Social

Action
Research
booklet
Contents
Task 1: Brainstorm on social issues
Task 2: Research on other action videos
Task 3: Research on own video
Task 4: contact details and angle for own production

Task 1:
(this should have been done in the idea process you now need to write it down
for example you looked into an issue and didnt like it, or your realized it was too
difficult these ideas need to be noted now)

Your brainstorms should cover:

The issue
The effect the issue has on community
How easy it would be to cover the social issue
What has been done to cover this issue before
Rough idea on who you can interview

Idea 1:
Alopecia UK

Alopecia is a condition that is triggered by stress and causes someone to lose his
or her hair. It varies from small patches of hair to all the hair on their body.
Alopecia UK is there to provide people with the information about it for people
with or without the condition, give support to those and the families of those that
suffer with it, raise awareness of it as a whole and give resources.

Alopecia massively affects those that suffer from it as there is no cure and losing
all your hair is something that can be quite stressful to go through, especially for
females. Treatment isnt covered by the NHS which can cause some suffers who
cant afford it stress, and means they cant invest in things such as professionally
made wigs to boost their confidence about having the condition.

The issue would be difficult to cover fully as it is a massive thing that affects
people all over the country. It would be hard to get all of the details of what they
do and how they help because there is so much information to include.

Alopecia UK is a charity that covers the issue and raises awareness. They have set
up a donation system to support those and their families that suffer from it who
do not have the money for treatment or coping mechanisms. They set up events
and days out so that people with the condition can have a good time and meet
others that are going through the same thing. People can become members of
Alopecia UK that means you receive a newsletter on the current events of the
charity.

If I was to interview people involved in this charity, I would probably first interview
an ambassador of the charity and ask questions about why they have chosen to
represent it and what it means to them. I would also interview someone who
suffers with the condition to give a personal insight into what it is like to live with
and what the support of the charity does for them.

Idea 2:
Street Pastors in Reading

The street pastors were set up in 2003. They are trained volunteers who are from
local churches that patrol the streets of Reading from 10pm to 4am on Fridays and
Saturdays and care for, listen to and help people who are out on the streets.

Reading street pastors have affected the community a lot because everything
they do is done to better it. The street pastors help with the smaller issues that
the police cannot see to straight away. This makes nights out in town easier for
the police, the people that work in the clubs (such as the bouncers, who cannot
help individuals after they have been kicked out of a club) and the people who are
out enjoying themselves.
This social issue would be relatively easy to cover because it is so small and local.
They are easy to get to and there isnt a large amount of information I would have
to think about cramming into one video. I could cover every part of the
information thoroughly and make sure my video informs people about everything
they do rather than just some parts.

This social issue isnt covered that often but when it is it is covered thoroughly.
They have featured on BBC South News a few times, with small social action
videos showing some light on what they do in order to inform people that they are
approachable if they need help and let parents, etc know that theyre children are
safe when they go out drinking in town.

If I were to interview people from this organization, I would first interview an

ambassador of the charity. I would ask them why they think the charity is
important and what it means personally to them. I would also look into
interviewing some of the people in the organizations that the street pastors
support or that support the street pastors, such as club owners. I would ask them
how the street pastors have benefitted their Friday and Saturday nights and how
these nights compare to the nights that the street pastors dont patrol. I would
also try and interview some people that are on a night out, asking them if they
know who the street pastors are and what they do. I would also try speak to those
that have been helped by them, or have had a friend be helped by them, and ask
them about this experience.

Idea 3:
Age UK

Age UK is one of the biggest charities that are dedicated to helping elderly people
in many different ways. They help people that are over 60 and support those with
long-term illnesses, help improve winter hospital discharges, assess care services,
provide advice, help claim benefits, and help those that feel lonely. They raise
money to fund all of these services.

Over 9 million people in the UK are aged over 65 so it is very important we have
something in place to help care for them and assist their families should they
need it. Most people have got at least one elderly person in their family, which
means that it is vital that information on how to care or help care for them is
provided. They do not just care for those with families, though. They also help
those with no family members that suffer from loneliness and have no one to care
for them.

Age UK is a very large charity and is supported by many other charities around
the UK, which means it would be really hard to cover as a social issue because
there are lots of areas and a lot of information I would need to include. If I were to
cover this as a social issue I would have to focus on one of the services that they
provide.

Age UK have done many things that support elderly people. They have charity
shops dotted around the country, and all the money from these goes towards the
services they provide. They also have adverts, which are shown on TV and online,
helping to raise awareness to the charities existence so more people can look into
the services and information they offer.

If I was to hold interviews for this charity I would first interview an ambassador of
the charity, and ask why they do what they do and what the charity means to
them. I may also interview some of the volunteers that work in the charity shops,
asking them why they decided to volunteer and whether they have any personal
connection to the charity. I would also interview some of the elderly people that
Age UK has helped. I would ask them how the charity has benefitted their life and
whether they deem it as something that is necessary to our country, and whether
they believe more people need to be made aware of the charity or whether
theres anything else the charity could support them with.

Task 2:
Compare 2 social action video similar to yours
(look at LO2 Brief on website for guidance on what should be covered)

Social Action Video 1:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1iSRi2lPAc

This isnt presented by anyone and follows the pastors round, having them talk us
through what they do so we get to see things from their point of view. This gives
the video a more relaxed viewing experience because it is not just someone
talking at you giving you all the facts, it is people that actually live this life and do
this job so it feels more like someone is talking to you than at you. The video is
incredibly informative and everything that is said is factual. They show footage
throughout of the situations, and kind of situations, that they have to deal with
during their job and also speak to the people they are helping. All of these things
help the audience to associate themselves with these people and empathize for
them as they may have been in that situation before, and if not they know that
the people are just like them so it is very possible that they will be. This video has
inspired me to use a lot of footage of the pastors at work and also made me
decide to have the people they help seen and interviewed almost as much as the
street pastors themselves. We have also decided to not have a presenter as we
feel using the street pastors dialogue over the top of clips of them working seems
to be more effective and interesting than someone talking at the audience.

Social Action Video 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FFMsnZuVeg

This video is incredibly informative, and covers absolutely everything about the
street pastors in Aberdeen. It is able to fit everything in without being too much
information at once as it is 12 minutes long. Throughout the 12 minutes there is a
narrator, which gives some information to the audience before it happens. There
is a lot of clips of the street pastors and police where we, as an audience, are just
spectating and they do not explain anything to the camera. There are, however, a
lot of interviews with a lot of different people throughout the film. This gives the
audience an insight into how many different people the street pastors help and
how they make jobs for other people, such as the police, a lot easier. The fact that
the police know and trust the pastors may make the audience respect them more
and trust them more should they ever come across them on a night out. They use
some cutaway footage through in this video but most of the time when someone
is being interviewed the screen shows just them. This video has inspired me to
interview as many different people as we can when making our video, as the more
positive opinions on the street pastor the easier it is to show that they are an
incredibly necessary part of our community.

Task 3:
Your research should focus on:
Background on the Social issue itself:
Reading street pastors were first founded in 2003 and have patrolled the streets
of Reading, helping people who need it, each Friday and Saturday from 10pm to
4am since they started. They have partnership with the local council and the
police, but also are supported by organizations such as Safer Reading Campaign,
Reading Bid and Doorwatch. All of the volunteers within the Reading street
pastors are from local churches. They also have recently started patrolling round
Reading Festival and help out during the Universities Freshers Week.

News Articles on Street Pastors around the UK:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2059652/Street-pastors-help-
young-revellers-on-their-way.html
http://www.echo-
news.co.uk/news/14643328.Voluntary_Street_Pastors_launch_in_Basildon_
with_great_success/
http://www.brecon-radnor.co.uk/article.cfm?id=104982&headline=Come
%20and%20say%20hello%20on%20a%20night%20out,%20say%20street
%20pastors&sectionIs=news&searchyear=201

Is there already a social action group to try and prevent the issue? Yes / No
No. This is because Reading street pastors are not an issue but something that is
encouraged to help the community.

If there is: Who is involved with the group? What effects has the group had on
the community? How has it helped certain individuals? Does it already have an
action video to help its cause? (up load these if there are)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1iSRi2lPAc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAxaAlgkT8k

Are there any famous people involved in trying to prevent the situation?
There are no celebrities that have gotten involved in the street pastors or
publically acknowledged what they do. If a celebrity did get involved it would
greatly help the street pastors as theyd become more widely recognized which in
turn would help with how many donations they get.

Is there government backing to prevent the situation? Should there be? What
could they do?
They have the governments support, as they are the ones that allow them to
patrol the streets and hand things out to the public. But, because they are a
volunteer run organization, they dont necessarily need the government to be
involved to do the work they do.

How does the issue effect the community / nation / world?

This doesnt affect the world but does positively affect local communities, which
helps the nation out as a whole. Them patrolling makes the streets safer and
means people know that they could have help with them quickly should they need
it.

Look at statistics on the social issue

Type of Organization Voluntary
Primary Interest Christianity
Main Activity Social and Community Care Services
Beneficiaries Older people, adults, young adults
Area of Activity Centre of Reading

They are supported by: Reading Churches, Thames Valley Police, PubWatch and
DoorWatch, Reading Borough Council, Safer Reading Campaign, Impact Reading

What can be done to prevent the issue from happening?

This isnt something negative and therefore there is nothing trying to prevent this
from happening. The government, council or police not cooperating would pose an
issue but it is currently not an issue.

Task 4
Contact details and angle

Informative, educational or change of attitude?

Discuss why and how you will achieve this.

The video we are going to be making is going to inform and educate people of the
street pastors of Reading. This will include who they are, what they do, what their
aim is and what they have achieved. The aim of this video is to shine a light on
the Reading street pastors and make the public more aware of them as an
organization so they can use their assistance should they need it when they are
out. It will hopefully also encourage people to donate to them and be thankful that
they help out community so much.

List of found footage you can use and reference where it has come from

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1iSRi2lPAc
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAxaAlgkT8k
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

What ethical issues will you have to overcome or be careful documenting?

We will have to be careful when filming or interviewing the public and make sure
that they are 100% sure they are okay with being on camera. Their judgment may
be distorted due to drink so we have to make sure before including them in our
video. We will also have to be careful how we represent the street pastors,
because we want to make sure we include that they are part of the Christian faith
but we dont want to make it look like they are encouraging their faith too much
or forcing it onto those they are helping.

List of social action groups you could interview. Can you follow a volunteer or
member of the project?

Reading Street Pastors

Reading Borough Council
Club Management / Bouncers
Doorwatch
Reading Bid
Safer Reading Campaign
Mayor of Reading
Research on the subject: Research around the subject? Information that you
need to know BEFORE you interview people
In 2008 a few leaders of RCN caught the vision of Street Pastors and set up a
management team and the Street Pastors initiative was launched in February
2009. Training began in June 2009 when 27 volunteers were trained and
commissioned and the first night out was 16th October 2009, on the streets
of Reading.

We are part of a national team first pioneered in 2003, and Street Pastors
continues to grow throughout the UK and across the world.

Street pastors are trained volunteers from local churches and we care about our
community.

We are usually on patrol from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. every Friday and Saturday night
to care, listen and help people in the Reading Town Centre.

In 2011, we were invited to patrol inside Reading Festival and since then we
have been invited back each year and this year we had a tent at the festival.
We have also been invited by the police to have extra patrols during Freshers
Week.

We are led by our local coordinator and we also have support from local
churches and community groups in partnership with the police, Safer Reading
Campaign, Reading Bid and Doorwatch

What shots / cut a ways / footage will you need to film in order for the social
action video to have impact?

We will be using footage of the different interviews, with cutaway footage to the
street pastors patrolling or helping members of the public. We will show footage
of people walking the streets of Reading so that the audience know how busy
the streets can be at night. We will also use found footage to show how nights
out have changed but also how the problem of people going out and needing
help is still there and wont go away anytime soon.

Interviews
Contact details

Name: Sally Leonard

Position: Coordinator

Involvement in action: Organization

What can they discuss in the video?: The Street pastors aims, background, future
plans etc

Where can they be interviewed?: The churches theyre based in

Phone number: 07970710080

Email address:

Name: Reading Borough Council

Position: Member of Council

Involvement in action: Supports Organization

What can they discuss in the video?: How they help

Where can they be interviewed?: Their office

Phone number: 01189373787

Email address:

Name: Reading Safer Campaign

Position: Campaign

Involvement in action: Supports Organization

What can they discuss in the video?: Pastors helping their campaign

Where can they be interviewed?: Their office

Phone number: 01189390393

Email address: