Abstract

Palo Duro is seen as an escape during the Covid pandemic. Additionally, students are a major revenue source for the park. The purpose of this project is to propose a short video to the Palo Duro State Park that will showcase the many unique experiences that students can partake in at Palo Duro and display how the park can be an escape from the seclusion that has been experienced during the Covid-19 Pandemic. Our group believes that if given the opportunity to go through with the execution of the project, that Palo Duro State Park will see an increase in visitors, especially those in the young adult age range.

Introduction

Nicknamed the “Grand Canyon of Texas,” the Palo Duro Canyon has attracted people from all over the country and indeed all over the world to see the marvelous sights it offers. Yet, despite the fact that we have been asked throughout the COVID-19 pandemic by officials to stay home, nature itself has been a repute from the stresses of the post-COVID world, while also providing adequate social distancing. It is for this reason that some students have turned to the Palo Duro Canyon as a respite from the current conditions of the world. We thus plan to create a short video demonstrating Palo Duro as a destination for those looking to escape daily life during the current pandemic. By highlighting it’s beauty and majesty while also the positive effects of visiting, we intend to introduce the Palo Duro Canyon to a new audience of COVID-stressed students.

Project Details

According to the Travel Texas Website, “The Panhandle is full of natural wonders, each one putting on its own colorful show.” (Travel Texas, para 1). The purpose of this proposal is to create a short video highlighting how Palo Duro State Park is an escape from the seclusion and monotony of life during a pandemic.

Our plan is to follow the journey of a Texas Tech Student as they discover the beauty and wonder of “Texas Grand Canyon”. (Travel Texas, para 1). The first shooting location will be inside of a Texas Tech dorm room where we will articulate an atmosphere of boredom and stagnation. Accompanying, the video there will be monotone and sadden music playing in the background. Then we will shoot the student’s trip to Palo Duro and his journey through the main gate. In this portion, the background music builds towards a climax as he enters the gate. Next, we will shoot the student doing various activities within the park itself such as: mountain biking, hiking, rock climbing, and camping. We will film these activities at key landmarks around the park such as lighthouse rock. Lastly, we will remain to film the sun setting on the Palo Duro horizon as the accompanying music fades off. During postproduction will we add the words “discover the possibilities” with the Texas State Park logo to end out the video.

Expected Expenses:

• Travel Expenses
• DJI Osmo Pocket
• Adobe Photoshop
• Adobe Lightroom
• Final Cut Pro

Expected Budget:

The Total Expected Budget for this project is $1,300.

Elements of Story:

• Purpose - Our purpose is to produce a video campaign for the Palo Duro Canyon park service showcasing images of the Palo Duro Canyon to show how nature has created an escape from the seclusion and monotony of life during the COVID-19 global pandemic.
• Theme - While our video shows themes such as the beauty of nature, peace, and hope, the overarching theme of the video campaign is escapism. Our video will emphasize the human’s need to find an outlet of escape from their mundane life in times of complete chaos.
• Uniqueness - The uniqueness of our project is because of how it ties in the impacts of the COVID-19 global pandemic not physically, but mentally. The news and media tend to have a focus on how to heal our bodies when they contract the virus, but that leaves us searching to heal our minds from the anxiety, depression, and seclusion that the pandemic has brought upon us. Nature brings that feeling of balance that many are searching for right now.
• Proximity - People come from miles away to experience our nation’s beautiful parks and that starts by planning a trip through searching the internet. The popularity of parks such as the Palo Duro Canyon gives this video campaign the potential to reach travelers from all over the globe, especially since it attracts tourists through being America’s second largest canyon.
• Conflict - The conflict is found internally within the student as they fight to escape and defeat the prison of seclusion amidst a world in times of tragedy and isolation.
• Celebrity - Our “celebrity” is a Palo Duro Canyon park ranger. A park ranger is the perfect celebrity for our video campaign because they will fully understand everything the park has to offer and have watched people experience the natural beauty that the canyon has to offer.
• Issue Relevance - Majority of people are faced with a new normal and lots of uncertainty amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. We are all having to find new ways to experience a sense of joy, peace, and hope that there is still good left in the world. So, this will be relevant to anyone who has lived through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Justification

In our project we will be addressing how college students can cope with the stress of COVID-19 by traveling to see and experience the beauty of the natural red rock canyon, Palo Duro State Park. Starting off the video, we will see a college kid distraught inside their dorm in complete solitude, the student will then see an ad for the state park and make a plan to travel there. Once the student leaves the confinement of the dorm to the State Park they will be able to see and experience the many different activities you can do inside the park. Finally, our story will close with the day ending with a beautiful sunset over the red rock canyon. It will be a communicative presentation that will inform the viewers that the state park is a great place to escape the dullness and loneliness of COVID-19 for college kids. The viewer will already have an understanding of the impact COVID-19 has had on their life and will be able to relate to the joyfulness of getting out and being able to explore.

Conclusion

Many students have suffered increased stresses in the post-COVID world, which we believe presents a very unique opportunity for the Palo Duro Canyon State park to serve as a respite from these woes and to give students a place where they can forget about these woes and instead enjoy the magical beauties that the Palo Duro Canyon State Park has to offer. We therefore propose the creation of a promotional video that demonstrates the park’s natural beauty and it’s ability to be a respite for students, therefore promoting the park as a destination for students.

APA References:

The Canyon Gallery. (n.d.). Retrieved October 09, 2020, from https://palodurocanyon.com/

The Texas Panhandle Red-Banded Wilderness: Palo Duro Canyon. (2019, September 24). Retrieved October 09, 2020, from https://www.traveltexas.com/articles/post/red-banded-wilderness/