1. Units 4, 5, 24, 31 - Task 1
Lauren Rosenfeld
Task 1
Client Information
The council of the London Borough of Redbridge have created and distributed a brief
to the youth of the borough, who are aged
between 14-19. The Borough of Redbridge is in
North East London, with the town council
currently residing in Ilford, with a total of 63
councillors. Linda Huggett, is a Conservative
Party politician, and is currently Mayor of
Redbridge Council. Councillors are responsible
for making decisions on behalf of the community about several issues, including
local services, and agreeing budgets and Council Tax charges. Redbridge is
estimated to have a population of 296,800, of this, there are 67,500 children aged
between 0 and 15, 193,000 people aged between 16 and 64 years of age, who are
of working age, and 36,200 persons aged 65 and upwards (retirement age).
There are a list of districts within the Borough of Redbridge, including Barkingside,
Hainault and Fairlop, some of which i will be investigating. The main district i will be
looking into is Barkingside, which has three councillors. These are Councillor Ashley
Stephen Kissin, Councillor Karen Packer and Councillor Keith Prince, who are all
members of the conservative
party. There are elected
representatives (councillors),
who represent the community
and are responsible for rubbish
collection, recycling, council tax
collections, housing planning
and transport links. Barkingside
is an ethnically and religiously
diverse district notable for its
high concentration of London's
Jewish population. Redbridge is known for its award-winning parks and open
spaces, transport links to London, shopping areas and high-performing schools. The
borough is known as the leafy suburb with a quarter of the borough covered by forest
and green space, and three quarters of homes are owned by the owner. There is
also a lack of community centres/facilities for the youth within the area, possibly due
to a lack of budget. This means that there is nothing to keep the youth occupied,
which may turn many of them to crime, as seen through the rising crime rates. The
borough, have given a brief instructing the youth to create a video on a local issue
that affects the community.
2. Units 4, 5, 24, 31 - Task 1
Lauren Rosenfeld
Structure of the Brief
The client, who is the Borough of Redbridge have created an informal agreement
within the brief, meaning that individuals do not have to produce an 8-10 minute
video for them, but agree to do so regardless in the hopes of winning and having
their video premiered on local television stations. It is a legally non-binding
agreement between two or more parties, which is the youth and the borough. Also,
the individual creating the video does not have to sign a contract, which may restrict
them from filming certain things. Due to it being an informal agreement, the producer
of the video has freedom of choice to create what they want, and they can make
their own creative decisions. For example, the video producer can decide what they
want the topic of the video to be on, ranging from recycling, congestion or crime
rates on the street, the actors used and theme. We can also decide the style of the
video, whether it be an observational, poetic or expository documentary. With the
only thing that needs to be followed is the time limit and focusing on a local issue to
bring locals together.
The brief also mentions competition, as they state the best-produced videos will be
aired on television. Therefore, those who decide to participate in the competition are
up against other youths in the borough to have their video aired. The competition
aspect of the brief is good for both the individuals producing and the clients for
several different reasons. Firstly, it is good for the individual, as this can make them
more motivated to produce the best video possible in order to beat other people and
win. Those who decide to participate in the competition, also have the added benefit
of possibly having their video aired on television, which may motivate them further.
The reward of having their video on television is good, as it means that their name is
out there, especially for those pursuing a media career. Creating a video is another
benefit for the individual, even if they do not win, as it is another piece of work to add
to a portfolio/showreel to show to future employers or to gain a place in higher
education for example, a university. However, if they do win it looks even better for
their CV. Another benefit of competition is that it gets the youth in a competitive
mindset, which is good for the working world, as it makes for a better quality
productions. Competition is also good for the client, as they can choose the best
from a range of different videos, to promote themselves, and advertise their borough.
This is another benefit for the client, as they get video work, which may bring the
community together done for them for free.
Purpose of the Project
Social action projects are carried out by individuals or groups of people working
together for the good of others and not for profit. Common topics of social action
projects are smoking, drugs and alcoholism and more. The project may bring about
local change and bring the community together, which is what the council wants to
happen. For example, there may be some issues in the area, such as rising crime
rates and thus, through the video we may motivate the community to get involved in
3. Units 4, 5, 24, 31 - Task 1
Lauren Rosenfeld
order to stop the crime rates from rising, such as through setting up a
neighbourhood/community watch. Another purpose of the project is to raise
awareness of current issues, such as rising crime, which may also lead to the public
changing their current attitudes through seeing the social action project. Therefore,
the social action project may strengthen community ties, as they may bound together
to stop the issue that is happening in the area.
One example of a social action project is
Panorama, produced by the BBC. It is an
investigative current affairs documentary, which
first aired in 1953. Today, it is still aired at a peak
time slot on BBC One, and airs worldwide
through BBC world News. One topic Panorama
looked into was scientology, and for the first time
exposed on broadcast television the secret
upper-level beliefs of the Church of Scientology.
John Sweeney, a journalist presented the
episode, showing how the Church reacted to his
investigations, including its reaction when he
stated to members that some people describe
the organisation as a "cult". During an interview,
the presenter lost his temper with a member of
the Church of Scientology; an edited version of
the incident was released by the Church on
YouTube and DVD to try to publicise it and raise
controversy. However, the 2007 Scientology
episode was Panorama's greatest audience
since it moved to Monday evening. A follow-up
programme, was broadcast soon after,
presenting proof that the Church had harassed
Sweeney during the making of the documentary, with the intention of making him
react in the way he did.
Therefore, the purpose of the project was to raise awareness of what the Church
was doing and change the general public's opinion, which they succeeded in doing.
As before this, not much was known about the Church and their actions, however,
after it aired, 4.9million UK viewers were more aware, and their new found
knowledge could have changed their opinions on the Church. Sweeney also claimed
that him and his family and neighbours had been harassed by unidentified strangers
in the UK, which further convinced the public of the Church's’ unstable members.
Another example is Dispatches, which is another current affairs documentary series,
which was first broadcasted on 30 October 1987 on Channel 4. The programme
covers issues about British society, politics, health, religion, international current
4. Units 4, 5, 24, 31 - Task 1
Lauren Rosenfeld
affairs and the environment, and often features a
mole inside organisations under journalistic
investigation. In one investigation, journalist
Brian Deer looked into the campaign against the
MMR vaccine by British surgeon Andrew
Wakefield. Deer revealed that, when Wakefield
claimed a possible link between the vaccine and
autism, his own lab had produced secret results
which contradicted his claims.
Following the programme, Wakefield, sued Channel 4, The Sunday Times and Deer
personally for libel. During two years of legal action, three High Court judgments
were obtained against Wakefield from Mr Justice David Eady. In January 2007,
Wakefield abandoned his claim and paid Channel 4's and Deer's costs.Wakefield's
claim that the MMR vaccine might cause autism led to a decline in vaccination rates
in the United States, United Kingdom and Ireland and a rise in measles and mumps,
resulting in serious illness and deaths globally. Therefore, the purpose of the project
to inform the public resulted in less deaths around the world and a rise in people
taking the vaccine again. This shows that the attitude of people changed once the
programme aired, as they raised awareness of the false claims Wakefield spread.
Another example is from BBC Panorama, called Gangs, Guns and the Police, which
focused on gang violence in Manchester and the effect it had on local people and the
community. Due to the show focusing on a specific area of Manchester, i gather that
the purpose was to strengthen community ties.The programme showed gang
violence throughout the community, and how it affected everyone within it. The
documentary also showed an apprenticeship company, which aimed to help young
people, so they don't get caught up in crime within the area. Therefore, another
purpose was to raise awareness of these apprenticeship schemes for young people,
in the hopes of bringing about local change (dropping the crime and gang violence).
This is a similar topic in which i will be investigating, and will possibly shows
programme aimed at lowering crime rates within the
local community.
As stated above, there are several different purposes
of social action projects, including raising awareness,
bringing about local change and to strengthen
community ties. With this in mind, a local issue that I
will be looking into with the hopes of fulfilling the
purposes will be the current crime and rising crime
rates. Another purpose would be to get the community
to band together by possibly creating a
neighbourhood/community watch of the local area. If the community were to do this,
then community ties would be strengthened. Once we have made the community
5. Units 4, 5, 24, 31 - Task 1
Lauren Rosenfeld
aware of these problems, then the organisation set up can spread the word further.
This would again bring about local change as the community would act as one to
lower crime rates and they would in turn inform others of how to not be a victim of
crime on the high street. If we inform the public of the different types of crime on the
rise, then this will most likely make people more aware. This topic would fulfill the
brief.
Opportunities Offered
By creating this social action project, a lot of opportunities could arise for me, as an
individual. Firstly, I would learn more about my community and the local issues
surrounding it by researching what is going on, which could lead to me building a
network of contacts within the area. Another benefit of creating a 10 minute social
action project is that it is another piece of work to add to a portfolio to show to
possibly either a future employer on a CV, or to get onto a university course/other
higher education qualifications. As it is quite a big project, it shows to both potential
employers or universities that I am able to cope with planning, researching,
producing and editing on a large scale. I will also be able to develop my editing skills,
as it is a longer video than i have previously created, therefore, i will have more time
to practice.
Another skill i will be able to develop further will be my communication skills. One
group I will have to communicate with is my group, especially if i am to take the role
of director, i will need to delegate roles and keep others on task in order to meet the
deadline. Another group of people i will have to communicate with is the general
public, as i might need to build a rapport with them so they will open up about how
they feel and their attitudes towards crime within the community. Another important
life skill that will be developed within this video will be confidence, as i will need the
confidence to pitch the idea and to communicate with the public. If i come across as
confident to the general public, then there is a higher possibility of them answering
truthfully and feeling like they can tell me more. Having these vital communication
and confidence skills will benefit me later in life, especially in a job where i will have
to work with colleagues. I will also learn to be a more approachable person, as i will
need to interview the general public. Thus, i need to have an open body language
and use formal language to sound professional.
I can also gain organisational and time management skills, in order to get the project
out on time and make sure everything runs smoothly and the cast are comfortable.
Organisational skills are especially important in the pre production stage, as there is
a lot of work to be done prior to filming in order to make sure everything goes ok.
There are also practical skills to develop, such as using the professional filming
equipment e.g. the camera, microphones and writing scripts, particularly as using the
equipment is the best way to learn how to use them and find out new techniques.
This will develop my skills and experience with using professional equipment. I will
also have to learn things that i have not done before, such as interviewing people
6. Units 4, 5, 24, 31 - Task 1
Lauren Rosenfeld
and presenting directly to the camera. This video will also help me to think more
creatively in order to produce a social action project which is unique and in a style
that is rarely used, whilst gaining experience in producing a documentary style social
action project. Lastly, having a social action project on my portfolio will make me
more desireable to an employer, as it shows that i have a range of video work that i
am capable of doing, and have had training in using professional equipment in order
to create a professional production.
