Video Samples - Summaries from SARVAM's Summer Camp Computer Program Year 1 & 2

Year 1, 2011

During the first year’s computer program, Sarvam coordinators asked students to produce an animated video about a life lesson or topic that held deep meaning for them. The following three videos were representative of the most common themes that addressed the importance of education or expressed appreciation for the transformations that Sarvam’s program has brought to the village. Note: Quotes are from video English subtitles as written.

Our Village (Anatharaj, 2011)

This student expressed appreciation for the program that Sarvam has led. She ends by asserting that it will be good to “give back to the village...”.

 

Location	Description	Comments
:10	Girl 1: “Houses used to be thatched roofs, now have a solid roof. When it used to rain, it leaked and we couldn’t go to sleep.”	Challenging for many, her use of the magic tool for perspective effects (to move and enlarge simultaneously as objects approach the camera), was one of the better implementations.
:27	Girl 2: “My house also used to be like that”	Praise for specific SARVAM projects.
:50	Girl 1: “During summer, we go to SARVAM’s camp”
1:15	[Girls look at SARVAM camp] “What are they farming over there?” “No, they’re teaching over there. They’re going to teach us some things”
1:31	Teacher: “Come all students. There are some people who have come to teach you lots of different activities and academics. Learn well and excel in what you do.”
1:44	Girl: “It will be good to learn all the different things they have taught us and give back to the village by building bigger and better houses.”	Expresses desire to ‘give back’

 

Best Friends (Vanitha, 2011)

Two boys discuss the importance of studying to get ahead in their lives. “You could become something big, or even become a scientist. More that than, you could even get first rank in class”. The video emphasizes the motivational message, “You can definitely do it, just put your mind to it”.

 

Location	Description	Comments
Opening	[Two boys are talking at school about a recent test]
:18	Santosh: “Why didn’t you study?” Suresh: “What am I going to achieve by studying, Santosh?”	The value of education as a means to move out of poverty was only recently being embraced by the children and parents.
:22	Santosh “Only by studying you can become something big, or even become a scientist”
:30	Santosh: “More than that, you could even get first rank in class”	Clearly the author has his priorities right.
:38	“You can definitely do it, just put your mind to it. Santosh, There’s an exam next week, so you ought to study hard as well”	The student has inadvertently flipped the two characters.
1:15	[Zoom in on Santosh’s face as he thinks to himself] “You can definitely do it, just put your mind to it”... [Repeats it 3 times]	This zoom effect is one of the more advanced effects in MovieSoup
1:55	Suresh: “I’ve studied, and took the test. I’m sure I did very well. I think I might even get a first rank”
2:17	[Suresh receives top honors]

 

Importance of Education (Priya, 2011)

In this video, Priya looks at the consequences of not taking advantage of their educational opportunities by comparing the fate of two men who meet and reflect on their life choices. In contrast with the manager at a computer firm, the day laborer has learned his lesson and is determined to provide his kids with a good education. The narrator concludes, “It is necessary for us to study while at school for a better future.” Priya was one of the first girls in the village to graduate secondary school, receiving top honors. She is finishing a nursing program and wants to return to help her community.

 

Location	Description	Comments
opening	[Ramesh walks up the street, nicely dressed. Meets friend, Ganesh,  working with hoe]	Ramesh walks toward the camera, getting larger as he approaches. Applying perspective in this manner was conceptually difficult for some and technically challenging to implement.
:23	Narrator: “Two very close friends are meeting after a very long time” [The men exchange greetings]	She makes use of the different positions for the characters
:45	Ganesh: “Where are you working these days, You’re looking quite stylish” Ramesh: “I’ve been working at a computer firm as a manager. I earning a very good salary. I’m very happy.”
	[They go to a coffee house to continue talking]	Priya overlays a blue geometric shape to make the background work in this scene. She figured this out on her own.
1:03	Ramesh: “Ganesh, where do you work?” Ganesh: “Oh, I’m a day laborer.”
1:07	[Zoom in on Ramesh’s face. Ramesh is silent for a few seconds] “A day laborer? I just cannot believe it!”	Even though most of the men in the village work as manual laborers, the author holds higher expectations for herself and her peers.
	Ganesh: “Yes, Ramesh. During school, I didn’t understand the value of education. Now I’m facing problems and understand better now. Many time my family advised me to study, but I couldn’t hear it. Now I am a laborer and now I understand.”
1:50	[Ramesh asks about Ganesh’s kids] “I didn’t study, but I want my kids to study. So I sent them to school to make something of themselves.”
2:07	[Ramesh is encouraging, and offers to help with Ganesh’s kid’s education. The friends say goodbye]	The sense of helping others runs through several of the videos.
2:29	Narrator: “From the story we’ve seen it is important to learn, that the student who did not study did not fare well, while the student who has studied is in a very good position in his life. It is necessary for us to study while at school for a better future.

 

Year 2, 2012

During SARVAM’s 2012 Summer Camp, students working on MovieSoup were asked to produce videos either about the mounting problem of plastic waste in the environment, or about storm safety and preparation. In that year, Sarvam initiated an educational campaign about plastic waste disposal, emphasizing the potential harm to health and the environment, and encouraging reuse and recycling. Also, the summer camp occurred about five months after the devastating Cyclone Thane which killed 46 people and caused extensive damage in India. The cyclone severely damaged the village of Pooturai, the location of SARVAM’s village work. While no one was killed, several people were injured, homes were destroyed and many of the children were traumatized by the experience (SARVAM Report, 2012).

World Without Plastics (Malavika, 2012)

Using the mechanism of a query by one girl of another about what she learned at school, the author of this video shares her understanding about plastic waste management and advocates for a shift in behavior.

 

Location	Description	Comments
opening	[Two girls are heading to school. They are talking about what they learned the previous day. Girl 2 asks questions, Girl 1 explains what she learned about waste management]	Perspective (sizing appropriately to distance from camera) was challenging here.
	Girl 1: “They taught about waste management.” Girl 2: “What is waste management?”
	Girl 1: “The things which we use and throw away - everything is waste management.” [Girl 2 asks more questions]
:40	Girl 1: “They told us about organic and inorganic waste.” … [She explains the difference between the two and the value of organic wastes]
:46	Girl 2: “What is good and bad about plastics?”
:49	Girl 1: “These plastics and tires pollute our environment … When these are burned, it pollutes our air and hurts the ozone layer.”
	[Girl 1 continues to talk about plastic trash impacting the soil and water ways]
	Girl 2: “Can’t we recycle the plastics?”
1:17	Girl 1: “Yes, but only some kinds” [She goes on to explain further]
1L35	Girl 1: “Instead of throwing it out, we can use it in building roads. It helps stop rain from damaging the roads, and helps them last longer.	This technology was recently introduced in India
1:46	Girl 2: “How can we avoid wasting plastics?” Girl 1: “When we go shopping, we can take cloth bags, instead of getting plastic bags. This will reduce the plastics a little.
1:53	Girl 2: “Okay, Kamala, I will tell my mother about plastics and to avoid them”	A call to action.

 

Harmness in Plastics (Kavitha, 2012)

In contrast with the inquiry approach of the prior video, this author teaches through a conversation between Dai, a well-meaning child learning about the hazards of plastics, and Ramu, his foil, who encourages harmful and wasteful practices. It concludes with Dai returning home and lamenting to his mother, “Amma, our place full of plastic. Can’t we do anything about it?” to which she responds with a collective call to action, “We can’t do anything alone, but if people work together, we can solve it.”

 

Location	Description	Comments
opening	[Two boys walking to school]
:13	Ramu: “Dai, Did you bring lunch?” [Then asks which cup.} Dai: “The silver cup”	Silver colored stainless steel cups, plates and bowls are common in India.
:23	Ramu: “Don’t bring the silver cup, bring plastic cup, it will be fun and style!” [Dai agrees]	Perspective was a challenge
:40	[Boys are now at school. Dai looks for a dustbin to throw away a plastic bag] Ramu: “Why a dustbin? We can put wherever we want. It’s our choice, there won’t be any problem” [Dai tosses the plastic on the ground]`	Author created a new object and used the transparency slider from the shape feature to create the bag.
:49	[Students are in class. The teacher introduces lesson about plastics]	Author added text overlay over the blackboard
1:00	[The teacher explains that burning plastics pollutes the air, impacts the ozone layer and harms their health. He encourages students to avoid using plastic, and especially not to burn plastics]
1:09	[Boys walking home - see a fire by the road]
1:13	Ramu: “Oh this? They are burning tyres.”
1:18	Dai: “This is bad. The smoke that comes from this affects the ozone layer, heats the earth, and hurts people’s health.”
1:30	[Boys go to get tea at a local stand and observes that they are serving tea in plastic cups] Dai: “See, here too, they are using plastics” Ramu: “what harm is it going to be?” Dai: “There is harm! When they pour hot tea in plastic, it melts the plastic and chemicals mix with tea. It goes in our stomach and affects our health.”
	[Boys go home to eat, then come out to play. They go to the field and see large piles of trash]
2:01	“Why is there this much trash?” “Oh this? The wastes from the cities are being dumped here. That’s how this much trash formed”
2:13	[Boys head home] Have you seen that? Our places full of plastics! Soon the plastics are going to live here, not humans!”
2:20	{Boy at home] “Amma, our place full of plastic. Can’t we do anything about it?” Amma: “We can’t do anything alone, but if people work together, we can solve it.”	Here is a call for collective action

 

Warnings of Cyclones (Krishnan & Sudhaker, 2012)

The authors use a variety of approaches to instruct the viewer in proper storm preparation and safety. A pair of men discuss a village meeting on the subject, reciting many best practices before and during a storm. At a later point, a group of villagers confront government officials sent after the storm, only to be chastised by the official, “First there was a meeting about prevention of storm in your village, have you participated in it?” The villager responds, “No, sir.” “That’s why this much damage has happened,” replied the official, followed by a call for community engagement, “Hereafter please don’t avoid any social meetings”.  The video ends with a scene in which a friend implores another not to go out to sea to fish. The fisherman explains that, “our family is in poverty, that’s why I am going to fishing”, to which his friend begs, “For one day’s poverty, don’t leave you children and family in poverty forever. I am telling you this for your good only, go to home.”

 

Location	Description	Comments
opening	[Two men meet and greet. One explains that he is going to a meeting to learn about safety preparation for cyclones]
	Presenter: “Instead of koorai house, concrete house helps us reduce more damage, and during wind, standing under trees is also dangerous”
1:00	[Men walk home and recount what they learned about safety during storms]
1:27	[Cyclone hits the village - frames show cyclone image knocking over trees]	This animation has more action than most of the others as the storm knocks over trees and people. (Rotation tool)
1:37	Narrator: “Due to warning of storm, these two people changed from koorai house to concrete house. Because of it they prevented more damage.”
1:50	Narrator: “During storm, things like fan, tubelight in the house should be removed else it could fall and cause more damage to the people live in it.”
2:03	[Two men are talking in front of fruit stand.  Lightning bolts are hitting] “do you want me to bring children from school? OK I will bring them.”	Author created the lightning bolts from the draw tool
2:13	[Men discuss the dangers of using cell phones during electrical storm, referencing their new knowledge from the town meeting on safety]
2:25	[People gathered at a town meeting. Everyone is speaking at the same time. One man comes forward and takes the floor] “The storm has caused more damage to us, what does your government is going to do for us? please do whatever you can do.”	Meeting scene is a complex compilation of several images of groups of people.
2:40	Government man: “First there was a meeting about prevention of storm in your village, have you participated in it?” Villager responds: “No, sir.” Government man: “That’s why this much damage has happened.” [They exchange words about the importance of attending the meetings] Government man: “Hereafter please don’t avoid any social meetings”	Calls for participation in civic discourse and preparation.
3:08	[Men working in piles of rubble from damaged houses] Man 1: “This is work too. The wood, plastic, metal here, during storm, it will get into the wind and it could damage the houses. That's why I am removing it from here”	The images used are of damaged houses in their village
3:26	[Image of crowd at bus station] Narrator: “During storm, people shouldn’t be crowded in places like bus stand, else in the collision, life loss could occur.” [Image of cyclone knocking people to the ground]
3:44	[Two men talking about going out to a film. Man 1 says he won’t go] Man 1: “during storm, we should not go out, it is not safe.” Man 2: “You are saying only for our good, I will not go.”
3:49	[Scene of man walking on beach during storm] Man 1: “I am going to sea, for fishing” Man 2: “There is a warning about the storm, they why are you going?” Man 1: “our family is in poverty, that’s why I am going to fishing” Man 2: “For one day’s poverty, don’t leave you children and family in poverty forever. I am telling you this for your good only, go to home.” Man 1: “Ok…”	Residents watching out for each other.