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Entertainment-Education for Better Health |
 
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| February 2008 Issue No. 17 |
The INFO Project • Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health • Center for Communication Programs • 111 Market Place, Suite 310 • Baltimore, Maryland 21202, USA • 410-659-6300 • 410-659-6266 (fax) • www.infoforhealth.org • infoproject@jhuccp.org | |
Checklist for Producing an Entertainment-Education Drama
Note: The major categories are in approximate time order, but some activities may be accomplished simultaneously.
Resources
Availability confirmed of the health care resources that people will need to carry out the new behavior—for example, access to clinics or contraceptives.
Budget line items established for production activities.1
Broadcast outlets researched.
Availability of local writers and actors checked.
All necessary staff hired.
Contracts
Research and evaluation team selected; contracts prepared, approved, and signed.
Production companies invited to submit proposals.
Production company selected; contract prepared, approved, and signed.
Writer(s)’ contract(s) prepared, approved, and signed.
Actors’ contracts prepared, approved, and signed (if contracted separately from production company).
Content Design
Design team chosen and invited to the design (content harmonization) workshop. The design team typically includes content experts, members of the audience, the manager of the larger project that the E-E program supports, researchers, producers, writers, and artists. Representatives of government ministries and funding agencies may also attend.
Design workshop planned and preparations completed.
Audience research completed.
Design workshop held; detailed audience profiles compiled; design document drafted.
Review panel selected by project management. The review panel should include a topic specialist, an E-E drama specialist, an audience representative, and— where necessary—a representative of the appropriate government ministry. The review panel must have attended the design workshop.
Review panel meeting held to outline responsibilities and to review the design document.
Writer training (as needed) and scriptwriting auditions completed; writer(s) chosen by the review panel and the E-E manager.
Decisions made on how informal feedback to the programs will be encouraged and how it will be collected.
Design document completed.
Pretesting of Programs
Date and place for pretesting set; audiences invited.
Story treatment (synopsis) and character profiles completed by writer; checked by review panel.
Pretest episodes prepared; checked by review panel.
Original music (if desired) commissioned and written, preferably in time to go with pretest episodes.
Pretesting programs recorded, preferably using the actors selected to appear in the ongoing programs.
Pretest questions prepared by research team and checked by review panel.
Pretests carried out (preferably with writer(s) present); results compiled immediately; reviewed by E-E manager, writer(s), and review panel.
Decisions made by review panel about changes to be incorporated into future scripts.
Writing
Audience visited by writer(s) to help develop drama and characters.
Regular times established for a meeting of the E-E manager with the writer(s), editor, and director.
Scriptwriting schedule and completion dates posted.
Routine established for review of scripts by review panel.
Promotion and Support Materials
Support materials such as information booklets are for people who want to know more about the E-E topic. These materials support the E-E program using other media.
Proposals for promotion and support materials discussed with and approved by E-E manager.
Promotion agency selected (if required); contract prepared, approved, and signed. (Support materials might be prepared in-house or by the same agency that prepares the promotion materials. If not, a separate contract will be needed for the developer of support materials.)
Support materials pretested as necessary and revised.
All materials reviewed and approved by E-E manager.
Promotion materials delivered to broadcaster on time.
Support materials delivered to distribution points.
Training provided by project staff or trainers in use of support materials, where necessary. For example, community members are taught to use listening guides.
Production
The following activities are carried out by the production company but should be monitored by the E-E manager.
For TV:
Shooting locations found and reserved, if necessary.
Sets built, if necessary.
Timeline for shooting and editing established; E-E manager notified.
All recording and other equipment on hand or ordered.
Editing facilities hired, if needed.
Message monitor appointed by the E-E manager to attend all shoots.
Director reviews and approves scripts.
Actors guided by a trainer experienced in acting for E-E drama.
E-E manager attends several shoots and editing sessions to ensure accuracy and quality.
Finished episodes reviewed by E-E manager.
Finished episodes delivered to broadcaster on time.
For Radio:
Suitable recording studio found with appropriate equipment for recording several actors at once and preferably for adding sound effects and music as recording is done (called edit-free production).
Producer selected.
Actors trained, if necessary.
Timeline for recording and editing established; the message monitor attends all recording sessions.
Review of each finished recording by E-E manager.
Finished episodes delivered to broadcaster on time.
Monitoring and Evaluation 2
Monitoring sites chosen.
Broadcasts and printing monitored to ensure fulfillment of contracts.
Monitoring begun and ongoing.
Results of monitoring tabulated. Where necessary, changes recommended by the E-E manager to the writer for future episodes.
Arrangements made for summative evaluation.
Summative evaluation carried out.
Results of summative evaluation compiled, disseminated to stakeholders, and fed back into project replanning.
Reports prepared and distributed describing the project, results, and lessons learned.
1 See the budget tool in the companion INFO Reports, “Tools for Behavior Change Communication.” 2Planning for monitoring and evaluation starts before the design workshop and continues after the scriptwriting is under way.
2 Planning for monitoring and evaluation starts before the design workshop and continues after the scriptwriting is under way.
Adapted from de Fossard and Riber, 2005 (28)
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