WIT Student Productions: Health Communication Examples
*Note from Dr. O'Connor: You’ll notice that all of our ads/videos have the word “connection” in the title. We tried to create a thematic umbrella for all of the projects for the Smarter Travel Initiative, to draw upon the idea of social connectedness as much as possible. The multimedia entries were not allowed to be longer than 45 seconds, so this is why they’re all fairly short and snappy.
RADIO ADS The Carpool Connection (Nicola Phelan, Clodagh Finnerty, Saoirse Hamm, Katie Smith, Andrew Brennan) This ad was developed through a discussion amongst the students and me about the fun that can be had on journeys to and from college. We tried to capture the energy and fun (and often silliness!) of their own chats and give the ad a fresh and fun vibe. I think they performed the ad really well, and managed to get across the social benefits of carpooling. Link: https://soundcloud.com/jennyoconnorwit/carpool-connection-v2-mixdown
The Leapcard Connection (Lauren Dempsey, Lorraine Conneely, Denise Dunphy, Emma Butler, Gianluca Zuccarelli) Here, the ad comes from the perspective of a phone that is exhausted from overuse and observes her “owner” making a personal connection with a guy on the bus. Again, this idea evolved over many discussions about what makes public transport appealing. The students decided that an unexpected encounter could offer the chance to think about smarter travel options in a new way. Link: https://soundcloud.com/user-151723555/leapcard-connection
VIDEOS Smarter Travel: The Local Connection (Anja Hirche, Samantha Jackson, Chelsea Gibson and Lauren English-Adams) This video came about through thinking about the local amenities that were close to the college and how best to briefly and simply advertise them to the student population. Some of the students weren’t aware themselves that the Waterford Eco Park is available for use by the general public. The students took it upon themselves to cycle to each location and take their footage. I like the simplicity of the approach here, and the fact that the video outlines the short distances to local amenities from WIT, but also the possibility of making connections with others while enjoying these amenities. Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W94tIU_M0cg&feature=youtu.be The International Connection (Chelsea Gibson, Lauren English-Adams, Anja Hirche and Samantha Jackson) The students who made this video had a clear idea about wanting to do vox pops with international students, as this cohort generally tends to walk or use public transport. They were keen to find out what they perceived to be the benefits of walking, cycling, getting the bus or carpooling and they found that the international students overwhelmingly pointed to the social element as a major benefit. My students had to film all of their footage twice due to poor sound quality on the first recording and this encouraged them to keep the second shoot simple and ask very specific questions. The final product is direct and clear and I think it works well. Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCI1AesyrZM&feature=em-share_video_user
Dr. O'Connor and her students Being Honored by Smarter Travel for their campaign strategies