For this task we have to produce an advert selling a product of
our choice. We brainstormed a few ideas and expanded on a few of them to finally
come up with a concept we feel that we are going to do. We want to make a
humorous advert although we realise that this may be hard to get people to laugh.
First of all, we thought about bigger baby bells. They always seem to mention
mini baby bells, but there have never been any big ones so we were going to
invent them. Another product idea is zips on the bottom of pockets so that you
can access them whilst sitting down; when you are seated on a train or bus and
want to get your phone, or any other item, out, you have to stand up although
with this invention you will not have to. Another concept we had made up, and
we are feeling to venture down this path, is that we should set it so that it
is in the past and we are going to make a current product but it would be a,
then, futuristic product. We expanded on this and thought about inventing the
cheese grater, with people finding it an amazing product whereas today we find
it normal. We also thought about ‘inventing’ polos; we would do this by setting
the scene in, around, the 1700s and we would go to eat a mint. All of a sudden,
someone with an arrow will appear and shoot a hole through the mint; the
invention of polos is then made.
Friday, 28 September 2012
Friday, 21 September 2012
Analysing A Television Advert
Dirt Devil
This advert, produced by hoover company Dirt Devil, shows the scene of a house that would be associated with the horror genre; a woman is heard screaming and when she appears on screen she is being dragged around on the ceiling. About three quarters into the advertisement, the camera moves up into the above room to show a woman using the companies hoover thus being the cause to the woman looking possessed. This advertisement is in the style of a parody, horror and humour. The target audience for this advertisement is adults as they would be the ones purchasing a hoover; children would not be the target audience for this as they may get scared.
The pace of the advert is slow at the beginning to create tension, along with the horror music, and leaves the audience wondering what is going to happen. An establishment shot is used at the beginning to show a house portraying that of a haunted mansion. The characters are slowly stepping around the house, as the slow camera movement reflects this action. As silence falls upon the house, suddenly the woman is seen on the ceiling and the music picks back up and the pace of the editing increases; this reflects the movement of the woman being thrown around. The house is dimly lit to add tension and more of a horror feel to the advert, as the unknown lurks in the dark and the audience's minds are wondering what will be hiding; this is then suddenly contrasted with the brightly lit room above with the old lady hoovering to a happy song.
The only time the brand name appears is at the end of the advertisement, which leaves the audience with this name in mind. The slogan appears, ''you know when it's the devil'', just before the brand name and this links to the theme of the advertisement; the slogan also has the word 'devil' in it which is one of the two words in the brand name, which will again leave the brand name in mind. Even after 'Dirt Devil' appears, a little bit of footage is still yet to be seen which keeps the audience watching till the very end. This is a good last part to have as it leaves the viewers on a funny note instead of leaving them with the image of a woman being possessed.
The camera follows the characters around the house mainly using a medium shot until they go upstairs when it changes to a high angle, showing that they are vulnerable. A close up is used on the door handle as the door is about to open creating tension as the audience cannot see everything around. A POV shot is used as the priest is walking into the room slowly, which shows the audience what he is seeing. Then, as he looks up at the woman on the ceiling, numerous camera angles are used to portray the pace of the event being fast. A special effect is used to make it look like the woman is being possessed and moved around the ceiling. This looks very realistic and looks plausible.
Friday, 14 September 2012
Forms Of Television Advertising
This document is going to explain the many different forms of advertising and how companies effectively use them as a way of promoting/selling their product.
Firstly I will explain standalone advertising; this type of advertising is when the advert has no sequels or prequels and is a ‘one off’ way of advertising a product. For example, the Cadbury advert where a gorilla is playing the drums to Phil Collins' ''In the Air Tonight'' is a standalone advert as it does not have a consistent story line through more adverts; it is just this one advert and no more in this style. The use of making it a standalone advert is so that people will not expect the advert when it comes on the television in which case makes it memorable. This technique used in the Cadbury advert means that the viewers will remember it and will subconsciously think about it when out shopping. Advantages to standalone adverts are that they do not need to have a certain story line and they can change with every advert; for example, the next Cadbury advert after this was where several cars raced across an airport to the sound of Queen's ''Don't Stop Me Now''. This did not link to the first advert although viewers remember both adverts as they are memorable. A disadvantage to standalone adverts is that viewers may forget about the advertisement, if it is not memorable, as there are no story lines in which case means they may find it boring. This means that they will not buy the product as they will forget all about it. Another disadvantage to stand alone adverts is that the creators will have to think of a new and better idea each time which is very hard. The examples of the Cadbury adverts above, I only remember these two because the creators done a good job of thinking up better ideas; there have been more adverts since then although I don’t remember what they are because, for me, that weren’t as memorable.
Another form of advertising is typography; this is when text appears over the video/background in an artistic way allowing the viewer to follow the words along on the screen. An example of a typography advert is the IBNtv ad where there is a plain blue background but moving typography text. As the text appears on the screen the viewer reads it word for word and the way that the text appears is very creative. An advantage to using typography is that it is relatively easy to create and is effective as people have to actually read the text; whilst the reader is providing a voice over, the viewer’s eyes are automatically directed to the text and they follow it word for word which means they will remember what is being said and they will remember the company. A disadvantage is that you will need to pay for a program that can perform the task of creating typography and this may be expensive. On top of this, you will need to be skilled at creating moving text; learning how to use a new program may take some time to get used to and if you rush an advert it will not look good. If you create a typography video where there isn’t much imagination behind it, then it will look plain and amateurish, therefore the viewers will find it boring.
Talking heads is a form of advertising and it is used on adverts that are selling products and it shows customers reactions/opinions to the product. An example of when talking heads are used is this Sensodyne advert. The customers give their opinion of the product, which is going to be positive feedback, and the viewers will get the idea that the product works and is successful so they will also want to purchase it. An advantage to this is that the viewer’s relate to those giving their opinion and they feel that if it can work for those in the advert, it can work for them too. These adverts may also use celebrities to talk about their product which means the viewer recognises this celebrity and will use it as they feel that the celebrity also uses it; also, every time they see this celebrity they will think of the product. Companies may also use experts to give their opinion of the product which the viewer will believe more as it comes from someone in the same profession as the product is based. Another positive to talking head adverts is that they are easy to create as there is no need for different angles or any video manipulation; the company explains what the product is, and there are responses from various people. A disadvantage to talking heads adverts is that viewers may think that the people giving their opinion are actors thus making them not want to buy the product as they will feel that they are getting paid to say it is good. Another disadvantage to these adverts is that the viewer may find them not very entertaining and they will not think much of the product.
Documentary adverts are a form of advert that describes the company/companies’ product in detail. An example of a documentary advertisement is this Red Cross charity advert which goes into detail showing, and telling, the viewers how people are living in poverty-stricken East Africa. It shows children suffering because they do not have enough to eat, although it states to the viewers that they will help buy essential food for families when they donate. The way words are used in this advert make the viewers feel like they should donate; the word ‘essential’ makes the viewer feel like they take their food for granted and people in other countries do not even have enough food to keep them alive. Also, the words ‘you’ and ‘your’ are direct to the viewer making them feel a part of the movement and that they can help people across the world with a little donation. An advantage to documentary adverts is that it gives great detail and explains what it is about; it covers most questions what a user would want to have asked. A disadvantage to documentary adverts are that as they are so long, the viewer may find it boring and will not remember the advert, either because they weren’t fully listening or they turned the channel over.
Animation is also used as a form of advertising; it allows the creators to take out tasks that aren’t physically possible in real life. An example of when animation is used is this advert by the company De Lijn. It shows ants working together to get to their destination, which related to the advert as it is promoting a bus service telling people to travel together. Without the use of animation it is an impossible task to take out, as ants cannot follow orders. Another advantage to animation is that you can do all of the magic on a program instead of the real world; you don’t have to go find different locations to film, you don’t have to record multiple takes, and you don’t have to buy costumes/props for actors. Lastly, an advantage to animation is that you are free to manipulate the advert how you want it e.g. make the colours bold, make it look eerie, make it look futuristic etc. A disadvantage to animation is that you have to start from scratch and think up different characters and settings and then transfer those thoughts/images to a computer program. Again, like the typography adverts, you will need to pay for a program that can make animation and you need to be skilled at it; even a simple task of making a character in an animation walk is a very hard task and will take up vast amounts of time. Also, voice over actors need to be paid for their work; viewers relate to adverts more when there are celebrities in them, so paying for a celebrity to do a voice over instead will be expensive.
Realistic advertising is used to show real life circumstances and tells you what to do in case the scenario on screen happens to you. The example I have used is an advert by the fire service which shows a woman cooking in the kitchen with her daughters and everything is happy, when suddenly a pan catches on fire. There are 2 children and a mother which most people can relate to so they automatically feel engaged with the advertisement. These adverts also carry a strong message, which in this case is pouring petrol around your kitchen kills; this leaves the viewer thinking about it happening to them in their kitchen and the damage it would cause. An advantage of realistic adverts is that the viewer relates to the incident and they will remember what to do if the event ever happens to them, as they are already putting themselves in the shoes of the family on screen. This fire incident targets all audiences young and old as anyone at any time can have a fire in their home. Disadvantages to realistic adverts, like the one shown below, are that they have to be made memorable so that the viewer will remember what to do in that same situation; trying to think up a good idea to get people’s attention can be hard. Another disadvantage is that these adverts aren’t fun or entertaining so the audience may not pay much attention to it, thus forgetting the advert and what to do in the same situation.
Non-realistic advertising is used to show something that cannot happen in real life although actors are using and effects are added in afterwards. The example I have used is the Go Compare advert that shows Gio Compario, the fictional on screen character, being blown up by a rocket propelled grenade. Without the use of effects after filming, this would not have been possible. An advantage to non-realistic advertising is that you are free to add effects and make the footage look as realistic or non-realistic as you please. Another advantage is that the non-realistic element to adverts gives them that edge of being more entertaining and the viewer will be more likely to remember the advert. Non-realistic adverts can range from being humorous to being futuristic; as long as the creators have professional editing software, then there aren’t really any limits as to what they can do. Saying that, a disadvantage to making non-realistic adverts is that to make them really good, you will need good editing software and good knowledge on how to manipulate videos, which will be money and time consuming. Also, like what has happened to the advert shown, people may take these adverts seriously and find them inappropriate and file complaints.
Another form of advertising is typography; this is when text appears over the video/background in an artistic way allowing the viewer to follow the words along on the screen. An example of a typography advert is the IBNtv ad where there is a plain blue background but moving typography text. As the text appears on the screen the viewer reads it word for word and the way that the text appears is very creative. An advantage to using typography is that it is relatively easy to create and is effective as people have to actually read the text; whilst the reader is providing a voice over, the viewer’s eyes are automatically directed to the text and they follow it word for word which means they will remember what is being said and they will remember the company. A disadvantage is that you will need to pay for a program that can perform the task of creating typography and this may be expensive. On top of this, you will need to be skilled at creating moving text; learning how to use a new program may take some time to get used to and if you rush an advert it will not look good. If you create a typography video where there isn’t much imagination behind it, then it will look plain and amateurish, therefore the viewers will find it boring.
Talking heads is a form of advertising and it is used on adverts that are selling products and it shows customers reactions/opinions to the product. An example of when talking heads are used is this Sensodyne advert. The customers give their opinion of the product, which is going to be positive feedback, and the viewers will get the idea that the product works and is successful so they will also want to purchase it. An advantage to this is that the viewer’s relate to those giving their opinion and they feel that if it can work for those in the advert, it can work for them too. These adverts may also use celebrities to talk about their product which means the viewer recognises this celebrity and will use it as they feel that the celebrity also uses it; also, every time they see this celebrity they will think of the product. Companies may also use experts to give their opinion of the product which the viewer will believe more as it comes from someone in the same profession as the product is based. Another positive to talking head adverts is that they are easy to create as there is no need for different angles or any video manipulation; the company explains what the product is, and there are responses from various people. A disadvantage to talking heads adverts is that viewers may think that the people giving their opinion are actors thus making them not want to buy the product as they will feel that they are getting paid to say it is good. Another disadvantage to these adverts is that the viewer may find them not very entertaining and they will not think much of the product.
Documentary adverts are a form of advert that describes the company/companies’ product in detail. An example of a documentary advertisement is this Red Cross charity advert which goes into detail showing, and telling, the viewers how people are living in poverty-stricken East Africa. It shows children suffering because they do not have enough to eat, although it states to the viewers that they will help buy essential food for families when they donate. The way words are used in this advert make the viewers feel like they should donate; the word ‘essential’ makes the viewer feel like they take their food for granted and people in other countries do not even have enough food to keep them alive. Also, the words ‘you’ and ‘your’ are direct to the viewer making them feel a part of the movement and that they can help people across the world with a little donation. An advantage to documentary adverts is that it gives great detail and explains what it is about; it covers most questions what a user would want to have asked. A disadvantage to documentary adverts are that as they are so long, the viewer may find it boring and will not remember the advert, either because they weren’t fully listening or they turned the channel over.
Animation is also used as a form of advertising; it allows the creators to take out tasks that aren’t physically possible in real life. An example of when animation is used is this advert by the company De Lijn. It shows ants working together to get to their destination, which related to the advert as it is promoting a bus service telling people to travel together. Without the use of animation it is an impossible task to take out, as ants cannot follow orders. Another advantage to animation is that you can do all of the magic on a program instead of the real world; you don’t have to go find different locations to film, you don’t have to record multiple takes, and you don’t have to buy costumes/props for actors. Lastly, an advantage to animation is that you are free to manipulate the advert how you want it e.g. make the colours bold, make it look eerie, make it look futuristic etc. A disadvantage to animation is that you have to start from scratch and think up different characters and settings and then transfer those thoughts/images to a computer program. Again, like the typography adverts, you will need to pay for a program that can make animation and you need to be skilled at it; even a simple task of making a character in an animation walk is a very hard task and will take up vast amounts of time. Also, voice over actors need to be paid for their work; viewers relate to adverts more when there are celebrities in them, so paying for a celebrity to do a voice over instead will be expensive.
Realistic advertising is used to show real life circumstances and tells you what to do in case the scenario on screen happens to you. The example I have used is an advert by the fire service which shows a woman cooking in the kitchen with her daughters and everything is happy, when suddenly a pan catches on fire. There are 2 children and a mother which most people can relate to so they automatically feel engaged with the advertisement. These adverts also carry a strong message, which in this case is pouring petrol around your kitchen kills; this leaves the viewer thinking about it happening to them in their kitchen and the damage it would cause. An advantage of realistic adverts is that the viewer relates to the incident and they will remember what to do if the event ever happens to them, as they are already putting themselves in the shoes of the family on screen. This fire incident targets all audiences young and old as anyone at any time can have a fire in their home. Disadvantages to realistic adverts, like the one shown below, are that they have to be made memorable so that the viewer will remember what to do in that same situation; trying to think up a good idea to get people’s attention can be hard. Another disadvantage is that these adverts aren’t fun or entertaining so the audience may not pay much attention to it, thus forgetting the advert and what to do in the same situation.
Non-realistic advertising is used to show something that cannot happen in real life although actors are using and effects are added in afterwards. The example I have used is the Go Compare advert that shows Gio Compario, the fictional on screen character, being blown up by a rocket propelled grenade. Without the use of effects after filming, this would not have been possible. An advantage to non-realistic advertising is that you are free to add effects and make the footage look as realistic or non-realistic as you please. Another advantage is that the non-realistic element to adverts gives them that edge of being more entertaining and the viewer will be more likely to remember the advert. Non-realistic adverts can range from being humorous to being futuristic; as long as the creators have professional editing software, then there aren’t really any limits as to what they can do. Saying that, a disadvantage to making non-realistic adverts is that to make them really good, you will need good editing software and good knowledge on how to manipulate videos, which will be money and time consuming. Also, like what has happened to the advert shown, people may take these adverts seriously and find them inappropriate and file complaints.
Tuesday, 11 September 2012
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