Thursday, 11 February 2021

Evaluation

 

(Orignal)
(After the text alterations, in order to reduce the amount of text and make it bigger)

I had my family look at the advert and tell me their thoughts in regards to it, they all commented on it with a friendly attitude, smiling and describing as "really good" as well as "cute", they all gave a smile when seeing it and said the advert was very informative whilst providing scenic and joyful visuals. 

I made sure to ask relevant questions about the advert, asking if they understood what the advert was about. They replied that they did and came to the correct conclusion that the advert was in reference to mental health and promoting people to smile and to keep a positive mental attitude, promoting awareness to the problems but still making people smile. I showed them the requirements for the client: 
They responded positively by saying they agree that I've completed the requirements made by the client as I've "managed to provide a advert which is positive and responds well to the TA, making clear that its for them whilst making them happy, displaying research along with a positive picture that fits well with the topic." It seems through the reception theory, that I have received what is known as a preferred reading as they have captured the perspective on the piece I was hoping for, understanding the purpose, the target audience and thought it looked good and cute. They were also able to identify the fact that it was specifcally aimed at a younger audience, one thing I'm glad particularly about, since it proves that its definitely catering to the TA, whilst still targeting other audience too. Relating this to the reception theory, I can most definitely say this was a positive reading.

For the fonts, I used Dosis and Fahkwang, which are both sans serif types of fonts, I did this in order to increase the readability of said texts, in order to cater to my rather wide audience and increase the readership by doing so, rather than using serif which could've led to less readership or people having trouble reading it, therefore contain confusion rather than the smiles and happiness I intended for. 

The use of color was blue, due to its calming nature and my intention to provide an almost serene atmosphere surrounding it, promoting calmness along with happiness, in opposition to stress and anger or sadness. 

The shot size was a MCU, or medium close up, this was to provide somewhat of closeness, both in a literal and metaphorical way, in order to provide more comfort, however I wanted to display it in almost a conversation format rather than being too close, as I didn't want to make possible viewers feel uncomfortable by it being too close or too far away, deciding this was the best close up for achieving my effect and intentions.

The camera angle was eye level for this, I did this as I wanted to add onto the effect that was made by the shot size of providing and almost conversational aspect to it, I didn't want people to feel distance or to feel intimated by certain camera angles, I wanted for people to acknowledge that we all share this problem and that we are no lesser or greater for suffering from it and rather wanted to signify the importance of not letting it consume us and to keep on smiling. 

I gave it the slogan "Keep Smiling" which although simple, conveys the point I intended for and is fairly memorable, not only that it is able to help provide a greater understanding of the advert's intentions. I feel by certain usage of my techniques, such as an inclusive slogan, I've made sure to include several codes and conventions of a typical print media advert when it comes to charity, whilst still adding my own touch to it, taking several things into account whilst, providing an informative yet artistic approach to my print media advert.

I feel that the feedback for my rationale was also very beneficial as it showed many agreed I was very well detailed and provided information in a good manner, indicating I was heading in the right direction in terms of my project. Although nothing too in particular was told to work on, it did highlight some features which were especially good and I feel I was able to use that and attribute it to other things, highlighting the importance of mental health and the benefits of smiling, making sure it stayed my core focus for this project, not only to benefit the client but also the audience it was intended for.  

I wanted to present an example of an existing product, to show the similarities between that and my final product, in particular the choice of colour matches alongside that of my advert, which goes to show it was a good idea to have chosen these colours for the genre and tone of the advert, overall helping to appeal to my client in terms of that but also gathering my demographic as it lessens any possible misconceptions based on certain colours. The key theory here would be semiotics, through the study of signs within these colours, we're able to associate them as being rather peaceful choices in terms of colour, blue and white being indexes of harmony and peace, reflecting the mental state is envisioned within Happy Foundations. I manage to provide a slogan that relates well with my product and its theme, primarily to that of this product too. We also provide website likes to provide further information, which is good for the client as it gathers further attention to their company and gets more visitors on their website.   





As you can see from my various screenshots of the survey I made, many of my design choices were based on providing for the target audience and helping to cater to their choices within the survey, as you can see within colour, I chose two of the most popular colours within the survey and their relation to being calm, which I chose due to wanting to provide a colour scheme that put the viewer at ease, alongside a positive slogan, catchy, short and memorable, although simple it would help drive the point home of the significance of mental health and smiling. The usage of a dog within my advert, was also in relation to them majority of people saying that they found such animals to make them happy, in direct relation to the brief in providing something that could make the audience smile once seeing. Talking points regarding the current times, highlighting how Covid 19 has affected people's health, asking for an explnation in order to provide a more beneficial advert for my audience. Along with providing information about smiling, I wanted to provide beneficial things that the target audience would want to see and cater to such request, in order to help meet the brief's requirements, the survey itself also ties in with this as I'm asking my community about said things to include within my print media. 

My initial research was very significant and important as it proved, to give me a good grasp on things such as typical codes and conventions within charity adverts, along with facts and statistics I could use within my advert to help further educate my audience on the importance of maintaining a good mental health and the benefits of smiling, without such research into such products, and information, I feel it would've greatly effected the work I produced and I'm very happy I put the effort in to providing such research for myself. 

The main hindrances and setbacks presented through this brief were presented through covid 19 and the lockdown made during it, limiting my options in terms of production as a whole as editing software and shooting areas make more difficult and less available due to it, despite this I feel I was able to overcome such hardships and still meet the brief despite such problems by using different equipment that was available along with the limited locations I had for me to use. The benefits of lockdown has also taught me to be versatile and be able to alter certain plans in order to get that finished product and meet the brief, a skill that is quite valuable.

This brief has been very helpful in terms of providing me with certain expectations for what I may encounter in other briefs, and given me an understanding of how to go about them in order to meet the requirements presented within such brief. I don't think there is much I'd do differently the second time around, there's very little things to be changed if lockdown wasn't an issue, perhaps the main things that would be different would be the equipment used alongside the locations available to me during the brief. Overall despite this, I am very happy with the way the finished product turned out. 







Wednesday, 10 February 2021

PRE-PRODUCTION CAST LIST AND SHOOTING SCHEDULE

                                                     PRE-PRODUCTION CAST LIST 




SHOOTING SCHEDULE

Date

Scene

Location

Completed

Comments

21/01/2021

Levi and Milo smiling at camera, together

Bedroom

Yes- 21/01/2021

Went well. managed to capture several shots of the two of us and determine which was best to be used, resulted in getting a really nice photo which I think captures the essence of smiling and provides a friendly atmosphere.

Adding onto what has previously been mentioned, due to the Covid this limited the amount of people that was allowed in the advert, alongside the location in which the shooting for the advert would've taken place, originally I had decided to do it within the greenscreen, as it would help with getting rid of the background easier due to it being one solid colour and had good lightning, along with being able to use more people within my advert, such as fellow peers, however due to the complications of lockdown this was put to a halt and I had to change my plans, overall despite said circumstances which hindered my progress to a slight extent, I managed to make due and overcome such problems with me and Milo taking the centre stage for this advert. 

Tuesday, 9 February 2021

Shooting Schedule

 

Here's the shooting schedule which goes over the recordings and such for the documentary. 

SHOOTING SCHEDULE

Date

Scene

Location

Completed

Comments

18/01/2021

Hands typing on keyboard. 

Office

Yes- 18/01/2021

Simple process 

18/01/2021

Couple doing online banking.

Living Room

Yes- 18/01/2021

Another simple process

18/01/2021

Postman driving with parcels. 

Van

Yes-18/01/2021

All is well, no problems so far. 

18/01/2021

Young man doing online banking. 

Dining room

Yes-18/01/2021

Good, no problems. 

18/01/2021

E-pay transaction 

Cafe

Yes-18/01/2021

Nothing necessary to report. 

23/01/2021

Man handling money(cash).

Office

Yes-23/01/2021

Simple. 

23/01/2021

Woman doing online banking.

Dining Room

Yes- 23/01/2021

All good. 

23/01/2021

Credit Card Transaction

Furniture shop

Yes-23/01/2021

Pretty good. 

23/01/2021

Couple playing video games

Living Room

Yes-23/01/2021

All’s good.

23/01/2021

Women doing online shopping scenes

Living Room

Yes-23/01/2021

Pretty short in terms of length but works out good. 

24/01/2021

Postal service scenes 

Outside/Beside van

Yes-24/01/2021

Great

24/01/2021

Package delivery

Hallway

Yes-24/01/2021

Very well

24/01/2021

Postal delivery signing

Hallway

Yes-24/01/2021

Also very well. 

24/01/2021

Package unboxing

Near entrance to house(inside)

Yes-24/01/2021

Superb 

24/01/2021

Cash and coins in a bottle.

Table/bottle

Yes-24/01/2021

Looks brilliant 

24/01/2021

Delivery transaction

Hallway 

Yes-24/01/2021

Decent 

24/01/2021

Person using a gaming controller

Living Room

Yes-24/01/2021

Fairly simple but good

24/01/2021

Woman and children recycling

Kitchen

Yes-24/01/2021

Looks great

20/01/2021

Levi explaining 

Bedroom

Yes-20/01/2021

Went very well and I am happy with the result, only took one take.

20/01/2021

Levi explaining 

Bedroom

Yes-20/01/2021

Only took two takes and I am very happy with the end result, feel it has went really well.


Monday, 8 February 2021

Test Footage

 


Here is the first process which covers how to make the scrolling credits, this version has no voice over. 

This is it with the voice over. 

Likewise here is the tutorial on how to add statics and images over your video, without the voice over.
Once again here is it with the voice over.

Here is the finished products.
The editing software used to achieve such products is called Openshot, the videos depict my process going through the production of scrolling credits and the addition of an image/statistic over the video. 









Saturday, 6 February 2021

Shot list


This depicts the shot list for my documentary on culture in the digital age, a few notes to clarify things.

VO stands for Voice over.OTS stands for over the shoulder.CU stands for close up.MS stands for medium shot, MCU is medium close up. ECU stands for extreme close up. WS stands for wide shot.

Thursday, 4 February 2021

How does it meet the brief?

 The brief given by CMP Media is to produce a documentary that relates to the culture of digital age, capturing the culture of the youth, the documentary is required to be between 5-15 minutes long, I have met the brief by producing a documentary within that time requirement, that relates quite heavily to both the youth and the culture of the digital age. It talks about consumerism which is something that plays a very big role in our lives and discuss how with recent times and due to the the digital age consumerism has evolved which relates to the youth audience quite well as they are living through such changes. the specific age range for the audience is 13-19 year olds and I feel I have related it in such a way as I provide an interesting visual approach accompanied by music as well, providing scenery for the documentary. I have provided several topics within my documentary of consumerism and its evolution within the digital age, specifically gaming, which is made to cater to the youth audience as it is something quite heavily involved within the younger communities, something I believe will draw their interests in even more. I feel that because of things such as this I have been able to intertwine the topics of culture within the digital age, consumerism and the youth, making them all quite heavily involved in one aspect or another. 

Wednesday, 3 February 2021

Finished Product For Smile Campaign Advert/ Draft Work/ Evaluation

 






Here's the final product for the print media in the smile campaign project. as you can see I made sure to incorporate many things that I mentioned I would from my flat plan, although with a few differences, I replaced the original background and gave it a blue background, using the eraser tools as well as the shapes tool, due to the calming nature associated with it. Making sure to include my masthead which also operates as a slogan of sorts, I also made sure folio was included with a dominant image to top the print media off. I made sure to give a sum of information regarding the topic, including statistics to support my claim, finishing with a motivating line of sorts for people. I also placed a copyright log aside the brand identity to add further realism to the advert, stating that this company is the one who holds the right to this advert. I also made sure the information for looking up the advert was included as well, hoping that the scenario would interest them enough to look up about it. I included my dog within the image as animals are often closely associated with happiness and the bond they share with their owners is considered quite sweet and precocious, therefore I decided it would make best sense for the two of us to be within the image, I feel the information is not only important but gives a clear and important message for people to remember to "keep on smiling". I've also made sure to include several additions based upon my survey, things such as the colours used, being the most chosen answer for the most calming colours in my survey, along with the dominant image being an owner and dog, relating to my question if animals such as dogs and cats made people happy, to which I got an large portion saying yes. Overall. as you can see, I've taken numerous things into account when designing my product, and ensuring it relates as best as possible to the audience intended.

I made numerous photos, and had to make the determination of which would be suited as th best image for it. 
Take this one for example, which doesn't fully show Milo within the image, and only partially shows him, therefore I decided this wasn't the choice for the advert.
This image was fairly decent, and one I definitely considered, however due to my eyes not being averted to the camera I chose against this, along with the fact that this has more of a high angle effect, when I was looking for a more MCU and eye level perspective for it.
I decided this was the best choice for my advert in terms of the picture, it's clear, has a nice eye level and MCU perspective, along with the fact a more visible smiling expression is present, which is imperative to the advert and the relation of it being able to hopefully make the audience smile. Therefore this was my decision to have this picture be the one used within my advert. 
  

This is a screenshot I want to provide in order to display the process I went through in order to get rid of the background, so that I could replace it with a more tranquil one. I thought this was a good idea rather than sticking with a more plain background and allowing for some colour to be brought in, therefore making it feel more joyful for the audience. 
In order to do this I used the eraser tool which is shown within this screenshot here, with it selected I made sure to erase the background so that there could be no disruptions from the friendly and calming blue background.

As you can see from the two images, I had a little difficulty coming up with the background, as although I was aware that the colours I wanted were white and blue, trying to find a background that not only fitted the tone of the smile campaign but also the actual image and how they matched together. I did a little experimenting to see certain backgrounds and how they looked alongside my image, I managed to find these two in particular which I took great interest in, I decided to go for the one on the right, as the one on left had trouble in making the text pop out and look as appealing alongside the background in contrast to the right, which featured a far better look at the text and their combination together didn't clash. Not only that but in terms of colour scheme, the one on the left features quite a large amount of dark blue, which is commonly associated with dullness and sadness, although I want to bring mention of mental health, i want it to be in a more positive way to match the client's intentions and I feel that the dark blue clashes with such a message being brought across. The design of the images differs as well, as the look on the background of the left features rays of colour speeding by and gives the sort of message of quickly overlooking it and perhaps could be perceived as not as peaceful, whereas the one on the right features a tranquil display of particles almost floating within the image, creating the thought of relax, and to not rush over this advert, taking their time and hopefully fully gathering the message intended thought this advert of spreading happiness and the awareness of the importance of mental health. Therefore I feel all these points justify my reasoning behind choosing the background on the right due to it fitting my overall message and gathering the target audience more. 

For comparison, here is the unedited image. As you can see, the contrast of the background and the people isn't too significant in comparison to the edited version, with a blue background, which I think justifies my choice for changing the background, as it is more likely to catch the eye of people, and hopefully my target audience. 

Before:                                                                               After:
 



One thing I have done is reduce the amount of text within the advert, in order to make it seem less overbearing and easier for people to process and read, whilst still managing to retain the information neccsecary within the advert, it helps gain viewership as people will likely feel more inclined to read it due to it having less text, therefore taking less time to read, I made sure however to keep the essential information regarding the product, as survey showed that all of the people who took it would like information about smiling and the problems stress can have, along with how smiling is able to counter this to a certain extent. Due to the now available space, due to the text reduction, I made use of it by making the text bigger, therefore making it easier to read and preventing more people from feeling the need to squint in order to read it. You are able to see such a change from within the image below.

As you can see, things are much more clearer, less hectic in terms of information but still retaining the important details I'd like for the advert. I think this has overall improved the layout of the advert, as it makes it seems much more clearer, along with a better presentation overall. The layout in particular differs slightly from my original flat plan, although certain things such as the masthead and slogan/tag line being at the top have been retained within the image. Also the essential information and seeking point have also been kept in terms of the layout. The dominant image being kept in the middle, however getting rid of the two sub images at the side was a change made in order to fit the times of lockdown, and I felt it fit much better to simply have a dominant image within it. I also made sure to use the feedback received from my flat plan of scaling things a little better, in particular the image. Here's the flat plan for a reference and to compare to the finished product.