Short film on the theme of space
Week 1
Christmas break was over and were finally back! I must admit, I was super happy be back at uni - being home was making me go slightly crazy! :p
In this first workshop for MDA1400, we got the chance to look back a little and converse with colleagues about each others final projects that we had produced for MDA1300. We were asked by David to talk about things we found challenging, as well as the things we think we did well. This was quite a fun experience as we got to think thoroughly about any mistakes we faced and how we could fix avoid them in future. Most interesting however, was seeing how similar everyones problems were. But we are still learning and making mistakes is part of the process, but it sure was more comforting to know that I was not the only person making mistakes. :D
Not long after, David introduced us to our new task! Exploring the theme of 'Space' in a 2-5 minute short!
The brief read:
MDA1400 Film Language and Production 2
Brief 1: Short film on the theme of space January 2013
Working in pairs, make a film of between 2-5 minutes exploring what the notion of ‘space’ means to you. You may work in any genre (but no music videos please), and you may use actors/subjects, sound effects and/or music. No archive footage.
Once you have settled on your concept, plan it out using storyboards, floorplans, written descriptions, still images, etc. Ensure that your finished film is convincing, intriguing, visually and aurally captivating – from start to finish.
Consider sound/image relations, properties of the lens, composition and camera angle, figure and camera movement, colour, lighting, rhythm and pace of editing. Find some stylistic references from other films.
Keep in mind that you are making a film to be experienced by an audience. How will you engage your audience for the entire length of your piece?
The small print:
- You must work in the Producer/Director pairs that you are assigned.
- It is your responsibility to find cast and crew as required.
- Remember to document your roles and professional development inyour blogs.Grading criteria:
- clarity of conception (this does not mean that you must convey a clear ‘message’): your ‘take’ on the theme of space is manifestly and uncontradictorily apparent
- stylistic integrity: formal unity and/or an aesthetic necessity for each element (sound effect, composition, lens angle, etc.)
- professionalism of execution
- polish of presentation, including titles, graphics, etc.Due: in class (on a memory stick) and on Vimeo, on 6/7 February 2013 Weighting: 25%
I was super excited about this task! Personally, I love to explore odd and complex subjects we encounter in our day-to-day lives. Yes, I had thought about space a lot before, only in astronomical sense, and not in the context were meant to explore in this project. Still i was fond of the idea as there were thousands of things we could done for the project.
David then preceded onto the next part of the workshop, in which we watched a few films that deal with the theme of space. I thought this was great because it gave us a good insight at the types of thing we could do for our own projects, but also because we got to analyse each of the videos and discuss them after the viewing. It was awesome to see how powerful each film was, given the different approaches each film maker took in executing them.
Shortly before the session ended, we were all paired up into producer and director groups. Due to the large snowfall during last week, there was a low attendance of students that day. There were only 8 of us in the class until Pat showed up half way through the session. We were then 9 which meant 1 student would be left without a partner - and just my luck... me! So I jokingly played on this and brought up the fact that, I was half an hour early for the class, given that I had to travel 2 hours through the snow on public transport. I therefore demanded that I would be paired up with Joel. I did so because I enjoy working with him and fully trust his work and judgement. Obviously, I was not expecting that David would pair me with Joel as we were not meant to work with someone who we had worked with in the previous project. It was work a try! :D
Week 2
The next monday I found out that, I would in fact be working with Joel! Pow! That day we didn't see each other much, and consequently had to come up with an idea on tuesday - so we did as well as deciding roles. We decided that I would be Producing and Joel Directing.
We both had pretty good ideas and so we discussed them both.
I thought it could be cool to explore movement is space, to portray space as a catalyst that allows movement. Movement is how the world and universe function, and space is simple the thing that allows it. Whether it mechanical, biological. To grow, we need to be able to move; to eat, we need to move; to breathe, we need to move; to travel we need to move. Anything we do requires movement, and space allows all of this! I only wasn't sure how the way I would develop this idea for the film.
Joel on the other hand hand, had a different, sentimental and more constructed idea. His idea was to explore the meaning of a given space and how one place alone can mean something different, to different types of people. Also, to explore how the notion of a space can be changed due to any type of event. Joel was passionate about this idea and knew exactly what he wanted to portray this in the film. I was sold and so we settled for Joel's idea. :D
On wednesday we were meant supposed to present to David this idea. Unfortunately, I fell ill that same tuesday night, and so I was unable to attend the wednesday workshop. I was supper annoyed by this because as a producer i wanted to have been there to to support Joel and also because I hadn't been that ill in years! I let Joel know that I couldn't make it, he was fine with it and we kept in contact during the day as I wanted to know how it had gone. Joel told me that things went well and that David liked the idea.
We had a one day shoot in the Grove. Joel and I were both present and we had Patryk to play the cleaner. Joel directed, and I, once again, did sound. Before the shoot we cleared the grove out so that we would have enough space to film in. We had a little problem before the shoot regarding permission to film there on the weekend. A security guard from the university came to us and asked if we had permission to be filming on the day. We were genuinely unaware that we had to get permission, so we discussed this with him. He was nice enough to let this one off, and consequently I gave him my name and student number so that we could pass it on to the rest of his team.
It wasn't a hard shoot, it only took around 2 hours to film. We acquired all the shots and sounds we needed for the edit.
Week 3
The day after, on monday, we met up with Patryk once again after our morning screening to capture voice over Dialogue. We did a couple of takes for each line and we were done.
On tuesday, we edited after after our lessons. This was definitely the longest part of the shoot. We got James to edit the film for us. it was pretty straight forward. The only thing that we had trouble with, was that we didn't exactly have 3 sounds that were crucial to the piece: Running footsteps, shattering and a scream. We opted for the easiest solution to the problem... downloaded sounds from the internet. They weren't the best but did the job. We also had to chose a nice piece of music for the soundtrack.
At 11pm we were finally done, and uploaded the film onto Vimeo.
Click the link below to view the film:
The next day, on wednesday, the class was back in for the workshop to review each others films. It was really nice to see everybody's work. After seeing our film, we didn't receive too much criticism. David wasn't too keen on the sounds we used for the shattering, running footsteps and scream. He said they sounded fake and was the only real let down to the film. He also criticised the dialogue as it was a very well spoken, given that he was a cleaner, but he liked the piece.
Over all we were content with film an the reviews that we got. I was really proud! However, I wasn't entirely sure that I enjoyed the role of producer, although I did have a say in the decisions, I didn't feel like it was a very artistic role. I also don't think that this film needed a great deal of producing... everything was pretty straight forward, though, I think I failed in the location department due to the problem we had with permission to film in the Grove. What I think I did right though, was being able to give Joel the freedom that he needed in directing. Obviously, I kept an eye on the clock at all times, and if I felt that some things were taking too long I would let him know.
Like I said before though, I am really proud of what we were able to achieve in the time that we were given!
In this first workshop for the advert video, Helen talked to us about what adverts really are and what they aim to do. With the assistance of a presentation she talked us through what needed to be done in order to create a good advert, based on the needs of the client. We also watched some clips from hit TV series "Mad Men". In these clips we saw how Mr. Draper pitched his ideas to his clients. This was a good illustration of what a good pitch should be. It was interesting to see his passion toward his job and how he coped with it all, and this I thought would help us with our pitch the following week.
Soon after, in the workshop, Helen put us into pairs - these would be the pairs we would work together as Producer and Director. I was actually really quite anxious to hear who I would be partnered with. I was then paired with Jeamie. At first, I was a little concerned. We are good friends, but we had worked with together once before and personally I didn't think we worked that well together, mainly because we didn't communicate that well and were always afraid to be honest to one another concerning ideas. However this is a whole new project, and we would have to do what we could.
This is the brief we were given:
So we now had our brief and a partner to work with, so Helen asked us to take an hour and pick a client to advertise for, and to start research on the product. Jeamie and I had a tough time picking a product to advertise. I think this took up most of our time and not much research was done. We talked about advertising for iPhone, but our main issue with this is, that Apple have almost literally done everything and we wanted to come up with something original. Also, there would be many complication with filming an iPhone. I though we should find something simple to do, so, I suggested we did Smint. We decided to go with it.
Once back in the workshop room, we had to present to Helen what we had come up with. We talked to her about the product and that we wanted to target a younger audience. It was evident that we had not done much research in that hour given, so Helen told us we had to catch up and research more for next week.
After the workshop, Jeamie and I discussed our roles. I was producer and he would be directing. Throughout the week we discussed literally everything. So things got real!
We did our research, schedule, script and storyboard, and got ready for what followed - the pitch presentation!
Jeamie sent me 3 short stories for the advert as requested.
These are the stories he sent me:
Story 1:
Story 2:
Finally it was time for the pitch! I had asked Jeamie to meet me at the grove at 8:30 am so that we could go over everything before our pitch, just to be sure we had everything. Unfortunately, he did not turn up on time, so when it turned 9am I was feeling the pressure. He eventually turned up to the workshop however. Jeamie and I anxiously awaited for our turn as we watched our classmates do their pitch. It was really cool to see everyone's work. I did not feel ready to give the presentation... but then again, I always feel like I'm doing something wrong. So our turn came and we did our best.
Script for advert
The presentation went a lot better than expected. After the pitch, Helen let us know what she though. She said that we had made a lot of progress, and that the product was really well researched. In reference to the the script, she said that maybe we should make the characters more even. However, as an all she liked the direction in which we were going and that our project was looking good so far.
As I took the role of the producer it was up to me to take care of any issues and permits. I therefore had to get permission from security to film in the elevator at the grove.
Surprisingly, the shoot was one day before the day it was scheduled to be. I guess we felt ready and one day extra to edit would not hurt a soul! :D
For the shoot I acquired the following people:
So, in this workshop with Eddie, we were given our next brief assignment- to create a campaign film. For this project we will have to pick a subject and make a film 30 seconds - 3 minute in length.
The brief read:
"Final Assignment
During the workshop, Eddie also showed us all different types of campaign videos. Along with this, he talked to the class about each video focussing mainly on the: Aims, Key messages, and target audience.
The video that stood out to me the most was the Make Poverty history "Click" video.
I loved how simple the video was. The cause alone meant a lot, but what struck was not the household names involved; each click, being a simple body movement were incredibly powerful. Also, the key messages and aims of the video were simple. I must say however, that the use of known celebrities was a smart move for motivation.
The workshop seemed to have gone in a matter of minutes, and so, we left to begin work! For this project I paired up with my good friend Samara Addai - She would be directing and I would be producing... again! Were incredibly good friends, so this either meant, greatness or tragedy! :P
We began by coming up with a subject to work on for the campaign video. Firstly, we both listed several topics that we thought would be good to work on. Secondly, we narrowed them down to just two topics, and talked more about them. The topics were: Hearing damage (induced by loud noises/music) and Pornography addiction. We decided to go for Pornography addiction, due to the fact that not many people know of it, and it is affecting people and their minds.
We began doing our paper work by researching the topic. This was a hard task for us as this is not a subject widely spoken about in the UK. Most of the statistics we found were from the US. We did eventually find some websites from the UK, as well as a Sex addiction clinic in London that dealt with Pornography addiction also.
We then started to think about our aims, and the messages we wanted to get across in this video, but also our target audience. If Im being totally honest, I think we were both a little confused about the whole thing, regarding the aims, key messages and target audience. So we did our paperwork throughout that week and stayed in contact pretty much all the time. I left the synopsis for Sam and I did the rest of the paper work. We had done pretty much all we need to do for the tutorial on wednesday... or so we thought!
Eddie began by saying that he like the layout of the document, and that the name of campaign "speaks volumes". But he was not happy with the rest.
He said that he was not about the aims, key messages and audience of the video and that for most part we were contradicting ourselves. Also we over complicated ourselves but making, what we wrote sound very complicated. We needed to be more clear and straight to
the point. He was also not pleased about petty typos that we had made. :S He did say that we need to tighten down on our target audience because. Audience is crucial, it is them we are talking to.
Although we got loads of criticism I felt like it helped us. He sent us aways thinking about things and to answer the question he gave us.
WHERE ARE YOU GOING TO TAKE THEM?
HOW ARE YOU GOING TO REACH THEM?
He also complained about the schedule because it was not yet complete.
His verdict was, that we were thinking too much about the actual film as opposed to the real thing- The subject! Also... little details is what pre-procution is all about!
Once again, Eddie was straight forward with us.
He said we were making the same mistakes. Again we were thinking about final product as opposed to the real issue that needed to be addressed.
He felt that we were confused about the target audience and everything else as a matter of fact.
At this point I was just taking it all in, and the worse part was that I couldn't help but to agree with what he was saying.
He concluded by saying that he was expecting "a shit film".
In all fairness, this was what Samara and needed. It was a good reality check.
We spent most of our time thinking about a good video and not about the real issue. Now, how are supposed to make a good video if were not entirely sure about what were trying to represent?
Now under pressure we looked through everything and still tried to work at it. However this was not enough... we felt as though we had over complicated the work, and consequently overdone ourselves with a complex subject.
So we thought about we had done and still kept in contact during the Easter holidays. None of us were happy with the situation and something had to be done. Consequently, We decided to change the campaign and start from scratch!
We threw the pornography addiction idea away and decided to use the other one we spoke of previously - Hearing Damage (due to loud music).
Samara and I wasted no time we got to work straight away. Because it was still the Easter holiday, it made it harder for us to meet up at university given that we live hour away from each other. We spent hours-upon-hours on Facetime and Skype in order to get all of this work done.
This was a massive revamp! So much so, we also decided to change roles. I must admit, Samara is a better producer than I am. :D :S I am now directing and Samara is producing.
Both Samara and I worked really had on this project. We had no time to waste and everything was really quick.
Producer: Samara Addai
Director: Miguel Fonseca
Our campaign is about hearing damage caused by loud music in teenagers.
Approach to the campaign-
Samara and I thought It would be wise get to terms with what were dealing with, so, detailed research was needed. Though, we found it strange that we could not find any hearing damage related campaign videos. Having overdone ourselves on the failed campaign video, we wanted to keep things simple and straight forward. However, the most important thing was Target audience.
Aim-
To make our audience more aware of the damage they are causing themselves by exceeding safe sound levels when listening to music. Also, if they wish to do so, check out the website provided in the video. I do believe that Samara and I achieved this due to the fact that we demonstrated what can happen to one's hearing if they listen to their music too loud, as well as providing a website where they can find more information.
Key messages-
Exceeding safe sound levels when listening to music can seriously damage someones hearing, may lead to deafness, and the first sign of this is a ringing sound inside the ear called, tinnitus. People can prevent this from happening. Essentially our true key message is: #LoveYourEars. Turn It Down. I think think that we go this right in the video, because we have included the #LoveYourEars. Turn It Down phrase at the end of the video. I think we got this right firstly when we hear the music really loud and its starts to decrease gradually, as the tinnitus sound begins to increase and takes over fully.
Target audience-
We chose to target teenagers of the 16-19 age group. The reason for this is, these are the ages that regularly exceed safe sound levels when when listening to music, or attend clubs and concerts. I think it is safe to say our target should watch our film, due to the fact that, a large number are unaware of the damage loud music can cause.
We hope to reach our target audience through various music channels, such as MTV, VH1, KERRANG, 4Music, Channel AKA.
Methodology-
Well, Samara and I worked closely together. We began by researching the topic thoroughly, to gain the knowledge and facts we needed. From there we started to think about the aims, keys messages and target audience especially. During our research, we thought it was fair to listen to the tinnitus sound for a minute or so. It was only fair, given that we doing out video on hearing damage. We kept things simple and straight forward, but always with the audience in mind.
I directed this video. After we had done the research and worked on the things we needed to work on, I knew what the video should look like. I wanted things maintain things simple, yet powerful. I then wrote a script, created a story board. (my drawings are terrible!!) I had never directed before so I was really anxious about it all. Therefore I would consult samara before I make any drastic decisions. Given that she was producing, she would give me the "YES" or "NO"! I could see it in my head how everything was meant be, the white wall, the close-ups and mid-close-ups, the character. I wanted it all to be very personal. I wanted the edit of the beginning shot to match the beat of the music and then to not match the music. Keeping our target audience in mind at all times helped us a lot, as it influenced song and actor choice. So we gathered a crew for the film and got an actor.
Working with Samara was... different. We are incredibly great friends and both incredibly immature when together - its like we bounce stupidity off of each other. It was hard at time because we got easily distracted and later we would realise that we had not done great and this caused some friction. However, once we got our heads in work mode for this new campaign, we worked really well. It actually interesting to see, because we actually shared similar ideas that we never mentioned before because we would always get distracted. All-in-all I think we made a good team, because it takes a good team to overcome any difficulties and still be able to complete the work on time.
STORY BOARDS
SCRIPT
The Video And Evaluation-
Advert video
Week 1
Soon after, in the workshop, Helen put us into pairs - these would be the pairs we would work together as Producer and Director. I was actually really quite anxious to hear who I would be partnered with. I was then paired with Jeamie. At first, I was a little concerned. We are good friends, but we had worked with together once before and personally I didn't think we worked that well together, mainly because we didn't communicate that well and were always afraid to be honest to one another concerning ideas. However this is a whole new project, and we would have to do what we could.
This is the brief we were given:
"MDA1400 Advertisement Brief(Assignment 2) 25%
Make a 30 second commercial. You can use any creative film techniques, approach or genre you like within your commercial.
You must choose one of the following to advertise…•A product•A service•A place
You must work in Producer/Director pairs.It is your responsibility to find cast and crew as required.Remember to document your roles and professional development on your blogs.
Week by week schedule
Week 16•Pick a product or a service or a place•Research your client mission and brand identity, previous ads, competitor ads, modes of campaign etc•Review current and past advertising in this area, and related areas if appropriate•Present your research
Week 17Client Pitch and Schedule Presentation
•Create a mood board to characterise your ad in relation to your target consumer. You may do this digitally in powerpoint (or similar) or make a collage on a large piece of paper with cut-out images and text•Prepare the following:•Script•Story board
•List of crew and schedule
Week 18 (Reading Week)There is no class - you will be working on the production:•Shoot and edit to fine cut
Week 19Ads to be presented in week 19 in class•Upload to Vimeo•Bring backup copy on a flash drive•All class will attend and view ads"
So we now had our brief and a partner to work with, so Helen asked us to take an hour and pick a client to advertise for, and to start research on the product. Jeamie and I had a tough time picking a product to advertise. I think this took up most of our time and not much research was done. We talked about advertising for iPhone, but our main issue with this is, that Apple have almost literally done everything and we wanted to come up with something original. Also, there would be many complication with filming an iPhone. I though we should find something simple to do, so, I suggested we did Smint. We decided to go with it.
After the workshop, Jeamie and I discussed our roles. I was producer and he would be directing. Throughout the week we discussed literally everything. So things got real!
We did our research, schedule, script and storyboard, and got ready for what followed - the pitch presentation!
Jeamie sent me 3 short stories for the advert as requested.
These are the stories he sent me:
Story 1:
A couple on a date.
Location: Cafe, restaurant or dinning area
Character A - Female
Character B - Male
The Writing in Bold is activities!!
A is talking and B look's bothered.
B: I got something to tell you..
"B reaches for his pocket but drops the item on the floor
as B is picking up the item he goes on one knee"
"A Stands up and shouts"
A: Yess!
B: Huh, what?
A:Yes I will!
B: Yes I will what?
A: Oh, did I spoil it?..was it meant to be a surprise?..okay okay.
"While smiling, A then covers her eyes and puts her left hand
towards B with excitement"
"Looking confused, B grabs her hand and turns it over
while putting a mint on her palm"
"A Removes her Hand from her eyes & looks at her hand"
A: What is this!?
B: It's an Smint..you really need it
"A looking surprised, throws the mint back at B"
A: How could you
"A walks out in a strop"
B: Huh, what did I do?..wait, Wait!
"B follows A as she walks out"
Story 2:
Library Mint
Location: Library
Character A - Male (Nerdy Looking)
Character B - Female (Good looking)
A is reading a book on the library's table.
As B walks pass, A smiles at B
but she looks at A with disgust.
A then imitates the face gesture that B pulled
& carries on reading.
B sits on the same table as A.
B takes out books from her bag & starts writing.
As B is writing, she sees A taking out a packet of Smint
from the corner of her eyes.
A takes a mint & puts it in his mouth
then goes back to reading again.
B then erotically looks at A & bites her bottom lip.
As A is reading, he looks on his left & realises B is sitting next to
him smiling, holding the table with an arousing look.
A then moves his eyes from left to right and slowly smiles.
B then pounces on A & starts kissing him
(At this point you can only see the table and clothes flying up in the air
with a logo & a voice over)
"A Screams"
A: Mummy !!
Story 3:
Elevator love.
Location: Elevator
Character A - Female
Character B - Male
I MADE 3 ENDINGS YOU CAN CHOOSE FROM AT THE END.
A is seen waiting for the elevator.
As the door opens
B is seen standing inside the elevator.
A walks in & smiles at B;
B unsurely smiles back as the door closes.
As A presses the elevator button
B is seen looking at A with desire.
B starts to adjust & brush his clothing
when B goes to approach A
he stops half way
as if he forgot something.
B takes out a Smint & puts it in his mouth.
A starts to look at B up & down with desire.
Ending 1
at this point we hear the elevator door ring,
as the door opens we see B walk out
with kisses on his face and
his hair & clothing disorganized.
Ending 2
The door opens,
we see A walk with her Hair & clothing Disorganized
wiping her lips as she walks off.
Ending 3
The door opens,
we see B holding his face in pain
while A walks out in a strop
I suggested that we would use Story 3, though some things would have to be changed. So I used his story and wrote up the script and modified it a little. I wrote a different ending for the main script.
Week 2
Finally it was time for the pitch! I had asked Jeamie to meet me at the grove at 8:30 am so that we could go over everything before our pitch, just to be sure we had everything. Unfortunately, he did not turn up on time, so when it turned 9am I was feeling the pressure. He eventually turned up to the workshop however. Jeamie and I anxiously awaited for our turn as we watched our classmates do their pitch. It was really cool to see everyone's work. I did not feel ready to give the presentation... but then again, I always feel like I'm doing something wrong. So our turn came and we did our best.
We told Helen and the class that we wanted to target an audience of between the ages of 16-24. The reason for this is that in previous adverts, Smint, had only targeted adults and younger children. We therefore found an area that we could work with, in order to increase sales for Smint. Given that Smint is meant to make you feel fresh and cool, we decided that we would use things that young adults are concerned with in the advert: body image, love, status e.t.c. In our ad however, we used love as a the main hooking strategy. Ask me why, and I will tell you that one of the things that most young adults worry about, is love and being appealing to others. Through this advert, the message we try to give out is that by consuming Smint, you become cooler, and much more appealing - causes an irresistible attraction. Like an momentary outburst of pheromones. We came up with the following slogan. "Bringing love to your mouth". We will also include some comedic value.
We also showed her the Script, storyboards, and schedules.. Our research is illustrated in the pitch presentation link.
We also showed her the Script, storyboards, and schedules.. Our research is illustrated in the pitch presentation link.
Click the link below for the presentation:
Script for advert
The presentation went a lot better than expected. After the pitch, Helen let us know what she though. She said that we had made a lot of progress, and that the product was really well researched. In reference to the the script, she said that maybe we should make the characters more even. However, as an all she liked the direction in which we were going and that our project was looking good so far.
As I took the role of the producer it was up to me to take care of any issues and permits. I therefore had to get permission from security to film in the elevator at the grove.
Surprisingly, the shoot was one day before the day it was scheduled to be. I guess we felt ready and one day extra to edit would not hurt a soul! :D
For the shoot I acquired the following people:
- Joel Macklin - Camera man
- Vorn Smith - Boy in elevator
- Lowri Woods - Girl 1
- Samara Addai - Girl 2
Once at the location, we realised that something would make the shoot a lot more difficult! It was only a massive mirror at the back of the elevator! It still bothers me how I failed to acknowledge it before! Also, the lighting of the elevator was very yellow, that ticked us off a little bit also. We did with what we could, it was a challenge but apart from that it ran rather smoothly. All in all, the shoot only took around 2 hours. It was actually a fun day! :)
Editing took only one day. Jeamie and I did the edit, he focussed more on footage, whereas I did sound mainly. Due to prolonged shots, we were unable to use the close-up shots that we wanted, was a real shame. We also got Abdi to create a logo for us, where the tagline "Bringing love to your mouth" was situated.
Click the link below for the film:
Smint - Bringing love to your mouth
So she watched the film... and as I understand, she seemed to have liked it. :D She did have some criticism though. However, it was nothing that we weren't expecting already. She mentioned the lighting. Helen said that it was too yellow and too warm and didn't suit the feel of the advert and product (Smint is meant to make you feel cool and fresh). She also mentioned the lack of close-up shots in the advert, and we explained it was due to timing, as some shots were longer than expected. Also she stated that, the first girl in the advert seemed too sophisticated and grown up. I acknowledged it but also, kindly disagreed as people have become very individual and have gained their own style. But Helen did laugh at the end of the advert, which suggest to me that the the comedic aspects we put in did work! :D
Overall I was pleased with the reviews we got. Nearly all that that Helen mentioned, we were aware of and knew that they were things that would come up, so I wasn't at all disappointed with the response the video got.
Do I think the advert worked?
I do believe that, through the advert we were able to pass on the message intended, though we were let down by lighting as the yellow-warm colour does pretty much defeat the idea of Smint being cooling and refreshing. But not entirely a disaster! The advert does most certainly side with the clients identity. What we did wasn't entirely new. The research that we carried out did allowed us to come across all types of adverts for Smint - from comedic to sexual to health conscious. All that we did was use these same elements and create an advert for a different target audience.
Editing took only one day. Jeamie and I did the edit, he focussed more on footage, whereas I did sound mainly. Due to prolonged shots, we were unable to use the close-up shots that we wanted, was a real shame. We also got Abdi to create a logo for us, where the tagline "Bringing love to your mouth" was situated.
Week 3
Finally it was time to present our film. Unfortunately for me, I did not attend the workshop due self prone idiocy! I put my alarm on for 6am on Wednesday morning, when it rang I accidentally switched it off and did not wake up. I therefore overslept! I realise how bad this is given that I am the producer. I was majorly disappointed. Luckily, Helen agree to speak to me vie FaceTime. :D I was stoked!Click the link below for the film:
Smint - Bringing love to your mouth
So she watched the film... and as I understand, she seemed to have liked it. :D She did have some criticism though. However, it was nothing that we weren't expecting already. She mentioned the lighting. Helen said that it was too yellow and too warm and didn't suit the feel of the advert and product (Smint is meant to make you feel cool and fresh). She also mentioned the lack of close-up shots in the advert, and we explained it was due to timing, as some shots were longer than expected. Also she stated that, the first girl in the advert seemed too sophisticated and grown up. I acknowledged it but also, kindly disagreed as people have become very individual and have gained their own style. But Helen did laugh at the end of the advert, which suggest to me that the the comedic aspects we put in did work! :D
Overall I was pleased with the reviews we got. Nearly all that that Helen mentioned, we were aware of and knew that they were things that would come up, so I wasn't at all disappointed with the response the video got.
Do I think the advert worked?
I do believe that, through the advert we were able to pass on the message intended, though we were let down by lighting as the yellow-warm colour does pretty much defeat the idea of Smint being cooling and refreshing. But not entirely a disaster! The advert does most certainly side with the clients identity. What we did wasn't entirely new. The research that we carried out did allowed us to come across all types of adverts for Smint - from comedic to sexual to health conscious. All that we did was use these same elements and create an advert for a different target audience.
The Campaign Video
So, in this workshop with Eddie, we were given our next brief assignment- to create a campaign film. For this project we will have to pick a subject and make a film 30 seconds - 3 minute in length.
The brief read:
"Final Assignment
- Campaign Film -
Think of an issue or campaign that interests you and that you feel passionate about. Make a campaign film with a specific aim e.g. to create awareness, to change behaviour, to motivate people to act [no spoof campaign films please].
Your film must be no longer than 3 minutes in length and no shorter than 30 seconds.
You have three weeks to make this film. Research your chosen interest well: What is the issue?; What campaign films are already made in this area?; What is your unique approach?; Do you have a specific message to get across?; Is your idea good?; What are the aim/s of your film?; how do you want your audience to react after viewing your film?
There will be tutorials to discuss your campaign idea and supporting material.
For pre-production: research and plan your campaign film and prepare:
- Research (e.g. what has been done previously, stats, archives etc..)
- Who is the producer/director?- Crew (names & responsibilities)- Synopsis- Treatment- Key aim/s- Key messages
- Target audience- Style
- Distribution- Schedule- List of crew- Story board- Floorplan (if appropriate)"
During the workshop, Eddie also showed us all different types of campaign videos. Along with this, he talked to the class about each video focussing mainly on the: Aims, Key messages, and target audience.
The video that stood out to me the most was the Make Poverty history "Click" video.
I loved how simple the video was. The cause alone meant a lot, but what struck was not the household names involved; each click, being a simple body movement were incredibly powerful. Also, the key messages and aims of the video were simple. I must say however, that the use of known celebrities was a smart move for motivation.
The workshop seemed to have gone in a matter of minutes, and so, we left to begin work! For this project I paired up with my good friend Samara Addai - She would be directing and I would be producing... again! Were incredibly good friends, so this either meant, greatness or tragedy! :P
We began by coming up with a subject to work on for the campaign video. Firstly, we both listed several topics that we thought would be good to work on. Secondly, we narrowed them down to just two topics, and talked more about them. The topics were: Hearing damage (induced by loud noises/music) and Pornography addiction. We decided to go for Pornography addiction, due to the fact that not many people know of it, and it is affecting people and their minds.
We began doing our paper work by researching the topic. This was a hard task for us as this is not a subject widely spoken about in the UK. Most of the statistics we found were from the US. We did eventually find some websites from the UK, as well as a Sex addiction clinic in London that dealt with Pornography addiction also.
We then started to think about our aims, and the messages we wanted to get across in this video, but also our target audience. If Im being totally honest, I think we were both a little confused about the whole thing, regarding the aims, key messages and target audience. So we did our paperwork throughout that week and stayed in contact pretty much all the time. I left the synopsis for Sam and I did the rest of the paper work. We had done pretty much all we need to do for the tutorial on wednesday... or so we thought!
Tutorial 1
So we went in for our first tutorial with Eddie. In this tutorial we presented him we presented Eddie with the treatment, script, storyboard and schedule.
So he read through it and gave us some feedback.
He said that he was not about the aims, key messages and audience of the video and that for most part we were contradicting ourselves. Also we over complicated ourselves but making, what we wrote sound very complicated. We needed to be more clear and straight tothe point. He was also not pleased about petty typos that we had made. :S He did say that we need to tighten down on our target audience because. Audience is crucial, it is them we are talking to.
Although we got loads of criticism I felt like it helped us. He sent us aways thinking about things and to answer the question he gave us.
WHERE ARE YOU GOING TO TAKE THEM?
He also complained about the schedule because it was not yet complete.
His verdict was, that we were thinking too much about the actual film as opposed to the real thing- The subject! Also... little details is what pre-procution is all about!
So we left and for the next week we tried to fix our mistakes. Samara wrote up a script, done a storyboard and a shot list. I on the other hand, completed the schedule and worked on the treatment as a whole... especially the target audience.
Tutorial 2
We turned up at the tutorial hoping we had improved. We had simplified the writing, so that it would be easier to understand what we were trying to get across.
Once again, Eddie was straight forward with us.
He said we were making the same mistakes. Again we were thinking about final product as opposed to the real issue that needed to be addressed.
He felt that we were confused about the target audience and everything else as a matter of fact.
At this point I was just taking it all in, and the worse part was that I couldn't help but to agree with what he was saying.
He concluded by saying that he was expecting "a shit film".
In all fairness, this was what Samara and needed. It was a good reality check.
We spent most of our time thinking about a good video and not about the real issue. Now, how are supposed to make a good video if were not entirely sure about what were trying to represent?
Now under pressure we looked through everything and still tried to work at it. However this was not enough... we felt as though we had over complicated the work, and consequently overdone ourselves with a complex subject.
So we thought about we had done and still kept in contact during the Easter holidays. None of us were happy with the situation and something had to be done. Consequently, We decided to change the campaign and start from scratch!
Starting from Scratch - New campaign
After a much needed reality check from Eddie and a great discussion between Samara and I, We did decide to change the whole thing and start from scratch - Literally! I realise, that at this stage, time is not our best ally but we were willing to make this work. It had to be done! We wanted to make a good video and prove to ourselves, that, we can work for it and do it well!We threw the pornography addiction idea away and decided to use the other one we spoke of previously - Hearing Damage (due to loud music).
Samara and I wasted no time we got to work straight away. Because it was still the Easter holiday, it made it harder for us to meet up at university given that we live hour away from each other. We spent hours-upon-hours on Facetime and Skype in order to get all of this work done.
This was a massive revamp! So much so, we also decided to change roles. I must admit, Samara is a better producer than I am. :D :S I am now directing and Samara is producing.
Both Samara and I worked really had on this project. We had no time to waste and everything was really quick.
#LoveYourEars. Turn It Down - Campaign
Producer: Samara Addai
Director: Miguel Fonseca
Our campaign is about hearing damage caused by loud music in teenagers.
Approach to the campaign-
Samara and I thought It would be wise get to terms with what were dealing with, so, detailed research was needed. Though, we found it strange that we could not find any hearing damage related campaign videos. Having overdone ourselves on the failed campaign video, we wanted to keep things simple and straight forward. However, the most important thing was Target audience.
Aim-
To make our audience more aware of the damage they are causing themselves by exceeding safe sound levels when listening to music. Also, if they wish to do so, check out the website provided in the video. I do believe that Samara and I achieved this due to the fact that we demonstrated what can happen to one's hearing if they listen to their music too loud, as well as providing a website where they can find more information.
Key messages-
Exceeding safe sound levels when listening to music can seriously damage someones hearing, may lead to deafness, and the first sign of this is a ringing sound inside the ear called, tinnitus. People can prevent this from happening. Essentially our true key message is: #LoveYourEars. Turn It Down. I think think that we go this right in the video, because we have included the #LoveYourEars. Turn It Down phrase at the end of the video. I think we got this right firstly when we hear the music really loud and its starts to decrease gradually, as the tinnitus sound begins to increase and takes over fully.
Target audience-We chose to target teenagers of the 16-19 age group. The reason for this is, these are the ages that regularly exceed safe sound levels when when listening to music, or attend clubs and concerts. I think it is safe to say our target should watch our film, due to the fact that, a large number are unaware of the damage loud music can cause.
We hope to reach our target audience through various music channels, such as MTV, VH1, KERRANG, 4Music, Channel AKA.
Methodology-
Well, Samara and I worked closely together. We began by researching the topic thoroughly, to gain the knowledge and facts we needed. From there we started to think about the aims, keys messages and target audience especially. During our research, we thought it was fair to listen to the tinnitus sound for a minute or so. It was only fair, given that we doing out video on hearing damage. We kept things simple and straight forward, but always with the audience in mind.I directed this video. After we had done the research and worked on the things we needed to work on, I knew what the video should look like. I wanted things maintain things simple, yet powerful. I then wrote a script, created a story board. (my drawings are terrible!!) I had never directed before so I was really anxious about it all. Therefore I would consult samara before I make any drastic decisions. Given that she was producing, she would give me the "YES" or "NO"! I could see it in my head how everything was meant be, the white wall, the close-ups and mid-close-ups, the character. I wanted it all to be very personal. I wanted the edit of the beginning shot to match the beat of the music and then to not match the music. Keeping our target audience in mind at all times helped us a lot, as it influenced song and actor choice. So we gathered a crew for the film and got an actor.Working with Samara was... different. We are incredibly great friends and both incredibly immature when together - its like we bounce stupidity off of each other. It was hard at time because we got easily distracted and later we would realise that we had not done great and this caused some friction. However, once we got our heads in work mode for this new campaign, we worked really well. It actually interesting to see, because we actually shared similar ideas that we never mentioned before because we would always get distracted. All-in-all I think we made a good team, because it takes a good team to overcome any difficulties and still be able to complete the work on time.
STORY BOARDS
SCRIPT
The Video And Evaluation-
Like I said, when we began this new campaign project, I knew exactly how I wanted it to look, feel and also what we would hear. This is 100 times better than than what the pornography addiction video would have been.
Though I was very anxious about directing for the first time, I am truly proud of what I have achieved directing this video. I wanted this film to be simple, effective and personal, which is why I used close-ups and mid-closeups, as well as the white wall background. I wanted to focus only on the character (Vorn), his ears and sounds. I feel as though the shots I have chosen have bee able to do just that with the help of the sounds. I also wanted to draw in, on how dark and dull someones life could become due to the the effects of loud music, which is why I chose to have the image in black and white at the end. I think the loss of hearing was illustrated nicely given the time frame we gave the video. I also think that Vorn took direction well, but we also relied on his skills as an actor.
Samara edited the video well and accordingly to the storyboard(though we captured an extra shot during the shoot). I think the sound was also edited perfectly. The tinnitus sound was in my opinion the most powerful thing about the video; it really pierced through my ears to the point where I felt bothered. If anyone else found it to be just as irritating as Samara and I did, then we have done a good job.
I think we were able to achieve our goals in regards to the aim and key messages, and for that I am truly happy, and praise Samara for being a good producer and for always being on top of the situation.
I have only one real regret about this whole thing - not having worked on this subject from the moment we were given the brief.
Throughout this experience I have learnt that time is just not to be messed with. Things can be some much easier and turn out so much better if you just abide by time. Another thing that I have learnt is that the audience is of most importance! I say thin because we struggled with audience in the pornography addiction campaign, and in this one we kept the audience in our mind at all times. knowing who your audience is helps you make clearer decision. It does not matter how great your aims and key messages are, if you have no clear target audience, then you are communicating to no one which makes everything else irrelevant.
To conclude I would just like to say that I am proud of the work Samara and I were able to achieve in the time that we had. I realise that this is our fault, but if we had give ourselves more time, maybe we could have done something even greater.
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