UNIT 9
Choosing a Production Type
Between music video, satire, advertisement, drama and documentary I chose to focus on an advertisement. This is because I could not use the artists music I originally wanted for a music video as it can be copyrighted. Last year with a group I created an advert as a introduction to the course and I feel I have learnt and gained experience now to produce something better and more creative. As there are many types of advertisements I can involve aspects of these and take on inspiration. I like to be creative with my narrative, cinematography and acting, therefore didn't choose a documentary because it is aimed to imitate reality.
Advertisement Overview
I have chosen to make an environmental advert based around reusable water bottles. I am passionate about the environment and would like to raise awareness about this issue as many plastic water bottles are tossed contributing to the increase of waste in the ocean.
There are many environmental awareness advertisements, many use the 'shock factor' showing the destruction directly affecting marine life and use this for sympathy. I think this is an effective tool, however I believe many people would try to skip an emotional advert as they wouldn't want to witness this destruction. The adverts I have seen don't provide a quick and easy solution to this problem and I think this doesn't create a memorable and practical advert. I would like to provide my audience with an immediate solution they can acquire after watching by suggesting a reusable water bottle.
A benefit to an environmental ad is the wide audience and demographic. For my ad I am targeting young adults as I think teenagers aren't as aware about the effects of plastic on the environment, therefore will have someone in that age range to star in the advert. However, I think this message is effective regardless of an age group and can be absorbed by anyone.
The genre and type I have chosen will not be shocking, but will engage the audience by using catchy music and a creative storyline. I think this would be more effective as it can connect with the audience by not alienating and judging their knowledge and choices. It will be more of a relaxed advert and more of a suggestion rather than an order which will be received more easily by the audience as they feel they have a choice in the matter.
After researching about television advertisements, there are many ways to keep the audience interested. For example an attention grabbing opening will hook the audience right from the start with strong visuals interesting sounds and/or immediate action. In order for people to connect emotionally to my message, tone must be established. This can be accentuated with music/sound co-ordinating with visuals. I will pay close attention to the music I use to display the correct tone and use this to my advantage.
What also makes an ad memorable and effective is the entertainment value and disruption/thought-provoking ability. This is why I would like to create a story that is entertaining however also possesses the ability for the audience to consider and explore what the advert is focused on.
Advertisement Genre's/Types
Codes and Conventions
Environmental awareness TV adverts have been popular as they can easily display their message and tug at heart strings with music and visuals.
There are general codes and conventions of adverts that will be useful to use for my advert and research further on.
There are different ways of using media codes, conventions can be closely connected with the audiences expectations of a media product with sub categories such as form conventions, story conventions and genre conventions.
Shock/Sympathy - This type of advertising is used often with environmental adverts, as I have researched above. This creates emotion by making you feel sympathy for someone, something or a cause. These show you things you may not know or be aware of provoking you to act upon it.
Catchy/Annoying - These adverts either have a catchy tune/jingle or someone unique/distinct. These are memorable and stick in people's brain.
Celebrity Endorsement - Having a celebrity in an advert makes it stand out and promote the product as many people will recognize and idolize the celebrity thus feel compelled to purchase the product they are promoting.
Music - If a particular song is popular or possesses a deep meaning this creates a positive association with the product every time they hear that song elsewhere. A popular song will connect with a wide audience which will capture their interest and keep them watching.
Slogan/Strong Message - A slogan is memorable and is instantly recognizable, in addition a strong message is equally effective as they induce thought provoking and interesting concepts. This type of convention is memorable and subconsciously makes you relate the slogan to the product.
Aspiration - Similar to celebrity endorsement, aspiration advertisements use a product to promote a lifestyle or envy for the person that acquires that product. In turn the product is positively reinforced and has the ability for the audience to want to pursue the product to gain the same outcome from the advert.
Humour - A common style for an advert is humour. An advert that is comedic and doesn't take itself seriously can be easily consumed by the public, this can also create word of mouth if the ad stands out enough.
Many environmental ads use guilt to connect with the audience and involve younger generations with the potential damage we are having on the future. This directly affects the audience therefore people are more likely to feel responsible and want to make a difference.
With these conventions in mind, I have decided what would be most suitable for my type of advert will be a slogan that is memorable as well as using a form of aspiration. I would also like to have effective music however I am not sure if I will be able to find the type I am looking for. I have also been entertaining the idea of possibly having split screen to show differences which would work well with my concept.
Many advertisements have common codes used for a specific effect. These generally have an agreed meaning or connotation to the audience that people can relate to from past experiences and build expectations. There are many symbolic codes like setting, mis en scene acting and colour. These depend on the advert and can only be analysed with a specific ad as there are many different types. As well as symbolic codes there are technical codes like camerawork, editing, audio and lighting.
Context
This advert was made in 2013 to promote awareness toward the environment. I thought this ad was effective as it was short and sweet. By focusing solely on the object and creating an otherwise spotless environment while also choosing an eye-catching colour produces an obvious solution to the problem which keeps the audience interested and is easy to understand.
The film convention 'rule of thirds' is also established drawing the eye to the subject while also allowing to explore other points of interest such as the rubbish bin.
There seems to be no target audience as the person is not explicitly shown therefore could be anyone. The slogan also applies to anybody therefore is more receivable.
The music used is calming and non intrusive which fits the tone, in addition the steady camera and slow development mimic reality. I think this works well because it is relatable and demonstrates their message concisely.
I would like to create a similar piece by having a simple but effective idea.
This environmental ad is more relevant to mine as it is focused on the use of plastic bottles. I liked this concept of following the bottle to its final destination showing how
our actions directly influence the environment which is an effective tool to persuade and prompt the audience to take action.
At 0.4 a normal man is placed in a nice neighbourhood juxtaposing with his actions of littering. This shows that despite appearances, anyone can litter. This ad could also potentially be aiming at higher/middle class people that think they can 'get away with it' or believe their actions don't have consequences. By following the journey of the bottle once it has been thrown away, this forces the audience to see the effects and address their actions.
The neighbourhood is represented as clean and almost utopic, therefore this action of littering damages this image thus this man is seen negatively. In turn, this relates the action of littering with the same negative perspective.
The slogan at 0.59 'Recycling begins and ends with you' aims this statement directly at the audience and makes them instantly involved causing a subconscious connection. As this is effective, this has inspired my final piece to acquire similar attributes for the slogan.
Again, this ad is very simple in its concept and inclusive to a wide audience.
This ad uses humour coupled with a storyline and character. Until 0.5 the audience are left wondering who she is talking to as she seems to be on a date by the low lighting and setting of a restaurant. This is only to realise it's nobody at all, only a pile of plastic. This is a demonstration of the comedy it utilises to create a response and involve the audience. This scenario is a common experience and relates into most people's lives and by giving an inanimate object feeling by suggesting a human connection (shown by the slow increased close-up at 0.6) this uses humour as a convention to lighten the mood while also addressing an important issue.
A montage is played of all the times this person has used plastic (starting at 0.17) which is effective as these activities are all relatable in our own lives. It also brings attention to the frequent times we all use plastic. Choosing a woman to 'break up' makes it easy to use stereotypical lines that can also be applied with a real relationship such as 'you were always there for me' while showing the use of plastic shopping bag or using a plastic water bottle. By creating this intimate relationship between them shows how dependent society has become on the use of plastic products.
The damage of plastic on the environment is shown at 0.32 to 0.45 in conjunction with the words 'you created a toxic environment' which displays her realization of the damage and involves the audience with her experience by showing a polluted sea.
At 1.02 she is shown doing the same activities and the positive difference in attitude becomes a conventional form of aspiration. Toward the end (1.21) society becomes more involved by showing people around the world also ending this 'relationship' with plastic. This makes it less intimate and becomes more of a world wide issue as well as creating this aspiration to join them from the audiences perspective.
Treatment
My advert will be based on the overuse of plastic bottles that are thrown away constantly. I want to promote the use of a reusable bottle. My ad will be short and to the point as my past idea was too complicated and could not be achieved. I was aiming to show the difference in lifestyle between two people and the activities involving the use of plastic bottles. This idea wouldn't work as the actors would need to change outfit for each separate activity. As I am casting my friends and planning to film at college, this could not be accomplished as this would be too difficult to carry through as outfits would have to be changed. I am planning for my advert to be less than 30 seconds as I will productively use that time to convey my idea concisely without wavering on the important issue I am promoting. Because of this, I believe my final idea will capture the audiences attention and hold their interest.
My final idea is similar to my original, however I will not show numerous activities. I will focus solely on the bottle and will conceal the actors identity. The first ad I analysed inspired this decision as this same effect was used to display how the message applies to anyone.
I will be setting the scene on college campus in the hallway using the water cooler as an objective for the actor/bottle. I am aware the location of a hallway could be obtrusive, however I am planning to film at a quiet time which will minimise the amount of potential people that use the hallway.
I want an upbeat tone and positive reaction left with the viewer, therefore will be filming during the day and use the available light from windows. Since I will be filming in the college hallway, I will not be able to use redheads as this is a health and safety issue. However, I can use LED lighting which does not require mains electricity and does not overheat. Depending on the strength of the window light source, I may or may not need to use them.
The pace of the advert will be fast and I intend to use upbeat music to mirror this. With the advert having a defined structure with continuous action and the time I have allocated, a fast paced production will suit it best. There will be no dialogue, only fluid action between scenes.
I will be using cuts and pans. Cross-fading wouldn't suit the fast paced effect I am going for in order to create a clear-cut series of events.
My narrative structure is linear, following an object to its destination. 'SBZ Environment Ad' constructed the same concept which worked well as it focused on the issue of the bottle, not the character. I have chosen my genre to be realism, there won't be anything that doesn't apply to real life.
The use of the camera will be hand held, tracking movement. I will also use a tripod for steady shots. I will use depth of field often to draw attention to important objects in the shot. This will be unambiguous and direct the viewers eye.
I'd like to have saturated colour that is slightly more vibrant than real life. I think this effect will be more attractive, thus entice the viewer. The adverts I analysed before-hand utilised this and I think it achieved it's intended effect to grab the viewer in. For example, the blue surrounding the bottle in the second ad was vibrant and my eye was immediately drawn toward it which displayed it's importance.
Script
INT: COLLEGE HALLWAY
Music starts-
GIRL sitting on a bench with her bag beside her. Bottle is out of focus on the left side of screen.
We watch as HAND comes into shot, grabbing bottle and walks off.
GIRL grabs bottle from bag, drinks the rest and throws on floor.
From the floor, we see a pair of legs walking off and pan up toward the GIRL from the back walking away with the bottle in her hand.
We follow her to the water cooler on the other side of the room as she places it inside to fill up.
The GIRL happily walks off into the hallway as the bottle is full of water in her hand.
Shot list
Medium Close up of girl on bench, bottle of water in shot left side of screen.
Close up of bottle on floor, tracking and panning up legs toward water cooler
Medium close up of water cooler as girl inserts bottle
Medium wide shot as girl walks away from water cooler
Storyboard
My finished advert was short and to the point, just as I had intended. I am happy with the slogan I came up with as I think it represented my message of reusing well.There are parts of the shooting that are disruptive such as the tracking shot from 0.13 to 0.18. This shot was shaking due to it being handheld and zoomed slightly. For the future, using a dolly for movement shots will be more suitable to achieve a professional shot.
Dropping the focus on the bottle would have subjected the importance of the object to the audience making a clear distinction to the main focus of the advert. For the most part, I followed my storyboard and script with a few adjustments of shot types. For example, the beginning take was stretched too long and in hindsight, it would have been more logical thus satisfying if I had cut on the action of the bottle being thrown. Originally, I planned for this however as I needed a person grabbing the bottle in front, the low angle shot was needed after this took place. After analysing and editing, I noticed the backdrop of the first scene was not pleasing and became distracting as the window was covered with bird faeces. When filming, I had not noticed this and unfortunately did not have enough time to reshoot. This made me realise the importance of filming early to examine footage and allow for reshoots.
Planning beforehand for location, objects and placements was useful during production, I was able to efficiently shoot my intended ideas. This also made it easier in post production to sequence the shots following the storyboard and script. I purposely did not identify the person holding the bottle as this is a powerful tool to imply how the message pertains to anyone and was utilised effectively in the first ad I analysed.
I think the ad turned out cliché as I chose stereotypical upbeat advertisement music and the slogan is unsubtle, however some ads that are focused on similar issues seem to follow this general pattern. There are also cleverly constructed adverts that sustain a story and character to relate to, I think recently this type is more commonly seen being that audiences are more likely to continue watching when there is an interesting, thought out story that could be satisfied with a resolve.
At 0.18 the cut smoothly aligned with the music's beat, as well as the text fading in at 0.28 and 0.29 creating a pleasing flow throughout the advert. This was also achieved when fading into the first shot which coincided with the choice to centre the actor so the audience is drawn in immediately to focus on the important action. The blue bar behind her, however was not deliberate and I think it detracts from the importance of the actor. Thinking about costume design, having the second actor in bright colours would have been pleasing to the eye thus it would be more memorable and the audience would connect this action positively. I chose to linger on the text at 0.31 supposing that it would elicit emotion and make the audience think further about the message. In my opinion, this worked well as it gave one last contemplation to take with you.