It’s that time of the year again! It is time for the 10th Annual Moving Pictures Film Festival at Peninsula College. I submitted a few videos to the film festival last year. However, this year has been a little different. I have been extremely busy for most of the quarter and feel like I have been somewhat rushed to get my work done so I don’t quite feel that I’ve really been able to put my all into much. The one project that I really am putting my all into isn’t done yet either. That would be my documentary about the local non-profit, 4PA. I did throw together a quick trailer for it though! I will be submitting the trailer to the festival this year at least. I will certainly submit the final product to the film festival next year for sure. Like most creators, I’m probably just being a little too overcritical of myself and my work.
I have also had the honor of producing the film festival this year by putting all of the videos together into one video file. I’m also hoping that I will be available the night of the festival so that I can actually attend it. Sounds like I missed out last year when it was discovered that my friend who starred in a lot of my work was apparently already famous.
I will be very proud of my 4PA documentary once it is done and will market it heavily. You can count on that. I will also make sure I market the film festival on social media by sharing online posts.
The premise of my project will consist of the development of two different objects to be placed in the SL world. One will be a monitor that shows the video editing process in Adobe Premiere Pro and another will be a handheld holo-projector that displays either a rotating college degree or an open book. The fundamental purpose of these items is to drive students find interest in the video production and as a call to action to inspire them to attend Peninsula College.
2. Audience and Market
The intended user would be a potential new student at Peninsula College. We hope to use our digital environment on the Hero’s Journey to entice them to become students here. This audience would probably enjoy something that is interesting, comedic, and technological. We will have plenty of competition, however. There are plenty of other schools, organizations, and companies that have established a strong presence in the virtual world.
3. Medium, Platform, and Genre
We will be using the platform Second Life to develop and place these items. This platform consists of a virtual world where users can fully customize their avatars, purchase and rent property, and even get a job. It is a third-person virtual experience.
4. Narrative and Gaming Elements
There are narrative elements contained in this project. The Hero’s Journey is a completely narrative concept. It is the basis for most stories told and has been for a very long time. I hope to be very encouraging and inspirational in my approach when creating these items. There are some gaming elements already on the Hero’s Journey pathway, however, mine will be more interactive and persuasive. I can’t think of a win or lose scenario with my objects, other than a win when persuading someone to attend Peninsula College.
5. User’s Role and Point of View (POV)
The user will take on the role of an aspiring student on this pathway. They will be looking for direction in their life, in their education, and in their own personal Hero’s Journey. Therefore, ultimately they will be taking on the role of the “hero”.
6. Characters
The nonplayer characters consist mostly of animals from what I have seen. I did read something about a parrot that helps you on the journey but I don’t believe I actually encountered him. I have seen other birds, wolves, and whales. They make the virtual environment feel more welcoming and attractive. They also give it a more lively presence which will entice users to explore deeper into it.
7. Structure and Interface
The starting point of the user’s experience will be Step 0 of the Hero’s Journey. This is the beginning of the path and the user is welcomed with some free gifts and information here. They will then progress through the twelve steps of the Hero’s Journey and then proceed onto the Pathway Café where they can see the different guided educational pathways. They will be able to stay on task and know they are going in the right direction because of the signs that have been placed.
8. Storyworld and Sub-settings
Our world appears to be on an island paradise that sees all different seasons and climates in the different regions of the island. These resemble the different obstacles we encounter when we are on our own personal Hero’s journey.
9. User Engagement
The storytelling aspect of the experience is what will keep the user engaged. They will want to make it to the end to feel the sense of accomplishment that comes along with completing any type of interactive story element. By the end of this experience, the user will have hopefully made it to the end of the pathway, decided what area of study they are wanting to focus on, and chosen to enroll at Peninsula College to do so.
10. Overall Look and Sound
For the monitor at the video editing station, I will be using videos. 2 different videos, one for each monitor. One will be of the editing workspace in Premiere Pro, while the other will be of the program monitor. As far as the holo-projector object goes, I will use an image of the text book or college degree and try to build a 3D element out of it.
11. Interactive Scavenger Hunt
I would like to make it so if the user finds my holo-projector, not only will it turn on and display the rotating object, but it will also transport them to my bubble. Using the holo-projector again will transport them back to the hero’s pathway. (Not sure if this is doable or not, but I like the idea of it.)
12. Marketing of the Hero’s Journey
The project could be marketed through the college’s website, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and even Second Life itself. I feel that at this stage it wouldn’t hurt to have mentorship, but I think the further along it comes and the more developed it becomes, the more autonomous while convenient to use it will become.
The once-a-year Super Bowl commercials are a thing for several reasons. Firstly, the Super Bowl is the most watched event in the United States of America. The only event in American history that had more viewers than the 2023 Super Bowl was the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969. From a marketing standpoint of view, this is obviously going to be the best opportunity to make sure as many people see the ad as possible. Not just that, it’s also the best opportunity to make sure they are actually paying attention to it. The commercials at the Super Bowl are renowned for being powerful, emotional, funny, and unique. Therefore, some people probably watch it just for the commercials!
The more emotional commercials, like the ones used as examples for this assignment, tend to show the more human side of the company. In my opinion, I would be willing to bet that most of the time this is done, it’s purely for profits and not so much for just doing the right thing given the fact that these advertising slots can cost millions of dollars for a single minute. The marketing professionals with these companies know that if they pull on your heart strings, you will be very engaged with the ad and giving it your full attention. Your brain will be storing it in memory more efficiently. Therefore, once you are fully immersed in the powerful and emotional story of the ad, you will tend to remember the brand name that is displayed at the end better.
It’s no secret that people tend to process information that is in story form better than information that isn’t. This is for several reasons. One, we tend to be able to retain and remember the information better. Reading something in story form typically will make it seem more significant and interesting to the reader, therefore, causing them to better remember. Something else the story form does, is help viewers relate to the character, share perspectives, and empathize with them. This makes it more personal to us.
Another appealing aspect to information told in story form is it isn’t just an assortment of random facts. It is a series of events that demonstrate cause and effect. Whenever someone reads something or watches something, they are more than likely trying to seek out the story being told within it. Story telling can be used for all sorts of multimedia tactics. It is employed in marketing and advertising all the time. In fact, I would say that if your ad or marketing strategy doesn’t somehow involve telling a story about a problem and how your product or service can solve that problem for the consumer, then it probably isn’t going to be very effective!
When it comes to being a metaliterate prosumer and a good digital citizen, I feel I have learned how to be responsible, respectful, and accountable in my methods of delivery and engagement on a social media level. I have learned how to do this using a variety of tools such as Facebook, Instagram, Blogging via WordPress, and so on.
I was already using WordPress to build and maintain the website for Hermann Brothers Logging & Construction. However, during this class, I have increased my knowledge and skill with the platform tenfold. I built my own personal blog with WordPress and incorporated some widgets into it as well as linked social media accounts. Now, I can write about something and share my feelings with my audience there as well as my audience on twitter. I can do this with the click of a button!
I am proud to say that since beginning this class, I have enriched and strengthened my social media marketing strategy and have created ads for Facebook, Instagram, and more, and had unbelievable results from it. I am directly and effectively interacting and engaging with a community of commercial truck drivers who may potentially be interested in coming to work for Hermann Brothers thanks to the insight I have gained from this course.
