Earlier this week, I pushed “The Decision” live for online sales. Now begins the hardest part of the project: convincing you that you really should buy this video. Response has been very positive from both professional and public viewers. It remains to be seen if I can promote it enough to make it profitable. Yet I am optimistic  that when I get it into the right hands, it will be well received.

Why do I think this will take off? Here’s what is packed into three and half minutes of animation:

1. This is a story about making good decisions in general. The decision at hand just happened to be pornography, a pointed and sensitive topic that has some surprisingly polarized views.
2. Parents, though not present at the moment of decision, are at home when the kids come in. The story reinforces the importance of parents being at the crossroads and especially, the value of having a mother in the home.
3. This is a fairly realistic view of kids, not an idealized view as didactic/moral-based films have a tendency to be. So much so that the voice talent is from actual kids, the story is a true story, and about 20% of the lines in the film are improvised. Beyond that, I’ve tried to keep these kids as lovable and relate-able as possible.
4. The message at the end of video is clear and unmistakeable, “pornography is evil and [we] should stay away from it.” This makes is easier for young children to understand the importance of making the right decision on important issues.
5. Parents and children having a civil discussion may seem like an anomaly in our world today, but it happens in this video and reminds us that we can be civil with each other.

I pushed a short trailer to YouTube at the beginning of the week as well. My biggest issue with YouTube are the suggested videos that show up along the right side of the page. Here’s a good kids’ video with a great message that had on the first day a barrage of movie trailers designed to pull anyone in the wrong direction. To solve this, I’m only sending people to SunSwingMedia’s channel page, which will keep users from having to see other suggested/suggestive content in the right column.  I know that Google’s not in the business of censorship, but this is truly one of YouTube’s greatest flaws- the lack of effective moral filters.

If you haven’t had a look yet, watch the trailer for “The Decision.” If you want to help promote a project that combats pornography and show kids an effective way to deal with porn when they encounter it, please contact me or leave a comment below.