Polo Advertisement Feedback #2

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey , the world's leading questionnaire tool.

Advertisement Feedback

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey , the world's leading questionnaire tool.

Task Five – Pitch

Sources of Information

          Throughout the pre-production process, we decided to plan our advertisement in many different ways; this was to refine ideas and make sure that our advertisement at the final process would be the best it could be. We created documents such as sketches, storyboards, budgets, health and safety plan, feedback from audiences etc. 

          When we were first thinking up the idea/s of our advertisement, we created a spider diagram to brainstorm all ideas we had. We expanded on all points put down on the spider diagram and we finally had three ideas, one of which would be chosen for our advertisement. We then decided to sketch the three ideas so that we could visualise what the advertisement would look like. This was very useful as it allowed us to rule out any ideas we thought we could not take out in real life or may have been difficult to do. Looking at all three sketches, we weighed up the negatives/positives and finally chose one idea. 

          We then decided to create a storyboard  for the idea we were going to use so that we could visualise the advert for the first time. We brought this document with us when we were filming the advertisement so that we could refer back to it before each shot. This enabled us to stick to the plan and not go off track with the filming. If we did not take this document with us we would have forgot which part come next within the advertisement; as we had it with us we could look which part come next, the duration of the shot, the movement of the character/s, and the shot type. If we were to do this again, I feel we could have used more detail within the storyboard as it was very basic. With that said, it was still very useful to have and helped us film. 

          A shooting schedule was designed so that we could complete sections of the advertisement meeting certain deadlines. It enabled us to organise our time wisely and effectively complete the task. Upon creating the shooting schedule, we realised we would soon run into problems. First of all, we decided that there were several days which we could not film for certain reasons; the first reason was because of the weather. We were filming at a time when the weather was poor and it would rain on some days but we dry the next. We did not want to go to record in the rain as the equipment would become damaged and there would be risks regarding health and safety. Adding to this, the weather may have been good on some days although the cast/crew were unavailable due to plans already arranged. This means that filming was postponed to a later date to which all cast/crew were available to come. 

          We then, as we had our advertisement fully in mind, thought about the props/equipment needed. We did not want to spend too much money so we decided to create a budget. We thought about this document carefully as we did not want to spend over the budget, although we did not want to purchase cheap equipment that would not work either. As we thought about it, we realised we already had most equipment so did not need to spend a lot of money. We had a camera (Nikon p500), tripod, a costume, bow and arrow. We did, however, have to purchase 2 more costumes from an online store which were rather pricey (around £25 each), and a packet of Polos. We stuck to the budget we originally planned and this document was helpful in doing so. 
          We were finally ready to go film, although we decided to visit the location prior to filming to assess health and safety issues. This risk assessment document was helpful as it allowed our cast/crew to stay safe throughout filming. We decided to go when the weather was clear/dry as we were going to film in this same weather. As we could tell from the first look at the setting, there were branches on the floor which could have caused harm to the cast/crew. These branches were easy to move though and we cleared the floor very quickly. We took down other health and safety notes from the setting and we kept them in mind for when we would start filming. When we arrived at the setting on the day of recording, we again cleared the path in which we would record and made sure branches high above were also safe. This task was helpful as it allowed us to know wether we could use this setting or not use it if it was unsafe; if we did not check, we would have wasted a day as we would not have filmed in an unsafe environment. 
          As a group, we decided to create a call sheet to allow all cast/crew know what their role is within the creation of the advertisement. It also allowed all cast/crew to know what equipment they were responsible for and what the arrangement was in regards to meeting up. I feel that this document was useful as all cast/crew remembered what they were in charge of and all equipment/props were present at filming. This document was mainly used, though, to let the cast/crew know when and where they were meant to be on the day of filming. All people turned up on time and we could stick to the schedule and complete the advertisement in time. If people were late, it would mean that we would have to stay out longer and it would become darker; this would be a continuity error within the advertisement. 
          I feel that throughout the pre-production stage, the most useful documents we created were the sketches. I feel this way as they allowed us to visualise the advertisement and it enabled the actors to know what they were doing. If I was to just tell the actors what the advertisement was about, I feel that they would not have acted as well. We were able to refer back to this document throughout the planning/filming of the advertisement and it was very useful. As previously mentioned, I feel that we could have spent more time on these documents including more detail into them so that there were more frames to go by when filming. This would have enabled us to stick directly to a plan without having the improvise. We, also, could have had the dialogue written down so that the actors could have rehearsed the lines. With that said, it was a very useful document and was a big help throughout all parts of the planning/filming. 

          I feel that the least useful document, although still quite useful within planning this advertisement, was the call sheet. I feel this way as we did not really follow this document when going to film. We had it in mind, although some cast/crew did not have any props/equipment to bring where others had to bring a lot. This was due to some cast/crew already owning props/equipment so they brought their own items. We tried to stick to times on this document although it was altered to make sure everyone met up at the same time. I feel though that this document was still helpful, it was just not as important as other documents. I feel that we still would have had all equipment/props and met up at the same time without completing this document as there were only 3 of us. 

          To conclude, if I was to take out this project again I would spend more time on the pre-production process; I would include more detail into the overall documents so that each aspect of the filming was defined more clearly. This would mean no confusion at all, whereas we did have some with certain shots and meeting times. I feel that if I had spent more time on these documents, the overall quality of the advert would be increased as we could constantly refer to the documents which would have been thought about carefully. I am pleased, however, with the advertisement and I strongly feel that these pre-production documents helped throughout the task.

Editing Process

This first image shows a screen shot in which I imported my clips. As I was using digital, instead of analogue, I did not have to capture the video information; instead, I had to import the files from the camera which was plugged in via USB. 

My files were then uploaded to the computer and could be put into Final Cut Express. The file names were camera standard so they were a mix of numbers/letters, although I manually renamed these files so that it made it easier upon editing. These files are the ones that I will continue to edit and will be included within the final edit of the video.

My files were then imported into Final Cut Express. I created a 'bin' folder in which I put any 'leftover' clips that I was not going to use. This was because they were not good quality to be in the final edit (e.g. outtakes, bad shots etc).

Upon cropping a video, I chose the ''cut'' tool (shortcut = press B key) which enabled me to select a time within a video to crop it. The image below shows the timeline when this action is being taken out, as the grey line indicates where the clip will be cut. It cut the video and sound clip together so that they would both move at the same time.

To make some clips seem more fluent, I added in a transition so that it smoothly continued from one shot to the next. I took out this action by clicking on ''effects'' and then ''transitions''. I then selected an appropriate transition, in this case a cross dissolve, and applied it in between the title screen and first clip. This resulted in the shots flowing well together without there being a sudden change between frames.

The screenshot below shows how I layered my clips on the timeline to make it easier when editing. On the top line, I placed the clips that the antagonist was in. On the middle line, I placed clips where the protagonist was in shot. This was for ease of use and I found it very helpful. 

The audio needed to be mixed as I wanted to add music over the top of the video, although I also wanted the speech within some clips to be heard. I selected the tool which looks like a mountain (down in the bottom left) which brings up the volume level for each clip. This then enabled me to adjust the sound level accordingly, making the soundtrack quiet when I wanted the speech to be heard on the video.

As I wanted to add text at the end of the advertisement for the slogan, I selected 'Text' and then 'Basic Text' so that it was static. I then changed the colour/font/size etc and placed it upon the video clip.

 To upload music to my advertisement, I opened up iTunes and simply used the 'drag and drop' feature to import the clips into Final Cut Express. I could then put the songs onto the timeline > change the length > render them. 

Upon saving the final edit of my advertisement, I selected 'File' and then 'Print to Video'. This then brought up the screen shown below and I was able to change the specification to my needs. 

After the process above was taken out, the video started to print to the video. I had to make sure that all clips were rendered and shots were continuous before starting the save my advertisement. 

Advertisement

Production

          Before we set off, we made sure that we had all of the correct equipment by looking at a checklist we previously wrote out. We had all of the appropriate equipment to film so we did not need to borrow anything from another source (e.g. signing out a camera or tripod from school). We used a Nikon P500 to film our advertisement with it filming in 1080p HD. I made sure that this camera was fully charged before setting off, with a second battery also fully charged at hand incase the first battery drained of charge. A standard tripod was also used with this camera, resulting in very steady shots. We did not have an external microphone as the camera does not support this accessory. We did, however, use the internal microphone which worked well as we didn't have much speech within the advertisement. Also, we had our costumes with us which we previously bought from an online store. We had our recording equipment and costumes in a bag so that we could easily set up when we arrived at our designated spot for the advertisement.

                      We left at 11am to record in the forest as it allowed us to record all day without it getting dark half way through recording; the sun was out throughout recording and the lighting, in the final edit of the advertisement, looks very consistent. When we arrived at the location, we set up in a spot that was out of the way, although still in the sun, so that passers by did not interfere with shooting and so that the shots weren't too dark. To make sure that the lighting was correct I took some test shots and adjusted the camera accordingly. We then put on our costumes and put our bags in a place that we could see at all times for safety, although they could not be seen in the frame of the camera. When we felt we were ready to begin recording, we run through what we were going to do and tried to stick to this plan. We had our story board with us at the filming so that we could refer back to it when we needed to. As we were recording with a digital camera instead of an analogue camera, we were able to watch back clips at points when we felt we needed to which ensured the best outcome for our advertisement.

           Before each shot we walked through what we were going to do so that we could get it right first time. When I was behind the camera, I had to make sure I positioned actors in a space so that they did not walk out of the frame; this is a hard task as they cannot see what is on screen so you have to try your best to explain the perimeters of the area in which they can stand. Also, I made sure not to brake the 180 degree rule whilst behind the camera and made sure that the characters stayed on the correct side of the frame, as it would be confusing for the audience. At one point in the advertisement I decided to pull the focus on the camera whilst an actor walked past in the background; this was a hard task as we had to time it well so that the actor walked past as the foreground blurred and the background come into focus. I feel that the actors were very easy to instruct and the advertisement looks very well performed in the final edit.
           

          As for health and safety, we tried to reduce the risk of anyone getting injured throughout the recording process by changing various factors; as one of the actors was going to be running through the forest, we made sure that the path on the ground that he was going to take was free from branches (and other dangerous materials e.g. glass, cans, metal etc.). The actor could then run through this area without being hurt in the process. Also, we made sure that the arrows being fired had a blunt end and everyone was behind the actor when firing any arrows. We recorded in a way that gave the illusion that the actor was firing the arrow at a second actor, although no one was in any real danger. Finally, we made sure not to leave any materials (metal, plastic etc.) in the sun as they would become very hot and would cause pain to anyone that touches them. No one was harmed throughout shooting so I feel we took out the task of organising health and safety very well.