Year 1, 2011

During the first year’s computer program, Sarvam coordinators asked
students to produce an animated video about a life lesson or topic that held
deep meaning for them. The following three videos were representative of the
most common themes that addressed the importance of education or expressed
appreciation for the transformations that Sarvam’s program has brought to the
village. Note: Quotes are from video English subtitles as written.

Two boys discuss the importance of
studying to get ahead in their lives. “You could become something big, or even
become a scientist. More that than, you could even get first rank in class”.
The video emphasizes the motivational message, “You can definitely do it, just
put your mind to it”.

Location

Description

Comments

Opening

[Two
boys are talking at school about a recent test]

:18

Santosh:
“Why didn’t you study?”

Suresh:
“What am I going to achieve by studying, Santosh?”

The
value of education as a means to move out of poverty was only recently being
embraced by the children and parents.

:22

Santosh
“Only by studying you can become something big, or even become a scientist”

:30

Santosh:
“More than that, you could even get first rank in class”

Clearly
the author has his priorities right.

:38

“You
can definitely do it, just put your mind to it. Santosh, There’s an exam next
week, so you ought to study hard as well”

The
student has inadvertently flipped the two characters.

1:15

[Zoom
in on Santosh’s face as he thinks to himself] “You can definitely do it, just
put your mind to it”... [Repeats it 3 times]

This
zoom effect is one of the more advanced effects in MovieSoup

1:55

Suresh:
“I’ve studied, and took the test. I’m sure I did very well. I think I might
even get a first rank”

In this video, Priya looks at the
consequences of not taking advantage of their educational opportunities by
comparing the fate of two men who meet and reflect on their life choices. In
contrast with the manager at a computer firm, the day laborer has learned his
lesson and is determined to provide his kids with a good education. The
narrator concludes, “It is necessary for us to study while at school for a
better future.” Priya was one of the first girls in the village to graduate
secondary school, receiving top honors. She is finishing a nursing program and
wants to return to help her community.

Ramesh
walks toward the camera, getting larger as he approaches. Applying
perspective in this manner was conceptually difficult for some and
technically challenging to implement.

:23

Narrator:
“Two very close friends are meeting after a very long time”

[The
men exchange greetings]

She
makes use of the different positions for the characters

:45

Ganesh:
“Where are you working these days, You’re looking quite stylish”

Ramesh:
“I’ve been working at a computer firm as a manager. I earning a very good
salary. I’m very happy.”

[They
go to a coffee house to continue talking]

Priya
overlays a blue geometric shape to make the background work in this scene.
She figured this out on her own.

1:03

Ramesh:
“Ganesh, where do you work?”

Ganesh:
“Oh, I’m a day laborer.”

1:07

[Zoom
in on Ramesh’s face. Ramesh is silent for a few seconds]

“A day
laborer? I just cannot believe it!”

Even
though most of the men in the village work as manual laborers, the author
holds higher expectations for herself and her peers.

Ganesh:
“Yes, Ramesh. During school, I didn’t understand the value of education. Now
I’m facing problems and understand better now. Many time my family advised me
to study, but I couldn’t hear it. Now I am a laborer and now I understand.”

1:50

[Ramesh
asks about Ganesh’s kids]

“I
didn’t study, but I want my kids to study. So I sent them to school to make
something of themselves.”

2:07

[Ramesh
is encouraging, and offers to help with Ganesh’s kid’s education. The friends
say goodbye]

The
sense of helping others runs through several of the videos.

2:29

Narrator:
“From the story we’ve seen it is important to learn, that the student who did
not study did not fare well, while the student who has studied is in a very
good position in his life. It is necessary for us to study while at school
for a better future.

Year 2, 2012

During SARVAM’s 2012 Summer Camp, students
working on MovieSoup were asked to produce videos either about the mounting
problem of plastic waste in the environment, or about storm safety and
preparation. In that year, Sarvam initiated an educational campaign about
plastic waste disposal, emphasizing the potential harm to health and the
environment, and encouraging reuse and recycling. Also, the summer camp
occurred about five months after the devastating Cyclone Thane which killed 46
people and caused extensive damage in India. The cyclone severely damaged the
village of Pooturai, the location of SARVAM’s village work. While no one was
killed, several people were injured, homes were destroyed and many of the
children were traumatized by the experience (SARVAM Report, 2012).

Using the mechanism of a query by one
girl of another about what she learned at school, the author of this video
shares her understanding about plastic waste management and advocates for a
shift in behavior.

Location

Description

Comments

opening

[Two
girls are heading to school. They are talking about what they learned the
previous day. Girl 2 asks questions, Girl 1 explains what she learned about
waste management]

Perspective
(sizing appropriately to distance from camera) was challenging here.

Girl
1: “They taught about waste management.”

Girl
2: “What is waste management?”

Girl
1: “The things which we use and throw away - everything is waste management.”

[Girl
2 asks more questions]

:40

Girl
1: “They told us about organic and inorganic waste.” …

[She
explains the difference between the two and the value of organic wastes]

:46

Girl
2: “What is good and bad about plastics?”

:49

Girl
1: “These plastics and tires pollute our environment … When these are burned,
it pollutes our air and hurts the ozone layer.”

[Girl
1 continues to talk about plastic trash impacting the soil and water ways]

Girl
2: “Can’t we recycle the plastics?”

1:17

Girl
1: “Yes, but only some kinds” [She goes on to explain further]

1L35

Girl
1: “Instead of throwing it out, we can use it in building roads. It helps
stop rain from damaging the roads, and helps them last longer.

This
technology was recently introduced in India

1:46

Girl
2: “How can we avoid wasting plastics?”

Girl
1: “When we go shopping, we can take cloth bags, instead of getting plastic
bags. This will reduce the plastics a little.

1:53

Girl
2: “Okay, Kamala, I will tell my mother about plastics and to avoid them”

In contrast with the inquiry approach
of the prior video, this author teaches through a conversation between Dai, a
well-meaning child learning about the hazards of plastics, and Ramu, his foil,
who encourages harmful and wasteful practices. It concludes with Dai returning
home and lamenting to his mother, “Amma, our place full of plastic. Can’t we do
anything about it?” to which she responds with a collective call to action, “We
can’t do anything alone, but if people work together, we can solve it.”

Location

Description

Comments

opening

[Two
boys walking to school]

:13

Ramu:
“Dai, Did you bring lunch?” [Then asks which cup.}

Dai:
“The silver cup”

Silver
colored stainless steel cups, plates and bowls are common in India.

:23

Ramu:
“Don’t bring the silver cup, bring plastic cup, it will be fun and style!”

[Dai
agrees]

Perspective
was a challenge

:40

[Boys
are now at school. Dai looks for a dustbin to throw away a plastic bag]

Ramu:
“Why a dustbin? We can put wherever we want. It’s our choice, there won’t be
any problem”

[Dai
tosses the plastic on the ground]`

Author
created a new object and used the transparency slider from the shape feature
to create the bag.

:49

[Students
are in class. The teacher introduces lesson about plastics]

Author
added text overlay over the blackboard

1:00

[The
teacher explains that burning plastics pollutes the air, impacts the ozone
layer and harms their health. He encourages students to avoid using plastic,
and especially not to burn plastics]

1:09

[Boys
walking home - see a fire by the road]

1:13

Ramu:
“Oh this? They are burning tyres.”

1:18

Dai:
“This is bad. The smoke that comes from this affects the ozone layer, heats
the earth, and hurts people’s health.”

1:30

[Boys
go to get tea at a local stand and observes that they are serving tea in
plastic cups]

Dai:
“See, here too, they are using plastics”

Ramu:
“what harm is it going to be?”

Dai:
“There is harm! When they pour hot tea in plastic, it melts the plastic and
chemicals mix with tea. It goes in our stomach and affects our health.”

[Boys
go home to eat, then come out to play. They go to the field and see large
piles of trash]

2:01

“Why
is there this much trash?”

“Oh
this? The wastes from the cities are being dumped here. That’s how this much
trash formed”

2:13

[Boys
head home]

Have
you seen that? Our places full of plastics! Soon the plastics are going to
live here, not humans!”

2:20

{Boy
at home] “Amma, our place full of plastic. Can’t we do anything about it?”

Amma:
“We can’t do anything alone, but if people work together, we can solve it.”

The authors use a variety of
approaches to instruct the viewer in proper storm preparation and safety. A
pair of men discuss a village meeting on the subject, reciting many best
practices before and during a storm. At a later point, a group of villagers
confront government officials sent after the storm, only to be chastised by the
official, “First there was a meeting about prevention of storm in your village,
have you participated in it?” The villager responds, “No, sir.” “That’s why
this much damage has happened,” replied the official, followed by a call for
community engagement, “Hereafter please don’t avoid any social meetings”.The video ends with a scene in which a friend
implores another not to go out to sea to fish. The fisherman explains that,
“our family is in poverty, that’s why I am going to fishing”, to which his
friend begs, “For one day’s poverty, don’t leave you children and family in
poverty forever. I am telling you this for your good only, go to home.”

Location

Description

Comments

opening

[Two
men meet and greet. One explains that he is going to a meeting to learn about
safety preparation for cyclones]

Presenter:
“Instead of koorai house, concrete house helps us reduce more damage, and
during wind, standing under trees is also dangerous”

1:00

[Men walk
home and recount what they learned about safety during storms]

1:27

[Cyclone
hits the village - frames show cyclone image knocking over trees]

This
animation has more action than most of the others as the storm knocks over
trees and people. (Rotation tool)

1:37

Narrator:
“Due to warning of storm, these two people changed from koorai house to
concrete house. Because of it they prevented more damage.”

1:50

Narrator:
“During storm, things like fan, tubelight in the house should be removed else
it could fall and cause more damage to the people live in it.”

2:03

[Two
men are talking in front of fruit stand.Lightning bolts are hitting]

“do
you want me to bring children from school? OK I will bring them.”

Author
created the lightning bolts from the draw tool

2:13

[Men
discuss the dangers of using cell phones during electrical storm, referencing
their new knowledge from the town meeting on safety]

2:25

[People
gathered at a town meeting. Everyone is speaking at the same time. One man
comes forward and takes the floor]

“The
storm has caused more damage to us, what does your government is going to do
for us? please do whatever you can do.”

Meeting
scene is a complex compilation of several images of groups of people.

2:40

Government
man: “First there was a meeting about prevention of storm in your village,
have you participated in it?”

Villager
responds: “No, sir.”

Government
man: “That’s why this much damage has happened.”

[They
exchange words about the importance of attending the meetings]

Government
man: “Hereafter please don’t avoid any social meetings”

Calls
for participation in civic discourse and preparation.

3:08

[Men
working in piles of rubble from damaged houses]

Man 1:
“This is work too. The wood, plastic, metal here, during storm, it will get
into the wind and it could damage the houses. That's why I am removing it
from here”

The
images used are of damaged houses in their village

3:26

[Image
of crowd at bus station]

Narrator:
“During storm, people shouldn’t be crowded in places like bus stand, else in
the collision, life loss could occur.”

[Image
of cyclone knocking people to the ground]

3:44

[Two
men talking about going out to a film. Man 1 says he won’t go]

Man 1:
“during storm, we should not go out, it is not safe.”

Man 2:
“You are saying only for our good, I will not go.”

3:49

[Scene
of man walking on beach during storm]

Man 1:
“I am going to sea, for fishing”

Man 2:
“There is a warning about the storm, they why are you going?”

Man 1:
“our family is in poverty, that’s why I am going to fishing”

Man 2:
“For one day’s poverty, don’t leave you children and family in poverty
forever. I am telling you this for your good only, go to home.”