30-second Public Service Announcement

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Alexander Fox created this 30-second Public Service Announcement  in Blender for an international non-profit organization.
“I tried to make it look more like a commercial for a video game than a non-profit, and I feel that it was successful in that regard. This was my first real Blender project, so I tried to keep it simple but effective. Enjoy!”

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Surprise Ending – Public Service Announcement from Alexander Fox on Vimeo.
Credits:
Alexander Fox – Concept, Script, Animation
Jose Luis Amaya – Music
Jack Scott – Voiceover

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    • roofoo

      This is a joke, right?

    • Lasphere

      hahahahahahaahahah nice one. :)

    • Born

      Nice job!

      Let’s hope this leads to saving lives and improving the quality of life around he world!

    • http://jeremiahjw.com Jeremiah

      Lol, that was interesting.

    • aaa

      @roofoo
      No, it is a very serious issue.

    • greenboy

      Interesting indeed. To me it does look like a joke, but I think some of that has to do with the voice and music more than the animation…..reminds me of some movie trailers.

    • http://www.jordanmharris.wordpress.com Leonardo

      Nice job. The ending was certainly unexpected. :)

      - Leo

    • http://yogyog.org yogyog

      It’s – a serious point made using humour, I believe.

      The fact that they share initials (WTO) with the World Trade Organisation DOES make look a little like a joke, though.

      Nicely made. It made me want to go to the site and find out why toilets are so impotent. I’m yet to really find that. this is the closest I came to it.

      http://worldtoilet.org/aboutus2.asp

      Out of interest. what’s the WTO’s opinion on the compost loo?

    • http://www.DreadKnight666.com Dread Knight

      xD

    • Alexander Fox

      Thanks for the comments! Yes, my intention was to make a serious point using humor, and I intentionally parodied the self-important tone of movie trailers and video-game commercials. I’m actually quite pleased that it came across!

      I should mention that I volunteered this work for the World Toilet Organization … They did not hire me to do this, but they do encourage artists to submit pieces on the theme of toilets and sanitation, which intrigued me.

    • http://www.instinctive.de Alexander Ewering

      This organisation may mean what they do seriously, but the name, the abbreviation and its whole presentation are VERY hard not to be taken as a cynical joke. I would recommend the people of Singapore a basic course in western rhethoric.

    • http://www.instinctive.de Alexander Ewering

      (Apart from that, the video is quite cool however :-) The speaker reminds me of the one in Doom 3 commenting the UAC presentations)

    • roofoo

      @ Alexander Fox: Ok, sorry, I didn’t realize this was an actual organization! Anyway, since you did this on a volunteer basis, do you know if they are going to use your animation? That would be cool.

    • banor

      ha…. :) that’s one silly way of advertising it. ;)

    • rpgsimmaster

      Yeah, they should change their initials so they aren’t the same as World Trade Organisation (WTO)…
      The first thought that came to my mind was it should be World Toilet Fund… (WTF) :P

    • Alexander Fox

      roofoo: Yes, when I submitted this to the organization, they were thrilled. They plan to use it to attract attention on their website, Facebook, YouTube, etc.

      As for the initials … From what I’ve read, they want to be thought of as “the other WTO.” The founder of the World Toilet Organization seems to have a pretty good sense of humor, and since people tend to think toilets are funny anyway, I suspect that he wants to work WITH that preconception instead of against it. Whether or not it’s the most effective approach is definitely open for debate.

      However, I wanted to develop a concept that was at least consistent with that style of humor, as opposed to some of their existing media that features sad-looking children squatting by the roads in slum villages. I think people are much more likely to watch something that entertains them, while alerting them to a serious issue, than they are to look at something that they perceive as trying to make them feel bad or sorry for someone. We’ll see if it’s effective at all!

      In any case, if somebody is looking for inspiration for a Blender project, I would definitely encourage you to look around for a cause that you can support by donating your time and talent. It’s a great opportunity to be creative, get exposure, and support something worthwhile!

    • http://www.blendenzo.com blendenzo

      Alexander Fox, that animation was great! I too thought it was humorous in its delivery, but sanitation is a huge problem for a lot of the developing world, so I figured it was serious in its subject. I agree with you that it is a much better presentation than sad looking children and other “you should feel bad for not doing more” type commercials. BTW, congrats on finding a way to support a cause and practice Blender at the same time.

    • Juppee

      Only one word: awful!!!

    • Avenger96

      That was great LOL it was hilarious and serious at the same time nice job!
      ,Avenger

    • Rambobaby

      I really got a kick out of your animation but I don’t know how these guys expect to be taken seriously. An icon on their site has a guy squatting in “dump mode” and another piece of art has naked charcters dancing ’round a porcelain god. Probably the most ironic piece is that Bill Clinton has lent his smiling mug to the initiative.

      Really good stuffs!

    • http://www.sfinksfilms.com Dane

      it interests me that so many people considered this to be a joke. of course i do know a number of people that have traveled to third world country’s and the story’s i have heard about the toilets make me shudder, mostly becouse I’m spoiled by fancy American toilets not so much that they don’t seam usable. so that might have something to do with why i did not think it was a joke. I would thing that the fact that so many people think this video is a joke is a sign that this issue needs to be exposed a bit more. And i think the way the video uses humor is an excellent way to expose this issue to more people. :-) And it is most definitely more effective then trying to make them feel guilty that they have not spent their entire lives trying to save the poor people of the world.

    • http://ustherobots.com Sam

      Many people here don’t seem to understand… the toilet is one of society’s greatest inventions, and areas that don’t have proper septic removal systems are far more prone to disease and lower life expectancy.

      So this PSA may be funny, but it is in no way facetious.

      What’s funny is that toilets really can save people’s lives…

    • Alexander Fox

      I am very happy about the positive response to my little project … Thank you all for taking the time to think about it and share your thoughts. Ironically, some of the supporters of the World Toilet Organization had trouble “getting it,” while you guys in the general audience seemed to understand exactly my intention. Thanks again!