With its inception in 2008, the aim of Masoom was to improve the quality of night school education in Mumbai. Their research pointed out the need for resources and poor infrastructure, night schools were failing to fulfil their potential. Everything set in motion, Masoom was able to transform over 15,000 students’ life over the past 10 years through their NSTP (Night School Transformation Program), Career Cell and Tech on Wheels. Masoom has given these individuals a second shot at completing their education, no matter their age!
OBJECTIVE
Our aim was to interview a select few students whose lives Masoom had transformed and tell their stories of the journey from hardships to success and the bright future they dream of for themselves.
We produced over 30 videos for Masoom’s enrolment drive campaign.
CHALLENGE
This project was finalised before the pandemic with a plan set in place. However, with the lockdown we as a team had to come back to the drawing board and chalk out a strategy for how we would produce these videos.
CAN COMMUNICATE’S APPROACH
To capture each student’s story, it involved a meticulous understanding of each student that we were interviewing to enable us to capture their journey.
With everyone owning a smartphone, we had the idea of having each student record themselves while we asked them questions through voice call from a secondary phone.
Few of the students and donors that we had interviewed
PRODUCTION PROCESS
Masoom provided us with case studies for each student that we were interviewing which we studied thoroughly.
After reviewing each case study we called each student to have them narrate their journey and get a deeper understanding of their story.
We scheduled a time for the interview and briefed them regarding how we would be recording their interview – They recording themselves through the selfie camera of a phone, while at the same time we would be on a voice call on a second phone, interviewing them.
10 minutes before the interview, we would get on video call to guide them on how they should be holding the phone, to set them in a frame and where the right amount of light is falling on them to make sure they are clearly visible on camera.
Once everything was set in place, we would call them on their second phone and begin the interview.
After the interview, we would request them to share the file with us. When we received the video, our editor would take their story and weave it with intro, outro videos and a touch of music to make the emotional connection with the story stronger.
We then shared the videos with Masoom who then uploaded all the videos across their social media pages.
Can Communicate has produced 4 radio programs of 10 episodes each which were aired across 22 CRS (Community Radio Stations) in Maharashtra. This project was in collaboration with UNICEF and Centre for Social and Behaviour Change Communication (SBC3).
The project is part of UNICEF’s C4D (Communication for Development) and BCC (Behaviour Change Communication) activities. As always, Can Communicate’s approach towards the content ensures an emphasis on gender sensitivity, diversity, and inclusivity.
We officially kickstarted this project on 16th July 2020, with three-day workshops held for Community Radio Stations by UNICEF, SBC3, and Envisions Institute of Development. In the workshops, detailed information about various important topics such as Nutrition, Child Marriage, COVID-19, etc. was provided to the participating CRS to ensure correct dissemination of information to listeners via CRS.
PROGRAMS
Can Communicate is producing content for 4 radio programs with 10 episodes each, i.e., 40 episodes overall. Each week, 4 new episodes (1 for each program) are broadcasted. The programs are:
Aamchi Urmila is a series of ten 10-minute plays, each based on a story around a specific subject, depicting how the protagonist, Urmila, and her family/neighbourhood/village deals with it. In the end, a suitable resolution is proposed as well. The plays are a mix of rational and emotional aspects and have a piece of unique signature music.
Gyaan Abhiyaan is a series of ten 30-minute interviews with guest experts on various subjects (as mentioned under the section Subjects and Experts) and their various aspects.
Prashna Pratyekanche is a series of ten 30-minute episodes wherein listeners’ questions are answered by subject experts. An email ID and a mobile number are provided to listeners with an invitation to ask questions related to the subjects. Their messages and call-in questions (recorded via voicemail) are answered in the episodes.
Manachya Goshti is a series of ten 30-minute episodes featuring two mental health experts, who engage in interesting conversations around various aspects of mental health. Listeners’ questions and doubts are also answered in a segment during the show.
One of our Zoom call sessions
CONTENT PRODUCTION PROCESS
The content production process started by conducting individual Zoom call sessions with each subject expert and the SBC3 team to gather detailed information on the subjects, shortlist the questions for each interview, and narrow down on the central theme of each radio play.
We followed a number of steps to keep up with the diverse demands of each program type and adhere to the deadlines and the approval process:
Aamchi Urmila:
Conceptualising the series, characters, and brainstorming suitable series titles.
Selecting a team of professionals viz.
Screenplay Writer
Voiceover Artists
Director
Sound Engineer/Post-Production Specialist
Producing a 20-sec promotional radio spot of the series.
Producing a theme song for the series.
Preparing concept notes and subsequent story outlines of each play.
Creating screenplays and presentations for approval by subject experts and UNICEF.
Casting and orientation of VO artists per the script and character.
Rehearsals and subsequent recordings.
Post-production including individual song refrains that play at the end of each play.
Gyaan Abhiyaan and Prashna Pratyekanche:
Brainstorming the program titles and conceptualizing the episode flow for each program.
Selecting RJs of each program and their orientation.
Selecting a team of sound engineers.
Producing 20-second promotional radio spots, feedback spots (with email ID and mobile number for listeners to ask questions).
Producing the theme music of each program.
Sharing relevant subject-specific information with the RJs to acquaint them with the interview subjects.
Scheduling mock and final interviews with each subject expert per their availability.
Post-production activities.
Manachya Goshti:
Liaising with the SBC3 team and subject experts to finalize the series title and individual episode flow.
Selecting a team of sound engineers.
Producing a 20-second promotional radio spot and a feedback spot (with email ID and mobile number for listeners to ask questions).
Producing the theme music of the series.
Scheduling recording sessions with subject experts and sound engineers.
Post-production activities.
SUBJECTS AND EXPERTS
S.N.
Subject
Expert
1
Nutrition
Dr. Mrudula Phadke
2
RMNCHA and Immunization
Dr. Pramila Menon
3
COVID-19
Dr. Mangesh Gadhari
4
Water And Sanitation Hygiene (WASH)
Anand Ghodke
5
Menstrual Health Management (MHM)
Aparna Gowande
6
Education for 3 to 8-Year-Old Children
Sandhya Nagarkar
7
Child Protection
Sumitra Ashtikar
8
Ending Violence against Children
Priti Patkar
9
Ending Child Marriage
Medhavinee Namjoshi
10
Role of Gram Panchayat and PRI Schemes
Datta Gaurav
Subjects covered in 3 of our programs (Except Manachya Goshti)
VO Artist Aishwarya Pewal who is playing Swati in our program Aamchi Urmila
PROGRAM SCHEDULE
Episode No.
Aamchi Urmila
Dnyan Abhiyan
Manachya Goshti
Prashna Pratyekanche
1
15-Aug
17-Aug
18-Aug
26-Aug
2
23-Aug
24-Aug
25-Aug
02-Sep
3
30-Aug
31-Aug
01-Sep
09-Sep
4
06-Sep
07-Sep
08-Sep
16-Sep
5
13-Sep
14-Sep
15-Sep
23-Sep
6
20-Sep
21-Sep
22-Sep
30-Sep
7
27-Sep
28-Sep
29-Sep
07-Oct
8
04-Oct
05-Oct
06-Oct
14-Oct
9
11-Oct
12-Oct
13-Oct
21-Oct
10
18-Oct
19-Oct
20-Oct
28-Oct
Broadcast dates of each episodes
OUR TEAM
The Can Communicate Radio Content Production Team comprises of:
