This blogpost will present our post-production evaluation on our fashion television advert.
Advert brief
A new fashion chain has opened and is aimed at 16-23 year olds. The sell a variety of clothing (similar to BANK). The sell hip brands that the edgy fashion conscious want to wear. In response to this, you are to create a one minute advert aimed at the above.
You will being by researching current stores/brands and look at what adverts there are currently. Write about what techniques are used, etc... Then begin on the following:
- Mindmap of ideas
- Researching existing adverts
- Gathering information and ideas
Basic outline of our advert
Slide 1 - White background - shows the company logo in the back and the male model stands upright, appearing in the camera frame (Mid-Shot). This is shown to promote and familiarize our audience to the company.
Slide 2 - The camera cuts to differnet shots (according to the beat of the music) and stops as a long shot of the male model in smart/casual black and white clothing. This is to show what the model is wearing, which will represent the kind of products we will have available.
Slide 3 - The scene snaps to a close up shot of the mans arm which is holding the alcohol bottle, and he is fixing his cufflinks/sleeve with his other hand. This is to show how the model is "fixing up" and to show that we are aiming at a niche but fun and young market.
Slide 4 - The scene then quickly jumps to the mans shoe, and shows him wiping it, making it look clean and sophisticated. This also shows that we offer mens accessories in our store as well as clothing.
Slide 5 - The advert the fades into a black background with a long shot of a girl pozing into a camera by fixing up her clothes and scrunching up her hair. This is to show the young, spoilt and carefree attitude that the girl has, which is kind of edgy in present times.
Slide 6 - The scene then switches into high angled, long shot of a girl sitting/slouching on a chair with her reaching into her make up bag, which is placed by her shoes. The camera will focus on her shoes to show that we offer these products too.
Slide 7 - Scene 7 will again cut to a close-up shot of the models face to show her putting on make-up. This is used to show the culture/beauty of the female model.
Slide 9 - The final scene finishes off as a mid shot of the female model picking up her accessories that were scattered on the floor, and then the advert fades into our company logo.
What type of research did you do?
The type of research that we carried out to result to our end media production was theoretical research on tasks like the Laura Mulvey theory, background research on legislation guidelines for advertisement making, resarch on techniques, styles, effects of advertisements.
We also carried our tasks like analysing different genres of adverts (chocolate, perfume, smoking adverts) to help us gain ideas on mise-en-scene elements, etc. We also carried out research on different audience psychographic profiles to help us find information to help us create the appropriate advert for our target market.
How did your research help you?
Our research helped us a lot to help expand our ideas to near-professional standard, to help us attach meaning and the appropriate techniques/styles to help create a efficient media product. Our research also helped towards our pre-production tasks as it helped us to plan before-hand to help us create a much more effective advert.
Does your advert meet the brief and how?
Our advert meets the brief perfectly as it is meets the requirements that was set out.
Our brief was;
"A new fashion chain has opened and is aimed at 16-23 year olds. They sell a variety of clothing (similar to BANK). They sell hip brands that the edgy fashion conscious want to wear. In response to this, you are to create a one minute advert aimed at the above."
Our idea relates to the brief as we have created a fashion chain called "Lumiere" and it is aimed at fashion conscious individuals from the ages of 16-23 year olds. The aspect that makes our store unique and to make it stand out from other companies on the market is that we are aiming at a edgier market, and we have a pricing range that will be suitable for the higher-class teen.
Is it fit for purpose?
The advert is fit for purpose as meets the requirements of the brief, is relatable to the target audience, thanks to the age of the models plus the trends/clothing we was advertising. The advert also fits the purpose as it includes the appropriate styles, techniques, and strategies to help make our advert more effective and "class" as a advert.
How effective is your advert?
On a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best), I would rate our advert a 7 for effectiveness as it meets the requirements, strategies and ideas of the brief and planning, however the production of the advert had flaws due to problems which arose that altered the quality and original idea of our advert.
The problems that arose were due to unexpected issues, we were unable to film the last part of our advert to its original plan (the male and female model getting together) as schedules did not align. We also had the problem of not being allowed to use official alcohol bottles and sheesha/smoke machines due to the restrictions of the location we used. This affected our original idea and the quality, which caused us to make some last minute changes.
So based on effectiveness, I would rate our advert 7/10 because it did not meet the original plan we made, however it still carries out and follows the advertisement guidelines and techiques to make it suit its purpose.
What types of shots did you use for maximum impact?
Mid shot - To get the customers/audience to recognise the model, as well as protray a little bit of their personality/emotion (attitude).
Long shot - To show the audience the full outfit of the model, to show trends/clothing.
Close up shot - To focus onto the little details and accessories, e.g. lipstick or watch. This centers the audiences' attention on the small and key products.
Low angle shot - low angle show to present the male looking confident, dominant and strong. Shows a sense of ego and confidence in his outfit.
High angle shot - high angle shot to present the female relaxing back in the chair. Shows the female has attitude and does not care of her surroundings.
What specific techniques did you use?
The specific techniques that we used within our advert were;
Music: Music is a effective way of setting the mood within a advertisement because it help to portray the message using sounds, jingles, music tracks, etc. A slow paced song sets the mood of relaxing or sadness, whereas a fast paced son will help make the advert energetic.
The use of non-diegetic music in our advert is our only auditory sound, as we only included the soundtrack "Suit and tie - Justin Timberlake ft. Jay-Z". We chose this song as it relates to our theme and message that we are trying to convey to the audience.
attractive people: the persuasive technique of using attractive people within a advertisement is a effective in gaining customers for a product/service because the viewers are attracted in the people, which grabs their attention, and the message conveyed in the advertisement is picked up consciously.
One of the main points and strategies that we focused our fashion advert on is using attractive people. This is used because the purpose of a fashion advert is looking good, feeling confident and attracting people. So we made sure that we used attractive and professional models to help us with our advert as it will give it a more professional look.
repetition of product name:The technique of using repetition of the product name is to help establish the name in the target market's mind, so they will not forget the product, and they will be able to recognize it if the see the product anywhere else.
As we have no diegetic speech/jingles or any other way of promoting our brand, We visually showed repetition of our product name/logo at the start and end of the video as this is the only way that the audience will recognize and be familiar with the company.
We have chosen to only promote our advert visually as the music used in the background is important that it is not interrupted and "light travels faster than speed" so customers will see and retain the logo in their mind faster than hearing a jingle.
How did you try to persuade the audience to buy your product?
The strategies we used to persuade our audience to buy our products were;
Amazing products/services: By showing that the product/service (that the advert is based on) is amazing and works efficiently is so customers would be more persuaded to purchase it.
Our advert used the strategy of using portraying amazing products by ensuring that the clothing modeled in the scenes is the center of attention. This so viewers are clear on what products we offer and to help fulfill the purpose of the advert.
Ideal social groups: Ideal social groups is a strategy which helps create a ideology in the minds of consumers, which is that is you buy/use the product/service being advertised, you will be part of a perfect social group.
The use of the strategy "ideal social groups" is used in our advert to show that if you purchase our clothes, or use products from Lumiere, you will fit into a more niche market, and instantly become more stylish, and attract more people.
Selective editing: Selective editing is a strategy used by advertisement creators to edit the footage filmed according to the message they wish to portray. They usually use clips that show the product in it's best form. This is to show the audience how well the product works.
Selective editing was used in our advert as we recorded various shots and angles of the models in their clothes to help us create an effect of "flashy photographer scenes" as well as ensuring that the audience sees the product from its best angle.
How effective were the techniques you used?
To rate the effectiveness of the techniques and strategies used in the advert, I would rate it a 8/10 (10 being the highest) as our techniques were effective and strong to attract the audiences' attention. The strategies and techniques were effective because the audience seemed to respond positively to the advert.
Show it to people - what did they think/audience reactions?
What has your feedback been like?
Our feedback from a small sample of our target audience was a positive response, as they found our advert intreguing and interesting. The sample said they would have liked to seen more and said that the effects/music/style was effective. They also agreed that the advert would be suitable for television airing, and it efficiently portrayed the message and brand in a clear method and style.
Did you communicate your brand and product clearly to the audience?
We ensured that we communicated our brand and product clearly to the audience by presenting our brand name/logo at the start and end of the advert. We also included social networking links/names and our website URL at the end of the advert to inform our customers on how to gain access to our shop/brand/company.
How effective was your planning?
On a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest), I would rate our planning a 6 out of 10 as all aspects were not fully planned to the last detail. For example, we did not plan in unexpected eventualities like the two models being unavailable, which left us stuck to film the last scenes. So to make up for it, we recorded extra scenes of the two models individually and extended the scenes to make up for the remaining time at the end.
We planned our time accordingly to the group member schedules and maintained good communication during pre-production and production to help us keep on top of planning, but we were unprepared for unexpected problems which flawed our planning.
How well did you work as a group, and what roles did you take?
I feel we all fulfilled our roles appropriately and all took charge and responsibility for tasks which play to our strengths to help achieve a successful production piece. We also carried out good communication, as we helped to update each other on any missing or absent information to help us keep on target for our grades.
We did this by splitting our tasks into four sections (pre-production, research, production and post production).
We did this by splitting our tasks into four sections (pre-production, research, production and post production).
I carried out the pre-production tasks by structuring our information and posting it into the appropriate blog posts. My team members helped us all to fulfill these tasks by carrying out the research behind the information and passing it to me through emails, images and blog posts.
Neepa carried out the research and gathered our physical equipment, like characters, locations, props, filming equipment, etc), to help us create our five minute single camera production. She was assigned this role as she had access and the contacts to help us get the props we needed for our production. The rest of us members helped to put in our input and ideas on the kind of locations and characters we wanted.
Marian then carried out the production tasks, as she has strengths such as ideas and creativity to help film the appropriate scenes for our one minute single camera production. We as team members helped to give input on what we think may be effective or appropriate for our film.
Shuab then carried out our post-production tasks as he has the skills and knowledge for the editing software due to previous experiences. He carried out the editing tasks for the film, by sorting out the technical features for our sound and visual scenes. We helped him as a team by again giving our input and opinions on what sound tracks or effects that should put in/used.
Overall, I feel we worked efficiently as a team as we all completed tasks according to our strengths and we maintained efficient communication.
Marian then carried out the production tasks, as she has strengths such as ideas and creativity to help film the appropriate scenes for our one minute single camera production. We as team members helped to give input on what we think may be effective or appropriate for our film.
Shuab then carried out our post-production tasks as he has the skills and knowledge for the editing software due to previous experiences. He carried out the editing tasks for the film, by sorting out the technical features for our sound and visual scenes. We helped him as a team by again giving our input and opinions on what sound tracks or effects that should put in/used.
Overall, I feel we worked efficiently as a team as we all completed tasks according to our strengths and we maintained efficient communication.
