Dynamic Image: The Whole Thing, with Beginning and Ending!!

Dynamic Image: Now the beginning has cut off completely!

ARGH!
Longer ending thou:-
Works a lot better, more time for the message to impact viewer etc...

Dynamic Image: The One with Lighting

The start is REALLY weird, not sure what happened there, colours aren't right. I'm saying its a technical fault...

Dynamic Image: Beatriz da Costa - A Memorial for the Still Living

Artist and photographer Beatriz da Costa has recently done an installation about endangered species, which has been featured on Art Catalyst:
"A Memorial for the Still Living is a contemporary art installation which confronts visitors with the reality of British species threatened with extinction. It is a continuation of da Costa’s investigation into interspecies.  Her interest here is to confront visitors with the only mode of encounter left once a species has grown extinct: the description, image, sound or taxidermed shell of a once thriving organism. However, rather than focusing on already extinct species, da Costa’s focus is on the ‘still living’; species that have been classified as being under threat, but which still stand a chance for survival if immediate action is taken."

It is another way that the subject of endangered animals has been approached - to make people aware that animals are becoming extinct. What da Costa is doing is making people realise that if these animals become extinct, which, undoubtedly, many will, the only way people will be able to see/know about these animals would be stuffed in a museum - " The possibility of an encounter ‘in the flesh’ will have disappeared, with humans reduced to studying preserved examples of each species.'

In order to do this she worked with collection curators at the Horniman Museum and the Natural History Museum in London. Central to her installation are taxidermed specimens of endangered animals alongside preserved botanical samples of plants under threat. Each specimen has been given a ‘birth date’ (the date of classification and inclusion into the corpus of western science) as well as a ‘death date’ (the date of projected extinction).

To accompany the exhibition there is also a interactive website/Iphone App so audiences can browse and find out themselves what British species are most endangered:

Dynamic Image: Adding Lighting?

Not sure if it adds to it, or is too much for the animation - video later (if youtube ever decides to upload...)

Played with intensity and cone feather. Not sure it its needed, but focuses on the image etc.

Dynamic Image: Fading Final Sequence

I have NO idea what is going on with the beginnings of these videos!!!

Dynamic Image: Some Stop Motion Adverts

Stop frame TV ad for Brother printers' A3 range.
Creatives: Sam Haynes and Lee Trott
Director: Noah Harris




A really clever way of getting across the idea of the product that is being advertised. It is creative and I think quite beautiful. I watch a lot of telly, but mainly I enjoy watching adverts, and when I saw the first one here, for the first time I was thinking 'wow!' It must have taken forever, but it is clever and without fault. The same can be said for:

Amazon Kindle

First in the series of stop-motion TV commercials for Amazon Kindle created by photographers Angela Kohler and Ithyle Griffiths, and starring actress Annie Little. Original song "Fly Me Away" written and performed by Annie Little.

Second in the series of stop-motion TV commercials for Amazon Kindle created by photographers Angela Kohler and Ithyle Griffiths, starring actress Annie Little and model Ryan Curry. Original song "Stole Your Heart" written and performed by Marcus Ashley and Annie Little.

Third in the series of stop-motion TV commercials for Amazon Kindle created by photographers Angela Kohler and Ithyle Griffiths, starring actress Paula Miranda and child model Melissa. Original song "Come On Let's Go" written and performed by Little and Ashley.

A set of three wonderful animations. They are really inventive in the way that they use materials, the use of lighting, and the transition between characters (i.e. the way in which the costumes change, sort of peel away or fall into. Each advert has a different atmosphere and presents different themes etc, but you know its kindle because of the process, the style, use of same music etc = adds continuity. All are 30 secs long, but so much occurs in that half minute - it achieves the purpose of the advert effectively, getting across the idea of themes/genres of books and becoming characters when you read (thanks to the kindle!) I also love the way the ads are set up, first with the kindle and the person in the ad 'reading' - holding the kindle and moving eyes side to side etc. I think they are beautiful, bright and lovely.

I love how on Youtube you look at one thing and end up discovering about 50 other things. Lost Things is a short stop-motion film, a bit quirky, very stylistic.

I love the use/ movement of the scissors.

Some more I've found:




And everyone has seen this but it is so, so good:-

Dynamic Image: The Message...at different speeds.

Just looking at the different frame speed. I think anything like 3fps is tooo slow (just adding on to an already lengthy end product) and 15 - 20 fps is too fast - although you get final message at the end, idea is that you read it and the letters appear, and at these speeds it is too quick. I think 10fps will be the most suitable

3FPS

6FPS

8FPS

This went a bit strange, I don't know how it ended up being so slow. The 'correct' speed is underneath.

10FPS

15FPS

20FPS

The plan is to fade out the words (too black? I will experiment). I also will do the same with the text that accompanies the animal images.

Dynamic Image: The Animations of the Tiger, the Langur and the Rhino.

Dynamic Image: Might need a bit of tweaking

Dynamic Image: Fading Out.

Dynamic Image: The Words

Dynamic Image: The Final Paper Animals

 

Now to animate....

Dynamic Image: The Tigers...

Dynamic Image: What an idiot.

I am such a fool. Managed to get the rhino and tiger done but messed up the words:

i.e. I put '80 The Chinese Tiger' Shouldn't have put the!!!
So, I can either mask in After Effects, or add to it i.e.
"Only 80 Left - The Chinese Tiger'
Could fade the 'only' and 'left' in and out, in and fade all, in and shrink all etc etc.
Here are the videos I made, at 8fps, 6fps and 3fps:-

EDIT - After discussing the outcome and the mistake, I've decided that I will try hand drawing/making the type - because it would be more personal and adds continuity to the animation. I think the computer type is too strong and doesn't work too well with the paper images - it is very separate. So I will do the animations again and work with the type.

Dynamic Image: Words.

So I have decided I will go with the paper idea...its bright, eye-catching and memorable. But, I need to think about the wording I will use.

So I want the animals, as they peel away, to reveal the number left. But then I'm thinking I should include the species name. For example, the rhino is representing the javan rhino, but there are four other groups of rhino - which number should I choose, the specific number, or the whole species.

So I've decided that I will include:
Name
Number - with more emphasis on the number.
Same layout = continuity.

Then I thought about the style.
Hand drawn vs. Comp Type.

Computer Type would look more 'authentic' - i.e. would have more of an impact because it looks official. Hand made could look jokey, 'friendly', and not hard hitting enough.

So I will go with comp type.

My friend had the genius idea of making the type disappear like the animal.
I could do this by
Shrinking
Fading
Pulling out the letter in the same way as the image
Expanding
ETC

Expanding may give the wrong message. Shrinking sounds good, works in the same way as the image, but contrasts in movement.
By using comp type I could then play with it in After Effects.
I will need to look at the different ways of transforming the text.
(When I animate, I will keep the text static, then when all the image has gone, I will animate using AE.)

What I want to say:

Javan Rhino - 40

White Headed Langur - 59

South Chinese Tiger - 80

Bengal Tiger: 1411

Indochinese Tiger: 600 - 800 or less

South Chinese Tiger: 20 -30 in wild, 60 in capitvity

Siberian Tiger: Around 400

Sumatran Tiger: 300 - 350

Malayan Tiger: Less than 400

There are some tiger species that have died out completely. A hundred or so years ago there were well over 10,000 tigers.

As of March 2010, there are just 3200 tigers left in the world.

 

I want to use hard hitting numbers, to make my point. After these numbers are revealed, I will say something like:
"Its won't be long until these animals are erased/wiped out/extinct/lost etc
How many more will follow?"

I can work with the ending in AE.

Dynamic Image: Paper Tiger Videos

I need to work on the movement, and the speed at which it moves!! The end went a bit strange =( so crazy yellow bright thing going on! Worked with 8, 6 and 3 fpm. I think the slower the better the idea is achieved so I must redo and work on creating a video where the movements are slight/not so obvious. And try not to breathe on the pieces...totally screws everything up, not good.

Not sure if i want orange to peel away. I need to work with the other animals to, but I definitely will include the number of left, the disappearance reveals the population.

Dynamic Image: Paper Tiger

Now I just need to do the other animals!!!

Dynamic Image: A New Idea.

So I'm still thinking the drawing idea may be too boring. I really liked the leaves video and the idea of working with paper may make the animation slightly more interesting. So I was thinking about origami but in the time we don't have and the amount of projects we do, I don't want to get bogged down with folding bits of paper the wrong way and getting in a tizzy. Basically, I was thinking I could have the animals, in origami form, and deconstruct them to highlight their species loss. I also thought about the message, and through the deconstruction I could reveal the number of the species left/ transform the animal into the number. (I have no origami experience and it looks really complex.)

However, I could use what I've been using all along and focus on the face of the animal, made from paper. It could act as a puzzle, of sorts. So each piece is removed (much in the same way as the leaves move in the videos I posted earlier.) The number of could still be revealed, as the paper is moved/peeled/ripped. I need to experiment with all these potential processes!!

Dynamic Image: Experimenting with the Idea of erasing...in columns.

With or without something passing over the image - like leaves??
Peel away to reveal number of species left? - Would have to get some acetate!

Dynamic Image: More leaves.

12FPS

6FPS

Dynamic Image: Erasing Leaf

Dynamic Image: Tiger Line Drawing Tests

So I wanted to look at different ways of presenting the images. Still worried it will be quite boring, even if it is cutting between different animals - different shots/ colour??
These test shots went wrong at the beginning (the end of the films) which was slightly annoying. The camera wouldn't go for w/e reason and then I managed to hit the tripod.
The end, so the beginning of the films, were I think more successful.
Also, this is a much quicker sequence than the monkey tests - audience won't loose interest, as such!
Frames per second @ 12 and 6 (I feel 24 would have been too quick!)

Dynamic Image: Initial Tests/Research

Ok, so I've started developing the 'undraw' idea I had for endangered animals. I've done some tests to see how it would look.
I tried 24fps, 12fps and 6fps - I think it works better when its slower, i.e. at 6 frames per second, just because I think if its too fast it will loose its effect. However, if its too long, people will get bored = catch 22.
The lighting is terrible. Used a lightbox - I need to think about this. Should I light from behind, light up the paper from the front or both, use the flash, don't use the flash etc?
Hand is visible in some parts - I need to remember that in the final NOTHING SHOULD BE VISIBLE but the image!
A bit worried that this may be too dull and how to fit the words in. I need to think about variety of shots...

Dynamic Image: The Tiger

I actually did this before the monkey, but thanks to a very rubbish memory stick had to wait to get the files to put them into istop.
Anyway, the lighting is bad, and the end is a bit shaky - where I was trying to figure out how to place the camera. I also hit it a few times out of place, so this might be seen.
The end is waaay too quick as I was figuring out how much that I would change, for instance the first shot I had drawn one part (i.e. a line) the next two, the third three and so on and so forth. Doing it this way was too quick so I slowed it down drastically changing one thing at a time.
However, this could relate to the decline of a species, i.e. the less animals there are, the quicker the decline, because there aren't enough to reproduce etc.

Dynamic Image: What you can do with no tripod, shit light and a crappy compact camera...

Very, very, very, very, very, very initial plan for how the animation will look!! In need of a lightbox and tripod!!!

Dynamic Image: How I want my animation to look...

Just some videos of drawing animations...



Better quality here.
Making of...Its not in English, you kind of know what's happening...

Change4Life - Aardman animated advert promoting the government's campaign to cut obesity, in which people are encouraged to do 60 minutes of exercise a day. Created by M&C Saatchi



Barnardos - 'Break the Cycle', Advert for Barnardo's in which a young girl is shown slipping into a life of crime after suffering domestic abuse. Created by Bartle Bogle Hegarty. Effective with its use of repetition.



Action for Children - Effective in the way the child is represented as very small - insignificant, but also as a toy - relates to children etc. Created by Baby Creative



Save the Children - An ad created by Wieden Kennedy London for Save the Children highlights how 10 million under-fives could have been saved from malnutrition last year



NHS Smoking - Brand new public information film from 2008. We see young children copying their parents in different situations, including one whose mother smokes. Children learn by example - don't "keep smoking in the family".



NYC PSA - Quit Victoria - Scared Little Boy (Anti-Smoking ad)
Child in ad shed real tears, producer admits...Anti-smoking agency says his anxiety only lasted a few seconds
'The makers of a controversial anti-smoking ad let a 4-year-old boy lose sight of his mother so that he would cry on camera. But they insist that the child was not harmed and the childs anxiety lasted a matter of only a few seconds.'
Toward the end of the PSA, the boy loses sight of his mother, and he sheds some real tears 'but it was a very brief moment', according to Fiona Sharkie, the executive director, of the Australian anti-smoking organization that produced the ad, said'.
The ad is part of a series of graphic — some would say disturbing — anti-smoking television commercials were run in New York City by the department of health.
When he loses sight of his mother, his look of puzzlement turns into abject fear as tears roll down his face. A voice-over then says, This is how your child feels after losing you for a minute. Just imagine if they lost you for life. More of an impact because it is 'real'?



NHS Organ Donation - The UK government's first TV ad for organ donation, created by AMV BBDO. The first UK-wide multimedia campaign to promote organ donation.
While 96% of us would accept an organ if we needed one, only 27% of us have the joined the NHS Organ Donor Register (ODR).
Many of us (45%) have the best intentions to sign up to the ODR and commit to donate our organs for transplantation after our death, but just havent got round to it.
While some people are still unclear about how to register, a significant proportion of us (17%) are ready to act now. A further 19% need to involve their family in the decision. Research also shows a disparity between those who think theyve already signed up to be an organ donor 35% as compared with the actual figure of 27% (16.5 million) on the ODR.
The campaign aims to increase significantly the number of people on the ODR, asking what we would do if someone we love needed an organ: if we would accept an organ, shouldnt we be prepared to give one?



Frank, Talk to Pablo - See the advert for the government's 'Frank' drugs awareness campaign, focusing on cocaine and featuring the character 'Pablo the drug mule dog', voiced by Peep Show star David Mitchell. The ad was created by Mother.



Women's Aid - Keira Knightly -Atonement actor stars in ad for Women's Aid aiming to raise awareness of domestic violence. Shot by Atonement director Joe Wright and produced by Grey London. Use of celeb status to raise awareness, combining the element of her job in the ad - 'this wasn't in the script' etc. Very violent - adds bigger impact, as it zooms out we should feel comforted by the fact it isn't real, it is a film set, yet the ongoing abuse makes it harrowing - it won't stop, won't cut. Brought me to tears.

Dynamic Image: Wildlife.

What is endangered?

What is most endangered? - Use well known animals or the animals that are most critically endangered, that people may not have heard of?

Links to lists here and here.

To make it more appropriate, i.e. so people can do something without having to i.e. donate money, use endangered British wildlife?
According to The Independent the then most endangered species are:

SCOTTISH WILDCAT

PONDS 
LONG-EARED OWL
BUMBLEBEES
MARSH FRITILLARY
LEATHERBACK TURTLE
SPINY SEAHORSE
ENGLISH ELM
WATER VOLE
COMMON SKATE

Including ways to help the endangered species such as... 

Making a pond in your garden.

Getting bird nest/houses in your garden.

Make a vegetation patch, or plant a nectar plant in your garden to attract insects. 

Don't throw litter in the sea.

Never buy a dried seahorse as a seaside trinket. 

Become a volunteer tree warden. 

Joining an organisation etc.

Dynamic Image: Wildlife.

Looking at several areas of wildlife/animal themes for the PIF. I think this is the strongest theme and therefore I feel the most comfortable with using this idea.

Animal cruelty.
Like the rest of the UK, I was pretty shocked when Lola was thrown in the black bin by the notorious Mary Bale (blatantly done on purpose, I don't care what anyone says. Most people get stressed out, I don't see other cats being thrown in bins. But this story started a whole range of cruelty stories, including a pet goat who was tortured and had his horns ripped out, and the even more notorious girl who threw harmless puppies into a river!
Looking at animal cruelty there are a whole range of stories and statistics, including the fact that 64.5% of the 1880 reported cases in the media in 2007, 64.5% was cruelty towards pet dogs.
However, in 2008, the RSPCA did state that, in a survey compiled by the organisation state that 8 out of 10 people in the UK now believe that animal welfare is a key priority for a civilised society. However, from recent stories in the press its clear to see that some people still need to be made aware.

Animal Testing
Pretty huge topic that many people feel very passionate about. No ideas for a PIF yet, but a possible route to look into.

Endangered Animals

Example of how celeb endorsement, and humour, can raise awareness on a serious topic.

The rate of extinction has sped up unnaturally over the last 400 years, rising sharply since 1900. This increase in the rate of extinction is directly related to the increase in the human population over the same period of time. The vast number of humans has caused great damage to the planet, as wild habitats have been taken over, forcing animals and plants into smaller and smaller areas, until some of them have become extinct. We have also polluted some habitats with chemicals and refuse, making them unfit for wildlife. These causes of extinction are known as indirect destruction.

Animals may also become extinct through direct destruction. This includes the hunting and capturing of animals. Man has always hunted and killed wildlife but when early humans lived more in harmony with nature, they killed animals for essential food and clothing. When firearms were invented mass destruction of species was possible. Animals have been, and still are, killed for meat, clothing,medicines, feathers, eggs, trophies, tourist souvenirs - and sometimes just for amusement. Some species are still captured in the wild for the live pet trade, even though their numbers are dwindling. 

Some species our down to their last few thousands, in numbers, and I thought about 'what if the only place you could see a, for example, tiger would be in a museum?' That is quite a sad prospect.

I thought about ways of showing extinction, and liked the idea of 'erasing' the endangered animals, i.e. drawing them, then rewinding it, so the image becomes 'undrawn' = nothing left.

Potential taglines could include:
'What if you could only see animals in a museum?'
'What if the only place (in the world) you could see a tiger was in a museum?'
'What if you could only see a tiger in a museum?'

'Dead as a dodo'
Dodo has become a 'symbol' for extinction after sailors landed on its habitat, an island, for the first time in the sixteenth century, they killed the bird for food. The dodo's eggs and young were eaten by dogs, cats, pigs, rats and monkeys which man had introduced to the island. The dodo, unused to predators, very quickly declined in numbers - and it was extinct by 1681.

'How long will it be before the tiger becomes as dead as a dodo/the dodo?'


Who cares if we lose some animal and plant species?
Extinction of animal species leads to an imbalance in the food chain which may cause population explosions of some species or the extinction of others.
When an animal becomes extinct, it can never again be admired and appreciated by humans.
Destroying plant life increases the amount of carbon dioxide in the air, which worsens the greenhouse effect. Each year the earth’s temperature is rising, resulting in dying wildlife and a disrupted food chain.
When a species goes extinct, its genome, the entire genetic information carried by that species in its DNA and hitherto capable of transmission to its descendants or of natural selection, is forever lost to the world. It’s not just the species that’s lost, but its genome and, hence, the possibility for further speciation.
Finally, animals help produce soil compatible for farming, and kill harmful fungi. By eating or stomping on certain fungi and producing feces, animals replenish the soil for human usage. Without many grazing animals, the soil would deteriorate and be rendered useless for human planting. Without healthy soil, humans become extinct.

Many current adverts ask for money/ donations.
Are there other ways of raising awareness and saving the planet?
Obviously joining and donating to an organisation, but conserving habitats, making space, using wildlife friendly materials etc Links about helping here, here, and here.

Dynamic Image: More research.

So I've been looking at potential ideas for this project.

Idea One
Focus the PIF on a 'common courtesy' theme.
Have a character, maybe not in human form, but a subject that represents people, acting as the protagonist. Throughout his day he comes into contact with 'rude' people. This then could be broken into three or more etc, and each act could act as a separate advert, with all the combined animations making the story complete. Acts could include, for example, holding a door open people working through not thinking to thank or take the door from our character, with the door finally smacking the protagonist in the face. Character goes flying. Idea that even thou after all that has happened in his bad day, one person helps, i.e. the character to get up.  Another part could show queue jumping - on a bus stop, someone queue jumps and pushes our protagonist now. Doors of bus closes and drives off. Whilst protagonist is down on floor, angry at missing the bus, he receives a helping hand.
Taglines could include:
"Common courtesy costs nothing"
"Common courtesy - put a smile on someone's face"
I also have an idea for a print campaign for this idea to.

With etiquette I mostly get annoyed with trains, and how when they arrive at the platform, people push to the doors, regardless of the fact that people need to get off, and there are conductors making sure everyone who needs to will get on the train - its not the underground. Still that is the basis for this idea.

I want people to realise that being pleasant really doesn't cost anything, the world is very negative - it needs changing!!

Research here, and here.

Character idea in my head is a bit similar to the characters used for the Bupa adverts - simple personified shapes! The shapes present various medical situations. The message is quite complex - healthcare etc but the simplicity of basic geometric shapes make it clear and very easy to understand; the advert isn't over powered by complex drawings or facial expressions etc.

Idea Two
Missing people. Idea to take a photo of a crowd - much like opening to 'Without a Trace'


Erase people, turn them into line drawings - empty space where the missing person used to be.

Idea Three
Pineapples - Running with this idea blindfolded - no clear message, yet. I've no idea about what the advert would say (Fair Trade?) but I have some ideas for how visuals could/may look for this one.

Idea Four
Fair Trade - before fair trade, effects its had, why its good - look into details on website.

Idea Five
The one I'm most confident, currently, with.
Animal/Wildlife
Looked at welfare, cruelty, and endangered.
Strongest I feel is endangered - could erase the animals.
British wildlife - how we can use gardens to help endangered species.

Dynamic Image: More research.

Make Time to Play.
A PIF advising parents on how to make time to spend playing with their kids - i.e. ideas of what they could do.

Video of two adverts present real life children with a cardboard box, then imagination takes over, and the film becomes an animation, using the cardboard box as a theme. The children become cartoons, made from cardboard boxes. Child friendly - use of bold colours, fun cartoons etc, with the over voice presenting the message successfully to the parents, the main audience.

[Two kids, girl and boy, unwrap an empty cardboard] For your kids, play time is any time, and any thing is a play thing.
All they need is imagination. [The kids get into the empty cardboard box. Scene changes to cartoon box kids on a country road]
Play helps kids make friends. <whistle>[3rd 'box kid' comes along.] Grow in confidence. Be more active. [3rd kid turns into a cardboard car with square wheels] And aware of the world around them, just by having fun. [Girl gets into car. Boy tries, but fails, to push.]
Help make your kids who they are today, and what they'll be tomorrow. [Boy turns crank that moves the scenery making the car appear to move.]

------------------------------------------------------------

ISSUES FOR PIFs

I've been looking at potential ideas for my PIF animation by focusing on issues that are around today. So I've looked at huge lists of issues, then I will pick a few and look further into them. We were told to look at something that we feel strongly about, and currently I feel really strongly about the lack of common courtesy there is (especially on trains) so I've been toying with that idea. However, I want to look at other themes/subjects too. Really good website that I discovered whilst looking for issues which features, in depth, particular current affair topics, one was about pineapples and how they're production is causing health and environmental degradation in Costa Rica. This lead me on to think about Fair Trade, could be a start. And thinking about just the pineapples, I have a few ideas about how it could be presented.

There are a lot of issues out in the world. I want to choose something effective, but I also want to execute it in a clever and interesting way.

UK statistics also may be a good place to look for a theme/idea.

PSA Public Service Announcement -

Also read about how to make a PIF effective. The first thing says choose an important topic. So I need to think about what people do care about (or will care about after seeing the PIF) and something that is interesting. The subject matter needs to be relevant. It also suggests that one idea/message should be used for each PIF therefore the message is got across quickly and effectively; its straight to the point, and the audience are not bombarded with too much information. The firework PIF in one of my recent posts is an extremely good example of this, using mainly imagery to get the point across effectively.

Dynamic Image: Fireworks

A great example of how shock tactics are used to get a message across - the ending it unexpected, but also is very powerful. The man talks about how, when he was younger used to have fun with his friends playing with fireworks. The ending is very effective, because it doesn't need explaining - all about being safe, because 'this is what could happen.'



Another example showing the effectiveness of using image and very little amount of words/ explanation.
The image of the hand holding the firework is very dark/ in shadow, whereas the disfigured hand is shown clearly, through the use of light etc - adds emphasis.

Dynamic Image: More PSA's and Film Research

PSA - Public Service Announcements, the American equivalent of the British PIF.

"Public service announcements, or PSA's, are short messages produced on film/ video and given to radio and television stations. Generally, PSA's are sent as ready-to-air audio or video tapes, although radio stations (especially community or public stations, such as campus radio or National Public Radio affiliates) sometimes prefer a script that their announcers can read live on the air. They can be done very simply with a single actor reading or performing a message, or they can be elaborate, slickly-produced productions with music, dramatic storylines, and sound or visual effects.

Broadcast media -- radio and television -- are required by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to serve "in the public interest." Most stations use PSA's as one of the ways they meet this requirement. While they aren't required to donate a fixed percentage of air time per day to PSA's, stations do have to state in their licensing and renewal applications how much air time they plan to devote to PSA's. Most stations donate about a third of their commercial spots to non-commercial causes; in other words, if a station has 18 minutes of commercials in a given hour, six minutes of that will probably be devoted to PSA's."

PSA's are generally inexpensive. Since the airtime is donated, your only cost is production. If you keep to a tight budget, you can make PSA's very cheaply.

Most stations will allow you to include a telephone number for more information in your PSA.

PSA's tend to be really effective at encouraging the audience to do something -- for example, call a phone number for more information, use condoms, or have your pet spayed or neutered.

PSA's can raise awareness of your issue.

Characteristically PSA's are used to raise awareness about health and safety. A typical PSA is part of a campaign to raise awareness, inform or educate the masses about an issue in a simple way. (In the US) this can often include topics about obesity or compulsive gambling. However, it isn't just health and safety covered these days as the topics used has expanded over time and issues have become more apparent.
PSA's sometimes employ celeb status to get a message across.
Animal PSAs encourage adoption instead of buying new pets.
Keeping green and protecting the Earth.
Religious organisations produce PSAs about family values etc.
The military produces PSAs to recruit enlistees.

 Some television shows featuring very special episodes made PSAs after the episodes. For example, Law & Order:SVU talked about child abduction so it had a PSA about child abduction.
Another example is, Law & Order talked about drunk driving so it had a PSA about drunk driving.
Some television PSAs have topics such as on not watching so much T.V., or not taking fictional shows literally, or T.V., movie, or video game ratings.

The Ad Council has a huge collection of PSA examples.

"In the United States a public service announcement(PSA) is defined by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in a formal and detailed manner. A PSA is "any announcement (including network) 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.""

How to write a PSA
And here.
"A public service announcement typically heralds a community event, usually, but not always, for a non-profit organization. Commercial groups can also announce non-profit events or services. If you just want a pre-event plug, the community calendar is where you should direct your PSA. Many local newspapers also have community calendars so PSA’s are not limited to electronic media."


Some examples of PSA




And an example of a spoof

Dynamic Image: COI

"COI is also uniquely responsible for producing and distributing public information films.
These films are on health, safety and welfare topics. Sometimes it's about providing information, for example changes to E111 health insurance forms, and sometimes it's about influencing behaviour such as anti-bullying."
"Today, public information films are very different to those produced in earlier times. Production has changed in line with technological advances, so they often look like commercials or programmes. And, of course, we use contemporary figures to get the message across."
"COI distributes public information films to all broadcast TV stations and currently almost 100 channels use them, including all major commercial stations, the BBC and ethnic channels.
The films are also shown on screens at non-broadcast outlets, e.g. screens in supermarkets, universities, GP surgeries, football stadiums, pubs, trains, buses and motorway service stations."

PIF are based around facts - Think! webiste.

New motorbike campaign:-

The facts

Motorcyclists are 57 times more likely to be injured in serious or fatal crashes than car drivers.

In 2008 493 motorcyclists died and 5,556 were seriously injured in road collisions in Great Britain.

Injuries to motorcyclists are far out of proportion to their presence on our roads. Motorcyclists are just 1% of total road traffic, but account for 19% of all road user deaths.  (Source: Reported Road Casualties Great Britain 2008).
Typically around three-quarters (75%) of motorcycle KSIs occur in collisions involving another vehicle (usually a car).  In 2008, just over half (51%) occurred in collisions at junctions, with the remainder of KSIs occurring either in crashes with other vehicles away from junctions (24%) or in single vehicle incidents (25%) .

THINK! motorcycles strategy

The new THINK! motorcycles strategy is supported by national communications campaigns aimed at drivers and motorcyclists.
The national campaign divides into two strands of communications by getting:
 - Car drivers to notice motorcyclists on the road by thinking more about the person riding the motorcycle.
 - Motorcyclists to take steps to manage and reduce their own personal risk.

These facts means that something has to be done in order to stop the problem - message got across through the use of film etc.

This film doesn't use shocking tactics. Still effective because it makes you realise that if you're not careful you could hurt someone. Catchy song - stay in head, links with subject/theme. Could be used all hours of the day!


A further UK public information film from the Energy Efficiency Trust, advising viewers how fitting draft prevention during cold weather can benefit themselves and the environment.

UK public information film which advises viewers to cut down on gaseous waste and protect the environment around them.


A regional UK public information film, originally shown in the South-East of England, in which a now disabled car driver explains the cost of speeding.

UK public information film advising viewers that they should know how to escape from a house fire.

UK public information film/advert crossover asking viewers to donate to the charity in question.

Dynamic Image: Public Information Films Part 2

The horror of PIFs?
An article from The Guardian about gory PIFs. These types of films are often hard-hitting in order to have some kind of effect/impact on the viewer - it evokes some kind of repsonse so the message is gotten across effectively. They act as a fierce warning. However in this article, Peter Bradshaw asks are these films becoming too gory:
"Like many others, I am fascinated with the classic hard-hitter public information film (PIF) as an unacknowledged Brit horror genre of remarkable ingenuity and power. This is because of its official licence to shock and upset and to unleash one-off moments of horrible violence and inspired nastiness which in any other context would be condemned as gratuitous or even pornographic."
Video through link. PIF for 'Texting Whilst Driving' is just over four minutes long and is in fact part of a longer, 30-minute piece by producer-director Peter Watkins-Hughes.
"The classic PIF from the 70s punches out its message in about a minute, closing on a single, appalling image, and I was expecting this one to freeze after the first crash, but it carries on in real-time, ratcheting up the horror, leading to a second crash, and then there's an agonising aftermath, including a truly scalp-prickling close-up on the face of a baby which has apparently got into some sort of shock-induced catatonic state, or is perhaps dead. If it had appeared in a film, that close-up would count as an extreme certificate-18 moment, but because of the PIF context, it is considered entirely acceptable for all ages."

Usually A a PIF is over within a minute, this film looks at the aftermath of the situation and the effect it, whatever it is can cause. Its 'realer than real' and deeply shocking, and is effective in this respect.
But is this saying something about media today, and the saturation on today's audiences. A message can't be achieved simply, but as film etc taboos and boundaries are expanded and exceeded, we now need to be completely shocked, in order to receive a message of this manner, if in a film, as Bradshaw says, it would be an 18 certificate.

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A great list of types of PIFs.



A peculiarly good road safety animation for children. Brought to you by Texaco. Visitors to the accompanying website, www.hectorshome.com, will learn about the importance of bright, reflective clothing, bike lights and seat belts. They''ll also learn about road signs and how to cross the road safely.



Another great archive of PIF films. An another.


PIFs = Getting a message across, simply, quickly, effectively (film = reality = better response?)

Dynamic Image: Public Information Films

Public Information Films (known as PIFs) are a series of government commissioned short films, shown during television advertising breaks in the UK. The US equivalent is the Public Service Announcement (PSAs).

The films are created to advise the general public on what to do in a particular situations. This ranges over a 'multitude' of circumstances, such as crossing the road, or not talking to strangers etc. PIFs can project a range of topics including safety, animal cruelty, protecting the environment, crime prevention and simple advice films about voting at elections, as an example, global warming, drugs and effects, endangered animals, reduce reuse recycle, bullying.


Often many of these films were aimed at children as a target audience and were shown during breaks in children's programmes during holidays and at weekends. "The general low-budget quality and the infamous static "crackle" before them gave them a Hammer Horror style aura. Some of them were quite terrifying and remained ingrained in the child's psyche well into adulthood, others were quite humorous and used comedy to show the dangers or ridicule the folly of those who ignore them" (Joe and Petunia are a good example of a comic PIF, which was also recently updated - see the ipod!).