Media assessment dirt sheet 31/10/17

Advert evaluation

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1. What was the task you were given and who was your target audience? As the audience wasn't typical of the product how did you manage to sell it? What was the name of your brand?

We were given the task to remake an advert for the target audience of a middle aged city worker female, we managed to sell the product in the advert by setting it in a conference meeting which is a clear connotation of a business environment which instantly relates to a city worker, we also designed the product to come in a convenient tube that is easy to store and use on the go, as city workers typically live a busy lifestyle. The name of our brand was espresso burst.

2. Who did you work with and how did you divide the research, planning, filming and responsibilities?

I worked with Bekka, Billy, Aimee and Hannah and we divided the responsibilities by having Hannah act in the advert, help edit and do the research of the three adverts, Aimee filmed the advert and also helped design the packaging for the product as well as draw the scenes on the storyboard, Bekka also was an actor in the advert, helped edit and did the shooting schedule, Billy also acted in the advert and was the main editor for the advert and I also was an actor in the advert, helped edit and did the prop list.

3. How did you plan your sequence?

We planned our video by preparing first off doing a storyboard to get a rough idea of what scenes we wanted to include and what order we would want them in, then after that we applied it a shooting schedule and decided to film the videos in an order that would save us time as we only had one hour booked in the conference room to video our advert and new we had to get the filming done quickly to a high standard. After we had the filming done we then edited the clips and re arranged them into the order we felt was best for the advert and made it as cohesive as possible getting the message and story line across.

4. What research and planning did you undertake?

When planning the advert we researched and drew inspiration from other adverts like the recent haribo sweets advert that is also set in a business environment and this is where we got the idea to set our advert in a conference room with the presentation not going very well up until the moment where the main character who is our target audience a female city worker, takes the sweet and then has a successful life changing presentation, due to taking the coffee flavoured sweet which gives tired, city workers the burst of energy they need to be more successful.We planned our advert by using a storyboard, shooting list and schedule which was very useful as we only had an hour to film in the conference room and therefore had to get it filmed in a short space of time and therefore filmed the scenes in a different order to the advert to save time.

5. What was your initial feedback? What did others say about your production? How successful was your sequence?

Overall our advert was fairly successful in terms of the sequence peoples reaction as they made the connection between the conference room and the fact a meeting was being held and that the protagonist was late and generally having a bad day/poor presentation due to the people who attended the meeting in the adverts general reaction up until the sweet was eaten when the advert went from black and white into colour, the music was upbeat and the audience began clapping and shaking hands with the woman who delivered the presentation.

6. Identify what went well and how in hindsight you would change/improve it?

Overall I think the advert went really well as we managed to get all the filming done in a short space of time however I think if would've been able to get two hours in the conference room we would've been able to have more scenes to choose from for the advert and re take some that we had to cut. Furthermore I would also try to include more actors to fill up the empty space at the conference room to emphasize the awkward and happy atmosphere and emotions we needed in the advert to allow the audience to understand the purpose of our product.

However some things that did go well was the overall storyline to our advert as we all had the same vision and therefore were easily able to create a storyboard, shooting schedule and edit the advert which also went really well as we reflected the emotions in the scene through the colour scheme by setting half the advert in colour and the other half in black and white to reflect the woman's struggle before taking the sweet and her success afterwards. The song choice for our advert also accurately matched the advert as we used 'I will survive' by Gloria Gaynor which emphasized the woman's struggle alongside the black and white filter and the clock ticking sound effect to emphasize her lateness, the chorus of the song also worked well with the woman's success after taking the sweet as the song becomes upbeat and adds a positive mood to the advert which is also aided by the advert coming back in colour.

7. What have you learnt from completing this task?

I have learnt that planning is essential to any media project as it helps you get the overall task done a lot quicker and smoother compared to when you don't plan as people in the group get confused and don't know whats going on, I think the reason our advert was as successful as it was in terms of timing and filming was due to the planning e.g. the shooting schedule, prop list and storyboard.

8. Looking ahead, how will this learning be significant in future productions?

I think this will be useful in future productions and help me as well as the others in the group to make sure the plan is perfect and that all group members know whats going on and what they need to do, so that the project comes out the way that is intended and finished, as poor planning could lead to poor timing and therefore the task not getting completed or appear rushed and poorer quality in certain areas and dragged out in other areas.

Espresso Burst

Practice footage

Overall I had a positive editing experience for my first attempt, however next time I would try to include more transition frames between scenes and edit the sound so that it fades in at the start of the video and fades out at the end. However I think I did a good job on matching the animals expressions to Jay-z's voice in attempt to mimic him and appear as if they are singing along to the song. I also chose to use this song with some scenic videos of the city as I felt it matched the overall theme of Jay-Z's song which was called 'heart of the city'.

Advert Research - Espresso

Brand name - Espresso
Slogan - 'Good ideas start with great coffee'
USP - A chewy coffee sweet that's convenient and easy to carry around for business people who are on the go.

Roles

Production assistant - Billy
Editor - Hannah, Billy, Bekka, Molly
Actors - Billy, Hannah, Bekka, Molly
Camera - Aimee
Blogger - Molly
Creative Design - Aimee

Plan

Props - The product (maltesers, decorated packaging) , handbag, notebooks, laptops.
Costume - Suits e.g. skirts/trousers, blazer/smart jacket, lanyard.
Cast -
Office workers - Hannah, Billy, Aimee.
Businesswoman - Molly.
Music - 'I will survive' Gloria Gaynor

A-level Media: Analysis of Similar Adverts

A-level Media: Analysis of Similar Adverts: All 3 of these adverts have one commonality. This is that the sweets all have a physical effect on people. In the 'MAOAM' advert, ...

Film Poster Analysis

Denotations

From the film poster we can see...

• The face of a young female who is probably the protagonist, with a filter overlay on top, with streaks of blue and orange resembling fire. 
• The eyes of the woman appear to be changing colour from blue to brown and her overall expression looks tense and serious, as she focuses on something the camera doesn't show.
• The poster advertises a new film coming out that is called 'Lucy' who is shown on the poster.
• the phrase 'evolve 100%' suggests the film is a thriller/action film.
• The colour scheme of the overlay which is blue and orange represents the elements fire and water.

Connotations

From the denotations we can interpret...

• The water and fire which are two contrasting elements used on the poster portray the idea of good vs evil, with water taking the form of the good and fire taking the form of evil, highlighting the film is an action film. The use of the two colours also relate to the colour of the protagonists eyes which appear to be changing colour from blue to brown which closely resembles the two colours on the overlay filter which gives away the plot to the film suggesting that she starts as the good character, but then becomes influenced by the bad and morphes into an evil character, which also creates mystery for the viewer of the poster, as the reason why this happens is unknown.
• The use of the phrase 'evolve 100%' relates to the colour changing eyes and filter as it suggests that the character in the poster changes person or increases strength as they 'evolve' and become more powerful suggesting they become evil. Alongside the use of the harsh bright white writing and alarming fully capitalized font used this creates a sense of urgency  and danger giving us an insight to the fact that this is an action film possibly set in the future as the idea of evolving means becoming more advanced and superior. 
• The use of having the character focus on something off camera suggests that she is looking into the eyes of her enemy or something that could pose to be a potential threat to her, as her serious and tense facial expression portrays anger as well as nervousness.

Industry - Newspaper presentation

The feedback for the presentation suggested that we needed to include more on the general audience that reads newspapers and how different newspapers target them for example the fact that newspapers have now created an online presence to target younger viewers due to the decline in printed papers, however which is still read by more traditional older generations.

Media collage representation

Theorists

Theorists Relating To Audience

Cultivation Theory - George Gerbner

The idea that exposure to repeating ideas and representations over long periods of time can influence the way the audience views and perceives the world around them, which can lead to enforcing ideas of moral panic etc.
The idea that cultivation creates mainstream values (dominant ideologies).

Albert Bandura - Media Effects

• The idea that media can implant ideas in the mind of the audience indirectly.
• Idea audiences acquire attitudes, emotional responses and new styles of conduct through modelling.
• Idea that media representations of transgressive behaviour, such as violence for physical aggression, can lead audience members to imitate those forms of behaviour, e.g the violent behaviour portrayed in video games like call of duty. 

Stuart Hall - Reception Theory

Cultural theorist Stuart Hall developed a theory called Reception theory that suggests audiences have different reactions to media texts like films, documentaries, newspapers and even images. These two readings are...

Preferred Reading - How the creator intended the media to be viewed by the audience.
Oppositional Reading - Where the intended meaning is completely opposed by the reader, e.g. a piece of media that might be seen as sexist or racist etc.
Negotiated Reading - A compromise between the preferred and oppositional readings, the audience understands and agrees with the text, but disagrees with other areas and has their own views on it which opposes what the creator intended.

Different viewers all have different readings of media texts and Hall believed this was based on everyone's different experiences and beliefs, which helps shape our viewpoint on different topics.

Hypodermic Syringe Model

The hypodermic syringe approach to media effects believes that there is a direct correlation between violence and anti social behaviour portrayed in films, video games, on television and in rap music. The model suggests that children and teenagers are vulnerable to media content because they are still in the early stages of socialization and are therefore very impressionable and likely to imitate what they see in the media.

Theorists Relating To Language

Steve Neale - Genre Repetition And Difference

• "Genres are instances of repetition and difference"
• "Difference is absolutely essential to the economy of genre"

Steve Neale is saying that a film and it's genre are defined by two things:

• How much it conforms with a genre's stereotypes and conventions. He says that a film must conform to these conventions enough that it can still qualify and be identified as a film of that genre.
• How much a film undermines the genre's stereotypes and conventions.

Roland Barthes - Semiotics (Denotation & Connotation)

Audience - profiling

Club advert remake evaluation

Analysis of Gilette

Gilette Advert

In the Gillette advert the constant idea of success and achievement is repeated through the use of the slogan “the best a man can get” which gives the preferred reading to the audience that a man needs to have this particular product because it is the best compared to other substitutes. Furthermore, the narrative and plot of the advert which shows a man winning a football game, a man at an office job, and picking up a baby as well as bonding with his son is really versatile and therefore allows Gillette to appeal to a wider audience and different age groups of boys and men whilst also emphasizing the idea of success and winning.

The Gillette advert represents the 'all American guy' stereotype as he is able to hold a successful office job, have a great relationship with his son and is athletic by winning his football game, the oppositional reading to this advert is that the advert is very sexist towards men as they are expected to be good at sports, have a steady successful job, look after his family and be the typical 'breadwinner'.

the advert tries to appeal to all aspects of a male audience, but however does disregard homosexual and other members of the LGBT community that would use their product, and would respond to this advert by feeling as if they weren't masculine or a real 'man' as the advert suggests in the slogan. On the other hand the advert does appeal to younger athletic men who are into sports, men in office jobs and who are more conservative as well as men who have families and sons whom they can recommend the product to.

George Gerbners cultivation theory relates well to this advert as it shows how when ideas of masculinity are constantly repeated and seen by an audience it does influence how we view the world around us for example it creates stereotypes, much like the stereotype which is displayed in the advert of masculinity and real 'men'.
Furthermore Stuart Halls reception theory also ties in really well with this advert as a oppositional or preferred reading can be drawn after watching it, as the preferred shows how Gillette is the best and is used by all successful men and that is why the male man in the audience needs this product. Although the oppositional reading shows how the advert dismisses men of different sexualities and identities in society today as they suggest that they are not real 'men' and worthy of the product as they don't fit into any of these typical masculine stereotypes.

 

Dr Cages task in 3 forms

Ethnicity is commonly stereotyped in the media, for example people of an Asian descent are commonly stereotyped in films as misfits who are incredibly smart, compared to the all American popular girl who is white, blonde haired and blue eyed.

This advert for pop chips is very racist and stereotypical of Indian people, as it suggests that all Indian's typically wear the traditional sari, have a long haircut, moustache and wear elaborate jewellery and  also like Bombay spiced foods e.g. curry. Furthermore the use of the word 'Bombay' is very racist because they have used an image of a stereotypical Indian man and then nicknamed / ridiculed him and the rest of his culture that he is representing.

The magazine cover for vogue featuring Lebron James, also uses the old fashioned stereotype that black people are animalistic brutes, or monkeys as the cover resembles a piece of  hate propaganda that was against immigration and anti black. The way that vogue got Lebron James to pose in the cover resembles the gorilla in the propaganda, which portrays aggressive, barbaric behaviour which emphasizes the racist idea of black people being monkeys due to their origin.

The music video for Avril Lavignes song 'hello kitty' also presents stereotypes of Chinese women and their culture, as in one scene in the music video as shown above she uses Chinese backing dancers who all have the same outfits, makeup and hairstyles suggesting the stereotype that all Chinese people look the same. Furthermore the music video also stereotypes Chinese culture due to the hello kitty reference which portrays the style of 'kawaii' suggesting all Chinese women dress and behave in a young, doll like way.

This advert is a piece of counter typical media that plays on the idea that all Asian people are smart and genius's as it shows a young child holding his test results showing he was awarded with an 'F', which defies the common racial stereotype and shows everyone is the same and everyone gets bad grades, no matter what your ethnicity.