WV Climate Change Professional Development

PSA Advice

You can be as low tech or as high tech as you want!

Low-Tech: Just your phone is fine! Examples include: flip camera, smartphone, tablet, etc.
Medium-Tech: Laptop with a camera and using a separate microphone can help improve the sound quality of the recording.
High-Tech: Want to get fancy? Using a camera tripod can help steady the camera shot and using video editors can help with cleaning up the audio and can be used to add sound or video effects.

Want to overlay music? Add animations? Merge scenes together? You will be probably want to use an editor software.

● Video editing software options include: Windows Movie Maker, iMovie, Adobe Premiere, FinalCut Pro, Canva, or other video editing software. There are many tutorials online for these tools!

You may already have access to Canva Pro. Use your K-12 email and password to log in. Go to the “Educational Video” section for info, templates, elements to add.

● Audio editing software options include: Garage Band, Audacity, or other digital audio editing apps

Step 1: Pre-Production

Develop Message

Decide on and develop the message you’ll feature in the PSA—with the audience in mind. Determine what story the message will tell. How will your message grab viewers’ attention and persuade them to take action in response? Are you incorporating effective message elements?

-Inform with evidence-based information

-Move the viewer emotionally (evoke an emotion)

-Make message relevant to viewers so they personally connect with the message

-Move the viewer to action: raise awareness, change behavior

Identify Audience

What are your audience's values, concerns, age, local community issues, etc.? Some helpful resources to identify audiences’ perceptions on climate change/global warming are: Yale Climate Opinion Maps 2021, Global Warming’s Six Americas Report, and Global Warming's Six Americas: Beliefs and Effective Communication Strategies . Also, have conversations with people who represent your audience.

Audience and Message Considerations for PSAs

Test the Message

Ask potential audience members (or friends and students) to listen to the message and provide feedback: What do they think the message is? What do they think the PSA is asking them to do? Would they take that action? Why or why not? Refine your message or your suggested action based on feedback.

Determine Roles

If working in a team, determine roles of PSA production team members: storyboard developer, camera and/or audio person, on-camera spokesperson(s), voice-over speaker, editor.

Tried-and-True Message Design Components

Inform/educate the viewer

This means using evidence-based information, such as data, statistics, or a carefully constructed argument, to state your case and make the viewer think about the issue. However, information alone will not convince a viewer or move them to action. For example, stating that “Fossil fuel and other carbon emissions are likely to cause a 5.4° F rise in the earth’s temperature by the year 2100” may not arouse interest or seem relevant to a West Virginian. It’s important to incorporate emotional and relevancy elements as well.

Evoke an emotion

Moving viewers emotionally and eliciting strong feelings can help persuade them to take action. An emotional appeal can cause people to feel sad, hopeful, inspired, energized (among other feelings). An emotional appeal can be transmitted through the message itself, through images, or by using a messenger, such as a child, or a local respected leader, to appeal to the viewers. An important caveat: research and experience with climate change messaging suggest that using fear, danger, or scare tactics alone is usually not an effective messaging approach. If people think the problem is too big to solve no matter what they do, they will tend not to take action.

Make message relevant

This means viewers can relate to the message because it makes a connection and/or speaks to them personally. This can include focusing on a local issue or addressing a concern of the viewers. For example, “Warming waters in West Virginia are already causing our state fish, the brook trout, to lose habitat,” makes a connection to events happening in the state and may spark an emotional response. Featuring images of a fisherman, or having a fisherman deliver the message, may increase the emotional appeal.

Move the Viewer to Action

An action can be either “increasing awareness” or “changing a behavior/taking a new step”. Raising awareness means to increase or expand the viewers’ knowledge, understanding, or perception about a topic, situation or fact. Changing a behavior refers to what a person does, such as taking a particular action.

Example messages related to “increasing awareness”: “to address climate change, it’s important to reduce carbon dioxide emissions,” or “59% of West Virginians think climate change is happening.”
Example messages about changing a behavior or taking a new step: “Measure your carbon footprint” or “Consider eating meat only one day per week.”

Behaviors suggested in the PSA should be realistic and doable for the viewer. For example, people can readily take steps to measure their carbon footprint. Conversely, it would unrealistic to suggest a viewer enact new legislation to address carbon emissions (unless the viewer is a WV delegate or senator).

Identify PSA Components

Identify and gather or develop visuals, music, background sound or sound effects for the PSA. Using visuals and music in the public domain is recommended. A few sources for copyright-free or public domain photos, images, music, and/or sound effects are: Archive.org; Flickr.com; NASA Image and Video Library (NASA media usage guidelines); National Science Foundation Multi-Media Gallery. Be sure to read and follow copyright restrictions and guidelines for each source.

Create Storyboard

The storyboard is a visual representation of the PSA that includes camera shots, visuals, narration, shooting locations, the plan for on-camera talent (actions and audio), text/titles, etc. See: Storyboard information and templates for students; Storyboard for film/video production with space to add dialogue, actions, and effects

Prepare for Camera Shots, Lighting, Sound

To help ensure best quality, become familiar with recommendations for setting up camera shots, working with lighting, and recording sound. A helpful resource that offers guidance for camera shots, lighting, and sound: The CAM Project’s (Climate Education in an Age of Media) “Before You Tape" a PowerPoint Presentation." General recommendations include:

Camera Shots. Use a variety of camera shots (close-up, medium, long shots), appropriately position the main object, make sure scenes are uncluttered, keep the background simple, use a tripod or otherwise steady the camera to help ensure steady camera shots; if using a camera phone, shoot in landscape mode (not portrait mode)), don’t hesitate to re-shoot if necessary.
Lighting. Be sure people and scenes are well lit; generally, lighting should come from behind the camera, and avoid heavy contrast and heavy shadows.
Sound. Use a microphone if possible, make sure mic is pointed in direction of speaker, avoid wind and other background noise if shooting outside (such as nearby traffic, airplanes, or other sounds that can drown out your preferred audio).
Record audio or other voice-over narration for PSA in a sound studio, a quiet indoor place, or outside-without extraneous noise or wind- for better quality.

Step 2: Production

Finalize/Secure all PSA Elements

Secure visuals (photos or other images), music, and other items for the PSA, including written copyright permission for copyrighted materials.

Secure and Test Equipment

Secure and test all equipment before heading out to shoot; be sure to have all necessary support equipment: batteries, SD card, etc. You may want to use:

Digital video camera, flip camera, Smart phone or I-phone, tablet, or another device that records video/audio.

Record the PSA

Shoot and record the video and/or audio PSA based on the storyboard plan. Be sure to record more than one take (version) so that you have at least one back-up. Review what you’ve shot, before you leave the scene, to make sure you have what you need.

Record Back-up Shots

Record extra shots that you could use, for more flexibility in editing.

Step 3: Post-Production

Prepare for Editing

Make sure editing software is uploaded on the computer. Check out online tutorials for help in using the software.

Edit!

Upload your recordings to the computer, including images, video recording, music, audio recording, etc. Be sure the PSA is either 30-seconds or 60-seconds in length. What software to use? For video: Windows Movie Maker, IMovie, Adobe Premiere, FinalCut Pro or other video editing software. For audio: Garage Band, Audacity, or other digital audio editing apps.

Get Feedback

Ask potential audience members (or friends and students) to watch the PSA and ask for feedback about the message, the recommended action, and the quality and clarity of the images and sound. If feedback indicates that some of these components need to be improved, re-edit the PSA for improvements.

Ready-to-Air!

Save the video or audio in the required format for the PSA contest. Many editing programs allow saving in these formats. Video: MP4 with at least 720 dpi resolution. Audio: MP3

Additional Resources for Developing PSAs and Teaching Students How to Develop PSAs

The CAM Project: Climate Education in an Age of Media (CAM)

By the Climate Change Initiative, University of Massachusetts Lowell. The CAM project at University of Massachusetts Lowell brought together a team of scientists, science educators, media artists, and media instructors, to create curriculum materials and resources that give geoscience educators the tools they need to bring student media production into their own climate change education network…CAM Project resources include curriculum and materials for animation projects, person-on-the-street and expert interviews, public service announcements (PSAs), video mash-ups, and more.

CAM Webpages addressing Student Media Production and Climate Change Education

Offers links to resources integrating student media production and climate change education:

Use student media production in your own climate change education work
Watch student videos including animations, interviews, PSAs, and more
Join the CAM community and connect with other educators
Learn about the CAM Project, including The CAM Approach; Learning outcomes from media production; Using systems thinking and media production to overcome climate science misconceptions; the potential of simulation role-playing games for immersive, experiential learning about climate change.

CAM Website identifying Media Production Resources

Identifies tips, tools and information about effective interviewing, storyboard templates, shot lists, media release forms, camera framing, field production, pre-production and production and post production information, sources of images in the public domain, free editing software.

Student Media Production to Meet Challenges in Climate Change Science Education

Article by Juliette N. Rooney-Varga, Angelica Allende Brisk, Elizabeth Adams, Mitchell Shuldman, Kenneth Rath. In Journal of Geoscience Education 62, 598-608 (2014). The authors, who are affiliated with the CAM Project, “present an instructional approach and curriculum materials that combine climate education with media literacy through student production of public service announcements (PSAs). The work used student media projects as a means to elicit active, affective, social, and analytic learning of climate change science content, with the goals of increasing engagement and intrinsic motivation and fostering deeper learning about climate change through students’ efforts to educate others…Both student producers and viewers showed gains in climate literacy. Qualitative analysis of student experiences revealed high levels of intrinsic motivation and engagement with the project, critical thinking, social learning, an interest in climate change that reached beyond the course, and a sense of empowerment and agency.”

References

This text incorporates ideas and suggestions from The CAM Project (Climate Education in an Age of Media), University of Massachusetts Lowell at https://climatechangeinitiative.org/research/learning-for-action/climate-action-in-the-age-of-media/

What Makes an Effective Public Service Announcement? A Test of Four Theoretically Driven Approaches (2005) by Palmgreen, P.; Zimmerman, R.; Noar, S.; Lu, H.; Lustria, M. Conference Papers, International Communication Association. 2005 Annual meeting, New York, NY. P. 1-28.

Engaging Diverse Audiences with Climate Change: Message Strategies for Global Warming’s Six Americas (2015). Roser-Renouf, C.; Stenhouse, N.; Rolfe-Redding, J.; Maibach, E.; Leiserowitz, A. In Cox, R. & Anders, H (eds) Handbook of Environment and Communication. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/global-warmings-six-americas-book-chapter-preview/

Connecting on Climate: A Guide to Effective Climate Change Communication (2014). Markowitz, E.; Hodge, C.; Harp, G. The Center for Research on Environmental Decisions, The Earth Institute at Columbia University, and ecoAmerica.

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