Evaluation for my A level media coursework.

1. Advanced
portfolio
Evaluation
Serena Moriarty

2. In what ways does your media
product use, develop or
challenge forms and
conventions of real media
products?

3. In many ways all media texts can be seen as highly conventional,
employing conventional advertising techniques, and taking inspiration
from the conventions of real media products. Partly, this was because I
wanted to use dairy conventions to position DairyFriend as a dairy
product in the eyes of the consumers, who would see these
conventions and understand the product better.
Main adverts
my choice of music was based purely - Click to listen to the chosen
on research into the conventional dairy soundtrack, “come back” by
advert. I found that dairy adverts Rosie and Me.
primarily use upbeat, feel good music.
This is therefore something that helps
the audience distinguish them as dairy.
I therefore recognised the soundtrack
as an important aspect of the advert,
both positioning the product and setting
the right mood and tone for the ad. I
think the track I used, “Come Back –
Rosie and Me”, had the conventional
positive, upbeat tone that I was looking
for.

4. Beginning I also employed a very conventional
narrative in the main adverts,
described in my earlier research as
“the exemplary story”, this is a
conventional ad style that shows a
strong narrative In which the product is
placed in a situation where it is needed
middle or necessary. It also has a distinctive
linear narrative, of beginning, middle,
end, which in itself is conventional.
However, I do feel although I
employed a conventional narrative, I
didn't use it in a stereotypical, or
overtly conventional way.
end

5. However, the ad’s are not aesthetically conventional, containing no imagery of
cows or real milk, which for a dairy advert is uncommon. This is a convention I
chose to challenge, as I felt it was over used, and too obvious. I thought the
mise en scene used connotes a dairy product, and that I didn’t need these
overtly conventional images to establish the product. However, in my audience
feedback, it became apparent that some of the audience were confused about
what the product was, and this may be down to the lack of conventional
imagery. If they were to see cows and puring milk, they would immediately
establish the brand as a dairy product. I’m therefore not convinced that
challenging this convention has paid off.
This is very conventional
screenshot from a muller
advert, featuring both
milk and the cows in the
background, set in the
country.
I chose to not to
feature
Such conventional
imagery, but still
set it in a country

6. Although I steered off overtly conventional imagery, I did adhere to some basic
dairy advert conventions. This includes the countryside setting and the milk van
in the mise en scene, but also the slow paced editing and the connotations of
natural, fresh and healthy. These were basic conventions I chose to incorporate
into my ad’s. When researching into dairy ad’s I found the countryside setting,
which held fresh and natural connotations, was key to all the products.

7. I decided this was
an important
convention to
incorporate into my
advert, as part of
repositioning the
UHT milk was to
show it as fresh and
healthy, which it is I incorporated elements I also made a very
currently not known such as the brick basic, traditional looking
as. Part of using this pattern, the chimney, car. This was similar to
countryside setting the white framed dairy ad’s I had seen
included the tree’s windows and the picket which use older looking,
and the river, but fence to give off these more traditional vehicles
also using a conventional that hold these
traditional looking connotations. If I were conventional
home and a basic to create a more connotations.
car. I found in Dairy modern looking house,
advert’s, the mise en this wouldn’t have the
scene always had same effect.
traditional, homely
connotations.

8. Sponsorships
My sponsorships were slightly Footage that
unconventional, and didn’t fit neatly into the was
set of conventions I found when researching. removed – I
They contained a strong narrative, in tried to put
keeping with the main adverts. I found in my too much of
research, conventionally, they tend to have a narrative
more of a loose narrative, working on into them
branding and association with the originally,
programme, rather than portraying a strong and had to
message. I deliberately chose to challenge simplify and
this convention, as I felt the narrative was an shorten
important concept to the idea of the ad them. I think
campaign, and that the product and brand I was trying
didn’t stand alone without it. to challenge
the
I also didn’t incorporate the programme into convention
my sponsorship, which is often common as it too far..
creates an association between the product
and programme for the viewer. This is mainly
because I chose to sponsor a strand of TV,
daytime, and therefore kept the sponsorship
very open to appeal to different audiences,
rather than tailoring it to a specific

9. I did however incorporate arguably the most important convention, and this was
the strong branding. I noticed in my research that each sponsorship
sequence portrays a strong brand image, through the use of colour, logo’s
etc. This is due to the time restraints and the purpose of a sponsorship.
Unlike main adverts, they don’t try to sell the audience a product, as much
as try and remind them of it, and build up an association in their minds with
the programme. A successful sponsorship sequence should help the
viewers connect with the product, and this can be done easily through
branding Iconic
Iconic
characters
colours
Company
slogan name/logo
I used branding in my sponsorship by
featuring the logo on the van within the
sponsorship, and by featuring the van itself,
which I believe would become iconic of the
brand. I also positioned the DairyFriend
logo at the end, along with the ITV logo, to
help the audience associate the two.

10. • I re edited my sponsorship sequences to fit tighter with the conventions I had seen.
My first cut’s included too much information in the end title, which I found to be un
necessary, and too much for the length of time, sponsorships conventionally give a
short quick message, but do not provide much information about the product. This
led me to change the end titles.
EXAMPLE
I also added the ITV logo to position alongside my
branding, for the association purposes. Lastly, I
swapped the closing sponsorship around, so the title
came first, this was a convention I found in my
research, but initially chose to ignore.

11. How effective is the
combination of your main and
ancillary texts?

12. I recognised the importance of creating synergy between all five media texts, so
they could be viewed as a cohesive advertising campaign, however, would
still be understandable and effective standing alone.
The main way I created synergy Old web pop up –
was through the continuity of the too dark and
mise en scene throughout all five chosen footage
texts. I used much of the same doesn’t denote
props, such as the lorry, which is the brand
clearly visible in each text. This
was something I recognised as New pop up –
important, as my original web pop Much more in
up didn't feature the same lorry, or keeping with the
similar aesthetics and colours, rest of the texts,
and so looked far too separate featuring the
from the other texts. iconic van
The lorry becomes iconic of
the brand within each text,
and ties them all together.

13. I also made each text similar aesthetically, using only paper constructed elements,
and keeping each to a similar colour scheme. I think this was an important aspect
to consider, as I want the paper constructed elements to become symbolic of the
brand, much like the plastic figures in Cravendale's ad's have become symbolic of
them
Screenshots from each text, showing the similar colours and
aesthetics
My pop up, featuring stop motion
The paper elements, compared to a
construction is conventional pop up. I used the
something I continued same
throughout all texts, stop motion style to
despite it being create synergy
unconventional of between the
web pop up's, which pop up and
tend to be digitally the rest of
produced the texts.

14. I also re used prop's from the different texts, so they each featured some of the
same props, and so were similar in mise en scene. This was obvious in the
two ad's and web pop up, where I used the same house and many of the
same tree's. However I also re used them more subtly.
The same props – house,
tree’s, van, milk bottles.
The car from advert one reappears as opposite traffic in advert 2,
this was a deliberate move to spark a memory in the audience,
from ad one.
Similarly, in the closing
sponsorship ad, I used the tent
from advert 1, again for the
same effect. I think this would
help viewers to recognise all
texts as part of the same
campaign, and also help them
to remember back to the other
texts.

15. I continued the soundtrack throughout four of the texts, with the two main adverts
having exactly the same soundtrack, and the sponsorship sequence using an
instrumental version. This means the tune follows on throughout all four, and
would become a recognisable tune, symbolic of the brand. The viewer would
associate the tune with the brand, and immediately recognise it as a DairyFriend
ad, no matter which text they were watching.
I also continued the font throughout each text, and in fact the logo. It is a stylised
font, that would become part of the brand. It is seen at the end of each advert and
in the sponsorship sequence, with the font colour mirroring the colours of the logo,
in order to achieve a consistent brand image
I also used it in the web pop up, - Text and logo
and feature the cow from within
the logo, either side of the text.
featured in
This was an added choice to each text,
incorporate part of the brand creating a
identity into the pop up, and
would once again make it easily
consistent
recognisable as part of the brand identity
brand, and part of the same
campaign.

16. I asked in my audience feedback whether the audience thought all five texts
worked together as a cohesive campaign, and the results were extremely
positive, with the majority of viewers answering “yes”, and the rest answering
“to some extent”, with no negatives responses. This suggests to me that the
effort I have taken to make each text contain similarities and look like part of a
campaign had paid off, as the audience received them as cohesive and
united.
In all, think all five texts support it each other, particularly the sponsorship
sequences and the main adverts, as they both take a slightly different stance on
the same narrative. The main adverts feature a conventional linear narrative,
which
describe the product attributes, and then the sponsorship
sequence builds on this, showing the extent of the products
usability. Each text is understandable separately, but if
viewed together, the sponsorship sequence and main
ad's support each other, and build up a strong picture

17. What have you learned from
your audience feedback?

18. I first posted my adverts on facebook, to see how my friends responded, but soon
realised this was pointless, as it gave me vague directionless feedback that wasn’t
of much value.
I then created a questionnaire on Google Docs,
including some closed questions for data analysis
and some open questions to gain the audience’s
opinions. I circulated this online to my target
audience, males and females 20+, who were fairly
middle class. I chose to base my questionnaire
around my aims, what I set out to do with the ad’s, to
see if the audience think these have been achieved.
These were aims such as repositioning UHT milk as
a premium product, and creating an advert that
would be enjoyable and memorable. I wanted to see
how far I had achieved these aims, and so how
successful my campaign has been.

19. What is your view of the product, based on the ad’s?
I felt this was the most important question, and so placed it first, as the main aim
of the ad’s was to erode any negative stigma around UHT milk and to evoke a
positive view of the product from the viewers. The results were very good, and all
viewers agreed on a positive view of the product, with 100% answering 3 or over,
which is towards the positive side of the scale. The majority of viewers answered
4 on the scale, which is not extremely positive, but comfortably. This assures me
that the advert connoted the right values about the product, and that the
audience picked up on these connotations. I paid specific attention to what I was
connoting throughout all five media texts, wanting the audience to understand
the product as positive, fun, exciting

20. I then asked the audience to add any additional comments on their view of the
product. Here I was looking to see if they had responded to the text the way I had
intended, and had understood the connotations the way I had hoped. The results
were very positive, with many people using the exact words I had hoped they might,
such as convenient, nature friendly, healthy and fresh. This has confirmed to me that
the advert’s connotations were received by the audience, as they had effectively
perceived the product as i had hoped. I also feel with these positive comments and
viewpoints on the product, I must have achieved my objective of effectively showing
UHT milk in a positive light.
“Very good product, convienient, good new option for going
out places” – This was the main narrative of the ad campaign, and I am pleased it was
well understood.
“made you think of outdoors, fresh air and things that are
healthy, which in turn makes you think of the product as
natural and healthy” – I included aspects of the mise en scene such as
the tree’s and the river to evoke this reaction in viewers. It is conventional of
dairy advertising and I hoped it would help the viewers to understand the
product as fresh and healthy. for the ad, help make the product
“The handcrafted props
seem wholesome and natural”– once again the product was received
as natural and healthy, with this viewer commenting that the paper stop motion
itself has natural and healthy connotations. When I chose this style of animation
for my advert, I knew it would help me position the product as home made and
down to earth, and i’m glad it has been well received.

21. Did you find after watching the ad's that the product, logo, slogan was
memorable?
This was a simple question to see if my audience thought the advertising campaign
was successful in terms of its branding. The results were pleasantly positive, with
42% and 45% answering 4 or 5 respectively, where 5 is the top of the scale in terms
of how memorable it is. This suggests that the advert effectively communicated the
necessary details of the brand. This was useful feedback as it confirms the Ad
achieved the most important aim, which is to communicate a memorable brand.

22. in your opinion, did the ad's effectively position DairyFriend as a
premium "High end" product?
Part of repositioning a UHT milk product was establishing it as a premium product,
therefore I set out to position DairyFriend as a premium “high end” product, that
audiences would be willing to pay more for. I wanted to see if audiences felt I had
successfully achieved this aim.
The answers were very mixed, with the audience answering across the
board. The majority of the audience answered “yes” or “to some extent”,
indicating that most found interpreted it as a premium product to some
degree. 35% of the audience agreed that it did establish the product as
premium, however, 30%, almost a third of the audience, voted “not
really”. This is a disappointing result, as such a large percentage didn't
interpret the ad how I had hoped, and don't feel I achieved what I had
aimed to do. I knew the question would generate a mixed response, as
when I reflected on my work, I realised they didn’t fully address this aim,
and this was something I perhaps overlooked.

23. What feelings/mood did you gain from the adverts?
This was a simple question in order to evaluate whether my main adverts had
connoted what i had hoped for the viewer. I was hoping, if the ad had successfully
portrayed the product and given the right connotations, the answers would be words
like happy, relaxed, upbeat etc. This would be largely based on the soundtrack and
the mise en scene in the ad and their connotations.
The results were brilliant in this question, suggesting to me that the audience had
received the ad’s in the exact way I had wished, and that they understood the
connotations I had built into the ad’s. The most used word’s were cheerful, uplifted,
happy, peaceful and calm. Larger answers suggested, as I had hoped, that the
mixture of the soft but upbeat music and the aesthetics of the countryside were the
reasons for these feelings.
Scenes like this gave helped establish a
cheerful but calm mood.

24. “The advert
made me feel This information was invaluable to me, as
calm and at it reassures me, along with question 1, that
peace with the messages of the advert were clearly
myself, because received and understood by the audience.
It was imperative to the success of the
of the use of advert that contained the right
the gentle connotations, as much of the power of the
music and slow ad is in the mood created by it. This in turn
helps the audience to connect with it, and
moving, simple associate it with positive feelings.
images”
“The advert
gave a calm,
happy and

25. Did you find the ad's interesting and engaging? For example, If you
were to see them on TV, would you want to watch the whole 30
seconds?
This was simply to find out, if The results from this were also positive,
viewed on the TV, if they with the majority voting 4 or 5 on the
would be willing to watch it the scale, indicating that they would be
whole way through. I thought if thoroughly engaged. No one voted less
the answers to this were than 3, also indicating that nobody was
mostly Yes, then my advert’s disinterested in the ad, and that it
must have been successful, wouldn’t prompt them to change
as this is the main aim for channel. This was a useful piece of
most adverts, to engage and information to gain, as I now know my
interest the viewer in the ad, ad’s were received well by the viewers,
and subsequently in the who enjoyed them and became fully
product. engaged in them.

26. I lastly asked the audience to leave any additional comments they had on anything that was
particularly successful, and equally anything they thought could be improved upon
Many people made the comment that the purpose of the advert was sometimes unclear, and
that at points, the product being advertised wasn’t necessarily clear either. I think I
incorporated the purpose of the product into the narrative, but didn’t show it as obviously as
often happens in adverts. As they are so short, ad’s usually provide a lot of information
upfront and easily, rather than giving the audience something to process. In hindsight, I could
have put more information regarding the product into the ad, through titles or a voiceover.
One person made a particularly interesting comment:
“the approach is reminiscent of Postman Pat TV
programmes and may well appeal on a subliminal
level to twenty or thirty somethings who grew up
withhadn’t thought oftarget
I
PP.” but my this
previously,
audience would have grown
up with stop motion childrens
Tv programmes, as these
were popular back then. This
would make the stop motion
format familiar and enjoyable,
and they may connect with it
better because of this.

27. How did you use new media
technologies in the planning
and research, construction, and
evaluation stages?

28. Planning and research
My planning and research was a crucial part of the process,
as it allowed me to fully understand the codes and
conventions of both advertising and stop motion. I used
youtube to research into advertising, looking at past adverts
and analysing them.
I then used vimeo to look deeper into animation, as it
provided a wider range of video’s than youtube. This also
allowed me to analyse them, and embed them into my blog,
to comment on and compare against.
I also used programmes such as flash
and photoshop for my early
experimentation into rotoscoping and
animation, as part of my research. This
was imperative, as it helped me choose a
path for my advert, after I decided I
preferred to work with stop motion. I was
then able to mimic and develop existing
texts I had found online, making a
pastiche of their work. This allowed me to
analyse it deeper, and understand the
processes better.

29. Construction
The construction of my texts predominantly involved adobe flash CS 5.5 and
premier pro CS 4. I chose these versions of the programmes as they allowed the
best creative control. I pieced together the separate images in flash cs5.5, as I
found this easier to edit and change, and then exported them as quicktime movies,
to edit in premiere into one sequence. I also created the end titles in flash, so I could
get effects such as the logo fading in, and the typing effect on the slogan. I also had
more control over the placing, timings and aesthetics of the end titles in flash. For
my web pop up, the use of flash was imperative, as it was the only program in which
I could create a button with a hyperlink, to give a realistic, working web pop up. I
also used youtube again at this point for guidance and support on making a working
button in flash.

30. I used other technologies too in the Lastly, I used photoshop in
process of filming, such as an SLR constructing my paper props, such as
camera and an edirol. The SLR was the DairyFriend van and the car. I
important, as it gave me full control originally tried to make them by hand
over the photo’s I took. This meant I with a ruler, but realised creating them
could control the aperture and shutter digitally and printing them gave me
speed, meaning I could make sure more accurate measurements.
they were the same in each photo,
whereas a standard digital camera
would have adjusted accordingly, and
given me photo’s in a different light. I
could also have full control over the
focus of the photo, choosing to use
the manual setting, so I could focus
on different aspects of the mise en
scene, and leave some in soft focus. an Edirol voice
. I used
recorder to record my
voiceover, which gave me
a quality sound, as i could
position it close to the
person speaking, and it
was a quality sound
recorder.

31. Evaluation
I used technologies right through to the evaluation stage, uploading my videos to
both youtube and vimeo. This is because they reach slightly different audiences
and would allow me to gain different feedback. I then posted the links from these
onto my facebook page, to get some basic feedback from friends and family.

32. Lastly, I used GoogleDocs to conduct my audience feedback, this is because it was
an easy tool for creating a questionnaire, that was easy for people to fill in online.
This meant I could email and facebook it to people I know, and prompt them to
circulate online to anyone they knew, meaning I could easily and quickly gain a
large amount of audience feedback.
It was also a very convenient tool, placing my results into charts and graphs for me
to analyse, and presenting the results in a format that was easy for me to
understand. Had i done this manually, printing paper copies of a questionnaire,
analysing the results would have been time and consuming and difficult. It would
also have been hard to circulate to an audience. I was also able to post a link to all
five texts on the questionnaire, to watch before they answered, which would have
been impossible in paper form.