Assignment #3 - Treatment

The purpose of this video is to educate and raise awareness of the amount of waste that is produced from technological devices that are thrown out on a daily basis. The target audience for this documentary are individuals between the ages of sixteen and forty. The age range of the audience represents the people who use and replace cell phones, iPods, and computers at the highest rate. This documentary is intended to show the targeted age range the depth of the impact they are making in regards to electronic waste. The use of electronics is at an all time high, making this documentary extremely relevant to the issue of global warming as a whole.
After reading the article E-Waste: The Dark Side of the Digital Age, it is clear that computer companies, especially in the United States, have yet to catch up to many other industries when it comes to "going green". Taking this article and creating a visual interpretation leaves many options that can be covered, but what seems to be most interesting is the sense of irony in the E-Waste issue. The critical argument, therefore, would be examining how ironic it is that computers and technology increase our abilities to communicate, to understand, and overall seem to provide a sort of advancement for humankind, however it is these same machines that are causing a magnitude of health and environmental risks. How is it that companies that seem to be on such the forefront of advancement are still ages behind in recycling and environmental management. The interpretation will also look into other industries that have been able to jump onto the environmental band-wagon by being more "green", and examine why or how the computer industry has yet to follow suit. Overall the visual interpretation will work to provide answers as to why these companies are so behind, examining the damaging effects and the consequences if this hurtful behaviour continues.
How we would turn this article into a short documentary is to begin with brief video clips of people using different technologies, and lined up to buy technologies while the intro of the song “money” by Pink Floyd is playing. From there we would have narration about the changes in technology, advancement and availability. For example, the number of different apple I-Pod changes would be displayed with images. We would use two different narrators. From here we would show someone throwing the technologies in the garbage and then show a pile of e-waste. Some of these clips would be online pictures and videos but we would also include video that we shot ourselves. The original video would display interviews of our classmates discussing their own individual impact on electronic waste and their thoughts and strategies on how this waste can begin to diminish. We would then insert a clip when they say, “this is a public service announcement.” From here we would give a discussion of facts about the amount of technological waste produced. The issues it raises would be depicted with more video clips, an interview, and more music that accentuates our point like Wake Up America by Miley Cyrus, and Given Up by Linkin Park.