evaluation final
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Advance Portfolio EvaluationEllie Biddle
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
The key codes and conventions used in TV advertising typically consist of the identification of the
brand through the use of the logos and slogans, the restricted length of the adverts generically 30
seconds, compression of story line and the differing categorises of adverts include Narrative,
Spokesperson Presentation, Pitch Presentation, and Voice-Over ads.
I started by researching into a wide variety of adverts and sponsorship sequences. This enabled me to
start to analyse the key codes and conventions of this medium, for example I analysed the stop frame
TV commercial, advertising the Amazon Kindle, created by photographers Angela Kohler and Ithyle
Griffiths presented in the screen grabs above. Kohler and Griffins had the music inextricably entwined
with the mise-en-scene of the advert; the music became synonyms with the USP of the brand itself.
The use of mise-en-scene and props connotes the imagination of the persona in the advert, The
interchange between reality and idealism is indexically shown through the use of the magic location
with the magician props and then the realism of the ‘everyday ‘props including the bike and day to
day wear.I adopted the same conventional use of mise-en-
scene in my advert whereby I used props and the
location to symbolically reference the modern day
music festival .i.e. The ukulele and native Indian head
dress.
I also analysed the moving image John Lewis advert, the advert used a very
conventional nostalgic narrative theme with a start, middle and end. As shown in the
screen grabs presented below
However I felt that this type of convention would not work as well with my
concept therefore I adapted this particular convention by creating a non-
linear narrative advert, telling a story with only a loose narrative theme, i.e.
the child that is in everyone experiencing and enjoying the festival spectacle
.
I then specifically looked at music festival adverts, for example the Channel 4’s Wireless Festival
advert; it became clear the specific conventions of the generic music festival adverts was that the
pace of the editing fitted with the choice of non-diegetic music which makes the advert both
visually and vocally attractive.
I adapted this convention in my own
advertisements, by having the editing pace
intrinsically link with my choice of indie music. An
example of this was when the drum solo is present, I
introduced a moving footage of the actor with the
drum sticks, synchronising the editing and the
sound.
I used the dissolve transition
in the post production section
of my adverts production,
similar to the editing
technique used in the
Wireless Festival Advert.
This is my Soundtrack which I used
throughout my first 30 second advert,
following the Indie Genre of Festival I
was promoting.
I also analysed the 4music advert this along with the Wireless Advert both used the
Fade transitions to allow individuals shots to come together and fade into one
indexically implying the connections the artists had together. I adapted this particular
convention in my own advertisements by having the alternative shots coming
together.
I created narrative based advertisements,
using slow motion and fast motion in
elements of the advert to compress the story.
I learnt from my analysis of the media
products this being sponsorship sequences or
commercials a variety of shots and angles
were used throughout many adverts to
engage the viewer and add increased interest
to the production. I adopted this convention by having a static
camera, interspersed with various angles and
shots to increase the engagement with the viewer.
However I wanted to keep the positioning of the
actor central at all times as I was using green
screen technology I felt this was paramount to my
production.
This use of camera was also seen in the E4
Adverts, which use a static camera to allow the
shots to be synonymous with one another.
How effective is the combination of your main and
ancillary texts?
In order to create a successful radio advert I
researched into existing radio adverts on YouTube
and listened to relevant radio stations, such as
XFM and NME radio stations to see how advertisers
target the particular target market I was promoting
to. This highlighted some of the key conventions
such as the use of jingles, music, and a clear vocal
line. I also used Media Magazine website to aid my
research, finding an article on How to make radio
ads- By Clive Edwards clarifying my research.
Radio Advert Article
Analysis on Blogger to
increase the synergy in
my adverts.
I research into
relevant radio
adverts to explore
the medium
further.
A key convention often used through radio advertising is the use
of clear vocals, I also learnt the significance of the script being
synonymous with the music and brand; and that the use of
sound effects should make the radio advert more interesting
promoting the advert to the highest standard.
The most significant aspect I wanted to achieve with my
ancillary texts and TV adverts was an element of synergy. I
attained this by using the same indie music I used throughout
my TV adverts; this displays a direct connection between both
my radio advert and the TV advertisements. Furthermore I also
used the same actor for the voice over in both the TV adverts
and the radio advert to achieve the child-like voice over
indicative of the brands slogans. The scripting of the radio
advert reflected the concept of the TV adverts displaying a high
level of synergy. Radio Advert- With Childlike
voiceover also used in the
Television adverts.
In terms of the cohesive relationship with my sponsorship adverts
and the main 30 seconds adverts, I felt I displayed a strong sense
of connection throughout.
The most significant way I created synergy
between the sponsorship and the 30 second
adverts was my use of mise-en-scene I used
similar props and the locations (backdrops) to
suggest the adverts where a brand. This can
be seen through the use of the African
headdress which connotes the enjoyment of
the festival and is used in many of the moving
image adverts. I also used the camera in a
similar way whereby I kept it static
interspersed with close-up and shots from
differing angles to add various and keep the
production similar.
I asked my audience whether they felt the brand image was cohesive
and well established throughout both my radio adverts and
televisions adverts and the results were very positive with no
negative comments. This suggest that both the ancillary texts and
the main adverts display a high level of synergy across the board.
This emphasises that the work I conducted to reflect the brand image
was cohesive throughout the texts, this can be seen through the
scripting of the radio advert, the child-like voice over linking with the age
of the actor in the main adverts. Also the use of sound effects in the
radio ad highlighting the overall tone and atmosphere of the festival I
was trying to conduct in both texts, reflecting a strong brand image.
What have you learned from your audience feedback?
In terms of receiving feedback from my target audience I used Google Forms
to create a questionnaire, when I had finished all my adverts along with my
radio advert. This enabled me to analyse responses from my target
audience to determine their understanding of the concept. The questions I
featured covered many dimensions and therefore gave me the relevant
information and resources to aid my feedback. I wanted to cover both the 30
seconds adverts and ancillary texts (my radio advert and the sponsorship
sequences.) Therefore I have received feedback on both the individual texts
and the overall brand as a whole.
I wanted the audience to be engaged in my advertisements from the first
question I received very positive feedback resulting in the audience
enjoying the moving image adverts I produced.
I asked the audience what specific elements of the adverts they
enjoyed and engaged with the most, from the results I conducted the
most appealing elements was the green screen backdrops. This
suggests how the audience enjoyed the changing backgrounds suiting
the generic festival backgrounds.
The concept of my advert was very significant part of promoting
the service, therefore from the results of question 3 I received
very positive feedback resulting in the audience understanding
the concept and meaning of the adverts.
65% of people stated that they would be more likely to purchase an
Imagine Fest ticket having seen or heard the adverts and the
remaining 30% said they would not be sure, generally I felt this was
a positive response.
Furthermore I wanted to see whether my audience understood the synergy across
both the TV adverts and the radio adverts, from the question Do you feel the
brand concept is well established across the advertisements? (E.g. Sponsorship
sequence and Radio Adverts), the public suggested that they did understand the
brand image throughout both texts and the connection that was displayed
through the same music and voiceover, identifying a high level of synergy.
The variety of shots was the most common choice for the aspect to
change; this is something I agree on as it would have given the audience
a more engaging moving picture to view. The next most common choice
was more than one actor; this is something I could have gained by using
a different actor in the second 30 seconds advert however I do feel it
worked well with the same actor in both as it increased the level of
synergy. Furthermore the same use of actors is an element that was
reflected throughout the John Lewis commercials, whether they were 30
adverts or sponsorship sequences.
How did you use new media technologies in the construction
and research, planning and evaluation stages?
Research and Planning Stages: I used a number of research tools such as the internet which allowed
me to access TV commercials through sites .i.e. YouTube and Google
videos. I used YouTube.com to do relevant research into existing
media products for free, such as John Lewis’s advertisements it also
allowed me to embed the adverts into Blogger.com where I was
recording all my progress. I also used Google as a search engine, as
this enabled me to find relevant sites in the Music Festival Industry
e.g Reading Festival and independent sites to further my research
stages. I felt very comfortable using these sites as I had used them
previously in AS.
I also used Media Magazine Websites to find
articles on advertising, in particular Radio
Adverts for example “How to make radio
ads”- By Clive Edwards, developing my
research and aided the planning stages of
my radio advert production. I used Sound
Cloud, which is a cloud based music service
to find indie music royalty free. I could then
embed the individual tracks into Blogger.
I feel I successfully used websites and
search engines to develop my research and
planning as I had previously used these
sites in AS.
However the online Media Magazine site
was the first time researching from this site,
suggesting how my use of new media has
developed.
Construction Stages: In the construction of my production I used several new media
technologies; to video the footage these included the use of a HD camera,
a higher resolution camera, which allowed me to attain high quality footage
when filming, green screen technology. The Chroma key compositing is a
special effects / post-production technique for compositing two images or
videos streams together, used heavily in many fields to remove a
background from the subject of a photo or video.
The Green Screen technology wasn’t a piece of technology I had ever used before in the
construction of my production, therefore it was hard to understand the basic
requirements when using the equipment and setting it up. When filming with the Green
Screen I used both the green screen and the studio lights, this was the first time I had
used this equipment so it was also a very different experience and environment to film
within, in comparison to shooting outdoors for my AS production. However, I mastered
this technique which has increased my knowledge base in media technologies.
I learnt that the studio lights, are the most important element when using the
green screen to make sure there is no shadows in the shot, otherwise when
dropping in the background image in the editing suite ‘Premier Pro CS5’ it
would not be as clear and in some cases not work, therefore this was a very
significant aspect. I placed the studio lights at either end of the green screen
without the diffuser on the bulbs to make sure maximum light was present and
then was really to film with my HD camera.
As I was using the green screen technology in the construction stages of my
production in the post-production stages I used Premier Pro CS5 similar to my use
of the editing suit in AS. However this particular use of the editing suit was more
complex and out of my skill set, therefore I used ‘YouTube’ to learn how to drop the
images in the background of the footage, to understand how to do this I watched a
quick tutorial on it. I felt I handled this difficultly well, by using other technology to
aid and guide me through the post-production of my adverts which was a very
worth while learning curve.
Evaluation Stages: My Evaluation stages has been an ongoing process as I have been able to
broadcast my media to peers and members of public through social media sites
such as Facebook and YouTube to keep up to date with relevant feedback. This is
something that wasn’t particularly difficult as I felt I knew how to work on these
sites to aid my evaluation.
Furthermore in terms of my feedback I created a Questionnaire on Google Docs,
this allowed me to see whether my target audience enjoyed and understood the
concept of the advert. This use of technology was new to me therefore I didn’t feel
as confident using it in my evaluation stages, although I overcame this by spending
time overlooking the process of making the form and how the site worked. The
questions I featured covered many dimensions and therefore gave me the relevant
information and resources to aid my feedback and my evaluation. Also once
attaining the relevant feedback this use of new media technology, Google Docs,
places all of the results into a spreadsheet and graphs which allowed me to
understand and analyse my results in the simplest formats.