Quiz!

1. Before 1993, milk was perceived as a "health food." How did the "got milk?" campaign change that?
2. How did De Beers diamond company "create societal change" in order to sell more diamonds?
3. The "truth" anti-smoking campaign did a lot of research on teens and smoking. What were the important psychological insights they found, and how did they use that understanding in a persuasive way?

Week 10: Persuasive Messages

Today we're going to talk about techniques of persuasive media writing, with a focus on TV commercials and "uncommercials" or other PSA-type spots which seek to change viewer behavior in a way that benefits society.

Here's a list of the online videos we'll watch:

• "Who Shot Raymond Burr?" got milk commercial
• "Our Life Began" De Beers commercial
• "Mr. Roboto" and "Ego Emissions" VW commercial
• Tab cola commercials from 1960s, 1979 and 1982
• "1984" famous Apple spot, aired during Super Bowl
• "Double Life" Playstation commercial
• "Cha Cha Slide" and "Ronald McDonald's Daughter" Japanese McDonald's commercial
• "Mr. Giant Taco Salad Inventor" and "Mr. Really Really Really Bad Dancer" Real Men of Genius Bud Light commercials
  
• "Cell Phone Karma" Kyocera commercial
• "Choose", "Splode" and "You Don't Always Die from Tobacco" truth TV spots
• "Manifesto", "Unbrand America", "Buy Nothing Day" adbusters uncommercials
• "Beautykit" short videos
  
• "Yappy Dog" and "Bag of Leaves" videos (TheONE campaign to encourage young people to vote)
  
• "I'm Every Woman" video
• "Push Ups", "What We Don't Mind You Voting For", and "Lip Sealer" videos (Declare Yourself campaign to encourage young people to vote)

We'll also watch "Introducing Diet Coke" and selections from the 2006 Clio Awards (Gold winners); these are available at the SFSU Media Access Center.

Also, congratulations to Caleb, Angela and Victor, whose scripts were selected by Skye Christensen's BECA 240/241 class for production!

Week 9: Big Scary Boils!

Today we watched "How to Get Ahead in Advertising" (1989). Please post a comment discussing whether you think the film had a happy ending — not just for the characters, but with regard to the bigger picture that the film addresses. What do you think the filmmakers wanted us to come away with? What did all that crazy boil action mean?

The assigned reading is a chapter from the book Breakaway Brands. There is a PDF for you to download in the left sidebar (along with all the other class documents), or you can download it from the Advertising Educational Foundation website here.

Be ready for a quiz next week!

Also, I will be in L.A. at the Screenwriting Expo for several days, so it is possible that I will not have all of the scripts graded by next Wednesday. However, I have delivered them to Skye via the BECA office, so we are off and running! I want to congratulate all of you on your good work, and I'm looking forward to reading lots of excellent scripts.

If you'd like to get a head start on the next section, Persuasive Messages, here's what to do: watch a lot of TV commercials (there are lots of them up on YouTube, and the Media Access Center has DVDs of advertising awards programs that you can watch in the library). Ask yourself: What is the story being told? This applies not only to the "plot" of the commercial, but the basic promise of all advertising and persuasive speech: the product or idea or action being promoted will somehow change you or change your life for the better. What kind of person does advertising promise to make you, or to affirm that you already are? What transformation is implied?

See you all next week!

Week 8: Last Workshop for 240 Scripts!

Today we workshopped the scripts and brainstormed ways to solve potential production problems. The homework this week is to finish your script and attach a cover letter with your contact info and anything the 240 class might need to know about producing your script.

Here's what you need to turn in next time:
Today's version (it's OK if you wrote on it during the workshop)
Final version (2 copies: one for me, one for Skye)
Cover letter (2 copies: one for me, one for Skye)

And you'll see on the syllabus that you also need to post a short comment to this blog entry, discussing your experience writing and revising this project.

PLEASE NOTE: Today I changed the rewrite policy. From now on, papers that get low mechanics grades do not need to be resubmitted. They will be graded only once, and that will be the grade you keep — so please do your proofreading before you turn your assignment in, because you only get the one chance! I will be very happy to help with mechanics questions if you come to me before the paper is due. The Writing Lab is also open Tuesdays 12:00 to 1:30 and 3:00 to 4:30.

Week 7: Shaping Up the Scripts

Today we watched more of last semester's 370/240 productions and some short videos from the Treo Film Festival, and talked about story structure, rising action, change and movement, and using video and sound elements to tell story and communicate "signals" (genre conventions, story-structure elements) to the audience so that they feel receptive as opposed to confused or bored.

We also had a visit from Skye Christensen, who answered lots of questions about script producibility and logistics. As we come up with more questions, Amanda and Angela will act as our liasons with the 240/241 class; we also have several people who have taken 240/241 and can help with production and writing advice.

If you missed class today, please check in the BECA office for work I handed back, and make arrangements with me for getting today's assignment turned in (ideally, get it to my BECA office mailbox by 2:00 Thursday). Also be sure to talk with a few people in class to get filled in on the discussion you missed.

Week 6: Get Your Video On, Part I

Today we workshopped the first drafts of the video scripts that we'll be handing off to the BECA 240 production class in a few weeks. The key issues for now are script format and shot description, and overall producibility of the scripts (remember these have to be shot in Studio 1 in under three hours).

Homework for this week: Revise scripts. Next week I want the draft you had in class today, plus the new version, plus an attached paragraph summarizing the progress you made/changes you implemented between the two drafts. This means that the second draft is significantly better than the first! It doesn't have to be perfect yet, but the next few weeks are going to fly by, so we've got to get these babies shaped up.

Please refer to Assignment Sheet #2 for full instructions and format example; also feel free to download the script template for easy 2-column formatting.

Happy writing! Feel free to e-mail me if questions come up.