La pandemia del azúcar

Abstract

La pandemia del azúcar is an audiovisual report that analyzes the campaign titled «El azúcar mata» from a nutritional, business and communicative point of view. This message launched by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, which aims to reduce the intake of sweeteners among children and young people, came accompanied by a measure that increased the VAT on sweetened drinks from 10 to 21%. This new rate included consumption with very different properties, among which we can emphasize the incorporation of horchata and orange juice. This journalistic piece focuses on studying the controversy in the Valencian agriculture sector and the controversy generated around two of the most characteristic products of the Valencian Community. Throughout the report this subject is treated from all possible perspectives, presenting very diverse arguments that provide plurality to the narrative of the video. The production has 8 specialized sources: the nutritionist Pilar Esquer; the chef of healthy food and creator of the Spanish kombucha brand Roberto Bosquet; the doctor in advertising and communication Carlos Fanjul; the president of the “Unió de Llauradors i Ramaders del País Valencià” Carles Peris; the vice president of the “Unió de Llauradors i Ramaders del País Valencià” Quico Espinosa; the manager of the production company MGO Juan Pérez; the president of the Regulatory Council of Chufa Valenciana Antonio Gimeno and the book titled “Come Comida Real” written by the nutritionist Carlos Ríos. The discourse has changed its direction several times. As journalists, we have changed the discourse as we were obtaining more information. The interview with 15 Juan Pérez altered the course of the report: his position of denunciation for the absence of modification concerning the tax in the BOE made us investigate more deeply on the subject and modify the narrative. Although the law seemed clear at the beginning, the Article 69 of the general State budget has not yet explicitly reflected that horchata and orange juice are free from the tax increase. Their statements showed a different reality from what we knew to date. In addition, the recent approval of the decree that is shown and, therefore, the topicality of this subject is another of the most noteworthy positive factors. In order to make the whole shoot, we had to study the necessary material beforehand. Although we did not have enough of our own equipment to be able to do the report, the possibility of executing loan reservations at the LabCom of the Jaume I University has allowed us to carry it out. The list of technical elements that we have used for the recording is the following one: two DSLR flap microphones, 1000 LED spotlights with electric cable, photo camera Nikon D810, battery Nikon D810 / D7000, photo tripod, four-plug extension 25m, tripod and lenses Nikon 50mm f:1,4 and 50mm f1,8. Previously, we had our own camera and tripods and for this reason, we were able to make two shots in all the interviews: a medium shot and a short medium shot. Thanks to this, we increased the probability of obtaining at least one quality product in case of possible technical failures and the possibility of combining them to bring dynamism to the narrative. The filming was done both indoors and outdoors and these were distributed over seven days. The places to which we moved to make the journalistic piece were: les Alqueries, Burriana, Castellón de la Plana, Vila-real, Alboraya, Meliana and Almassora. The fact of contacting directly with the top managers of the entities we wanted to interview, allowed us to avoid the request for permits: the sources themselves had the power to grant the recording of the spaces. For the recording shots of the natural orange juice factory we contacted Grufesco. This company, located in Burriana, offered us the possibility of filming the manufacturing process from the selection and washing of oranges to the packaging of the juice, without added sugars. On the other hand, the facilities of the horchata factory are owned by the company MGO, an industrial warehouse located in Almazora. 16 Concerning its structure, the audiovisual report begins with a voice-over that exposes the danger of a continued intake of sugar. The audio mentions the study of Constanza Busines & Protocol School, a research that shows the total consumption of soft drinks in Spain. Later, we introduce the end of the spot "Están a punto de romperte el corazón” (They are about to break your heart) where we continue to show figures of diseases that are generated by a continuous consumption of this sweetener. Then, through other voice-over and resource plans, the campaign is explained and also the legal framework under which it is protected: Article 69 of the general State budget approved on December 31, 2020. Once contextualized, it gives way to the image that collects the two products starring the report: the orange trees and a field of “chufas”. On this recording, the title appears: “La pandemia del azúcar”. Subsequently, a succession of shots of the interviewed sources begins, interchanging disparate opinions to provide dynamism to the narrative. The video is structured in blocks, in which the message is given from the communicative perspective and the opinion of each interviewee; the request of the spokesman of Compromís to take out the horchata and the orange juice; the inconsistencies within the article of the BOE; contradictions within the horchata sector; the benefits of both drinks and some healthier alternatives. The report ends with a statement by nutritionist Pilar Esquer in which she alludes to the dairy lobby and the absence of many other sugary products within the tax increase. This closure encourages reflection and seeks to make the spectator be the one who builds his own opinion. It is also remarkable the circular structure presented, which takes up the initial theme of the lights and shadows. Furthermore, in the report both journalists appear alternating the role of interviewer and camera technician. In addition, we decided to add value to our report by using the Mojo technique to record the resource shots. The iPhone 11 has allowed us to obtain very good quality shots with professional techniques. Besides, aiming to avoid sudden movements we have used a hand stabilizer (DJI OSMO MOBILE 4). 17 The mobile phone is a tool that we master much better and with it we have been able to materialize some recording ideas that with the DSLR camera we wouldn’t have known how to obtain. Moreover, in the videos recorded with the mobile phone we have not found serious lighting problems because the quality of the parameters offered by default are very high. However, the shots we have recorded with the camera did require a more exhaustive later color editing. For editing the report, we have used the Premiere Pro2019 and Premiere Pro2020 programs to obtain a quality result. With the aim of providing more dynamism in the interventions of the interviewees, we have included resource images and on some occasions the voice cut begins only with the audio accompanied by another image and then the interviewee appears. The audio was recorded by Berta López by using an IPhone 11. Aware of the importance of sound in the audiovisual production, we tested the audio capture tools that we had and we concluded that this was the one that offered us the best results. The relevance of the sources required exceptional sound quality so that the message would reach the viewer clearly. As far as the budget is concerned, we can affirm that the recording has great economic viability. The total cost of the report was 70€, including travel, meals and food products for filming. Since the university provides us with much of the material we needed, and we already had our own tools, expenses have been reduced considerably. In addition, the proximity of this topic and the location of the sources removed the need for overnight expenses. The low budget of the production further values the result of the final product. The ideal broadcast space for our production is À Punt, the regional television of the Valencian Community. Having narrowed the topic down to such a specific geographical area, we believe that its target audience is also fairly well defined and can be found in such television channels. In addition, the campaign aims to reduce the consumption of sugary drinks mainly among children and youth, however, its target audience are adults. A type of spectator who finishes the bulk of À Punt: from 45 to 65 years.