2. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions
of real media products?
Overall I believe that my adverts are highly conventional, each featuring conventional themes and ideas that would
likely be associated with existing alcohol adverts, particularly advertisements for âalcopopsâ. I decided to keep my
adverts fairly conventional as I felt I wanted my product to give a particular message which meant using a âslice of
lifeâ style in each of my adverts, which is arguably the most common style of modern adverts.
In order to discover what the conventions were for advertising alcohol I watched many different alcohol adverts and
picked out the main themes and ideas in each of the adverts; I also watched some adverts for non-alcoholic drinks
so that I could see the difference between the two kind of adverts. Due to the strict regulations that come with
advertising alcohol, I made sure I learned all of the rules that come with these types of adverts, so that my adverts
would be suitable for the target audience.
Adverts: One of the first things I decided to research was the average length of a main television advert; from my
research I discovered that the average advert was in-between 20-30 seconds, however this time does vary
depending on each advert. My first advert came to a total of 23 seconds and the second at 30 seconds. I was
pleased that both of my adverts were within the average time as it allows the adverts to be both concise yet still
long enough to present the important information.
Sound: Similarly to most alcohol adverts, I chose to include one piece of music that features in every advert in
order to make my product more memorable. The music that I chose is at times both diagetic and non diagetic, for
example: in my two main adverts and my sponsorship sequence the music actually plays in the end as the actors
dance to the music, however in my radio advert the music is played at the end of the advert whilst the voice-over
speaks over the music. Although it is conventional to have a piece of music that is played in each advert, using the
same piece of music as diagetic and non diagetic is unconventional. However, I felt that this music should be
played in each advert to allow the adverts to be clearly linked. Additionally, in my radio advert and my sponsorship
sequence I have juxtaposed two pieces of music in order to show âWaikikiâ to be powerful and give the message
that it releases fun and energy. I believe that I have achieved this through the music, with the beginning of both
sponsorships and the radio featuring mellow Hawaiian music, which is then instantly replaced by upbeat, party
music once the drink has been opened. I believe that I have challenged advertising conventions through doing this
as it would be unusual to hear two contrasting pieces of music that doesnât fit together directly next to each other.
However, challenging this convention has made my adverts more successful and I think that contrasting the two
pieces of sound actually works very well for my adverts.
3. Narrative: The narrative of each of my adverts followed a very conventional style, typical for most adverts, my adverts were
based on real life situations with a beginning, middle and end. Each of my adverts presents the message that âWaikikiâ will make
you happy and bring you pleasure/enjoyment. This is an idea thatâs featured in many of the adverts I researched; with most
adverts following the narrative that the product improves a persons life or brings them happiness. I believe that the narrative of
my adverts strongly followed conventions and meant that all of my adverts were very clearly linked. Each advert begins with the
protagonist or protagonists looking bored or not enjoying themselves, the middle of the advert is the introduction of âWaikikiâ, this
is either by the drink being introduced by an outsider, like in my first main advert and my radio advert, or the drink being found
by the protagonist, like in my second advert and sponsorships. The ending of each advert is signified by the protagonist taking a
sip of âWaikikiâ, which triggers music, then ending with people having fun and enjoying themselves after discovering âWaikikiâ. I
believe that following this conventional narrative has made my adverts very strong and links them together successfully, if I
hadnât had the same narrative for each advert I donât think the adverts would be linked very clearly due to the fact that the
product is fairly small and the label canât be distinguished easily unless itâs filmed at a close up.
One way I have challenged conventions of alcohol adverts is through the locations
of my adverts. Typically, an alcohol advert would be located at either a pub or a
bar/club, however due to my target audience being 18+ I decided to base each of
my adverts at in houses at parties or gatherings as typically this is where people in
this age group would be. Due to the fact that my drink is low priced, it means it
would appeal to students who may not have much money, therefore setting my
adverts at home implies âWaikikiâ isnât expensive and therefore targeted at people
in their late teens/early twenties. Although I believe the settings of my adverts
works because of this, I did have worries that it may not be clear that âWaikikiâ was
alcoholic because it wasnât set at a place associated with alcohol, however it would
have been too hard to try and organise to film my adverts at a pub or bar and also
would have meant my adverts may not have been clearly linked, therefore I think
that challenging these conventions was a successful idea.
âWKDâ advert set in a pub.
4. Mise en scene: As I have mentioned previously, I chose to set my
adverts at houses, mainly in the kitchens. For my two main adverts I used
an average sized kitchen/dining room to film in; the reason I chose
kitchens was because this is the main area people spend time in at
parties/gatherings and I think this location makes it clear that the setting
is at a group gathering. In adverts or TV shows set at a party, the kitchen
is usually the main area we are shown, therefore following this convention
meant the location was clear and the activity was clear. Furthermore, my
second main advert is set in a girls bedroom in the beginning. I chose to
use a stereotypical girls bedroom, with fairly plain dull colours used to
reinforce the idea that the protagonist was bored in her room. Using a
bedroom for an alcohol advert goes against the conventions as I didnât
come across any other alcohol adverts set briefly in a bedroom, however I
think that this shot was necessary as it allows a contrast between the
protagonist bored and lonely in her room, to being transported to a fun
party with her friends.
For the clothing I decided to dress all of my actors in bright
clothing in each of the adverts. I think that this looks good
because it matches the drinks; using bright colours such as
yellow, pink, white, orange and green for the dresses and skirts
which links to the pink, yellow and orange colours of the drink.
In addition, the actors are all dressed in clothes that would
typically be worn to a party, dresses, skirts and smart tops;
allowing it to be clear where they are and what theyâre doing in
the adverts. I wouldnât say that this choice of clothing
challenges conventions, however in most of the alcohol adverts
I watched the actors were wearing similar clothes such as
dresses and skirts, (and smart outfits for men) however the
clothes werenât particularly bright or eye-catching, which may
have been so they didnât defer attention from the drink.
Therefore it could be suggested that I have challenged these
conventions by using bright clothing, however I believe that the
bright colours signify happiness and joy, which comes from the
drink, therefore in the ending of the adverts the drink also
connotes these ideas.
âCarlingâ advert, fairly plain, dull clothing
5. Editing: I found the editing of my adverts much simpler than I did when we created our Thriller film
last year; the editing in adverts is usually very simple, mainly only using jump cuts. I think that the
editing of my advert did strictly follow the conventions of alcohol adverts, the fact that I had a simple
narrative and a storyline to each of my adverts meant that I only needed to use simple cuts in
between each shot.
Camera: When I began my research I discovered that most adverts
mainly use close ups and mid shots, I found this especially true for
alcohol and all drinks adverts as it allows more focus to be placed
on the bottle/drink itself, rather than the actors and surroundings. I
decided that I would follow this convention as I believe itâs
important that the bottle of âWaikikiâ should be the main focus in
each of the adverts, however when it came to creating my
storyboard I realised that some long shots were necessary. For
example, in my first advert I decided to have the opening shot as a
long shot in order to establish the setting, making it clear that the
girls were at a party or gathering. Furthermore, in my second advert
I used some long shots for the same reason, to depict that girls
dancing and having fun, showing them together as a group. I think
that challenging this convention slightly meant that I could achieve
that look that I wanted in my adverts and makes it easier for people
to see what exactly is happening. Additionally, following the
conventions throughout most of my advert allowed the bottle to be
a main focus, also displaying the actors facial expressions; looks of
shock, happiness etc., when they first drink âWaikikiâ. I think that the
large range of shots I used makes the adverts more aesthetically
pleasing as it keeps the adverts interesting and gripping, rather
than repeating the same angles and shots throughout the advert.
Mid shot allows focus on the drink
âSmirnoff Iceâ advert, mid shot
allowing more focus on the bottle
6. How effective is the combination of your main and ancillary texts?
From my knowledge of advertising campaigns I knew that all of the adverts had to clearly link together in
some way, I found out that there were a numbers of ways this can be achieved; for example, using the same
locations, the same actors, the same music and using the same types of idea or narrative in each advert.
After discovering this, I kept this idea in my mind when I began coming up with ideas for each advert,
remembering that they all had to link in some way. I believe that the main link between my adverts is
through the narrative and the structure of each advert. Each advert begins with the protagonist looking for
something to do, usually bored and havenât yet discovered âWaikikiâ, the advert then continues to see them
finding âWaikikiâ, which originally brings them excitement.
However, I believe the main concept that links my adverts together is the idea that âWaikikiâ brings with it
some sort of magic, for example- in my sponsorships, drinking âWaikikiâ triggers music and flashing lights, and
in my second advert, drinking âWaikikiâ transports the protagonist to a party. Although this idea is present in
these three adverts, my radio advert and my first advert donât include the idea that âWaikikiâ is magic, which is
something I would perhaps change if I were to re create my adverts. However, they do both present the idea
that âWaikikiâ brings joy and happiness, which I believe links in with the other adverts successfully.
Furthermore, as I have previously mentioned, I decided to use
the same piece of music in each advert, allowing the audience
to recognise this music which is played at the end of every
advert, and associate it with âWaikikiâ. I think that having the
same music in every advert is one of the most successful ways
of combining each of the texts as music is often the one thing
that people enjoy and remember from adverts.
Like most sponsorship adverts, my second sponsorship continues on directly from the first. I chose to follow
this conventional style as it meant that I was able to have a short narrative in between the adverts. It also
allowed the audience to link the adverts together, recognising that each advert was for the same product,
therefore making both the adverts and the product more memorable.
7. I also decided that I would use the same actors in my two
main adverts. Although at first I worried this may suggest
that the target audience wasnât very diverse, I decided I
would use the same actors for two different reasons. The
first reason being that I had to re film these adverts twice,
which meant filming them finally on the same day,
however I also realised that this would come to work in my
advantage as it meant the audience were able to relate
these particular actors with the product. Furthermore, from
my research I discovered that many products have a âfaceâ,
one person or a group of people who featured in most
adverts from there campaign. I then realised that I could
think of many actors from adverts that I would associate
with the product, such as the protagonist from the âGo
Compare advertsâ. Therefore, I felt I had made the right
decision to use the same actors in each ad, as it meant
they would be more recognisable and easier to associate
with the brand.
Same actors used in both main adverts
Previous spokesman for âGo
Compareâ
9. How did you use new media technologies in the construction, research,
planning and evaluation stages?
I started the process by beginning to
research into all advertising; I used Google
to search some of the main facts about
advertising campaigns such as the length of
adverts and some of the basic rules of
advertising. Once I had decided on the
product I wanted to advertise I went on
âYouTubeâ to watch previous adverts, some
for alcohol and then I watched some other
adverts for different products to see the
difference. One I had watched an ad on
âYouTubeâ I then went on to Blogspot to
analyse the advert and what I had taken
away from watching it. This process allowed
me to fully understand the codes and
conventions of advertising, however, as I
was advertising alcohol I then had to
research all of the rules of advertising
alcohol using Google again. As well as
watching videos on YouTube, I additionally
went on the previous media students blogs
on Blogspot to take a look at their research
and which type of adverts they had been
watching and how this research helped
them create their final adverts.
10. One of the first pieces of equipment I used this year was the Roland
voice recorder; I decided to use this recorder when I created my
animatics as I added in some non diagetic sound at the end of the
adverts. I had used this recorder briefly last year so I already knew
how it worked. I found using this recorder really useful throughout
the construction of my adverts as it was really quick and easy to use
and then upload the recordings. I used this recorder for all of my
adverts, recording all of the diagetic sound for my radio adverts
using this equipment. I decided to record the ending voiceover
which is in each of my adverts using this recorder; I found this really
useful as I was able to have the volume really loud, which was a
problem as I originally recorded some of the dialogue on my iPhone,
however this wasnât suitable as the sound wasnât loud enough, which
is where the recorder came to be very useful for me.
Something that I really struggled with last year was editing using Adobe Premiere Pro. Although I did learn a
few basics last year, I was never very confident using this software therefore when it came to working alone
this year the thing I was most worried about was editing my footage. However, creating my animatics really
helped me gain more confidence with using Premiere; I used YouTube to watch some tutorials on how to do
some basic editing, along with being taught more skills by other students. When it came to editing my adverts
I had a lot more knowledge on how to edit using Premiere and didnât find it as daunting as I had before
starting my animatics. Although the editing this year was a lot more basic and simple, as editing usually is for
adverts, I still believe the editing made my adverts much more successful, using this technology to change the
lighting in my sponsorships, and learning how to cut down the footage and add in music. I imported the
footage that I had from each filming session and then went through eat clip, deciding which one I should use;
I then cut them down and separated them using the razor tool; I found this method worked really well as I
was able to watch two similar clips and then decide which one worked better. Although it wasnât
recommended, I chose to create my radio advert in Premiere, mainly due to the fact that this helped my
practice using this technology and I didnât think that I needed to create it anywhere else as Premiere provided
everything I needed to create this advert in.
11. Over the construction process, one of the main issues I had was using the video camera. Although I
had used this camera many times last year, this time I some small mistakes with the camera and
tripod. However, I found this camera very easy to use as it has simple instructions; my adverts were
fairly easy to film as the camera didnât move and I didnât use any zooms in or out, which meant the
camera was always still. The main issue I had was mistaking when the camera had stopped and when
it started; for a whole session of filming I had been pressing for the camera to start, when in fact it
was actually stopping and I didnât realise, which meant I had to re film a whole advert. I think that
this was a problem for me as I didnât pay much attention to the camera and was more focused on
directing the actors are looking at the storyboard; however as I progressed I learned not to make this
mistake again and didnât have any other problems with the camera again. I believe that working
independently developed my skills as I was able to make my own decisions about which camera
angles to use and which shots looked best which gave me more confidence.
I continued to use digital technologies when it
came to my evaluation. Once I had exported my
adverts I uploaded them to YouTube, which I
then posted on my Blogspot blog. I then used
Google Documents to create a questionnaire to
help me with my audience research, attaching
the links from YouTube to the survey so that
people were able to watch my videos. In order to
get answers on my survey I posted it on various
social networking sites such as Facebook and
Twitter in hope of getting as many responses as
possible. I found Google Docs really helpful as I
was able to create charts and graphs which
showed me the ratio and percentage of people
that answered each question on the survey and
then used that to see how successful my adverts
were.
