RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

According to HotDocs, a market research study that was conducted and written about Documentary Audiences in 2014 by Maria De Rosa and Marilyn Burgess, found that 68% more people watch documentaries today than three years ago. Furthermore, documentaries are more 58% more available in cinemas and 44% easier to access on television. According to their surveys, 95% of respondents watch documentaries at their home. Moreover, in their research they have found there was 3 groups they could categorize in as Super Users; highest documentary consumers (43% of respondents), Discerning Doc Lovers; older respondents around middle age with kids (43% of respondents) and Traditionals; retirement age watching usually on a television (14% of respondents).

Survey

On a scale of 1-5, how much did you know about Brown vs Board of Ed before watching this documentary?
How many black male educators did you have throughout your education?
Do you think racism played a part in the decline of black male educators in the education system? Yes or no
Did you know that the percentage of black male educators was so low before watching this documentary? Yes or no
Do you think the education system would benefit from having an increase in black male educators? Yes or no
Were you aware of the injustice that young black boys face during their education, especially in impoverished areas? Yes or no
Do you think society would benefit as a whole if the education system worked to better improve the standards of school districts in impoverished, predominantly black, areas? Yes or no
On a scale of 1-5, how informative did you find this documentary?
On a scale of 1-5, how informed did you feel about this topic before watching this documentary?
On a scale of 1-5, how informed do you feel about this topic after watching this documentary?

Our Mission and the Research Purpose

Our mission is to inspire change and facilitate global communication through student-produced documentaries, PSAs, and short films. Our videos shine light on national issues, including the lack of diversity in American classrooms and the ongoing battle of conservation vs. land development.

Film is a reflection of our past and present society. Since there are many people who watch hours of television a day these films are perfect for encouraging people to make a change.

Our films and similar documentaries/PSAs communicate a meaningful message to the public. One that encourages people want to get up and do something for the world. Our goal is to inform and have people want to cause a positive change in the world.

“The Day After Tomorrow”. This film is about the world having its second ice age. Hail the size of tennis balls, tornados, giants tidal waves, practically the end of the world. This film informed the viewers that climate change is a problem and we need to do something about it or this outlandish movie can possibly become a reality.

Another example of when a film changed the way people think is the film, “Super Size Me”. This film was about a man who ate nothing but McDonalds for a long period of time. At the end of this experiment he gained 25 pounds and his cholesterol levels shot up. He then went to the doctor who said he had the liver of an alcoholic. This film reignited the debate on fast-food and its effects on people’s health. There were also a large amount of people who were furious with how fast-food is widely distributed to children. The uproar after this film was so great that McDonalds removed the “Super Size” option and started to introduce healthier food to the menu.

Editing

There were also many attempts at films inspiring to cause change such as the film “Concussion” starring Will Smith. This film was about the seemingly endless amount of concussions which happen during football (Mainly the NFL). This film informed the viewers how dangerous concussions are not only from the short-term effects, but also the long-term effects. There was a scene and this movie where they introduced a retired NFL player who was still suffering from the effects of all his concussions when he played a good thirty years ago. The goal of this film was to inform the public about this, but also to encourage them to cause a change to football resulting in safer playing conditions.

A film which also had an impact on society was the film "13th" From Ava DuVernay who also directed the film "Selma". This film is titled after the 13th amendment which is the prohibition of slavery. This film starts out powerful with Barack Obama stating that the U.S has 5% of the world’s population and 25% of the world’s prisoners. The main goal of this film was to inform the public of how racism was and still is a big problem. This film relates to our Black Male Educators film (BME) about the decline of Black Male Educators. We inspire to make a change through our films.

Communication is where films come into play because it it collects mass information and communication with easy understandable meaning on a specific idea or message so that it can be delivered to the audience. According to New York Daily news, the average American spends nearly 33 hours a week watching television or videos by some estimates, and on weekends, millions pack theaters to watch the latest release. Having this amount of people watching fils is a great opportunity to deliver a desired message to a mass audience through a film production. For example, An Inconvenient Truth delivered a message toward a controversial issue by turning complex science with storytelling. Insead of giving large facts on global warming, he found a way to make it rather interesting for the audience, giving them a chance to learn through and entertaining way. This film also changed the way some people's attitudes towards this issue. Before the film’s release, only about a third of people surveyed believed global warming was real. Afterwards, 85 percent believed the earth was indeed undergoing climate change in part as a result of human actions. This shift in public opinion opened the doors for politicians to introduce more than 15 new climate-related initiatives, and many countries began incorporating the film into their schools coursework. This shows how a single film was able to create such an impact on people's points of views on an important subject. Not just that, but documentary films also have a way of allowing us to walk in another person's shoes and understand the world through their perspective, and thus, making more and more people aware of what is going on in our communities as well as outside. Cinema is a very powerful artform, which is able to hold a mirror to our society and it holds conscience to account. Many filmmakers around the world have a goal of bringing up essential stories that can impact society by informing through entertainment.

“Movies touch our hearts, and awaken our vision, and change the way we see things,” Hollywood director Martin Scorsese once said. “They open doors and minds.”

Martin Scorsese