Production Comm 360 Blog 5

Several weeks ago in my Studio Production class, we divided up into groups and came up with a topic to do a fifteen minute story.  My group came up with the idea to do the show on the many end of the world theories and decided to shoot the second week (April 3, 2012) of shooting, which makes us group B.  Fortunately, our producer Jonathan took on the leadership role and we initially started brainstorming for questions and guests.  After coming up with several professors on campus for the show, Jonathan had everyone write one question and two job positions in the discussion forum to give everyone a chance to obtain a job they would enjoy.  Personally, I knew I wanted to be the host or the technical director.  By the next class, he had posted job positions, and I was the host.  This excited me because I knew I would get a lot of say in the script and the content of the show. 

Mayan Calender

Before doing that though, our next task was to find two professors to be guests on the show.  Another student had suggested his biology teacher and luckily, she was available and willing to do it.  We struggled to find another guest because the end of the world is a somewhat strange topic and professors are really busy.  I tried a few different times to contact an old history professor who I thought would fit the part.  After several failed attempts to find him in his office, I emailed him but he was unavailable.  Thus, after other failed attempts as well, we decided that another student could do some research about the different theories that would be discussed and could fill in as the guest.
After brainstorming with the rest of the class, we had a set list of topics we wanted to discuss throughout the show, including the Mayan calendar, global climate change, overpopulation, and others.  So, a few days before shooting, I looked at the discussion forum and took everyone's questions into consideration and came up with a final script.  Additionally, I had written the introduction to the show and another student had come up with an ending.  This is the final script I compiled (directly copied from the discussion forum):

Hi and welcome to the Shepherd Connection.  Today's topic will focus on the many end of the world theories.  Lately, with December 2012 quickly approaching, which may be one of the most publicized theories, society seems determined to figure out the way the world will end and popular movies and television shows drive that obsession.  Our first guest, Dr. Conley, is a biology professor at Shepherd University and will tell you a little about her background. (Dr. Conley speaks) Thank you, Dr. Conley.  Our second guest _________ will also tell you a little about himself/herself. (2nd guest speaks)
-Let's begin my discussing the Mayan theory that so many are talking about.  What exactly were their predictions?
-Why do you think it has become so popular in our society, are people just looking for something to talk about?
-In your opinion, does the fact that the Mayans did not account for Leap Years disprove this theory?
-Another interesting theory involves global climate change and, let's be honest, the weather this past winter has been quite odd.  Can you briefly describe global climate change and do you think it could wipe out the population?
-What can we do to prevent or hinder the change?
-In the past, there have been several epidemics, such as the Bubonic Plague, across the globe that have killed many people.  Could a terrible enough epidemic destroy humankind and what kind would it have to be (i.e. virus, plague, flu, etc.)?
-Do the United States and the rest of the world have the resources to stop an epidemic if a bad enough one started?
-The idea of overpopulation is also a world ending theory.  Could the perpetuation of the human species really be it's own demise?
-As the population expands, more food is being genetically modified.  How dangerous is genetically modified food and why?
-Is genetically modified food enough to potentially kill off the population?
-A final theory we are going to touch on today is the idea of a World War 3 that involves nuclear warfare.  Could a world wide nuclear war demolish humankind as we know it and how?
(If time permits, other questions could be)
-In your professional opinion, which world ending theory do you believe holds the most weight and why?
-Which is the least likely and why?
-Are alien invasions and zombie attacks possibilities, they sure seem to be the topic of many popular television shows and movies?
So it looks like the world is safe for another day.  Thank you for joining us today on the Shepherd Connection and thank you to our guests for being here.      

Overall, I am happy to have gotten a chance to write a script and conduct an interview in this setting.  Not only did I have fun, I also feel that I gained experience that will help me in the future.  We are currently in post-production and hopefully will be able to each obtain a copy of the show for future reference.