Social

Action
Research
booklet
Contents
Task 1: Brainstorm on social issues
Task 2: Research on other action videos
Task 3: Research on own video
Task 4: contact details and angle for own production

Task 1:
(this should have been done in the idea process you now need to write it down
for example you looked into an issue and didnt like it, or your realized it was too
difficult these ideas need to be noted now)

Your brainstorms should cover:

The issue
The effect the issue has on community
How easy it would be to cover the social issue
What has been done to cover this issue before
Rough idea on who you can interview

Idea 1:
Homelessness in Oxford.
Homelessness in Oxford has increased in recent years. Homeless Shelters are full
and homeless people are left to sleep on the streets. There are many homeless
shelters and organizations to talk to about the situation. There have been around
5 videos made on this issue. I hope to interview one of the shelters in Oxford.

Idea 2:
Horse riding for the disabled.
Horsewyse is a local organization for disabled children to horse ride and exercise.
There isnt much for children to do in the local area. It would a relatively easy to
cover. Noting has been done on this particular issue in my local area. I could talk
to the owner of Horsewyse as well as a family who uses it with their disabled son.

Idea 3:
Youth Offenders
Many youths commit crimes often due to the enviroemnts theyve grown up in. I
would talk to groups that are designed to help them start again in life. There are
many social action videos on this topic.

Task 2:
Compare 2 social action video similar to yours
(look at LO2 Brief on website for guidance on what should be covered)
Social Action Video 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CM8JGxaxSwA
In this social action video, a group of people slept on the
street for one night, holding pieces of cardboard that
contained facts about homelessness in the UK. This
allowed them to be in the position of homeless people and
experience what it would be like for them. I think this is
effective because unfortunately, most people in the UK are
more likely to sympathize with a middle class child than a
homeless person, so this can help to persuade them to
donate and help.
The video uses cutaways and voiceovers to make the
video effective and more interesting/ captivating to watch.

There is no lead presenter it is made by a group of

children and teenagers, this makes the issue seem
important.
The video is informative as it includes a lot of facts,
however, it is slightly emotive as they use language like
how would YOU feel?

Social Action Video 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0Qk067Gtpc
This social action consists of a man with a piece of paper
writing facts about homelessness. I think this is a simple
idea for a social action video and although it does get the
facts across, which could be enough to shock some people
into helping, I think its quite boring and viewers could
lose interest throughout and therefore not help.
There are no cutaways or voiceovers or any other
techniques to make it interesting.
There is no presenter, just facts written on a piece of
paper.
This is a purely informative video as there is no emotive
techniques used.
Task 3:
Your research should focus on:

Background on the Social issue itself:

Homelessness is the condition of people without a permanent dwelling.

Is there already a social action group to try and prevent the issue? Yes

If there is: Who is involved with the group? What effects has the group had on
the community? How has it helped certain individuals? Does it already have an
action video to help its cause? (up load these if there are)

Homeless shelters provide shelter and food for one night. They help to get them
to safety overnight. There is no videos but stories are shared online to help raise
awareness.

Are there any famous people involved in trying to prevent the situation?
Jon Bon Jovi, Kirk Douglas, Grilles Marie, Kate Zinder and Brandon Molale are the
top

Is there government backing to prevent the situation? Should there be? What
could they do?
65 million of funding is offered to councils to tackle the issue.
Government has increased spending on preventing the issue.

How does the issue effect the community / nation / world?

Homelessness can personally effect people who haave homeless family members
and cant help. A lot of people dont want to help but complain that the streets are
polluted with homeless people.
Homeless people are massively effected as becoming homeless can ruin their
hopes, dreams and ambitions.

Look at statistics on the social issue

86% have mental health issues, 41% said they take drugs/ are recovering, 27%
have/ are recovering from an alcohol related issues.
Oxford is the 4th city in the country for most amount of homeless people.
What can be done to prevent the issue from happening?
More shelters in cities. Lower housing prices and donations from the public to help
support homeless charities.

Task 4
Contact details and angle

Informative, educational or change of attitude?

Discuss why and how you will achieve this.
Change of attitude. Make people want to help the homeless and steer them away
from the idea that all homeless people are bad people. I will use emotion to make
people sympathize with homeless people.
I will use a particular homeless

List of found footage you can use and reference where it has come from
1. Neo Homeless in Oxford (NeoMusic) YouTube
2. Homeless in Oxford Nightshelter film (Dreaming Spires UK) YouTube
3. Homeless Life: Marrion Cobarett
4. Feeding the homeless Islamic relief + homeless (Sheikh, Dr Hojja) YouTube
5. Not just homeless (Insightshare) YouTube
6. Oxford from the air (University of Oxford) YouTube
7. Oxford England (Eurodestination) YouTube

What ethical issues will you have to overcome or be careful documenting?

The ethical issues I will face will largely come from filming homeless people on the
street. I will need to ensure I have permission to film anyone, including using
found footage of homeless people in Oxford. A lot of stories about the homeless
will be highly confidential so I will need to ensure I have full permission to use and
share any of those.

List of social action groups you could interview. Can you follow a volunteer or
member of the project?
Oxford homeless pathways
Oxford homeless medical fund
The Gatehouse
Aspire Oxford
Crisis skylight Oxford
One foot forward
Emmaus Oxford
Research on the subject: Research around the subject? Information that you
need to know BEFORE you interview people

I will need to know a bit about the homeless persons story before I interview
them. This can be found on Oxford homeless pathways interviews with
different people sharing their stories.

I will need to know what the persons job is in the organization before I
interview them

What shots / cut a ways / footage will you need to film in order for the social
action video to have impact?

I will include footage of real homeless people on the streets of Oxford so the
viewer can see the real life situation. I will also include filling shots of Oxford
and the area.
During the interview I will film the location and any important parts of the
surroundings, for example, posters/ the room, or the area a homeless person is
living in.

Interviews
Contact details

Name: Julian Housing

Position: Homeless Shelter

Involvement in action: Helps the homeless

What can they discuss in the video? What they do to help

Where can they be interviewed? At the shelter

Phone number: 01865 201992

Email address: info@julianhousing.co.uk

Name: OHalon House

Position: Homeless Shelter

Involvement in action: Helps the homeless

What can they discuss in the video? What they do to help

Where can they be interviewed? At the shelter

Phone number: 01865 304600

Email address: infor@oxhop.co.uk

Name: (A Homeless Person)

Position: Experience first hand at being homeless

Involvement in action: Help viewers to understand and create an emotive

response

What can they discuss in the video? What its like for them

Where can they be interviewed? On the streets

Phone number: -

Email address: -