Congratulations! You are about to become a part of something really big. You'll have a chance to be creative, make a difference in someone's life and have some fun. And maybe even win a scholarship, money, Courage Trophies, and become famous.
Drinking among teenagers
today is a serious problem, and it's no wonder. The media is bombarding
kids with glamorous but dangerous messages about alcohol. And it's all
produced by adults. Like all the movies and TV shows with teenage jokesters
taking over their parents' house for drunken parties. Like sports celebrities
and movie stars who promote drinking.
You are probably old
enough and smart enough to see through all these messages, but some kids
aren't. Something very powerful needs to be done to steer those kids away
from alcohol. This is where you come in. Adults can't relate to kids the
way other kids can. So we want you to grab your family or school video
camera and produce a 30-second commercial that they will respond to.
You can have a lot
of fun making your video and you might win something, but you can also
make a difference. Since your video will be viewed by middle school kids
as well as your high school peers, you have an opportunity to impact someone
else's life. You can relate to these kids much better than we can. If
your message hits home with one kid at the right time, it could save a
life. If you're the grand prize winner and your commercial runs on TV,
you could save a lot of lives.
All team members must
be students attending a high school. You can have as many as five team
members. Pick a team captain.
Learn about the problem.
Talk to people about it. Go to the library. Find out how big a problem
it is and about some of the bad things that happen when kids drink alcohol.
Based on what you find,
write down some short notes on what you could make your commercial about.
Just simple one or two line descriptions, like: "We'll show Tiger Woods
competing in Olympic events with his golf club and he'll lose them all
but win a Buick Regal." Write as many as possible.
Run your ideas by some
middle school kids. Get them talking. Then listen. Listen very carefully,
because they will give you clues. After talking to them, take another
look at your ideas, and make up some new ones.
Read Actual Quotes from Middle School
Students about the Winners
Get your team together,
look at your ideas and see if you can make them better. Pick your top
two or three ideas. Choose based on how well you think the ideas will
get the attention of the kids and change their minds too. Oh, and make
sure it is something you actually can produce with a little imagination.
Make up some storyboards.
They don't have to be fancy or detailed. You just need to combine the
words and some stick figures to plan how to get your idea across.
Remember, it has to
be at least 30 seconds long so that it can air on TV. You can use your
family video camera. Or you might have one available at your school. You
can also contact your local access cable station and inquire about equipment
they have available. Look at your storyboard and make some production
notes:
- Cast your actors
- Designate locations
- List your props
- Assign roles to
your team
- Make a timetable for shooting and editing
Leave enough time for
shooting and reshooting if necessary. Don't try to do everything at once.
You may want to separate the acting, if you have any, from background
and scenery shots. Whatever works for you is OK.
