The document discusses the results of a questionnaire given to students about bipolar disorder. It found that most students only recognized mood swings as a symptom and were unable to identify other symptoms like inability to complete tasks. It also found that most students would not recognize bipolar disorder in others and were unsure where to seek help. Based on these results, the filmmakers plan to focus on educating viewers about symptoms of bipolar disorder and where to seek help through a short film about a character suffering from the disorder.

1. Film Questionnaire
Analysis

2. Did you know that, in the UK alone, 850,000
young people aged between 5-16 suffer from a
mental illness? – Graph A

3. Are you aware of what
bipolar disorder is? –
Graph B
For those who responded to question two (by saying that they knew what
bipolar disorder was), they then had to back up their knowledge by
describing what they believe it is. Alarmingly, all of them responded by
mentioning that bipolar disorder consists of rapid mood changes. They
didn’t mention any other symptoms, such as, suicidal thoughts and/or
depression. Therefore, we still wish to educate about the other symptoms.
For example, we plan to write in a scene where the main character (who
suffers from bipolar) cannot complete his exam, and is behind on
coursework, showing that symptoms include the inability to complete tasks.

4. Do you believe that you
could recognise someone
with bipolar disorder?
We then asked the participants if they would recognise
someone with bipolar in their everyday lives. The majority
(74%) answered by saying ‘no.’ Therefore, in our short film, we
will make some of the symptoms very clear to make sure that
the viewers can have better knowledge about people in their
lives who may be suffering from such a disorder. However, not
everyone recognises people with bipolar, even if they have a
clear understanding of bipolar.

5. Please underline the
statements that you
believe to be symptoms
of bipolar disorder.
We wrote a list of 10 symptoms (aggression, inability to complete tasks, poor
concentration, high concentration, low
concentration, happiness, depression, racing thoughts, poor
judgement, preoccupation with irrelevant matters, rapid speech), and asked the
participants to underline those which they believed to be symptoms of bipolar
disorder. Only 2 people (11%) answered all of them, and all of the symptoms
were actually symptoms of bipolar disorder. Therefore, we wish to continue to
educate the audience about the symptoms, either in themselves, or others.

6. If you believed yourself or a
friend to have bipolar, would
you know what to do/where
to seek help?
When asked whether or not the participants would know where to seek
help, the results were almost even. 42% did not know where to seek help at
all. 58% did know, suggesting that they go and see a doctor, talk to a friend,
or talk to a family member. This shows that there is a good understanding of
where to seek help, but there is still a large number of people not aware.
Again, this makes us even more determined to educate the audience.
However, the problem with using a questionnaire is that these results
cannot be generalised to the entire population. These questionnaires were
only given to students at Oxford Spires Academy. Perhaps they know more
or less than the rest of the population.

7. In our short film
‘Toby’, what areas of
bipolar would you like
to see covered?
To get a clear sense of what to include in the film, we asked the
participants what they would like to see in the film. The
majority (44%) wanted to see the symptoms of the disorder;
therefore, we will centre the film around the symptoms
because that is what the audience want to see.

8. Do you believe that a
short docudrama
based on bipolar
disorder is a
worthwhile film
project?
When asked about whether or not the participants would like
to see the film, the majority answered by saying, ‘yes.’ This
showed us that this is a worthwhile project to commit to. Only
16% responded with ‘maybe,’ but did not necessarily rule out
the possibility of being interested.