Evaluation
For my advertising unit I had to pre-produce, produce and post produce a thirty second advert that would be suitable for television and would conform to the Advertising Standards Agency. This was a project that was undertaken in roughly about three weeks.
One of the most important processes that I undertook for my pre-production work was assessing the location that I was going to shoot in. My plan was always that I wanted to film in a forest, so using my geographical knowledge I chose a location I knew well in Billericay. On arrival of my chosen forest/meadow location, I set up my camera underneath the trees so that I could correctly set my ISO levels, aperture ad shutter speed so that they would capture the most light and detail possible, while not getting an over exposed or dark picture. I got all the correct settings for underneath trees where light is restricted so that when it came to my actual shoot, I would not need to play around to get my settings. I did my assessment for the location in the day, when the sun had risen and I had the most possible natural light available. Doing a recce in the day was also useful because it helped me to recreate the standards I wanted to shoot in.
Another really important factor of pre-production that I had to undergo was compiling audience research in a focus group. I did this via the social networking site Facebook. I pitched my three ideas. This helped me to make a decision on which idea I would go with. Controversially I chose the least favourite of the three, although the least favourite did have supporters, it was less in favour as opposed to the other two. The reason I chose the least popular idea, which was an advert for Wrigley's Extra was because I felt creatively it was the best for me and I felt I could really engage with the Wrigley's one the most, whereas the other two ideas were the safer of the two and they didn't necessarily stand out. This idea was a horror genre one and the narrative has a frightening moment to it, so there was a risk with this advert idea that it could frighten children, as I want to build up tension when the boy is running. However I decided that I would counteract the fear with a comic twist at the end, involving chewing gum and a funny line of dialogue. This is because I do not want to frighten or put children at a nervous disposition so a comic twist would lighten the overall tone for the advert. The way that I tackled this so that it would be fit for purpose is that during post-production I made sure that none of the sound was clipped and that I kept the loud noises and sinister sounds as a quiet minimum.
In terms of advertising techniques, I feel like I used the right skills to try and accomplish a successful promotion. I did this by applying the glittering generalities technique, this is where you confuse the audience with enigmas so that they do not know what is being advertised. I did this by not showing what my product was until the very end. I am happy I made this decision because it keeps the audiences engaged and the fast paced horror element adds some adrenaline and mystery to the advert. An aim I was originally going for, as I wanted to make my advert original and not conform to conventional stereotypes. The bandwagon effect was another technique I was considering for the advert and is another way I could have sold the product. However I felt that if I applied this technique, there is this danger of getting rid of the mysterious element and it could cheapen the overall idea. This was something I wanted to avoid at all costs, so to strive for complete professionalism. Something I feel I accomplished well with my end product and in summary I feel I did justice to all my original planning.
One of the most important processes that I undertook for my pre-production work was assessing the location that I was going to shoot in. My plan was always that I wanted to film in a forest, so using my geographical knowledge I chose a location I knew well in Billericay. On arrival of my chosen forest/meadow location, I set up my camera underneath the trees so that I could correctly set my ISO levels, aperture ad shutter speed so that they would capture the most light and detail possible, while not getting an over exposed or dark picture. I got all the correct settings for underneath trees where light is restricted so that when it came to my actual shoot, I would not need to play around to get my settings. I did my assessment for the location in the day, when the sun had risen and I had the most possible natural light available. Doing a recce in the day was also useful because it helped me to recreate the standards I wanted to shoot in.
Another really important factor of pre-production that I had to undergo was compiling audience research in a focus group. I did this via the social networking site Facebook. I pitched my three ideas. This helped me to make a decision on which idea I would go with. Controversially I chose the least favourite of the three, although the least favourite did have supporters, it was less in favour as opposed to the other two. The reason I chose the least popular idea, which was an advert for Wrigley's Extra was because I felt creatively it was the best for me and I felt I could really engage with the Wrigley's one the most, whereas the other two ideas were the safer of the two and they didn't necessarily stand out. This idea was a horror genre one and the narrative has a frightening moment to it, so there was a risk with this advert idea that it could frighten children, as I want to build up tension when the boy is running. However I decided that I would counteract the fear with a comic twist at the end, involving chewing gum and a funny line of dialogue. This is because I do not want to frighten or put children at a nervous disposition so a comic twist would lighten the overall tone for the advert. The way that I tackled this so that it would be fit for purpose is that during post-production I made sure that none of the sound was clipped and that I kept the loud noises and sinister sounds as a quiet minimum.
In terms of advertising techniques, I feel like I used the right skills to try and accomplish a successful promotion. I did this by applying the glittering generalities technique, this is where you confuse the audience with enigmas so that they do not know what is being advertised. I did this by not showing what my product was until the very end. I am happy I made this decision because it keeps the audiences engaged and the fast paced horror element adds some adrenaline and mystery to the advert. An aim I was originally going for, as I wanted to make my advert original and not conform to conventional stereotypes. The bandwagon effect was another technique I was considering for the advert and is another way I could have sold the product. However I felt that if I applied this technique, there is this danger of getting rid of the mysterious element and it could cheapen the overall idea. This was something I wanted to avoid at all costs, so to strive for complete professionalism. Something I feel I accomplished well with my end product and in summary I feel I did justice to all my original planning.
