What, for you, was the most interesting or satisfying aspect of
participating in the State/Territory video project?
For me, being able to see the final project, after so many months of preparation,
was the most satisfying aspect of this project.
Indiana’s video addresses underage drinking on college campuses
and is called No Limits/Know Limits. What is the significance of that title?
I think those four words sum up the attitudes of most college students who drink
and the actions that campus health professionals take to educate those students
and raise awareness of the health and safety issues related to high-risk drinking.
Many college students have “no limits” when it comes to alcohol and will drink almost
anything and in vast quantities, so they really don’t consider what personal limitations
they should have before their drinking gets out of control. I think most health
and wellness professionals on campus would agree that a crucial part of their role
and responsibility is to ensure that students who drink do “know limits,” such as
blood alcohol content, effects of alcohol on men and women, dangerous impact of
mixing alcohol with other drugs, and the other very real health and safety threats
that out-of-control drinking bring.
What challenges, if any, did you encounter during the production
process, and how did you overcome them?
Filming anything outdoors in November in Indiana is always bound to bring challenges
because the weather is so unpredictable then, but I think we were able to have a
good mix of indoor and outdoor filming to bring diversity and yet make sure no one
got pneumonia!
How satisfied are you with the final product?
We have received very positive feedback on the DVD, and schools are very grateful
and excited to have a free electronic resource to add to their efforts. I think
the filming style and pacing of the DVD makes it easy to use with incoming freshman,
older students, and even parents. Accompanying the DVD were some guided discussion
questions that hopefully will engage the audience in a deeper discussion of the
issue.
“Keep your focus on what the message of your video is. Rather
than try to squeeze as many ideas as possible into a video that’s only about 5 to
7 minutes long, make sure that every segment points toward your main message about
underage drinking. Your viewers will be more likely to stay engaged to the end and
be rewarded with a stronger takeaway.”
—State/Territory Videos Senior Producer
Challenge:
One segment of Iowa’s video was planned as a roundtable discussion among parents.
The production team was concerned, however, that this particular segment might not
be visually captivating on camera.
Solution:
The Iowa team reached out to a local diner and arranged to shoot the discussion
in the facility during off-hours. To make it look like a functioning diner, the
producer and the local point of contact staged a conversation in the background
while another member of the team stood in as a “waitress”!
Here are some ways states/territories are getting the message out:
When thinking about how to disseminate your video to your target audience, think
about where and how they might see it. For example, if you make a video aimed at
parents, reach out to Parent Teacher Associations across your state and ask about
showing the video at their meetings, perhaps following up with a discussion on underage
drinking prevention. Similarly, if your video targets youth, get in contact with
local church and community youth groups to see if they would be willing to use your
video as a conversation starter.
The State/Territory Videos Project team, with an eye toward increasing visibility
for all the wonderful videos that have been produced so far, has reached out to
a network of public, education, and government television stations to further spread
the prevention messages being told by each state and territory.