Project Proposal

Isabel Mastrangeli
Isabel Mastrangeli
1B
10/7/16

A. Abstract
My project is on the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, as it pertains to the legal and environmental

implications that are liable to occur through its implementation. While the overarching topic is

the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and other pipelines that are currently being implemented around the

country, my specific focus is going to be the legality of encroaching upon private property and

the environmental harm it reaps. In order to disseminate information about the topic, I am going

to create a documentary and display it at a screening where I will also have local environmental

groups come to speak and have a question and answer session after the documentary is shown.

The title of both my project and the documentary is tentatively Pipeline or Pipedream? My

original idea is to have the screening at the Naro Expanded Cinema in Norfolk because of its

family oriented nature. I have already reached out to contact them and am waiting on a response

so it is subject to change depending on price and availability. I am planning on doing the project

in late March as one of the earlier projects but cannot name a specific date because coordination

with the Naro is necessary.

The reason that I want to do this is because I am very passionate about the environment.

Nearly every year my debate work has taken me towards an environmental approach. During my

debate experience, I did a good amount of research on the pipeline and see the potential harm

that it is causing. I want people to be educated about things that are going on in our country that

we dont really know about on a day to day basis that have a greater environmental impact than
we realize. There are multiple questions that will guide my research as well as the structure of

my paper:

What implications does the Atlantic Coast Pipeline have on private property, namely

the Wintergreen resort?

Is there a legal restriction to the amount of environmental degradation a construction

project can inflict before repercussions are necessary?

What does the pipeline mean for the citizens whose property is being infringed upon

or are being forced from their homes?

How does the pipeline distribute its resources and how is that distribution

determined?

Mr. Pratt is going to serve as my advisor for this project. His main role in this is for me to

bounce ideas off of and provide support for me on the day of the project. For my project, I am

going to need access to a video editing software, a video camera, a computer on which I can do

all of the editing, as well as the paper materials for advertising the project. The Naro will provide

the theatre to facilitate the screening. The success of my project will be evaluated via an exit

survey at the theater that will ascertain the level of engagement of the project overall as well as

the quality of the documentary.

B. Learning Skills

New learning skills are as follows:

Filming proper and professional video

Using formal editing software
Creating a video longer than 10 minutes
Reaching out to community leaders specializing in this topic
Planning a major event

Enhanced learning skills are as follows:

 Interviewing professionally
Time management
Environmental advocacy
Marketing/advertisement
C. Marketing Plan/Facilities/Audience

The project is meant to be for all audiences, but certainly high school age students and above

are the target audience because they are the ones who will best be able comprehend the issue at

hand and will have the most take away. They need to hear about the project because it will

educate them on the problems that many of us dont know, as they are not widely publicized. It

will encourage them to think critically about what they are told about these issues and will

challenge them to reexamine the role that certain by corporations play in this. The point is not to

be an empty or vapid pep-rally for the environment but rather for people who do not know about

the issue or are currently, in order to create an ontological discussion. The Naro is the venue

because it has the ability to screen movies and is a local business that I am passionate about

supporting. They are an old movie theater, and I want as many people to know about it as

possible to keep its business alive. The Naro displays all of the movies that they screen on their

website so there will be some dissemination of information to regular movie goers. The Naro

will also display the event on the marquis closer to the day of the event and will allow me to put

up posters advocating for the event. I will also put out event flyers at the local libraries as well as

at school if approved by Ms. Godfrey. In order to get the people that I know aware of it, I will

utilize a multi-faceted social media plan as I encourage my friends to share the event.

D. Project Steps
Preliminary Steps - Book the Naro as a venue 5 hours
- Confirm a date and time
- Create rough list of things
to include in the
documentary
 - Create interview
questions and reach out to
people to interview
- Create storyboard
- Research topic
Midway Steps - Film interviews 8 hours
- Write script for voiceover
portions
- Film videos
- Select music to add and
look at copywriting
- Begin advertising for
project
Later Steps - Begin editing project 10 hours
- Film final videos needed
- Finish editing project
- Confirm final details with
Naro
- Plan food for event
- Plan what will be said at
event
- Secure volunteers
Day of Event - Get all of the food 2 hours
- Set up at Naro (sound,
lights, etc.)
- Remind all volunteers
Event - Introduction of project 2 hours
- Documentary
- Speech and survey
afterwards
- Question and Answer
session
Followup - Thank you notes to Naro 1 hour
and Volunteers
- Question LSA kids and
other attendees about the
success of the project
Total 28 hours

E. Project Documentation
Pictures of the event and with interviewees
Short segments of raw documentary material
Time and contact logs
Journal entries
Storyboards and all planning material
 Correspondence screenshots with venue and interviewees
F. Project Justification

I chose the project medium as a documentary because I have never done a school project like

that before. I wanted to use this as an experience to learn a new skill that I will be able to use

later on in life. Because I am inexperienced in the field of documentaries, it will be a stretch for

me to complete but also an opportunity to learn new software and reach out to individuals in my

community who do have that skill. I have wanted to do this as my project even before I selected

what my project topic was going to be because it has always been something that I have wanted

to learn how to do. I love documentaries and have grown up seeing them at the Naro. This

project ties in to two of my major passions, educating others about an important problem and the

environment.

G. Project-Paper Connection
The paper will be able to directly relate to the documentary because it will be able to express

the legal issues and problems expressed by concerned parties. I will be interviewing citizens who

private property is being infringed upon as well as different environmental groups and even

people who are in support of the pipeline. While the environmental degradation doesnt directly

link to the law, it links to the overall topic which is the pipeline. Because of the nature of

documentaries, the topic will be able to be easily expressed because the two will be able to

address the same thing.

H. Academic Honesty
I understand that any academic dishonesty by me on any part of the project will

result in failure of the Senior Project and forfeiture of the Legal Studies Seal on my

High School diploma.