EMPACTCHURCH

Photo-Voice / Jr. Film Crew

 

a) Jr. Film Crew Mission: CMG GAP BOYS realize some communities have to come out of an imprisoned state of mind in order to unify urban community’s foundations that were established by lectures, movements, athletics and rhythms of others previously associated with the population. Hip-Hop sheds light on the idea that youth are impressionable and serve as trendsetters of the future. Hip-Hop artists, Athletes & Entrepreneurs function as the success story of a sector were little opportunity is afforded to large imaginations. Marketers, record label executives and brand managers have discovered the anatomy of musical artists, athletes and entrepreneurs. They are dissecting the various ways to promote the hip-hop artist outside of his original identity. Our Junior Film Crews explore the Advertising and Marketing Strategies used to support the artist as a brand and create revenue within the young adult target audience & peers. Research shows us that product quality and branded athlete/artist promotions are key factors in young adult product purchasing decisions.

 

b) Jr. Film Crew Objective: CMG GAP BOYS study how the key marketing strategies and techniques are used to influence the audience of hip-hop culture and to expand their identity by relating to the inner-city population. We further examine products by Corporate Giants and their use of marketing strategies. Products that include clothing, athletic apparel and electronics as fashion statements and “cool” commodities with the intentions to tap into the interests of today’s youth through their favorite artists, sports icons and entrepreneurs.

CMG GAP BOYS HERU SCOPE (Photovoice) We use creative tools like Photovoice to help change-makers understand the lived experiences of disadvantaged communities and give a voice to under privileged individuals. There is a descriptive process of the populations it might benefit most, and how it can be used to help people make their voices heard and change their situations based on our filming.

 

a) THE PROCESS: One in which people usually with limited power due to poverty, language barriers, race, class, ethnicity, gender, culture or other circumstances use video and/or photo images to capture aspects of their environment and experiences and share them with others. The pictures/video can then be used, usually with captions composed by the photographers to bring the realities of the photographers’ lives home to the public and policy makers and to spur change.

 

b) THE BACKGROUND TO OUR METHOD: “The concept has existed for many years, but much of the theoretical background of current programs comes from the work of Caroline Wang. In 1992, Wang Mary Ann Burris developed Photo-voice based on a combination of Paulo Freire’s notion of “Critical consciousness” (a deep understanding of the way the world works and how society, politics, and power relationships affect one’s own situation); feminist theory, which emphasizes the importance of voice; and documentary photography, which is often used to help bring about social change. Wang and Burris gave cameras to a group of rural village women in Yunnan Province in China, who documented their lives and environment for an entire year. Groups of women gathered at regular intervals to view and discuss the pictures they took. At the end of the project, the group hosted an exhibition of their photographs, and used it to raise the consciousness of the general public and of policy makers about their needs. The women had gained a voice, greater self-respect, and a sense of increased control over their lives. Wang, now a professor at the University of Michigan, became a founding mother of Photo-voice.”

 

c) THE FIVE KEY CONCEPTS include:

 

1. Images Teach

2. Pictures can influence policy

3. Community members ought to participate in creating and defining the images that shape healthful public policy

4. The process requires that from the outset planners bring policy makers and other influential people to the table to serve as an audience for our biopics

5. Photovoice emphasizes individual and community action

 

d) THE TECHNIQUE: Used already in many countries with people including

 

a. Youth

b. People with Disabilities

c. People with Particular Medical Conditions (HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis)

d. Very Poor People

e. Groups Subject to Violence

f. People with Unknown Experiences

g. People Seemingly Ignored by the Community and by those in Power *”Born into Brothels”, which won an Academy Award for best documentary in 2005. Photographer Zana Briski’s Kid’s with Cameras or Kids with Destiny rose from this.

 

e) CMG PHOTOVOICE THREE MAIN GOALS

 

1. Help those who are often unheard gain a voice, enabling them to record and reflect on their experiences and their communities’ conditions, both positive and negative.

 

2. To encourage Critical Consciousness. Through choosing, discussing, and reflecting on the subjects of their photographs, the photographers can come to a clearer understanding of their circumstances and the economic, social, psychological, and political forces that shape them.

 

3. To bring about change that will improve conditions and enhance lives by reaching and influencing policymakers.

 

4. We utilize the term “Critical Consciousness” which comes from the work of the Brazilian educator Paulo Freire. Our use of the term refers to the process of those who are oppressed using critical thinking about their own situations. Analyzing the forces shaping their circumstances is a first step toward bringing about change.