" |
I found this version of the text cloud shortly after I found the first 2. I feel for the video I'm doing, this actually is better for the scope of my project. The original 2 were linear, but very bland. This one takes my original idea, but makes it more plausible. Because of this, I'll most likely go with this design for the text cloud.
Entry 61 - Text Clouds 1
I was able to come up with a decent idea for my video. I want my video to go into my mind and show the formulation of thoughts for my video. I had an idea for a book with a text cloud floating above the book. I'd then pick out the words that describe me. I'd expect it to look something like this:
 |
| "Word Cloud 1" |
 |
| "Word Cloud 2" |
My original cloud was going to be a bit more cluttered, but I'm thinking this might be the route to go.
Entry 60 - Self Portrait Research 2
I remember seeing this video in class. This video actually took an interesting take on the idea by just showing the side view for the whole time and changing the background. The whole project felt singular and flowed well. It's a good indication of good Green Screen use.
Entry 59 - Self Portrait Research 1
This project provided a good amount of examples, but not the kind that were like this project. Take this one for instance:
This video just shows off what the person does and what he likes. This isn't what were supposed to do, but, if not given the specific parameters, I would have done something like this most likely.
If anything, this is a good indication of what I need to avoid in the future when working on the video.
If anything, this is a good indication of what I need to avoid in the future when working on the video.
Entry 58 - Thoughts on the Fourth Project
Self Portrait Project
Project:
For this project you will be creating a video self portrait. I would like you to use a majority of the techniques we have covered during this class. Remember, a self portrait doesn’t necessarily have to be images or video of self. It can be representational.
Size and material requirements:
Render the file in .MOV format. Be sure that your quality is set to high. Sound is not a requirement for this project, but feel free to use it if you like. I would like this project to be in the range of one to five minutes.
Objectives:
Practice combining the different techniques we have learned this semester. Go beyond using video in its traditional expectations. Understand the basics of AfterEffects and how to use it effectively.
Storyboard Due: April 25th
Project Due: May 7th
This is probably the hardest project to work on. From my understanding, this project is supposed to be on who we are as a person. This doesn't mean what we like. At this point, that's what confuses me the most. I'm having a good amount of issues coming up with ideas for this one.
Hopefully I can figure something out.
Hopefully I can figure something out.
Entry 57 - Final Video / Critique 3
I'm very happy with how this video turned out. It's been something I've wanted to do for a long time, and to be able to finally do it was fun. For the final critique though, I'll have to fix a few things:
- Certain Keying needs to be fixed. The screen shows up sometimes when it shouldn't.
- I need to redo the audio. I think better rehearsing would help this.
- Drone seems to have the issue of being parially see through. I need to fix that.
- The pictures I promised to put up weren't there. I need to refilm that scene with the pictures.
Monday, April 16, 2012
Entry 56 - PSA Music 2
I found this a while ago, and I figured this would be another good option for my video. Having just options from Animusic didn't seem right, so this brings something different to the table.
Entry 55 - PSA History 7
The final part of the article involves the more prominent Public Service organizations and their impact on the media. This concludes the history of the PSA.
Paid vs PSA
One of the ongoing questions in the world of public service advertising has always been…..if you buy media time and space, can you also solicit PSAs, and will the media use PSAs, knowing they are getting paid for their time and space? The short answer is yes…but the longer answer requires much more explanation.
There was a time when buying time and space would poison the well among the media who wanted to donate their scarce inventory to only those non-profits which could not afford to buy the time. Then along came an organization called ONDCP, which stands for the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
Limited space in this backgrounder does not permit us to go into the details of the ONDCP’s mission, but you can go to: http://www.mediacampaign.org/
faqs.html#ma2 for a detailed description of their mission and goals.
In 2000, the FCC sent inquiries to five major television networks about ONDCP's practice of offering millions of additional advertising dollars to networks that embedded anti-drug messages in their programming. Congressional hearings were held and the FCC ruled that the networks should have identified the Office of National Drug Control Policy as the sponsor of the television programs. In the spring of 1998, the ONDCP began to develop an accounting system to decide which network shows would be valued and for how much. Receiving advance copies of scripts, they assigned financial value to each show's anti-drug message. Then they would suggest ways that the networks could increase the payments they would get.
Running the campaign for the ONDCP was Alan Levitt, who estimated that between 1998 and 2000 the networks received nearly $25 million in benefits.14
Using public funds appropriated by Congress, a unique feature of the ONDCP Campaign is a “Media Match” component, wherein for every ad purchased by ONDCP, the media outlet must provide a match ad for free, and to date the campaign’s Media Match program has generated $1.22 billion in incremental media value since its inception.15
Many broadcast stations adopted a policy of accepting the paid funds from ONDCP and thus the former policy of either accepting paid funds or relying solely on PSAs was overturned in favor of “hybrid” placements.
The Military Services
Historically, the military services have used PSAs to support their paid efforts in an attempt to recruit more qualified applicants to our armed forces. Some military services such as the Marine Corps tend to use the same creative for both paid and PSAs. Other services such as Air Force have a bifurcated strategy, creating separate messages for each different approach.
As noted above, PSAs have not only been an effective mechanism to extend the reach of other marketing efforts for our military; they also have helped to generate leads, because PSA messages tend to be more credible. Also, since the time and space is free, the cost benefit of PSAs tends to be significant. For a case history on how PSAs have been used to supportmilitary recruiting, go to:
http://www.goodwillcommunications.com/gc_support_client_corner-frameset.asp?page=gc_support_client_corner-military.asp
Animal Protection - PSAs & PETA
One of the most controversial non-profits is PETA - People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the largest animal rights organization in the world. PETA uses famous celebreties in many of its PSAs and other forms of communication. They are also well known for their in-your-face tactics to protest the use of animal fur in clothing.
It is important for all PSA producers to understand that while throwing paint on someone wearing fur may be good streat theater, that type of approach, when used as a PSA is never going to get on the air. First, it is too controversial and more importantly could dissuade local retailers from advertising on stations, which is their lifeblood. In the case of PETA, they tend to use their more controversial approaches in print ads and videos posted to popular internet sites such as Yahoo and You Tube. http://www.peta.org/mediacenter/ads/default.aspx
The NCSA Program
Another hybrid arrangement is known as the “NCSA” program which stands for Non-Commercial Sustaining Agreement. In this arrangement, funds are paid to state broadcast associations which can use the funds for any of their programs such as youth scholarships for students in their communities. On behalf of the “sponsor,” the state broadcast association then negotiates PSA placements that typically result in much better reach and frequency than what would result from strictly PSA placements and bonus spots are often part of the arrangement. The Army National Guard and U.S. Coast Guard both have used this approach.
The “Total Station Project”
The other major development in innovative media approaches combining PSAs and other forms of programming is referred to as the Total Station Project. In this model, the Community Affairs Department at broadcast TV stations adopt a public service theme, and via working with other departments at the station coordinate PSAs with station editorials, heavily promoted public affairs programs, talk show appearances by the campaign spokesman, remote broadcasts at special events and features in local news broadcasts.
The Entertainment Industries Council employs a slightly different model via its Picture This program whereby they bring together local broadcasters, elected officials and other stakeholders from the community to address topical social issues.
These can be extremely effective approaches because they provide a win-win opportunity for both the stations and the other stakeholders working with them to address important social problems.
Impact of Videos and Social Media
One more fairly recent development is the use of video clips to convey various types of messages. The number of videos posted to You Tube and other mainstream sites is astronomical and many of these are messages in the public interest. However, instead of lavish productions created by advertising agencies, they are being churned out by creative people with low-cost cameras and editing software, then posted for free on the Internet. PSA contests and crowd sourcing are also new tools being used by non-profits to engage their audiences in their issues and campaigns. Most social media sites have special interest sections where people who want to promote or support certain causes can gather to share success stories, donate, build bigger communities, etc.
Given the hundreds of PSA campaigns that are in circulation at any given time and the dozens of sponsoring organizations, it is not possible to mention all the great campaigns being produced year in and year out on behalf of great causes.
However, on our Social Marketing Resources site we are attempting to make it easier for interested parties to get more information on specific issues, provide details on what organizations are doing campaigns on what issues, and providing as many resources as possible. This is our contribution to the field which has been a very meaningful endeavor for us and the organizations we have worked for.
As for the future for PSAs, it remains bright because PSAs are proven to be a very viable mass communication technique, and the media clearly understand they play a vital role in making their communities – and thus our nation at large – a better place in which to live and work. However, as we have always stated in the past – PSAs are not a panacea. Organizations need to use a variety of mass communication techniques to address constantly shifting audiences and a media landscape becoming more complex by the day.
Paid vs PSA
One of the ongoing questions in the world of public service advertising has always been…..if you buy media time and space, can you also solicit PSAs, and will the media use PSAs, knowing they are getting paid for their time and space? The short answer is yes…but the longer answer requires much more explanation.
There was a time when buying time and space would poison the well among the media who wanted to donate their scarce inventory to only those non-profits which could not afford to buy the time. Then along came an organization called ONDCP, which stands for the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
Limited space in this backgrounder does not permit us to go into the details of the ONDCP’s mission, but you can go to: http://www.mediacampaign.org/faqs.html#ma2 for a detailed description of their mission and goals.
In 2000, the FCC sent inquiries to five major television networks about ONDCP's practice of offering millions of additional advertising dollars to networks that embedded anti-drug messages in their programming. Congressional hearings were held and the FCC ruled that the networks should have identified the Office of National Drug Control Policy as the sponsor of the television programs. In the spring of 1998, the ONDCP began to develop an accounting system to decide which network shows would be valued and for how much. Receiving advance copies of scripts, they assigned financial value to each show's anti-drug message. Then they would suggest ways that the networks could increase the payments they would get.
Running the campaign for the ONDCP was Alan Levitt, who estimated that between 1998 and 2000 the networks received nearly $25 million in benefits.14
Using public funds appropriated by Congress, a unique feature of the ONDCP Campaign is a “Media Match” component, wherein for every ad purchased by ONDCP, the media outlet must provide a match ad for free, and to date the campaign’s Media Match program has generated $1.22 billion in incremental media value since its inception.15
Many broadcast stations adopted a policy of accepting the paid funds from ONDCP and thus the former policy of either accepting paid funds or relying solely on PSAs was overturned in favor of “hybrid” placements.
The Military Services
Historically, the military services have used PSAs to support their paid efforts in an attempt to recruit more qualified applicants to our armed forces. Some military services such as the Marine Corps tend to use the same creative for both paid and PSAs. Other services such as Air Force have a bifurcated strategy, creating separate messages for each different approach.
As noted above, PSAs have not only been an effective mechanism to extend the reach of other marketing efforts for our military; they also have helped to generate leads, because PSA messages tend to be more credible. Also, since the time and space is free, the cost benefit of PSAs tends to be significant. For a case history on how PSAs have been used to supportmilitary recruiting, go to:
http://www.goodwillcommunications.com/gc_support_client_corner-frameset.asp?page=gc_support_client_corner-military.asp
Animal Protection - PSAs & PETA
One of the most controversial non-profits is PETA - People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the largest animal rights organization in the world. PETA uses famous celebreties in many of its PSAs and other forms of communication. They are also well known for their in-your-face tactics to protest the use of animal fur in clothing.
It is important for all PSA producers to understand that while throwing paint on someone wearing fur may be good streat theater, that type of approach, when used as a PSA is never going to get on the air. First, it is too controversial and more importantly could dissuade local retailers from advertising on stations, which is their lifeblood. In the case of PETA, they tend to use their more controversial approaches in print ads and videos posted to popular internet sites such as Yahoo and You Tube. http://www.peta.org/mediacenter/ads/default.aspxThe NCSA Program
Another hybrid arrangement is known as the “NCSA” program which stands for Non-Commercial Sustaining Agreement. In this arrangement, funds are paid to state broadcast associations which can use the funds for any of their programs such as youth scholarships for students in their communities. On behalf of the “sponsor,” the state broadcast association then negotiates PSA placements that typically result in much better reach and frequency than what would result from strictly PSA placements and bonus spots are often part of the arrangement. The Army National Guard and U.S. Coast Guard both have used this approach.
The “Total Station Project”
The other major development in innovative media approaches combining PSAs and other forms of programming is referred to as the Total Station Project. In this model, the Community Affairs Department at broadcast TV stations adopt a public service theme, and via working with other departments at the station coordinate PSAs with station editorials, heavily promoted public affairs programs, talk show appearances by the campaign spokesman, remote broadcasts at special events and features in local news broadcasts.
The Entertainment Industries Council employs a slightly different model via its Picture This program whereby they bring together local broadcasters, elected officials and other stakeholders from the community to address topical social issues.
These can be extremely effective approaches because they provide a win-win opportunity for both the stations and the other stakeholders working with them to address important social problems.
Impact of Videos and Social Media
One more fairly recent development is the use of video clips to convey various types of messages. The number of videos posted to You Tube and other mainstream sites is astronomical and many of these are messages in the public interest. However, instead of lavish productions created by advertising agencies, they are being churned out by creative people with low-cost cameras and editing software, then posted for free on the Internet. PSA contests and crowd sourcing are also new tools being used by non-profits to engage their audiences in their issues and campaigns. Most social media sites have special interest sections where people who want to promote or support certain causes can gather to share success stories, donate, build bigger communities, etc.
Given the hundreds of PSA campaigns that are in circulation at any given time and the dozens of sponsoring organizations, it is not possible to mention all the great campaigns being produced year in and year out on behalf of great causes.
However, on our Social Marketing Resources site we are attempting to make it easier for interested parties to get more information on specific issues, provide details on what organizations are doing campaigns on what issues, and providing as many resources as possible. This is our contribution to the field which has been a very meaningful endeavor for us and the organizations we have worked for.
As for the future for PSAs, it remains bright because PSAs are proven to be a very viable mass communication technique, and the media clearly understand they play a vital role in making their communities – and thus our nation at large – a better place in which to live and work. However, as we have always stated in the past – PSAs are not a panacea. Organizations need to use a variety of mass communication techniques to address constantly shifting audiences and a media landscape becoming more complex by the day.
Entry 54 - Analysing a bad PSA
In theory, this video should be about Office Safety and the dangers that can occur. However, I don't think they did a good job in sending that message.
The video had a bit too much humor then needed, and for that matter, the humor is mostly accidental. For starters, most of the acting makes this kind of hokey. The music doesn't help it's cause either.
Choice of music and imagery can effect the viewers perception. Making them laugh at others pain isn't a good thing, accidental or otherwise.
Entry 53 - The Very Special Episode
The very special episode is a term that Tv has used for quite some time. sometimes, some producers wanted to tackle certain issues in their shows, and they would devote an episode to it. These episodes would be more serious in tone, and they'd normally have some sort of message at the end about the episodes content.
These episodes pretty much were 30 minute PSAs in their own right, so thats why I'm mentioning them here.
However, the clip I've included below pokes fun at the Very Special Episode. Since I want my video to be somewhat funny, its a good clip to have on hand.
These episodes pretty much were 30 minute PSAs in their own right, so thats why I'm mentioning them here.
However, the clip I've included below pokes fun at the Very Special Episode. Since I want my video to be somewhat funny, its a good clip to have on hand.
Entry 52 - PSA History 6
The Sixth Installment of PSA History talks about how certain groups used PSAs to get more members. While I might not agree with this, it's just a part of the Culture as a whole, so no point in going against it really.
Impact of Hollywood
Another innovative aspect of the anti-drunk driving campaign was to encourage TV show producers to weave drunk driving prevention messages and designated driver references into popular TV program storylines, such as Cheers, L.A. Law, and The Cosby Show. While often so subtle that the viewer may not even know that these storylines were crafted to have their intended effect, they demonstrated the power of the entertainment industry to change attitudes and social norms. In fact, this tactic of engaging Hollywood in addressing serious social problems led to the formation of the Entertainment Industries Council (EIC) in 1983. The EIC combined high-profile film, television and recording stars doing PSAs with positive depiction efforts and worked with producers, writers and directors to incorporate social messages into entertainment programming.
PSAs Promoting Religion
PSAs have been used to promote a variety of relgious issues, ranging from the Catholic Communication Campaign designed to promote family values; http://www.usccb.org/ccc/psa/ the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, aimed at reducing child poverty; www.usccb.org/cchd/ the long-running Homefront campaign sponsored by the Mormon Church http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/700831/posts and campaigns to influence the public in different ways sponsored by the Lutheran, Presbyterian, Methodist and Scientology churches.
PSAs and Recruiting
Another way PSAs were used in contemporary times was to recruit various target audiences as volunteers. From the time it was formed in the Kennedy Administration, the Peace Corps used PSAs exclusively to recruit young people to help ameliorate poverty around the world.
Our firm had the privilege of working with the Peace Corps for seven years, and during this time we helped them generate 782,000 leads, which in turn resulted in 58,558 applications, 21,456 invitations to join the Peace Corps, and 18,028 Volunteers who actually joined.
While there was an active direct mail program and college recruiting efforts during this time, PSAs contributed to the lion’s share of recruiting leads and proved that PSAs were an effective direct response mechanism.
Impact of Hollywood
Another innovative aspect of the anti-drunk driving campaign was to encourage TV show producers to weave drunk driving prevention messages and designated driver references into popular TV program storylines, such as Cheers, L.A. Law, and The Cosby Show. While often so subtle that the viewer may not even know that these storylines were crafted to have their intended effect, they demonstrated the power of the entertainment industry to change attitudes and social norms. In fact, this tactic of engaging Hollywood in addressing serious social problems led to the formation of the Entertainment Industries Council (EIC) in 1983. The EIC combined high-profile film, television and recording stars doing PSAs with positive depiction efforts and worked with producers, writers and directors to incorporate social messages into entertainment programming.
PSAs Promoting Religion
PSAs have been used to promote a variety of relgious issues, ranging from the Catholic Communication Campaign designed to promote family values; http://www.usccb.org/ccc/psa/ the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, aimed at reducing child poverty; www.usccb.org/cchd/ the long-running Homefront campaign sponsored by the Mormon Church http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/700831/posts and campaigns to influence the public in different ways sponsored by the Lutheran, Presbyterian, Methodist and Scientology churches.
PSAs and Recruiting
Another way PSAs were used in contemporary times was to recruit various target audiences as volunteers. From the time it was formed in the Kennedy Administration, the Peace Corps used PSAs exclusively to recruit young people to help ameliorate poverty around the world. Our firm had the privilege of working with the Peace Corps for seven years, and during this time we helped them generate 782,000 leads, which in turn resulted in 58,558 applications, 21,456 invitations to join the Peace Corps, and 18,028 Volunteers who actually joined.
While there was an active direct mail program and college recruiting efforts during this time, PSAs contributed to the lion’s share of recruiting leads and proved that PSAs were an effective direct response mechanism.
Entry 51 - PSA Research 5
When I tried to find student made PSAs, I found a good chunk of them. However, I found that alot of them varied from being terrible to okay. Not great, just okay.
Of the 3, I really like the 1st one the most. It seems like the way they did it made it unique and caught the viewers attention. The other 2 didn't really do that. They just seemed like average videos.
Entry 50 - PSA Music 1
Since my video will focus on Robot Overlords, I need music that would go with that general theme. Because of that, one group came to mind: Animusic.
Animusic is a group that creates music, then creates computer generated videos to go with the music. More often than not, most of their work is done through DVD sales, so they're not well known.
Granted, some of their videos showed up on PBS in the 90's, but since then, they've gone into obscurity.
However, their music would be perfect for my video.
Animusic is a group that creates music, then creates computer generated videos to go with the music. More often than not, most of their work is done through DVD sales, so they're not well known.
Granted, some of their videos showed up on PBS in the 90's, but since then, they've gone into obscurity.
However, their music would be perfect for my video.
Entry 49 - PSA History 5
The fifth installment shows how the PDFA was created and how certain systems were reformed to accomodate.
Changes in Network PSA Policies
Historically, the "big four" broadcast networks had always fed externally produced PSAs to their affiliates which in turn could decide to air them or pre-empt the feed by using paid commercials, locally produced PSAs or other programming. With a desire to brand their own PSAs, the networks decided to begin using characters from their own shows to deliver social messages, and thus getting externally produced PSAs on the networks or to even get them to feed them to their member stations became nearly impossible.
At the same time this was occurring, local stations were under additional pressure from community-based organizations seeking airtime and many stations created their own PSAs in an effort to meet local needs. A number of articles on our PSA Research Center provide further background on the importance of localism.
In the 1980s, a number of broadcast TV stations went public or changed hands. The resulting debt load, mounting costs, as well as increased competition from other media, resulted in demands for greater profitability. Accordingly, most unsold airtime was devoted to promoting the station or network, and at the same time, deregulation meant less government oversight in favor of a marketplace model.
At about this same time concerns were growing about the illicit drug problem. The Advertising Media Partnership for a Drug-free America (PDFA) was created by a group of media and advertising agency executives, spearheaded by Capital Cities Broadcasting Company, then completing the take-over of ABC.
Rallying unprecedented support, the organization mounted the largest public service campaign ever. Indeed, at its height, with more than $365 million a year worth of print lineage and airtime, it rivaled the largest commercial advertising campaigns.12
In its famous campaign often called the “Frying Egg” PSA, the visual shows an egg dropped into a pan with the voice over saying: "This is your brain." Once the egg starts frying, the voice over continues "This is your brain on drugs. Any questions?"
Perhaps one of the most memorable campaigns in PSA history, it also demonstrated that you do not need expensive props, talent, and filming in Malibu to create a powerful message. In more recent years, the PDFA has created a much broader array of PSA messages to deal with the scourge of drugs in its many forms, including marijuana, amphetamines, cocaine and others, aimed at a much wider demographic.
The other hallmark of the PDFA was its use of research before, during and after campaign launch. Consistent with contemporary thinking about the nature of social marketing, the campaign was solidly grounded in McGuire's13 paradigm of behavioral change:
Grey Advertising, under contract to the government, developed the famous theme, ‘Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk,” which was the positioning line for numerous national PSA campaigns in all media.
State and local highway safety representatives were engaged in the campaign; alcohol/safety workshops to train the trainers were held; there was increased enforcement, combined with public education, yet in the early years the fatalities due to alcohol remained fairly consistent. What changed the dynamic was the advent of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and many offshoots to reach youth – Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD) – which marshaled local public opinion and encouraged tougher sentences for repeat offenders.
Over time, drunk driving became a very serious crime because the social forces were all aligned against it. Also, policy makers were not trying to say that you should not drink at all…they were telling the public to drink responsibly , or if drinking is going to occur, then appoint a designated driver.
This was very smart strategy, recognizing that you are never going to get everyone in society to change their behavior, so pick the low hanging fruit and let change happen over time.
Now, some 40 years later, the deaths due to alcohol related incidents on our highways have been cut in half. This demonstrates the time it takes for a problem to sink into the public psyche to the point people will change their behavior.
An organization doing excellent work by getting into schools and operating at the community level is the Foundation for a Drug-Free World at http://www.drugfreeworld.org/home.html/. They provide free pamphlets on a wide variety of drugs to educators, municipal officials and law enforcement agencies.
Changes in Network PSA Policies
Historically, the "big four" broadcast networks had always fed externally produced PSAs to their affiliates which in turn could decide to air them or pre-empt the feed by using paid commercials, locally produced PSAs or other programming. With a desire to brand their own PSAs, the networks decided to begin using characters from their own shows to deliver social messages, and thus getting externally produced PSAs on the networks or to even get them to feed them to their member stations became nearly impossible.
At the same time this was occurring, local stations were under additional pressure from community-based organizations seeking airtime and many stations created their own PSAs in an effort to meet local needs. A number of articles on our PSA Research Center provide further background on the importance of localism.
In the 1980s, a number of broadcast TV stations went public or changed hands. The resulting debt load, mounting costs, as well as increased competition from other media, resulted in demands for greater profitability. Accordingly, most unsold airtime was devoted to promoting the station or network, and at the same time, deregulation meant less government oversight in favor of a marketplace model.
At about this same time concerns were growing about the illicit drug problem. The Advertising Media Partnership for a Drug-free America (PDFA) was created by a group of media and advertising agency executives, spearheaded by Capital Cities Broadcasting Company, then completing the take-over of ABC.
Rallying unprecedented support, the organization mounted the largest public service campaign ever. Indeed, at its height, with more than $365 million a year worth of print lineage and airtime, it rivaled the largest commercial advertising campaigns.12
In its famous campaign often called the “Frying Egg” PSA, the visual shows an egg dropped into a pan with the voice over saying: "This is your brain." Once the egg starts frying, the voice over continues "This is your brain on drugs. Any questions?"Perhaps one of the most memorable campaigns in PSA history, it also demonstrated that you do not need expensive props, talent, and filming in Malibu to create a powerful message. In more recent years, the PDFA has created a much broader array of PSA messages to deal with the scourge of drugs in its many forms, including marijuana, amphetamines, cocaine and others, aimed at a much wider demographic.
The other hallmark of the PDFA was its use of research before, during and after campaign launch. Consistent with contemporary thinking about the nature of social marketing, the campaign was solidly grounded in McGuire's13 paradigm of behavioral change:
Awareness of a problem by a number of people will result in a smaller number who undergo a change of attitude toward the problem. An even smaller number from this second group will actually change their behavior.While this theory may seem very obvious, the anti-drunk driving PSA campaign is a good case in point that demonstrates how difficult it is to change behavior towards a social problem. In the late 1970’s the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launched a national campaign to reduce drunk driving.
Grey Advertising, under contract to the government, developed the famous theme, ‘Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk,” which was the positioning line for numerous national PSA campaigns in all media.
State and local highway safety representatives were engaged in the campaign; alcohol/safety workshops to train the trainers were held; there was increased enforcement, combined with public education, yet in the early years the fatalities due to alcohol remained fairly consistent. What changed the dynamic was the advent of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and many offshoots to reach youth – Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD) – which marshaled local public opinion and encouraged tougher sentences for repeat offenders. Over time, drunk driving became a very serious crime because the social forces were all aligned against it. Also, policy makers were not trying to say that you should not drink at all…they were telling the public to drink responsibly , or if drinking is going to occur, then appoint a designated driver.
This was very smart strategy, recognizing that you are never going to get everyone in society to change their behavior, so pick the low hanging fruit and let change happen over time.
Now, some 40 years later, the deaths due to alcohol related incidents on our highways have been cut in half. This demonstrates the time it takes for a problem to sink into the public psyche to the point people will change their behavior.
An organization doing excellent work by getting into schools and operating at the community level is the Foundation for a Drug-Free World at http://www.drugfreeworld.org/home.html/. They provide free pamphlets on a wide variety of drugs to educators, municipal officials and law enforcement agencies.
Entry 48 - PSA History 4
In PSA History, the fairness doctrine was introduced as a way to balance things out in concerns to advertising. From what I read in the article, 1 anti for every 3 pros would not seem like an efficient practice, but history proved otherwise.
Enter the Fairness Doctrine
One demonstration of PSA effectiveness came in 1969. Two years earlier, a federal court upheld the FCC's application of the Fairness Doctrine to cigarette advertising on radio and television, and ordered stations to broadcast "a significant amount of time" for anti-smoking messages.
This effectively meant one PSA for every three tobacco commercials. The PSAs proved so effective that smoking rates began to decline for the first time in history. Tobacco industry withdrew all cigarette advertising, and Congress made such advertising illegal after 1971. In further support of the success of the PSAs, with the passage of the law preventing cigarette ads, the bulk of the anti-smoking messages disappeared as well, and cigarette consumption rose again for a while. On balance, however, public health professionals credit the PSAs with having saved many millions of lives by initiating the decline in American smoking. 11
Perhaps the most famous anti-smoking PSA was done by Yul Brenner before his death in 1985 from lung cancer. Nine months before he passed away, he gave an interview on Good Morning America. In the interview he mentioned wishing to make an anti-smoking commercial. After his death part of the interview was turned into a PSA by the American Cancer Society and left a lasting impression on everyone who ever saw it.
Later “The Truth” campaign was launched which producers claim is the largest national youth-focused anti-tobacco education campaign ever conceived.
It is designed to engage teens by exposing Big Tobacco's marketing and manufacturing practices, as well as highlighting the toll of tobacco in relevant and innovative ways. http://www.protectthetruth.org/truthcampaign.htm
Another famous anti-smoking campaign was the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/ which used paid print ads and earned media as the primary media vehicles to point out the dangers of smoking among the young.
Enter the Fairness Doctrine
One demonstration of PSA effectiveness came in 1969. Two years earlier, a federal court upheld the FCC's application of the Fairness Doctrine to cigarette advertising on radio and television, and ordered stations to broadcast "a significant amount of time" for anti-smoking messages.
This effectively meant one PSA for every three tobacco commercials. The PSAs proved so effective that smoking rates began to decline for the first time in history. Tobacco industry withdrew all cigarette advertising, and Congress made such advertising illegal after 1971. In further support of the success of the PSAs, with the passage of the law preventing cigarette ads, the bulk of the anti-smoking messages disappeared as well, and cigarette consumption rose again for a while. On balance, however, public health professionals credit the PSAs with having saved many millions of lives by initiating the decline in American smoking. 11
Perhaps the most famous anti-smoking PSA was done by Yul Brenner before his death in 1985 from lung cancer. Nine months before he passed away, he gave an interview on Good Morning America. In the interview he mentioned wishing to make an anti-smoking commercial. After his death part of the interview was turned into a PSA by the American Cancer Society and left a lasting impression on everyone who ever saw it.Later “The Truth” campaign was launched which producers claim is the largest national youth-focused anti-tobacco education campaign ever conceived. It is designed to engage teens by exposing Big Tobacco's marketing and manufacturing practices, as well as highlighting the toll of tobacco in relevant and innovative ways. http://www.protectthetruth.org/truthcampaign.htm
Another famous anti-smoking campaign was the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/ which used paid print ads and earned media as the primary media vehicles to point out the dangers of smoking among the young.
Entry 47 - PSA Research 4
Smokey the Bear PSA's have been around for a long time, so putting them here seemed like a good idea. Though, the last one freaks me out a little.
I'm glad I didn't see the last one when I was a kid. That would have probably messed me up to some extent.
Entry 46 - PSA Research 3
I remember reading this Cracked article about Counterproductive PSAs. The article was good for a laugh, but the points they brought up were actually pretty valid. I've included the top 3 below:
The 1st one doesn't work because the last bit undoes everything, the 2nd one just comes off as one of those (insert funny thing here that happened)while I was high stories, and the 3rd one is too cutesy to get the message across properly.
When you fail to acomplish sending the proper message, that's the worst thing you can do for a PSA.
When you fail to acomplish sending the proper message, that's the worst thing you can do for a PSA.
Entry 45 - Drone Building
One of those videos in particular was the robot drone video, and for what I'm doing, that one is a very important one. I've included it below:
Entry 44 - Robot Overlords
For my PSA, I'd like to do something nonscensical. Since the project is focusing on Greenscreen use, I think making a puppet would be an interesting road to go down. I'm including a few inspiration designs below:
 |
| "Drone Model" |
 |
| "Wall-E" |
 |
| "Kneeling Robot" |
The first picture is where I'm going most likely. Nothing too complicated, and something that's easily maneuverable.
Entry 43 - PSA History 3
For the most part, some PSAs were created to scare kids and the general population into thinking a certain way. This came with it's own set of drawbacks though, as the 3rd portion of PSA History shows.
Controversy Over True Motives
Another issue which received a lot of PSA support at that time was environmental protection, and then, like now, attempts to encourage the public to be better environmental stewards were controversial.
A national nonprofit public education organization named Keep America Beautiful, Inc. (KAB) was formed in 1953 with the mission of "engaging individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their local community environments." KAB's first PSA focused on litter prevention. It partnered with the Ad Council in 1960 to produce a campaign focused on the harmful environmental effects of litter and other forms of pollution.
Ten years into the KAB-Ad Council partnership, in 1971, an Italian actor playing the part of a Native American (who became known as "The Crying Indian") or “Iron Eyes Cody” appeared in an anti-litter commercial. As he looks over a polluted landscape and sheds a tear, a voice-over says: "People start pollution. People can stop it." This powerful commercial won many awards, including being named one of the top 100 advertising campaigns of the 20th century by Advertising Age. Its success inspired other environmental messages from other groups as well.
However, this campaign proved to be quite controversial. Shortly after its debut, various journalists wrote articles pointing out aspects that might not be immediately apparent to viewers. They noted that the tagline "People start pollution; people can stop it" focuses the responsibility for environmental pollution solely on individuals.
John McDonough, writing in Advertising Age, pointed out that the Ad Council's advisory panel for the campaign included some of the country's biggest alleged polluters—Allied Chemicals, Bethlehem Steel, American Can, and US Steel—and that the original campaign was funded by American Can. McDonough wrote, "The company may have loved the pre-Columbian landscape as much as the next guy—and delighted in having Iron Eyes letting people know it. But it consistently opposed state legislation designed to curb litter through container refund-deposit. They felt that the KAB-Ad Council campaign was actually a public relations effort on the part of the container industry to cover its opposition to refund and deposit programs.9
This campaign and the controversy surrounding it suggest that public service campaigns, like the commercial advertising campaigns on which they are modeled, are often meant to serve the vested interests of their sponsors.
The Greenpeace Movement
One organization that has certainly been controversial, but not because they promote vested interests is Greenpeace, the international environmental protection organization. Since their founding, they have combined aggressive and sometimes hostile actions against polluters with highly imaginative ways to engage the public. Their PSAs, mostly produced in-house, have great production values and appeal to a visually oriented, hip culture, which is their primary audience. http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/multimedia/videos/
Controversy Over True Motives
Another issue which received a lot of PSA support at that time was environmental protection, and then, like now, attempts to encourage the public to be better environmental stewards were controversial.
A national nonprofit public education organization named Keep America Beautiful, Inc. (KAB) was formed in 1953 with the mission of "engaging individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their local community environments." KAB's first PSA focused on litter prevention. It partnered with the Ad Council in 1960 to produce a campaign focused on the harmful environmental effects of litter and other forms of pollution.
Ten years into the KAB-Ad Council partnership, in 1971, an Italian actor playing the part of a Native American (who became known as "The Crying Indian") or “Iron Eyes Cody” appeared in an anti-litter commercial. As he looks over a polluted landscape and sheds a tear, a voice-over says: "People start pollution. People can stop it." This powerful commercial won many awards, including being named one of the top 100 advertising campaigns of the 20th century by Advertising Age. Its success inspired other environmental messages from other groups as well. However, this campaign proved to be quite controversial. Shortly after its debut, various journalists wrote articles pointing out aspects that might not be immediately apparent to viewers. They noted that the tagline "People start pollution; people can stop it" focuses the responsibility for environmental pollution solely on individuals.
John McDonough, writing in Advertising Age, pointed out that the Ad Council's advisory panel for the campaign included some of the country's biggest alleged polluters—Allied Chemicals, Bethlehem Steel, American Can, and US Steel—and that the original campaign was funded by American Can. McDonough wrote, "The company may have loved the pre-Columbian landscape as much as the next guy—and delighted in having Iron Eyes letting people know it. But it consistently opposed state legislation designed to curb litter through container refund-deposit. They felt that the KAB-Ad Council campaign was actually a public relations effort on the part of the container industry to cover its opposition to refund and deposit programs.9
This campaign and the controversy surrounding it suggest that public service campaigns, like the commercial advertising campaigns on which they are modeled, are often meant to serve the vested interests of their sponsors.
The Greenpeace Movement
One organization that has certainly been controversial, but not because they promote vested interests is Greenpeace, the international environmental protection organization. Since their founding, they have combined aggressive and sometimes hostile actions against polluters with highly imaginative ways to engage the public. Their PSAs, mostly produced in-house, have great production values and appeal to a visually oriented, hip culture, which is their primary audience. http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/multimedia/videos/
Entry 42 - PSA History 2
For the second part of PSA History, the article goes into talks about Public Relations Agents, who were created to influence public opinions about multiple issues.
Early Seeds of Public Relations
Another result of the Creel Committee was using what were called “public relations agents” who left a lasting legacy in the world of public marketing. Their work demonstrated the power of mass communication by creating a new breed of professionals whose job was to manipulate the “symbols of public opinion” to promote civic causes. This committee laid the foundation for using publicity and advertising to make “nationalism an American religion.5
Another interesting theme about these early efforts to influence public opinion was the use of symbols. There were those created by the political parties of the 19th century – in which “potent images of the soldier-statesman, the log cabin common man, the rough-and-ready frontiersman and the political sage” were used as tools to achieve popular support. These included the “Herald/Angel,” a female figure shown sometimes with wings or blowing a trumpet.6
According to Robert Jackall and Janice Hirota, who researched the history of public service advertising, these powerful images and calls to action were by no means the only factors in uniting the public on the war effort, but they did help mold public opinion. Today symbols also play an important role in campaigns dealing with drunk driving, cancer and AIDS.
PSAs played an important part in WWII as well, and became more formalized. Radio broadcasters and advertising agencies offered their skills and facilities in support of the war effort leading to establishment of the War Advertising Council, which became the official home front propaganda arm of the Office of War Information. Print, outdoor advertising and especially radio became the carriers of such messages as "Loose lips sink ships," "Keep 'em Rolling" and other messages supporting the purchase of War Bonds.7
In one of the most far-reaching of the war campaigns, Rosie the Riveter asserted, "We Can Do It!" She became America's wartime icon for women willing to roll up their sleeves and work in factories as a part of the war effort. With able-bodied men marching off to war, six million women moved into the workforce to replace the men and help manufacture war materiel. Another wartime campaign, Loose Lips Sink Ships, urged Americans to keep quiet about information that might be useful if heard by the enemy. At a time when Japanese and German submarines patrolled the US coastline, there was great need for secrecy concerning Navy maneuvers, troop movements, and other military matters.8
After the war, the tradition of making free space and radio time available for good causes continued. The public concerns of the 1920’s were mostly those dealing with health, leading up to the Great Depression in the early 30’s which spawned a plethora of public service messages on behalf of the Works Progress Administration, the National Recovery Act and the Civil Conservation Corps.
The practice of volunteering free media time and space had also become institutionalized and the War Advertising Council was renamed the Advertising Council. With the advent of television in the arly 50’s public service messages could be seen as well as heard.
Soon the public was seeing messages from "Smokey Bear" and other famous Ad Council campaigns such as "A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Waste," which raised millions for the United Negro College Fund, and the American Cancer Society's "Fight Cancer with a Checkup and a Check," which raised public awareness and funds.
Early Seeds of Public Relations
Another result of the Creel Committee was using what were called “public relations agents” who left a lasting legacy in the world of public marketing. Their work demonstrated the power of mass communication by creating a new breed of professionals whose job was to manipulate the “symbols of public opinion” to promote civic causes. This committee laid the foundation for using publicity and advertising to make “nationalism an American religion.5
Another interesting theme about these early efforts to influence public opinion was the use of symbols. There were those created by the political parties of the 19th century – in which “potent images of the soldier-statesman, the log cabin common man, the rough-and-ready frontiersman and the political sage” were used as tools to achieve popular support. These included the “Herald/Angel,” a female figure shown sometimes with wings or blowing a trumpet.6
According to Robert Jackall and Janice Hirota, who researched the history of public service advertising, these powerful images and calls to action were by no means the only factors in uniting the public on the war effort, but they did help mold public opinion. Today symbols also play an important role in campaigns dealing with drunk driving, cancer and AIDS.
PSAs played an important part in WWII as well, and became more formalized. Radio broadcasters and advertising agencies offered their skills and facilities in support of the war effort leading to establishment of the War Advertising Council, which became the official home front propaganda arm of the Office of War Information. Print, outdoor advertising and especially radio became the carriers of such messages as "Loose lips sink ships," "Keep 'em Rolling" and other messages supporting the purchase of War Bonds.7In one of the most far-reaching of the war campaigns, Rosie the Riveter asserted, "We Can Do It!" She became America's wartime icon for women willing to roll up their sleeves and work in factories as a part of the war effort. With able-bodied men marching off to war, six million women moved into the workforce to replace the men and help manufacture war materiel. Another wartime campaign, Loose Lips Sink Ships, urged Americans to keep quiet about information that might be useful if heard by the enemy. At a time when Japanese and German submarines patrolled the US coastline, there was great need for secrecy concerning Navy maneuvers, troop movements, and other military matters.8
After the war, the tradition of making free space and radio time available for good causes continued. The public concerns of the 1920’s were mostly those dealing with health, leading up to the Great Depression in the early 30’s which spawned a plethora of public service messages on behalf of the Works Progress Administration, the National Recovery Act and the Civil Conservation Corps.
The practice of volunteering free media time and space had also become institutionalized and the War Advertising Council was renamed the Advertising Council. With the advent of television in the arly 50’s public service messages could be seen as well as heard.
Soon the public was seeing messages from "Smokey Bear" and other famous Ad Council campaigns such as "A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Waste," which raised millions for the United Negro College Fund, and the American Cancer Society's "Fight Cancer with a Checkup and a Check," which raised public awareness and funds.
Entry 41 - PSA Research 2
I think I would be doing a disservice if I were to not at least mention the GI Joe PSAs. Since most kids didn't really care for the commercials, most companys found that actually putting the PSAs into cartoons was a surefire way to make sure the kids saw them.
You don't see this practice anymore really, because either the companys make the messages subtle and subliminal, or they just don't care.
You don't see this practice anymore really, because either the companys make the messages subtle and subliminal, or they just don't care.
Even though I didn't grow up with this show, and these sorts of PSAs have a cheese factor, I will say that, for the time they were made in, they were alright.
Entry 40 - PSA Research 1
During my childhood, I saw alot of Drug PSAs since drugs were one of the more prominent problems that parents were worrying about. Looking back though, it's hard to say if they had any real effect on me personally. Granted, I don't do drugs anyway, but I doubt these commercials were the reason.
Of the 3, the last one is probably the one I remember the most, simply because of the simplicity. It was an interesting analogy.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Entry 39 - PSA History 1
Since the PSA has been around for as long as the media has been around, I wanted to know a bit more about the PSA and it's history. I found a nice PSA Article that goes into the facts in great detail. However, since the article itself is fairly long, I'll post the other parts of it at a later date.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) defines a PSA as "any announcement for which no charge is made and which promotes programs, activities, or services of federal, state, or local governments (e.g., recruiting, sale of bonds, etc.) or the programs, activities or services of non-profit organizations (e.g., United Way, Red Cross blood donations, etc.) and other announcements regarded as serving community interests, excluding time signals, routine weather announcements and promotional announcements."
In non-government speak, PSAs are messages in the public interest disseminated by the media without charge.
Early Beginnings
The first entity to use PSAs that more closely resemble modern messages was the U.S. government. During the Civil War, the government sold bonds via newspaper advertisements provided without charge and placed throughout the North to raise money in support of the war. The device was so effective that the national bond sales have been credited with demonstrating “what advertising could do” and resulted in the first national ad campaigns for baking powder, soap and railroad travel, thus launching the commercial advertising industry. 1
The first non-governmental ads that could be considered PSAs appeared after the turn of the century. In the early 1900s ads were run free by newspapers to dramatize the outrages of child labor.
The National Child Labor
Committee was chaired by Felix Adler, the early welfare leader who stacked his
Board of Directors with newspaper publishers who would support his
cause.2 Thus was also born perhaps the first example of media
co-branding.
When the U.S. was drawn into World War I in 1917, the Federal Committee of Public Information was created to encourage public support and dramatize the reasons for “why we fight.” Within the Committee, a Division of Pictorial Publicity was formed by the artist Charles Dana Gibson, who recruited the leading illustrators of the time to create posters building support for the war. James Montgomery Flag drew the assignment to create the “Uncle Sam Needs You” poster shown below, which may be one of the most famous and iconic posters of all time. Hundreds of other posters which have become part of the national memory were produced by this group. All work was produced free including the design, printing and placement. 3
At that same time President Woodrow Wilson established the Committee on Public Information, which played a major role in convincing the public to support the war effort. George Creel, a Kansas City journalist whom Wilson appointed to chair the Committee, described its mission as the “propagation of faith.”4
With the help of people drawn from the advertising industry, the Committee created several major campaigns. Among them were:
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) defines a PSA as "any announcement for which no charge is made and which promotes programs, activities, or services of federal, state, or local governments (e.g., recruiting, sale of bonds, etc.) or the programs, activities or services of non-profit organizations (e.g., United Way, Red Cross blood donations, etc.) and other announcements regarded as serving community interests, excluding time signals, routine weather announcements and promotional announcements."
In non-government speak, PSAs are messages in the public interest disseminated by the media without charge.
Early Beginnings
The first entity to use PSAs that more closely resemble modern messages was the U.S. government. During the Civil War, the government sold bonds via newspaper advertisements provided without charge and placed throughout the North to raise money in support of the war. The device was so effective that the national bond sales have been credited with demonstrating “what advertising could do” and resulted in the first national ad campaigns for baking powder, soap and railroad travel, thus launching the commercial advertising industry. 1
The first non-governmental ads that could be considered PSAs appeared after the turn of the century. In the early 1900s ads were run free by newspapers to dramatize the outrages of child labor.
The National Child Labor
Committee was chaired by Felix Adler, the early welfare leader who stacked his
Board of Directors with newspaper publishers who would support his
cause.2 Thus was also born perhaps the first example of media
co-branding.When the U.S. was drawn into World War I in 1917, the Federal Committee of Public Information was created to encourage public support and dramatize the reasons for “why we fight.” Within the Committee, a Division of Pictorial Publicity was formed by the artist Charles Dana Gibson, who recruited the leading illustrators of the time to create posters building support for the war. James Montgomery Flag drew the assignment to create the “Uncle Sam Needs You” poster shown below, which may be one of the most famous and iconic posters of all time. Hundreds of other posters which have become part of the national memory were produced by this group. All work was produced free including the design, printing and placement. 3
At that same time President Woodrow Wilson established the Committee on Public Information, which played a major role in convincing the public to support the war effort. George Creel, a Kansas City journalist whom Wilson appointed to chair the Committee, described its mission as the “propagation of faith.”4
With the help of people drawn from the advertising industry, the Committee created several major campaigns. Among them were:
-
The War Savings Stamps drive that urged the public to "save the thoughtless
dollars being wasted” through self-indulgence, while soldiers sacrificed
themselves on the battlefields of war.
- The Red Cross campaign that asked citizens to join the organization, which
was personified in the ads in a Madonna-like image entitled the "Greatest Mother
in the World."
- The Selective Service campaign that supported draft registration.
Entry 38 - Thoughts on the third project
Color Key Project
Project:
For this project, you will be creating a color keyed public service announcement. The clip can last from thirty seconds to one minute. Consider who you are trying to reach with your ad and give the piece the appropriate look.
Size and material requirements:
Render the file in .MOV format. Be sure that your quality is set to high.
Objectives:
Practice key video in AfterEffects. Get used to creating PSAs. Understand the basics of how to set up and use a green screen.
Storyboard Due: April 9
Project Due: April 18
This is another project that I've been looking towards doing. I remember previously using Greenscreen for a Film class in High School. Granted, that project used Premiere instead of AfterEffects.
I think this would also be the perfect time to get some practice in on something I want to do in the near future. Since I don't have a Greenscreen of my own, I know where I can find one now should I need it again, so that's another plus.
This is another project that I've been looking towards doing. I remember previously using Greenscreen for a Film class in High School. Granted, that project used Premiere instead of AfterEffects.
I think this would also be the perfect time to get some practice in on something I want to do in the near future. Since I don't have a Greenscreen of my own, I know where I can find one now should I need it again, so that's another plus.
Entry 37 - Final Video / Critique 2
The 2nd video project is done, so I'm putting it here.
This video was a good practice for animation. I will say that the pacing was off. Were it not for the parameters, this probably wouldn't be the case. If anything, this project showed me something I need to work on: pacing.
Proper pacing is what makes a video a coherent and singular piece. With poor pacing, it becomes difficult to understand what's going on in a given video.
In the future, when I go to make my videos, I need to try and make my pacing better than it's been previously..
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Entry 36 - After Effects Rotoscope Tutorial
I decided to find some tutorials to look at while doing the project, and I ended up finding this one:
The Rotobrush tool seems like it would be useful in doing this project. At this point though, I'm not sure it would have any real place in what I'm doing for my project.
Entry 35 - Rotoscope Movie Box Office
I found this rather interesting. While looking thorugh the internet, I found a small list of Rotoscoped movies, and their overall ratings and profits from when they were made:
From what I'm seeing here, Lord of the Rings did the best out of the bunch. The first 5 are also Ralph Bakshi movies, so in the end, it all goes back to him.
Box Office History for Rotoscoping Movies
Click on column header to sort
| Released | Movie Name | 1st Weekend | US Gross | Worldwide Gross | Budget |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3/2/1977 | Wizards | - | $9,000,000 | - | - |
| 11/15/1978 | The Lord of the Rings | $626,649 | $27,000,000 | - | - |
| 2/13/1981 | American Pop | $210,084 | $6,000,000 | - | - |
| 8/7/1981 | Heavy Metal | $3,261,186 | $19,571,091 | - | $9,300,000 |
| 8/26/1983 | Fire and Ice | $263,238 | $760,883 | - | - |
| 10/19/2001 | Waking Life | $88,977 | $2,892,011 | - | - |
| 7/7/2006 | A Scanner Darkly | $391,672 | $5,501,616 | $7,405,084 | $20,000,000 |
| 8/29/2008 | Year of the Fish | - | - | - | - |
| Totals | $70,725,601 | $72,629,069 | $29,300,000 | ||
| Averages | $10,103,657 | $10,375,581 | $14,650,000 | ||
From what I'm seeing here, Lord of the Rings did the best out of the bunch. The first 5 are also Ralph Bakshi movies, so in the end, it all goes back to him.
Entry 34 - Rotoscoping Storyboard
Making the storyboard went alot better this time. From what I learned from the first project's storyboard, I was able to flesh it out a bit more than when I did it originally. Because of that, it was a much easier process.
Entry 33 - Rotoscoping Research 7
It seems that Youtube has become a very important research tool for me. While roaming it, I ended up finding this short rotoscoped film. I was also able to find a short making of documentary for the piece as well. That was something I did not expect to find.
Having the making of does put into perspective how long something like this can take, even when you're working your hardest.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Entry 32 - Rotoscope Project Progress
For the most part, progress has been steady, but promising. As it turns out, the rotoscope process isn't as hard as I thought it would be, but the only problem I seem to have is with the fingernails. I may have to go back to my previous pictures and fix this before the final project.
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| "Original Hands" |
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| "Rotoscoped Hands" |
Entry 31 - Rotoscoping Research 6
During the general class period, the film " A Scanner Darkly," came up in the conversation. Granted, I have yet to see the film, but given the fact it's another professional example of rotoscoping, I felt that it deserved an honorable mention. I've included a clip and the trailer below:
I think once this class is finished, I'll have to track this movie down. It'll be an interesting watch to say the least.
Entry 30 - Rotoscoping Article
I ended up finding this article about rotoscoping history and the general ideas behind it, so I figured it would be a good addition to my blog. I've included it in it's entirety here:
The Rotoscoping Saga
Fleischer started it all.Max Fleischer is unarguably one of the first few animators who have dazzled audiences of all ages starting 1914. Bringing “Betty the Boop” and “Popeye the Sailor” to the silver screen would guarantee him a chapter in the history books, however Max’s greatest achievements wasn’t set on what he put on the screen but on “how”.
The technique called rotoscoping is the brain child of Max Fleischer where he used it in his “Out of the Inkwell” series together with his brother Dave. Rotoscoping then was an impressive technique used in producing lifelike animations. As a matter-of-fact, in the “Out of the Inkwell” series, Dave Fleischer was the live reference of the character Koko the Clown.
The rotoscoping process, at this time, works like this: A live action scene with the actor is shot and will be animated using a transparent easel. The film is then played back frame-by-frame on the underside piece of a glass. On the top side of the glass is the artist who manually traces the live-action sequence per frame of the film. These drawings are then cleaned up and are combined together producing a realistic effect animation.
Rotoscoping was used in several films made by Fleischer which have made a mark in the animation industry. To mention a few are Betty the Boop, Superman, Popeye the Sailor, and Out of the Inkwell (Koko the Clown).
The competition with Walt Disney.
Year 1937 was the beginning of Walt Disney’s rotoscoping milestone. Disney animators have delicately employed the tedious art of rotoscoping in the classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs film. After Snow White, rotoscoping was used in more Disney films and this includes Cinderella in 1950’s.
However, some of the Disney animators looked down at rotoscoping, since some referred to it as a “crutch” for the artists who lacked the skill in animation. Grim Natwick even said that rotoscoping was only used as basis for their work; however the elaborate portions in creating an animation were done beyond rotoscoping.
Later on, Disney didn’t used rotoscoping for the actual tracing rather they use rotoscoping in studying human and animal motion.
Ralph Bakshi and rotoscoping.
When 20th Century Fox refused the $50,000 increase for Ralph Bakshi’s Wizard film in 1977, Ralph turned to rotoscoping to finish the film. He used rotoscoping in the film Wizards magnificently by applying stock footages of the World War II for the battle scenes. After the release of Wizards, he undertook Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings”. His adaptation of Lord of the Rings has been the first successful attempt to film an epic novel.
The LOTR relied heavily on rotoscoping unlike Wizards and the film’s original distributors regarded Bakshi’s LOTR to be a flop. They even chose to release the uncompleted story as a stand alone film rather than fund the coming sequels.
The junction between live-action and animation meant nothing at that point for Bakshi. His intensive use of rotoscoping have been questioned and criticized. While rotoscoping was known to bring a sense of realism in an animated film, he used rotoscoping for no apparent reason but to significantly just cut cost. Bakshi continued his rotoscoping trend through “American Pop” and “Fire Ice” only then regaining the understanding of pastiche in his 1992 Cool World.
The junction between live-action and animation meant nothing at that point for Bakshi. His intensive use of rotoscoping have been questioned and criticized. While rotoscoping was known to bring a sense of realism in an animated film, he used rotoscoping for no apparent reason but to significantly just cut cost. Bakshi continued his rotoscoping trend through “American Pop” and “Fire Ice” only then regaining the understanding of pastiche in his 1992 Cool World.
The new era: Digital rotoscoping.
Smoking Car Production invented digital rotoscoping for the creation of its critically acclaimed game “The Last Express”. Digital rotoscoping uses 2D information in order to create or support a 3d effect. An animated matte is created and used to block a specific film element so that a 3-D composite can be achieved using a 2-D technique. Digital rotoscoping has gained a US patent for Digital Cartoon and Animation process.
In 1990’s Bob Sabiston developed a computer-assisted “interpolated rotoscoping” called Rotoshop, which Richard Linklater later used in his Waking Life and A Scanner Darkly Film. The same propriety of the rotoscoping process used in both films has been licensed by Richard.
Rotoshop was made to make rotoscoping easier for artists. Rotoshop can conveniently interpolate frames and freeze layers that will save an artist from drawing the same things 24 times for every second of a scene.
Rotoscoping before may have been decried by many animation purists back in the 1914 however it has often been used to good effect. Rotoscoping has been used as an animator’s reference tool, a time–saver for many visual effects artists and a low cost technique for some under funded film projects.
Rotoscoping, now, is generally used for all digital process of tracing outlines over digital films images to create digital mattes frame-by-frame. rotoscoping is widely used when chroma keying is not enough to produce an accurate matte and in the preparation of garbage mattes for other matte pulling process. rotoscoping is aided by motion-tracking and onion skinning software.
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