The Weekly Gaucho

A creative approach to a serious problem: this video tackles the consequences of distracted drivers. Our story follows a young, 10-year-old girl and her made-up adventure. She might be a princess, but that does not make her any less brave or fierce. Paired with her horse, nothing can stop her. She proves this as together they face off against the dragon that has been pestering her castle. She emerges victorious in her hard fought battle, barely breaking a sweat. She is off to bigger and better things, now that she is practically an adult in her mind. The journey is scary, but she has confidence in herself and inspires us to have that same faith. She decides to brave the enchanted forest, an area resting outside the protection of her castle and across the moat. As she and her horse race towards that new horizon. However, this fantasy world is quickly shattered due to a harsh reality. The danger she had feared had been real, but it had not been due to the magic and mystery held within the forest. Rather, while making her imaginary journey, she ran into the road into the path of an oncoming car. Although provided with enough time to slow down, the vehicle’s driver was distracted and did not attempt to stop until it was too late. 

Scene Breakdown:

The PSA begins with a paper cutout of a young girl taped to a popsicle stick. The girl is wearing a pink dress and gold crown, attempting to resemble a princess. She introduces herself, explaining how she just turned 10 years old, and explains how she’s off to fight a dragon. This scene was included to create an emotional tie between viewers and our main character. I was attempting to appeal to a GCC audience, so I want people to be imagining this as their daughter, little sister, or cousin at home rather than a random stranger. 

We see the dragon and it is shooting fire. Our princess appears wielding a sword and riding on her horse. She successfully conquers the dragon and moves on to her next journey. This scene is to establish the fantasy world we’re in (in this specific scenario). We also see a glimpse into the girl’s personality, her bravery and sassiness, to again build a further connection with her. It gives viewers a taste at success so the upcoming loss will be more impactful.

She begins to address the audience, telling us about the enchanted forest we’re about to go to. She instructs viewers to be brave like she is. This is to establish a reason why she would attempt moving locations in the first place, which will be a relevant factor at the end. This is her hyping herself up to actually do it.

She opens the castle door to peer out at the enchanted forest. The forest is across her castle, a moat with a bridge dividing the two. This is supposed to be a fantastical representation of what is happening in reality. Our main character is opening her front door, and looking out at the park across the street from her. 

The princess begins riding her horse towards her destination when she is abruptly cut off. This represents her leaving her location and actually moving towards her destination.

A young girl runs into the road carrying a toy horse before the scene cuts abruptly. This is the parallel to the last illustrated scene. This was her making the journey, as we previously saw, but now we see the true reality of the situation. The horse she was riding in her mind was a toy she had been carrying. The moat she had to cross was the street outside of her house. 

The screen cuts to black as the screeching of tires can be heard. Without seeing, viewers can imagine a vehicle was flying up absurdly fast to make such a sound. 

The final scene reveals the girl’s horse laying on the street as bystanders gather around to survey the scene. This leaves a bit of a vague interpretation on whether or not the girl was actually struck or any other information on her current situation. This causes viewers to think and consider what they have just seen, taking the message deeper than simply surface level. 

An animation of our princess dances across the screen before falling and getting back up. Text appears that says “Where will your next adventure lead?” “Stay Alert.” “Drive Safe.” which conveys the main message of the PSA. The princess nods in agreement as the statements come up. This is where the connection to her viewers hopefully established at the beginning comes back into play. Viewers remember how similar she is to the little ones in their life, which makes the ending message more impactful. The text ties into the theme and both the main narrative the story followed, being a fantasy adventure. The last lines clearly state the take away which is to always remain vigilant on roads and don’t get distracted (by things like smart devices for example).

Sound Effects:

https://teams.prosoundeffects.com/Sound/PSE_KCV1/Ca6mi/Car-Skid-Wheel-Well-Perspective-Accelerate-01