Monday, September 29, 2008

Helping Hands



A helping hand can go a long way. That's the message I want to convey to my audience. Each summer since 2004, the Lawrence County Community Action Partnership recruits local volunteers to help those in need by completing various household jobs and repairs. This faith based community volunteer project is called His Hands Ministry and it truly reflects the meaning of lending a helping hand. Whether it's building a ramp for a handicapped child or trimming bushes for an elderly widow, these volunteers find satisfaction in fulfilling the needs of others.

From July 21st to the 25th these volunteers dedicated their time to helping out members of their community. I decided the best way to convey my message would be to create a 10 to 20 minute documentary which will showcase the volunteers' efforts and the positive effect they have on the community. I filmed 2 to 3 hours of footage, took about 200 pictures, and got 15 interviews from homeowners and volunteers. My documentary will focus on three or four houses in which the volunteers worked at. Using both still photos and video, I will tell the story and mission of His Hands Ministry and illustrate to the audience the benefits of lending a helping hand.

The title of the documentary will simply be "Helping Hands." After racking my brain and trying to come up with something more elaborate I decided this title is something my audience will be able to remember and it fits the documentary perfectly. Along with the documentary I plan to create a 30-second trailer using video and still photos to preview the film.

My capstone presentation will take place Tuesday, November 18th at 7 PM in Mueller Theater. For my presentation I will give a brief speech on why I chose to do this as my senior project, play the documentary, and then take any questions from the audience. The main objective of this documentary is to persuade my target audience to volunteer for His Hands Ministry. My target audience includes all male and females in the Lawrence County area of age 12 and older. Other goals for this documentary include:

  • Increasing the number of volunteers for His Hands Ministry


  • Have the documentary shown in Lawrence County


  • Enter the documentary into a student film competition

Since starting capstone class back in January, I feel as though I have a clear idea on exactly what my capstone project will be. I look forward to creating the documentary and I hope my message will appeal to my audience.

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