ABSTRACT

Television commercials are television messages designed to sell: A public service announcement, or PSA, is similar to a commercial but is produced for: PSAs are usually dedicated to improving or serving organizations involved in education, health, welfare, safety, and so on. Like longer forms, they can be studied in terms of preproduction, production, and postproduction. The production company hired to carry out the production will be considered and reconsidered. Production classes that attempt to produce PSAs may be plagued with hidden script or production problems, as well as hardware and budgetary limitations. Furthermore, while a professional cast and crew might be able to help a neophyte director, such help is scarce for the student director. Student-produced PSAs are almost always at a disadvantage: their casts and crews, like the students themselves, are learning the craft. Few writing classes emphasize writing television commercials or PSAs, which are very specific forms.