Post 20: Closing Post

Dear Moderator

Thank you for looking at my blog. To find my research and planning evidence, click on the label called AS Research and Planning, which is on the top right of my blog. I hope you enjoy looking at my work.

Thank you.

Kush 3238

This blog is now closed.

Post 19: My Finished Adverts

I am very proud with my finished adverts. While not perfect, I am very satisfied with the end result after all the effort  I put into creating them both and I believe they fit perfectly with the food delivery advert conventions.

Though this was a long and difficult project, I am very happy i pushed through and completed the task and am proud of the outcome.

Post 18: My Target Audience Feedback

I had 2 groups of 3 watch my advert together, represent my target audience. This enabled me to find certain aspects of my adverts that were successful, and which weren't.

The first group of three was made up of my friends (two aged seventeen and one aged sixteen) that represented the lower half  of the target audience. The second group was made up of my older cousins (one was 20, one another was 22 and the last was 23) who would represent the top half. Of these six audience member three were female. All of the viewers enjoyed the adverts and thought that they would  use the service, so overall it was successful. Also both groups thought that the music while it fit, it had something  that just 'didn't seem right' to them However after the 22 year old noticed that while one was based off of a Channel 4 show whilst the other wasn't all in that group realised that that left a gap in synergy between my two adverts. The younger group weren't sure straight away in the first advert of what the other two were doing, realising after they were supposed to be tired.

This feedback is useful in helping my future understanding and planning for an advert, one thing being to focus a bit more  on choosing a music track.

Post 17: My Adverts Review

After I finished editing my adverts, they were reviewed by my A level teacher and class. This allowed multiple new perspective on the adverts in order to find issues I may have missed.

Simple issues that I missed were spotted and fixed; including some small grading issues that couldn't be spotted on the monitor, and a change is logo effect to make the transition smoother. This resulted in a final advert of higher quality than the one put up for review.

Post 16: My Rough Cut

I made a rough cut in order to find out any errors I had made in the planning process. I would be able to find if any shots did not fit in with the style of the advert, didn't properly tell the story, or if there were any continuity problems.

This was greatly useful to me as I was able to re-plan my adverts around any mistakes I made in the initial planning process and that there were just some things to change. One being a change in main actor for the second advert, another being multiple grading issues, especially in the first one, in order to perfect the consistency of the shots. The first one was harder due to the outdoor lighting and the white tent creating areas of  high or low key lighting.. This resulted in my final finished ads being of much greater quality than the rough cut.

Post 15: My Shoot-Board

I did this in order to plan what shots I would do, in order to make the shooting process easier. I did it by writing up the documents digitally, using information from my story board and time line, and bringing them with me on my shoots.

First Shoot:
Advert 1

Advert 2

Second Shoot:
Advert 1

Advert 2

The shoot board made the shooting much easier, due to ordering the shots in order of convenience and location, not by chronological order. When it came to editing, this was a useful document due to the existence of the last two columns, that allowed me to record the number of takes and which would be best during the shoot, leading to a faster shot naming and choosing process.

Post 14: My Kit List

This was made both to ensure the camera would be safe, and also to make sure that I had all the necessary parts for the camera in order to make a good quality video.

The kit release is important so that we know who is accountable if there is an issue, it also told us what rules needed to be followed beyond just don't break it.

Post 13: My Time-Plan, Crew and Cast List

I created a time plan and crew list in order to be more organised when it came to shooting. If an actor wasn't free at a chosen time, I wouldn't be able to shoot the required scenes, therefore it is essential to plan this out. I asked all of my actors if they were all free at specific times. If they weren't, I would find a new time that would appeal to everyone or change the actors accordingly.

This planning was necessary to my project as I would not have to chase up actors in the middle of the filming process, and would give me a sense of urgency when filming to complete shots in time, resulting in me running out of filming time. 

Post 12: My Location Reccie, Risk Assessment and Location Permissions

My location reccie was important in order to make the shoot safe. I needed to plan for any dangers in the location to be aware written out in the risk assessment.  The location permissions were necessary in order to be able to physically shoot in the areas planned.

Bake Off: Grandparents Garden

There is a lot of space in the garden so finding different shot types and angles shouldn't be a problem. However I can't control natural light so I will have to be aware of the changes so that I can film shots with consistent lighting.

The Simpsons: Kitchen

Due to the large space the table takes up, finding different shot angles will be difficult, however the corners of the room have the most space and can film the whole set so this isn't an issue.

Permissions:

Risk Assessment:

These 3 steps were particularly useful to me moving forward as I was able to check the safety and accessibility of my preferred locations. After I knew these issues were no longer a problem I was able to continue planning the specifics of the shoot around the settings.

Post 11: My Practice Shoot/Edit

It was important to shoot a test advert in order to find any errors that may have been present in the initial planning process, whether that is shot times or if the sequence will tell story. I filmed and edited it on my phone in the space of a weekend.

This was very useful to my project as not including general filming, there were numerous errors including the unprepared props, and set spacing, which won't be an issue in the actual tent set when it is prepared. As well as some timing difficulties in the first advert, which allowed me to go back to my timeline and rearrange the allocated timings for shots and the shot positions themselves.

Post 10: My Advert Storyboards

I created the storyboard by physically drawing the shots on post it notes and placing on an A3 sheet of paper, ass shown bellow. I did this in order to plan out the shots and shot types I needed and any camera movement. Also the storyboard is very important for visually creating the story so I can look at these key shots and see if they work well together and form a flowing narrative.

This process was essential as it allowed me to put my ideas onto paper, and visually see if firstly it makes sense and secondly that everything is in order, and I used this process to perfect my idea. This was also very useful for shoot boarding, as I was able to create the boards in a non chronological order, one based on similar shots, based on the angle or position, and easily determine which of the shots this would be by looking at the storyboard.

Post 9: My Advert Timelines

I created a timeline as a step in my planning to help make the rest of the project smoother and did it as a physical copy on paper as shown below.

This was very useful as it helped me keep the trailer at 30 seconds, also making it easier to decide how many shots I need, both for filming, and the next planning stage of story-boarding. As well as to plan out how long I would make each shot, so that when filming it would be easier to take the shots based on time.

Post 8: My Initial Proposal

I did this in order to have a well written concept and general chronological order for my trailers, making the process of storyboards, timelines and shoot boards much easier. Also allowing me to plan a concept that would be in line with the brief

Proposal
I have planned for 2, 30 second adverts for the food delivery service ‘Your Food’. Both of my adverts pay tribute to  popular channel 4 shows, that the audience would easily recognise, The Great British Bake Off and The Simpsons.

Firsty the Bake Off advert. It begins in a bake off like setting, where the three finalists are preparing their dishes. One of them accidentally messes up. Initially distraught, the finalist suddenly has an idea. Pulling out their phone, they open the ‘Your Food’ app and order their dish. The dish arrives and the finalist uses it to succeed in placing first, alongside the slogan ‘Your Food is your solution’. Followed by the title card.

The second advert, The Simpsons. The advert is set inside a house. Students are coming home from a party, when two who are more active decide to order food while the rest are basically asleep. When the food comes, the sleeping two realise how hungry they are and are glad to receive food from the others.The title card is shown and then the screen switches to another coach with people dressed up as the Simpsons, on their coach, with their ‘Your Food’ delivery. And one says ‘The neighbours are so loud.’

Through discussion with my classmates and teacher, I changed many things in the project. The first advert was completely changed from another in door advert, to the outdoor bake off concept, which also created the inter textual links shown through the advert that would appeal to the target audience on channel 4, the broadcaster defined by the brief. This show also has a wide audience, so I am able to appeal to the older half of the 16 - 25 specified audience, that is less prevalent in the other advert; which focuses  more  on the younger half.

This proved to be very helpful in the rest of the planning stage of my project, as with the concept already decided, the specific shots and orders were easier to order and visualise.

Post 7: Research into Existing TV Commercials in Other Forms (e.g. Online, Print, Billboard)

I researched this in order to learn about other methods of advertising. Specifically looking for ideas about slogans and branding, as well as anchoring these concepts across advertising campaigns (in terms of how effective ones are effective). Many of these other forms don't involve moving images, so researching these will help educate me on how to appeal to the audience with just one image.

Just Eat: In this print advert, the slogan ’The food you really want is just tap away' is present in large letters, helping portray an important aspect of the Just Eat brand; the ease of use of the app, and how quick the speed of delivery is. An average seeming actor is used in the focal image which allows the audience to see that Just Eat caters too anyone. The colourful yet simple background, is very appealing, and creates positive associations with the brand while also causing the ad to stand out more and catch the eye.








This was useful to me as while it I am not doing a print advert, it helped me consider how to convey brand values in a single image rather than a full advert.

Post 6: Research into Existing TV Commercials (Other Genres)

I researched this in order to find general TV advert techniques that can be used to appeal to the audience comparing these against the food delivery service adverts in order to find similarities in ways to representing and branding as well as how to use inter textual links. I also looked at adverts that were seen as very memorable in order to learn how adverts can be memorable and persuasive.

M&S
Spend it well 2017
Makes the food seem extremely delicious through close up shots and sound effects as well linking these with beautiful scenery. This makes the viewer hungry, and of course they look straight ahead and see they can get food from M&S.








Cadbury
Gorilla
The advert is very strange, however it is extremely memorable. Through a combination of the great music (in the air tonight) as well as the weird situation of a gorilla drumming, the advert is still widely known and remembered.









I learnt from this research that it important to have something in my trailers that was memorable, and that the audience would be caught by. This could be like the close up food, or a weird gorilla. I especially understood that intertexuality was important, as a key part of the Cadbury advert is the well known music. Therefore I chose to use an intertextual link to The Great British Bake Off, a well known show relevant to the Channel 4 audience.

Post 5: Research into Existing TV Commercials for Take-away Food Delivery Services

I researched this in order to know the conventions of the existing market, and to understand different USPs and how these are portrayed. By researching existing services which are successful, and studying their conventions, it will make it clearer what is needed to create a successful brand. Also to discover a gap in the market that can be used as an idea for my delivery service.

Just eat
The song advert campaign: Balti rock, Man band, Madras.
The concept in all of this creates a brand image of associating something as ordinary as ordering food with something huge and exiting like an event. This is exaggerated through the big change from ordinary setting to the bright, musical and in your face scene. Suddenly breaking into a song after ordering Just eat makes the brand seem empowering.





Deliveroo
Eat more amazing
Shows the food moving around, as if it comes to you on its own. Links to the tagline of 'amazing food delivered' in that the food is so amazing it moves on its own. The advert also shows some of the restaurants it delivers from in the background. Together these two factors support the brand value of focusing on the food and its quality.






Grub hub
Everywhere
Advert follows the delivery driver finding his way to the multiple locations. The brand value of always getting your food to you, and stressing the effectiveness of their drivers rather than the food (opposite focus to Deliveroo). This is shown in multiple ways, one being how he delivers to multiple different houses in different weather and time of day, another being how he actively walks around the busy streets looking for the house, stressing the eagerness and effort that the drivers have to deliver your food.




I learnt from these adverts that it is important to focus on an aspect, for example the food or driver. This will help present the brand values and allow the audience to associate that aspect with my product. I chose to use situations, and that Your Food will help in any situation.

Post 4: The Target Audience (Males and females aged 16-25)

I researched this in order to know what the audience wants and therefore what ideas would be good  to include in the adverts, and to discover their current thoughts on existing take away food delivery services, whether they use them and which they prefer.

Our target audience is unisex people of age 16-25 years old. I did research into the different kinds of people and their opinions on food delivery services. My research was made through a group, made up of a person of each gender for each age, therefore a total of 18 people, the questions above. Most people in this category, do not have a large income, and therefore cannot spend a lot. Due to this when looking for a food delivery service they will be looking for something cheap. Therefore, when it comes to take-away food delivery services, the cost is a very important factor. In this category, those who are on the latter end (25), begin to be looking into food that is better quality and healthier, and might choose their main food delivery service depending on this. Even though this target audience will have varying amounts of free time, when they think of the industry, they instantly think about the ease and speed of the service.  If the service has a difficulty of use or is too slow, they will tend to move onto another method of procuring food. Therefore I can conclude that for my own brand it is a necessity to advertise the high speed of the order, and the extreme ease of use of it. Also, many of them like to be able to get their food anywhere, whether they're at their own homes, at work or at a park e.t.c. and so I believe it is key to advertise the idea of my service being able to delivery in any situation.

This research helped me a great deal in finding a unique selling point for my brand, as I knew what the most important aspects were for the target audience concerning take-away food delivery services, namely, speed, ease and situation.

Post 3: The ASA BCAP Code

I researched this in order to understand what i could and couldn't do or present in the product, to avoid any offence. And prevent having to change anything post production due to this.

Rules that I found relevant to my project...
It has to be recognized as an advert.

Shouldn’t be harmful or offensive, physical or mental, especially children under 18. E.g. no safety hazards, efforts to stop bullying

Have to be socially responsible when representing cars

No distressing images, sensitive people are watching

It can’t be misleading

Can’t hide important info

Shouldn’t make claims they can’t evidence e.g health claims

Shouldn’t encourage or condone poor nutritional habits

shouldn’t condone/encourage excessive consumption of food.

Can’t advertise alcohol to under 18

Those above rules have been very useful for me as I have a much clearer view on what is allowed, and this has given me a simple checklist of what to make sure any ideas I have follow.

Post 2: Channel 4

I researched this post in order to understand the shows on the channel, the scheduling that suits the target audience and the type of ads shown to the audience. This allowed me to understand the brand values and their audiences and methods to appeal to them, especially how they reach the youth audiences and which channels are best for this, in order to construct my adverts around the channel.

What I learnt included...

Channel 4's remit:

1. shine light on stories not told elsewhere

2. to innovate and take creative risks

3. Inspire change in the way we lead our lives

4. Stand up for diversity across the UK

Regulator:
Ofcom

Shows:
large variety of shows, with many intended to engage a predominantly younger audience, which is a larger cross over with our audience.
The Simpsons, Hunted
The Great British Bake off broadcast in the 7pm to 9pm weekday prime time slot. Gaining a regular 10 million viewers. I will place my adverts here as it is one of the largest shows on the channel and is something that has a large target audience also crossing over with mine. Not only for the show, but also the slot is the prime weekday time, which is very useful as my audience has a large difference is down time, and the prime time slot is the most likely time they will watch television, therefore ensuring my adverts have a large reach.
Adverts screened around these times tend to have an alternative feel, and are generally innovate and take risks, following on from the Channel 4 remit.
I will schedule my adverts around that prime time spot, linking to Bake off as well.

This research was very useful as it allowed me to come up with ideas for my advert that link to channel 4, as well as find appropriate times to place them.

Post 1: Existing Take-away Food Delivery Services/Industry

I researched this in order to know the conventions of the market, to know how USPs are conveyed and to understand brand values. I did this by looking at different food delivery services and finding their unique selling points.

What I learnt included...

Services:
Just eat, Deliveroo, Uber Eats

Sources:
Each services websites and apps.

Method:
Enter your postcode, choose your restaurant and food, then you have it delivered then pay (or vice versa), then can leave a review. The easy steps on the app make food delivery fast interactive and appealing. Just the fact that you can order so quickly and easily is appealing.

USPs:
Just Eat - vast variety of choice (however there is controversy over selling from low hygiene rated shops

Deliveroo - Good food (high quality)

Uber Eats - Able to track the driver and know exactly how long the food will take. Some enjoy watching the progress of the car.

This research has allowed me to follow the general conventions of the market making the brand image for Your Food convincing, with the ease of order and delivery times. This also allowed me to start thinking of and planning out an effective USP for the brand.

The Big Issue Covershoot

WWW: The colour scheme is good, as the palette matches between the yellow, brown and green.
The sizing of the various aspects fit well and the right things stand out.

EBI: The text appearance seems too basic. Some warping or colour difference to make it synergistic with the background would improve  it a lot; especially in the top left corner, where the black just ends up blending away.

Continuity task 2 Evaluation

1. What was your role in the task and what did you actually do?
I acted in almost all shots and helped prepare the script.

2. As a group, what factors did you take into account when planning(a), filming(b) and editing(c)?
a) When planning we created a storyboard and a script in order to explain our ideas and form an image that everyone in the group understood. This was done in the room of the videos setting, allowing us to see and plan our angles and proportions correctly.

b) When filming we considered how to properly position our shots. We involved  a face to face conversations, and therefore had to abide by the 180 degree line. Also we filmed the conversation completely multiple times without cutting and starting for every line, in order to maintain consistency in the video.

c) When editing, we had to consider when to cut the conversation and position the two halves of the conversation together. We also had to consider continuity in actions between shots, for example, cutting the opening door to look continuous, another was timing Simon's walk into the shot.

3. How successful was your sequence? Did you fulfill the demands of the brief? Did you manage to demonstrate match-on-action, shot-reverse-shot, and 180-degree rule? Did you achieve continuity overall?(WWW/EBI)

Our sequence was successful as we fulfilled the demands of the brief. We successfully demonstrated match-on-action for the moving door and Simon's walk. We also demonstrated the 180-degree rule for the conversation between Cathy and I. Therefore, we achieved overall continuity. 

4. What have you learnt from completing this task? How might this learning impact on future video production work?


I've learnt how to implement and follow the various rules in order to achieve continuity. Unlike our previous media video work, we made a continuous video this time rather than a cutting trailer. This will help me achieve continuity in any future video production work that looks at a continuous scene.

Disney Trailer Analysis: Up

Disney's Up is about Carl Fredricksen, a 78-year-old balloon salesman, who is about to fulfill a lifelong dream. Tying thousands of balloons to his house, he flies away to the South American wilderness. But curmudgeonly Carl's worst nightmare comes true when he discovers a little boy named Russell is a stowaway aboard the balloon-powered house.

The trailer begins with a Disney inter title. This raises the audiences anticipation and expectations as Disney is well known and has a reputation of making successful films. The next few shots feature a comedic conversation between a grumpy old man and a cheerful young boy, alternating back and forth with inter titles that show some of Disney's previous successes; Toy Story, Finding Nemo and Ratatouille. Then once again showing a Disney inter title alongside a Pixar inter title.

The next few shots  feature the house taking of, with very dreamy music  in the background. This gives the idea that the man is fulfilling his dreams. He also acts childish towards the other men on the street, contrary to his previous grumpy look. These together appeal to the audience  as they feel empathetic to how happy the man is to chase his dream.

The music cuts with a loud knock on the door, and the next shots feature the challenges he faces on his journey, the appearance of the boy, and the storm. These give the trailer a better sense of story, which will make the audience more inclined to see the film.

After they pass through the disturbances the shots switch to interactions between the two humans and animals, specifically a talking dog and a rainbow coloured bid. This appeals to Disney fans as Disney usually features normal things  with a twist, like how toys come alive in toy story.

The final sequence begins with an inter title 'The adventure of a lifetime' and continues to feature fast paced action sots that give the trailer that sense of adventure and action that would appeal to fans of that genre. A third character, the antagonist, is also revealed, to introduce more opposition and challenges making the film seem more interesting as we question what this characters goal or quarrel is.

The trailer keeps a sense of narrative flow throughout; giving a clear indication of situation, disruption and attempt to resolve, which are key features of a story, in order to keep the audience immersed in the trailer and form an opinion on what they believe the story is, leading to them wanting to see it more.

The trailer ends with a funny one liner to keep a cheerful tone and gives necessary info like the release date (though only says coming soon) which keeps to trailer conventions.

Reflections on Practical: TV Drama Still

1. Provide a brief summary of how you planned your photography practical.
We drew a storyboard in order to plan the shot type, actor position and poses in the shot, this allowed us to stay organised and take the shots easier as we had this to guide us.

2. Analyse your chosen shot and identify in what ways it could be described as signifying your chosen TV drama genre/subgenre.
The lighting conveys the horror genre as the colors are a eerie green with washed out colors. The mid shot on Ben makes you focus on his bloody eyes showing the bloody images that represent the horror genre by showing him as a conventional victim character type of a horror. The mysterious hand on his shoulder suggests a malicious intent, conforming to serial killer character type.

3. How did you intend the audience to interpret your still? What narrative moment were you attempting to create? What meanings were you attempting to communicate?  (BARTHES NARRATIVE CODES?
The semic codes of the dark room helps the audience to interpret the still as one conforming to the  horror genre, with a clear victim and killer scenario made clear by the conventions of this setting. Enigma of The action codes showing Ben in pain and someone gripping his shoulder sets who is victim and who is perpetrator.

4. Identify what is successful about your shot.
The framing in this shot was successful, with a mid shot of Ben in the foreground fitting the mysterious hand. The lighting of the still was also successful, with eerie green lighting around them helping to create tension.

5. What would you do differently if you were to repeat this activity?
If i were to repeat the task I would plan Ben's facial expression better.

Continuity task 1 evaluation - My Property

1. Explain the story of your video.
Ben is ignoring his girlfriend, and she is upset by this. She takes his phone in order to provoke a response and tells Kush to run away with it. However when running, Kush accidentally hits a pole allowing Ben to get his phone back.

2. How did you create 'narrative flow'?
We started the video with an establishing shot in order for the audience to have a clear sense of space. Most of our shots involve movement, and so we tried to have each shot pick up where the previous ended.

3. Did you achieve full continuity? If not, why not?
No there were errors, for example, in between shot 2 and shot 3, Kush teleport forward, and Ben goes from still on the bench to right behind Kush. Another example is how between shot 3 to 4, Kush takes too long to go around the corner. This is due to the difficulties of shooting everything with only a camera and no editing software, it was especially hard to time the cuts when running.

4. In hindsight, what would you do differently to improve the narrative flow of your video and tell your story more effectively?
In hindsight, i think we should've made Ben already begin chasing Kush in shot 2, so that he doesn't suddenly appear behind him. Also we should plan and mark where we finished running in one shot, in order to keep the flow.

Still analysis task: Sherlock

The still is an over the  shoulder shot of Sherlock pointing a gun at Moriarty who stands in front of John who is wearing a bomb vest. The protagonist, Sherlock, takes up the majority of the right side of the still, while the antagonist, Moriarty, fills the other half. This equal split denotes a standoff between the two sides. With the presence of these weapons and the standoff between the two, the still connotes high tension and confrontation while suggesting a crime genre. The still is in a public pool, which would normally represent a  fun, active place, however this is contrasted by the dim lighting (due to the time being night) and the small number of people present. This juxtaposition gives a strong sense of the drama genre of the show.