My participation in the OXFAM pitch was severely impacted by a major IT project that I am contracted for. Many of the course work emphasised the importance and benefits that may be realised through participating in such an endeavour. Unfortunately, my team disbanded for many reasons. Anna-Maria Pfab, contacted me to find out if I was still considering submitting a brief and I grabbed the opportunity. I wish to thank both Jessie and Anna-Maria for their assistance in giving me feedback and I realise that if I had a team with me the submission would have been so much better.

Although I have no feedback from OXFAM yet, I decided to reflect on the process. The initial draft was very technical and formal and much to complicated, a trait I have developed. From the feedback, I was guided to adapt to an audience whose main purpose was not directly aligned with mine. I needed to keep my message simple and use more images.

When investigating recommendations on how to pith I found some interesting theoretical methodologies on the net. I decided to experiment by incorporating a particular method of persuasion and appeal to see if it does enhance the impact of the pitch. the method is by deliberately using Ethos, pathos and logos in specific sections of the brief. “Ethos, Pathos, and Logos are modes of persuasion used to convince audiences.  They are also referred to as the three artistic proofs (Aristotle coined the terms) and are all represented by Greek words. ( pathosethoslogos.com, 2019) “

The structure of the pitch

• Introduction – Ethos,
• Initial motivation-Pathos,
• The description of the proposed solution Logos.
• The cost- Logos and a bit of ethos, definitely no pathos.
• The closing-pathos

The first response I received from Jesse and Anna-Maria disappointed as I did not seem to persuade effectively as I expected. It may have been that we had too short a time. But the main reason was the way I presented it. I was reading it rather badly. The second was it was too complex for the prospective audience and I lost them. The third it lacked a visual impact, something my audience expected. I applied the techniques to the words only and only realised in the end that I should use my photography to do the same. Additional to the words, my photography should show my capability and credibility as a photographer, Ethos, my empathy, passion and emersion in the subject matter, Pathos, and be presented in a way that it makes sense within the context of the brief, logos. Although my final submission is still not right I believe it is far better than my initial attempt. I can’t wait to get OXFAM’s impression.

Preparing a pitch for corporate customers is an extremely important skill and art to develop and I will be submitting a number of briefs within the new year for personal projects and assignment opportunities. Being successful at getting the project or assignment is less important at this stage. It is more important that I get to write them, get responses and learn from each one of them. It is also important that even if I do the perfect pitch it may not realise into a project.

I have submitted my pitch for review by my peers and Illya Fischer provided me with encouraging feedback on the final submission saying that it is a much tighter pitch.

My introduction of augmented reality has also made me realise that I have another skill. I worked as a programmer before and I need to develop my skill in this direction to enhance my photographic practice. Augmented reality is a key component of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and it is clearly seen as expensive by Anna-Maria. I believe it is going to become as simple as facebook in the future.

Fourth Industrial Revolution will be driven largely by the convergence of digital, biological, and physical innovations (Schwab, 2019). The convergence and integration of the digital world with our primary biological interaction systems is coming off age, of which augmented reality is key. We currently have cell phones but soon we will have headgear/glasses that will allow us to visually engage with our world and information. This will open new possibilities for photography (3D and 2D) and video in the arts and commerce.

Reference

pathosethoslogos.com (2019). Home – Ethos, Pathos, and Logos, the Modes of Persuasion ‒ Explanation and Examples. [online] Pathosethoslogos.com. Available at: https://pathosethoslogos.com/ [Accessed 6 Dec. 2019].

Schwab, K. (2019). The Fourth Industrial Revolution | Special Feature. [online] Encyclopedia Britannica. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Fourth-Industrial-Revolution-2119734 [Accessed 6 Dec. 2019].