Unit 30 - Task 4

My advert was on the Adidas Ice Dive deodorant. The purpose of my advert was to encourage people playing sports to use the deodorant product and stay hygienic. I believe I achieved this because of the scenes in my advert where the protagonist played very well once the product was applied. This will help convince the product users that once the product is applied it will also enhance their skills which in the end will convince them to buy the product.

My advert also follows most codes and conventions for traditional TV adverts because it is suitable for all ages and shows no inappropriate scenes. My advert was targeted towards students and other sports players (an age-range of 14-35) and my advert would be appropriate for this because it specifically shows what the product is used.

My research into other adverts helped me by giving me ideas when editing the advert. For example, from what I have researched I saw that many adverts didn’t have any dialogue in it and I applied this to my advert where I only used background music and non-diegetic sounds rather than diegetic, therefore creating synchronous sound. Another influence I took from an existing advert was to use a significant number of short takes to constantly switch shots and keep the pace professional. This is to keep the audience intrigued and focus as the camera angle continuously changes.

I used lots of different types of shots in my advert. Most of the shots in my advert were medium shots as it captured most of the scene with the characters in it too. However, I used different shots such as close up and long shots to focus on one specific character or object. Using shots such as the close-up shot is effective because the audience can then focus on one aspect in the frame and this will stand out. Having a long shot is also useful because it sets the scene and helps build up to the main plot/scene.

The main editing technique I used was the match cut to show different angles of a specific scene. I used this technique because it created an active lively mood and helped keep the audience intrigued with the changing of camera angles, match cuts also build up suspense as the scenes are usually fast paced.

The main focusing location of my advert was in a local park’s basketball court. This was suitable because my product was a sports deodorant and the main theme of my advert was sports. The location also matched well with the target audience demographic class C2, D and E as it doesn’t show the most luxurious lifestyle and privileged setting and props.

Adding sounds was easy for my advert as I used no dialogue or other forms of-non-diegetic sound in my advert apart from background music. This was because I thought the mix between background noises and music would not blend well together. For the background music, I chose dramatic/motivational music because it fitted in well with my product and an upbeat song would keep the audience intrigued. This was used to tie in with the underpinned ideology of my advert.

Lighting was difficult for me as I did not use many lighting methods and most of my advert was set in monochrome, however, the scenes that were filmed in colour was supported by the stadium lights in the park. The lights were very bright and helped when it came to focusing the camera on the protagonists.

The main persuasive methods I used in my advert were unique selling point and overt messages. The unique selling point was that my advert showed the protagonist’s change as the product was applied. Furthermore, once the product was applied the theme changed from monochrome to colour. This was unique because the advert showed the character’s skills in sports being highlighted rather than his personality changing or his attitude.

The overt messages shown in my advert were that one, you shouldn’t give up no matter how difficult the situation gets and two, to stay hygienic and in shape. The first message was shown through the montage of the protagonist failing to do well in basketball and playing well once the product was applied. This technique was used to help persuade the customers to buy the product themselves.

The main theories I used were the Todorov’s narrative structure and also Maslow’s ‘hierarchy of needs’ theory. I achieved Todorov’s narrative theory by starting with the equilibrium (Protagonist going to play basketball) then slowly shifting to the disequilibrium (not being skilled at basketball). Once this has happened the advert moved to the recognition phase where the protagonist realised that he wasn’t good at the sport. The repair phase will come once the protagonist has used the product and his true skills are displayed. After the repair the equilibrium will come once again where the protagonist and the other basketball player shake hands after their game. In addition the main techniques used from Malsow’s hierarchy of needs was the ‘need to achieve’. This was displayed when the protagonist was attempting to beat the other basketballer and kept failing. This was achieved once the product was applied where his skills improved exponentially. Another one of Maslow’s needs I used was ‘need for dominance’. Need for dominance in my advert came through when the protagonist was playing basketball. The protagonist displayed dominance once the product was applied where he outplayed his opponent and showed dominance over him.

The only editing software I used the Adobe Premiere software to edit my advert. The main effects I used were fade from and changing footage from colour to monochrome and various types of transitions (dissolves and fades). I used many fading and dissolving effects to show smooth transitions between scenes and to have a montage style in one point of my video. I also changed the speed/duration of certain scenes as they were too long and I sped up the montage scene to keep the clips short and intriguing.

My advert has two main underpinned ideologies. One of the messages within my advert is that you should keep on trying no matter how difficult the situation gets. For example, the protagonist wasn’t confident at the start of the advert and once the product was applied he displayed tremendous skills and was very confident. Another message in my advert was to keep healthy and stay in shape. This is shown through the sports played and the promotion cardio-vascular exercise in the video and the deodorant sprayed (to smell nice) and promote good hygiene.

Yes, I believe that my advert appealed to my target audience as the target audience was demographic categories C2, D and E class. This meant that my product was easily affordable for students and was mainly used by them as deodorant gets rid of smell after sports, which students tend to do the most.

I believe my advert also appealed to the secondary audience such as middle aged men over the age of 40, as well as it was appropriate for all ages and followed all the rules and regulations an advert should have. This would have helped convince the parents/friends to buy the product for their child/friend as it delivered the right message. Furthermore, older product users who also play sport will still use this product as it negates odour, which is a necessity when playing sports.

I am pleased with the editing techniques that I used, the match cuts in particular. The match cut in my advert came after the protagonist applied the deodorant and showed off his skills. Whilst the protagonist was doing a lay-up I cut the camera and switched locations to show two different angles of the scene. I believe that the theme transitioning from monochrome to colour was also a good technique applied for the audience to create meaning in my advert (the narrative structure showing the protagonists’ transformation from being unsuccessful to successful).

Many things went well during production and pre-production. Gathering the equipment (Cameras, softwares and product) went well during pre-production and picking my actors were also easy. Organisation with scheduling, storyboarding, scripting, following risk-assessment policies and acting/film-role performances.

As well as having a lot of things going right there were some issues I faced. During pre-production, I had to change my idea completely but I managed to work it out with my actors. If I were to film again I would confirm what my idea would be and find a location before-hand and make sure that it is available for me to film in. Another difficulty I faced was filming the advert with just one camera. This was difficult because I had to constantly change locations and move according to the lighting in the park and to make the footage more interactive using match cuts. During filming, it also started to rain which was another setback. The camera wasn’t waterproof therefore, I had to stop filming for the day and go back later in the week.

Finally from making this advert I have learned to edit using Adobe Premiere Pro and how to shoot many match cuts only using one camera. I also learned the different key terminology of editing such as ‘handheld camera movement’ and ‘diegetic sounds’. I also learned how to draw and write out a storyboard and the history of a big sporting brand such as Adidas. I also learnt the three different stages of production: Pre-production (planning) – production (shooting) – post-production (editing)

Overall, i believe everything went very well and I learnt many new techniques and jey terminology to use later in my studies.