Pitch 1

The Dark Side

I intend to do a podcast series focusing on the dark side of artists in the music industry’s lives. This series will be comprised of 6 distinct podcast episodes with a particularly dark side theme including (1) substance abuse, (2) loss of identity, (3) anxiety, (4) eating disorders, (5) suicide, and (6) fake news. There will be 30-minute podcasts discussing the themes and the toll it takes on these celebrities. Some episodes will be solo and some will include a guest who will have a clinical background to discuss these issues (e.g. anxiety, eating disorders, addiction). In this podcast series, I will consider the extent to which any of the issues explored disproportionately affect minority groups.

Doing this podcast it incorporates my interest in the entertainment industry. One possible career goal for me would be in the entertainment realm. I am also really into pop culture so this just seemed like a great idea that would keep my interest the whole semester.

What I would use to complete this project would be the Audacity application on my laptop as I have worked with Audacity before but not a lot. I will learn how to incorporate interviews with other people into Audacity and edit the interview to the appropriate amount of run time.

Inspiration: https://www.youtube.com/@DeepDiveProductions

Pitch 2

Lesser of Two Evils

I intend to conduct a series of informal short interviews where i ask students about their views on the 2024 election. I also intend to track the polling and see how things change. I will initially interview 4 or 5 students. Then once I detect a change or several weeks pass I will conduct more interviews and get more of an idea of what the Student body thinks of the candidates and which way they are voting. It will be interesting to see track the progress of an election that is unlike one our country has seen before, because of the rising popularity of third parties in our two party system, and how generation z views it and if they understand the impact that their voices have in our democracy. There would most likely be 3 days this semester evenly spread out and there should be about 4 or 5 students getting asked questions each day. I will indicate what the date is and record the dates and time I was asking these people.

Over the winter break I attended a seminar in D.C. that was focused on this election. The speakers talked about how Generation Z has a huge impact on politics in our country. It is a very relevant topic and I am very interested in politics as I hope to run for a congress at some point.

I would need to use a video kit from the gear room as I will be conducting interviews on camera and I do not have access to my own video cameras. To edit this video i will be using adobe premiere pro. I have some experience working with premiere pro but I will be able to learn how to mix audio and video better as that was something I struggled a lot with in Digital Field Methods.

inspiration: https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/poll-shows-biden-losing-support-among-young-voters-ahead-of-2024-election-200499269958

Pitch 3

Progressive or Woke?

I intend to do a project investigating the progressiveness of Disney. With negative talk on Halle Bailey playing Ariel and Rachel Zegler (a Latina actress) playing Snow White, there is no doubt that Disney is trying to be more inclusive. But by casting actresses that look nothing like the original characters it brings up an interesting point: Is Disney being progressive and inclusive or are they trying to be too woke?  I intend to examine this question and cite as many examples as I possibly can to answer the question. It is a very popular issue that needs to be handled with sensitivity but it must be talked about and explored.

I am someone that grew up watching Disney movies and still have a deep love for them. I wan to incorporate my love for them into a serious topic and I feel like this subject matter would be the most interesting considering it’s relevance with The Little Mermaid, Snow White, and the new Percy Jackson show.

This would most likely also be in a podcast form and 4 or 5 30 minute episodes talking individually about some of these problems and why it could be an issue financially.  I know some people that work for Disney who I could have on as guests. It would work because one is liberal and the other is conservative so i feel as though their views would clash. I would use Audacity for this project. I only have limited experience with Audacity and I would like to learn more about it as I want to start podcasts after college.

Inspiration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCIyH5EqIe4