Final Postpartum PSA

I have completed my final video project for COM 561, and of all of my projects this semester, this one is the one that I changed the least. I was very happy with my draft, and I took the feedback that I got from my peer group and professor, and made some minor changes, but the heart of it is the same.

I started with my interview with Melinda Ferguson, a postpartum doula, and also the postpartum doula trainer who trained me, so naturally, I think she is amazing. She is certified with DONA International, so after my initial video idea had to be scrapped due to an actor being ill, I decided to go with this PSA idea instead of a promotional video for Birthing As Nature Intended.

My interview footage was over 5 minutes long, plus I took the video of her serving food to really show something practical that a postpartum doula does. I had previously taken the video of the baby for my original plan, but I was able to make it work (with the intro voiceover) that I had been planning. The baby is so cute, and I knew that he would be an attention grabber. It also worked to put the title text on that footage.

I imported all of my footage into Adobe Premiere, and began time-stamping the footage that I wanted to use, and cutting it with the “mark in” and “mark out” tools. I put them into the timeline as I created each one, so that I could keep the sequence straight.

The story of Melinda’s own struggle with being a new mother was really powerful, and I wanted to start out with her in that space, so that she would be relatable to new parents. I decided to make that a close-up to feel more intimate. I changed the scale of the frame to create that. I did the same thing at the end of the video when she is talking about giving families confidence. Her smile is so genuine there that I wanted it to be the focus. The other interview clips are wider shots that show more of her body. One I actually changed from a close-up to a wide shot because she was using her hands, and so I wanted to be able to see that. My peers thought that I should get a bigger variety of close-ups and wide shots, and I feel like this accomplished that suggestion.

I layered in the footage of the food while Melinda talks about the practical help that she gives clients. Having her voice over there is nice, as it gives us some variety in what we’re seeing, but still getting good information. There was also a gap in one place, so it worked well to add the slide defining what a postpartum doula is, because so few people actually have heard of them.

I only made two (what I would call) major changes. My professor suggested that I end the video with the “Confidence” clip, because the quote is so strong. After looking at the draft again, I decided that she was right. In the draft, Melinda talks about what research has found, and it was a bit dry, albeit good information, so I cut it out. This allowed me to add some time at the end to have the end credits roll longer than in the draft. They had been so fast that it was difficult to read, and didn’t fit with the flow of the video at all. The other major change was the music. I found a great song with a Creative Commons license. It is “Lullaby” by David Griffiths, and it fits this video so well. Originally I had it play straight through the video in the background. There were mixed reviews as to whether it made Melinda difficult to hear, despite having turned her volume all the way up in Premiere, and having the music faded down as far as was reasonable. So for the final, I decided to create a clip that cut out the crescendos, and play it on a loop. Now it is quiet all the way through and isn’t obtrusive at all.

I thought that it was really important to give Melinda’s contact information, as well as where people can find a doula if they aren’t living in the Puget Sound area, so I created the resources slide before the credits. I also wanted to include Melinda’s logo, so that is on the next slide, with a “stacking”effect that I really like the timing of with the music.

I also kept all of my clip transitions the same, using film and cross dissolves. I like the subtle differences between either interview footage or the “food” footage. I also used “dip to black” at the beginning and end. For my music I used a gradual fade at the end. I didn’t use a fade in, since the music is fairly quiet.

I am very happy with this final video, and I plan to use it on my business website, and I think Melinda does as well.

Storyboard

0:00:00	Title appears	Music begins
0.01.1	Subtitle appears	Intro narration begins over music; music fades lower
0.02.0	Baby appears	Intro and music continue
0.03.0	Title gone	Intro and music continue
0.12.20	Melinda appears: close-up	Interview begins; music continues
0.40.28	Title still of postpartum doula definition	Narration of intoduction to Melinda; music continues
0.50.0	Wide shot of Melinda	Interview continues; music continues
0.58.0	Cut to close-up of frittata	Interview continues; music continues
1.05.0	Close-up of Melinda serving food	Interview continues; music continues
1.08.0	Wide shot of Melinda serving food	Interview continues; music continues
1.17.0	Wide shot of Melinda	Interview continues; music continues
1.31.0	Wide shot of Melinda	Interview continues; music continues
1.40.16	Close-up of Melinda	Interview continues; music continues
2.06.12	Title still of resources	Music fades up
2.13.15	Special Thanks still	Music continues
2.14.13	Melinda Ferguson still	Music continues
2.14.27	Logo still	Music continues
2.18.12	Rolling credits	Music fades