Starting my final year in uni Iam thrilled that I got the chance to create a short Tv spot for the Anti-File Sharing Campaign. I found the subject really exciting and current. This is my proposal for this project.


Introduction

This simulation brief project entails the creation of a 20 second advertisement for broadcast on television, as part of a public information campaign by the Copyright Protection Society. The Copyright Protection Society (from now on the client) has commissioned a short audiovisual product, aimed at informing the general public about the illegal practice of file sharing. The purpose of the aforementioned advertisement is to explain what file sharing is, when and why it is illegal, and also the consequences of being involved with this illegal activity.


Overview of the proposal

My proposal for this project is to create a fast-paced audiovisual product, containing both a relevant storyline and visual information in the form of slogans/catchphrases, intending to capture the audience’s attention, pass on the fundamental ideas about file sharing, and impose on the illegality of the act in any form.
The reason that I have decided to present both a short story and intermittent wording explanation, is to emphasize as much as possible on the notion of harmful impact that file sharing as an activity has. Because it is, in essence a criminal act, file sharing affects aspects of everyday life that the public little suspects of, such as the economy and job opportunities around the UK. Thus, I will also attempt to modify the public perception of file sharing as a faceless virtual (and therefore not actually “real”) activity. Indeed file sharing has a face and very real consequences to entire industries that ultimately touch everyone.


General concept of the advertisement

The general concept of the advertisement that I am proposing is has two main dimensions. The first facet is the portrayed storyline, and the second is the “information intervals”, which are essentially bits and pieces of vital information on file sharing, in appropriate wording, all throughout the storyline.
The plot is rather simple in its conception. A young person in its mid-twenties is walking down the street, listening to music on an mp3 player. We watch as a pickpocket approaches him/her, and removes a 20 pound note from his/her pocket. He/she notices the theft, but as he starts to protest, the pickpocket starts to shred the note into small vertical and symmetrical pieces, which he/she subsequently throws up into the air.
The justification for this concept lies primarily in the notion of file sharing itself. A file such as a movie, a musical track, a book or even a document, is shredded into smaller files and then distributed freely to and fro an unlimited amount of users across the World Wide Web. However, none of the intellectual property rights of the criminal activity in essence. The fragmentation and ultimately disintegration of the 20 pound note in the advertisement wishes to portray just that: when you illegally fragment and distribute a file, you essentially take away and destroy someone else’s money, employment, and economic well being. The young man that is being pick pocketed in the advertisement could be a young multimedia student, who will not be able to get a job in the industry due to economic losses coming from file sharing and piracy; it could be the worker in a television or film studio that will lose his job because of the financial cutbacks; the list of people that are affected by file sharing one way or another is exponential, and that is why I have chosen this allegory.


Multimedia designs and project schedule

I have already created a draft storyboard for my proposed advertisement, which I have attached in a digital form to this proposal. I am also in touch with a music composer, to who I have commissioned an original piece of music, appropriate for the theme of the project.
As far as the project schedule is concerned, the time frame for the completion of the project will span from 1st to the 25th of November 2009. The first week (1-16TH November) will be dedicated to pre-production of the project. More specifically, it will include the research for the appropriate filming location, securing the actors, and creating the final script for the advertisement. Since I intend to use my personal audiovisual equipment, I will not need to borrow any such equipment from the University. Also, as part of the pre-production, all the necessary pre-production forms (emergency contacts etc.) will be completed and submitted on time.
Week 2 of the production (9-5th November), will be devoted to filming, which will require two to three days of filming, depending on the weather conditions, the availability of the actors and any other unforeseeable circumstances that might delay the production.
Finally, Week 3 (16-22nd November), will be committed to the post-production of the project, including the editing, mixing, and voice-over of the product. Time is also allotted in case a re-filming is required. The finalized product will then be submitted, along with the production file containing all the necessary supporting documents.