Thursday, November 26, 2009

What Else Do I Need: Campaign Planning

Television and Commercial Airing:
Commercials about the campaign will be aired during the day, approximately between 4 to 8 o'clock on weekdays, as many children are typically home from school at this time and can view the television when they get home for school. Since our television commercial is directed towards students within a school environment, this commercial will be aired on many children networks such as YTV, TVO kids, and the Family Channel, as the Family Channel is one of the organizations that supports anti-bullying within our campaign. This commercial is very short, and can also be geared towards teenagers within a high school environment. Since it can be used for a slightly older audience, this commercial can be placed on many television networks that have a wide spread teen audience. This includes networks such as MTV sand Muchmusic. The radio commercial can also be used on radio stations that have a larger teenage audience and can vary depending on their preference.

In order to spread the word about our anti-bullying campaign, posters can be displayed within areas that contain a large child/teenage audience. Buttons can be passed out and presentations can be made throughout various schools. For young teenagers, buttons can also be passed out within a mall environment on weekends, as many teenagers love to shop when they have the free time. T Shirts can also be purchased at designated locations within the mall, and information booths can be set up for people that have questions about Kids Help Phone and how are campaign is incorporated with the Family Channel.

Alternating Campaign for a different audience:

Adults:
Each theme can be changed to bullying within a workplace environment either co-worker vs. co-worker, or boss vs. employee. All of our content presenting information about bullying within a school environment will be changed to information informing adults about bullying within a workplace and how it can be avoided, what to do if the situation occurs, and how to prevent potential situations involving harassment within a workplace. All advertising will take place in an urban area close to large businesses (ex. The Eaton's Centre/ Union Station within Toronto), so adults within large corporations can be exposed to the campaign. Other organizations and workers unions will strongly be supported. Visuals can be added to the commercial or sounds around a workplace/ office environment can be substituted for school sounds. Another organization will be supported at the end, ex. a local workers union, government contracts, etc.

Teachers:
This idea can also be altered to fit bullying within a school environment, but rather supporting student harassment towards teachers. Information can be altered to fit the expectations of local school boards and seminars can be held with teachers on a monthly basis to help teachers prepare to avoid these issues. This campaign can be altered to support a teachers union, rather than Kids Help Phone or Family. Video content and radio content will be altered with different facts based upon harassment towards a teacher (ex. students yelling at a teacher excessively).

Teacher Harassment towards a student:
The same organizations and commercials can be used, but they must be altered in some way informing students that bullying is not only on a student vs. student level. Many children/teenager are unaware of this, so more advertising will be produced to focus on this issue and school visits will mention facts about this issue. The video can be altered to have voices of teachers yelling at students excessively, etc.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

School Ties Assignment

1. If I was a teacher, I would use this film to teach the class about racism within a school environment and within society today. This can be done by analyzing comments directed to the student with a Jewish background, and how he had to hide is religion from everyone else within his school, as Jews were frowned upon after the Holocaust by many Catholics. I would make sure to inform the class that color discrimination is not the only form of racism, as many people can be attacked based upon their religious views identifying them as an individual race. All of the negative comments presented can be beneficial, but the students may loose interest as this film was portrayed in an earlier time.

2. If a parent complained about the excessive amounts of racist terms used towards the Jewish race and the one scene including partial nudity, I would address to the parents that this can happen within a real life scenario and that students within a high school environment should be mature enough to view these scenarios, as they may experience similar accounts within their high school.

3. There are many limitations towards this particular form of media because it is somewhat outdated, as this was set right after the Holocaust. Messages may not be portrayed quickly. A pamphlet can be used to obtain more detailed information about the issue, or a remake of the film in a modren high school.

2012: a Movie Worth Going to See?

2012

Yesterday, I had the spare time to go see 2012 staring John Cusack. If you don't know what this movie is about, 2012 tells the story of an epic adventure about a global cataclysm that brings an end to the world and tells of the heroic struggle of the survivors. The film was released on November 13th 2009, and I had the opportunity of viewing it on the film's opening weekend.

The film was phenomenal! The special effects throughout the movie were astonishing and John Cusack played an amazing role throughout the film. There may be some parts within the film that involve a lot of dialogue, but that is something to expect as the film is just shy of three hours when including previews. I was really surprised when walking into the movie theatre, as I have heard many terrible reviews from critics, but my opinion was soon changed when seeing the catastrophic events throughout the film.

2012 is now playing in a theatre near you, so why not go take a look. It is higly recommeded, but just remember, it is a bit lenghty.

Links to Today's Blurb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1190080/

The Trailer:



Saturday, November 14, 2009

Feelings about Remembrance Day

Both of my grandfathers were also involved within WWII, one was called home before being sent over seas, the other was an Italian war prisoner. I am really happy that they were both here during my childhood, as I would have hated to be born into this world without getting to meet both of my grandfathers.

When celebrating a time of remembrance for those that have fought within World War II for our freedom today, it is hard not to get emotional. All of the soldiers that gave their lives for our freedom should be remembered for how much they sacrificed to make the country what it is today. It was great to see a presentation within the cafeteria about this specific celebration for the first time in all five years of my high school career. This presentation was more effective then listening to a five minute announcement while sitting in a classroom, as this brought no visualization and little impact to listeners. This ceremony should have deserved more respect from Pine Ridge in the past, and I am glad that they have done this presentation this year and hopefully for years to come.

One of the videos shown within the presentation was very touching:

Bonus Post: Students Pay for Grades!

Have you ever heard of the saying "you learn from your own mistakes"...

It is sad to see that students are stooping down to the level of paying for their grades to be altered to a higher equivalent. No matter what school a student attends, they should be entitled to the right of earning their marks as a reflection of their participation within a classroom environment rather then paying to get a higher grade. There are many students that try their best to get high marks, in which their marks reflect how hard they worked towards their goals. It would be a same to see all of that commitment out the window. How will students learn from heir mistakes, if they can just pay to raise their marks every time they get a low test score.

This seems like a form of cheating to me, as the students are just cheating themselves out of hard work and commitment needed for future schools. What happens if thew particular student that bought all of their marks ended up in a university, will they have what it takes to pass. After all, they are lying to universities when submitting their marks, as it does not reflect hard work and commitment, but a false average based upon the size of a student's wallet.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Another Anticipated Hit Coming Soon!


The Road

Directed by John Hillcoat, The Road tells the story of a young boy and his father struggling to survive after an apocalyptic event occurs. The family continues to move south to escape the increasing cold of the intense winter that is soon to come. The whole journey is a struggle to survive in a world no longer capable of sustaining life. They almost lose this struggle when a thief makes off with all their worldly possessions, and the Father nearly loses his struggle to hold on to his humanity in taking those possessions back. The boy is all that keeps him barely human as the adventure unfolds. Will they have what it takes to survive?

The Road is set to release November 25th, 2009.



Links to Today's Blurb:

The Plot:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0898367/

The Trailer:




Prince of Persia Made into a Movie?


Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

It seems like director Mike Newell has attempted to create another feature film based upon the plot of a video game. The Film, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, is based upon a platinum selling video game with the same title, but will it surpass the standards of many that have failed at the attempt of creating a film based upon a video game.

Lets look at some of the films that have been placed into this category:

Mario Brothers:

Around the world, Mario and Luigi have been known as the face of the Nintendo franchise, but it seems like things fell a bit short within this film. Judging by the time it was released, it is acceptable that the film has terrible special effects, but there is no excuse when comparing the film to characteristics of the Nintendo characters. The film had little relevance to many arch foes, companions, and scenes within the classic series itself.



The same idea can be found when watching the film Doom. The film had a terrible plot and very low ratings.



Despite the horrible history of films developed from video games, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time looks like an excellent film to see. The special effects within the film are stunning, the trailer is very specific in reference to the plot within the video game, and the portrayal of characters within the movie seems to be accurate. The plot of the film follows an adventurous prince who teams up with a rival princess to stop an angry ruler from unleashing a sandstorm that could destroy the world. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is scheduled to release on May 28th, 2010.

Links to Today's Blurb:

The Plot:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0473075/

The Trailer:









Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Childhood Television



The Big Comfy Couch is one of the television shows that I remember from my childhood. Like any other television show directed to children as it's target audience, there is always some sort of message behind every episode. The show itself takes setting within a town of clowns, where clowns are portrayed as kind, caring individuals. I find this a bit ironic as many children are typically scared of clowns. I always loved watching the segment where the main character turn into a human clock to help viewers learn how to read the time. I do believe that this was one of the first shows that helped me learn how to read the time. I remember that I always used to sing along whenever the opening sequence occurred.

When viewing this clip as an adult, I have noticed that the way of portraying morals to children within the show is a bit disappointing. It seems a bit lame to sit through a video and listen to jingles about a clown that likes to sleep in and procrastinate. I do think that the morals are portrayed efficiently towards children as each episode contains a different message, this one happens to be about falling down.

Monday, November 2, 2009

Anti-Bullying PSA



This public service announcement, produced by Family Channel, contains a very powerful message portrayed in an effective way. When viewing the video, it is apparent that a young male, possibly in his first year high school, is getting harassed by a group of senior students. The younger student was getting teased for having red hair and judging by his facial expressions, he was very uncomfortable about certain comments directed towards him. Another senior student was near by when the event took place and after being a witness to this, he came to school the next day with his hair died red. When the bullies began to tease the younger student, they soon stopped when noticing that the senior student also had red hair.

It's amazing how powerful this psa was when addressing an issue to the public without the use of such a large dialogue. It shows many viewers how to confront a bully without the use of physical or verbal contact.

This particular psa relates to myself as I am also in a high school environment where daily accounts of bullying have occurred. I remember in my first year of high school, being a "minor niner", I was always afraid to walk by a group of senior students. There was always gossip about many younger students getting picked on by older students, but it never happened to me. This psa provides a great example of what to do in a situation if someone you know is getting bullied by another peer.

I managed to catch a glimpse at the communication between the victim and the senior student sitting on the bleacher, noticing that they waved to each other for a split second. I was under the impression that they did not know each other, which made it even more powerful and motivational. Many students within a school environment are often bystanders to events such as this. If they take a stand to those that bully an individual, while using similar methods such as this source of confrontation, maybe it will make more students of the school environment feel safe and secure.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

This is it!


Michael Jackson Documentary said to top Hannah Montana 3D Concert?

When watching MTV News, it shocked me to see that This is It, a documentary made about Michael Jackson, did so well that it made twice as much as Hannah Montana's 3D Concert. It really shocked me to see that the movie did so well, as the film contains footage of a rehearsal and not the full concert.

Directed by Kenny Ortega (High School Musical), this film also contains interviews and backstage sessions as Michael Jackson prepared for his sold out shows in London.
It almost seems like the film is just a milk of his success, as many of his family members are probably making money off of the film, but the film still continues to top the box office.

Michael Jackson was a phenomenal artist and his work will live on for years. May he rest in peace.

Links to Today's Blurb:

The Trailer:





Meet Darren. He's sixteen going on immortal...


Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant

Directed and written by Paul Weitz, the Vampire's Assistant is about a young boy named Darren who meets a mysterious man at a freak show. The mysterious man turns out to be a Vampire and after a series of events, Darren must leave his normal life and go on the road with the Cirque Du Freak, only now taking the form of a Vampire.

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant was a great film to watch in theaters. John Reilly, famous or his act in Step Brothers, played an excellent role within the film. Its amazing how well he played the role of a vampire, as the role itself required such a serious attitude.

The movie itself does sound like the title of another typical Vampire movie, but the film differed from the traditional Twilight film in many entertaining ways.

With a little bit of comic relief and a great amount of stunning effects,
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant is now playing at a theater near you. I definitely recommend going to see it.

Links to Today's Blurb:

The Plot:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0450405/

The Video:

Small Budget Blows Box Office


Paranormal Activity

When listening to a conversation in class about the anticipation of Paranormal Activity, I was astonished on how well the preview of the movie was projected with such a small budget to work with. Having been released on October 16th, 2009, the thriller almost reached a total of 85 million in box office totals. I myself find it hard to believe, as the film is only 90 minutes long.

The film received great reviews, as Rotten Tomatoes describes the film aswith this statement: "Using its low-budget effects and mockumentary method to great result, Paranormal Activity turns a simple haunted house story into 90 minutes of relentless suspense". Both IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes user ratings averaged at about a 7.5 out of 10.

If you do not know the plot of this film, the storyline follows the life of a young couple, Katie and Micah. When Katie suggests a ghost has followed her to their suburban home in San Diego, California, Micah buys a video camera in the hopes of capturing paranormal activity on film, a project that will ultimately last three weeks. Attempting to communicate with the entity is strongly discouraged during a visit to their house by Dr. Fredrichs, a psychic who assesses that they are being plagued by a demon which feeds off "negative energy" and is intent on haunting Katie no matter where she goes. Dr. Fredrichs also recommended the two contact Dr. Abrams, a demonologist, and Micah's reluctance to do so leads to frequent arguments between the couple. Each night, Micah leaves the video camera on a tripod in their bedroom to record whatever might be occurring while he and Katie sleep. He manages to document several phenomena such as objects moving on their own, lights and televisions switching on and off, and sounds ranging from voices and growls to footsteps and loud thuds. Will they ever resolve this issue and make amends with the demonic presence?

Now its time to find out!

Links to Today's Blurb:

The Plot:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1179904/

The Trailer: