13. Closing post

Dear Moderator,
My research and planning work can be found under the label 'AS Research and Planning' on the right hand side of the page. I hope you like it!

[This blog is now closed.]

12. My final production

Here are my final four adverts.

Advert 1 - Basketball

Advert 2 - Running

Advert 3 - Badminton

Advert 4 - Skateboarding

11. Production Review: My production and my intended improvements

During production of my advert, I asked several people to give constructive criticism so that I might improve any aspects of my advert that they thought needed attention. This included reviews from both media studies teachers, Mrs Blackborow and Mrs Dymioti, who both looked at the adverts from a layout and design perspective, as well as a review from Sam Burton, the media technician, who looked at more technical aspects such as colour grading.


7/3/18: Mrs Blackborow review

An example: Advert 2 before and after review

Mrs Blackborow noted that the black box on which the branding was located was too much of a jarring transition from the rest of the advert, and that it completely cut off the image. To rectify this, I changed the box so that it was transparent and gave it softer edges. This eased its transition from the focal image and made sure it didn't completely obscure what was behind it.
I was also recommended to remove the transparent box behind the film quote - I had added it to improve the readability of the text, but as it turned out, its use was unnecessary and its removal has made the advert less 'busy' and increased clarity.

15/3/18: Sam Burton review

Colour correction on Abbie's skin in Advert 1.

Improving the pack shot text.

Sam's advice was to reduce the light on Abbie's skin in Advert 1, as this would make her skin tone more similar to that of Andreas and make the advert more consistent. He also suggested that I make the text on the pack shot easier to read, as it was quite thin and difficult to make out from a distance. I therefore made the text larger and emboldened it to make it stand out.
The text on the pack shot was also noticeably superimposed so he suggested finding a way to integrate it onto the pack shot. I improved this aspect by adding an inner glow to the text and wave graphics on the pack shot.

 20/3/18: Mrs Dymioti review

Mrs Dymioti suggested changing the last line of the copy ("That's right - Wave is for everyone."), as it seemed to create conflicting branding with the actual tagline "Catch the wave". To fix this, I replaced all instances of the former with "So come along, and catch the wave." This works better than before because it creates another place where the brand identity is reinforced.

10. My planning evidence

Here, I have listed planning completed prior to production of my adverts.

Shoot Schedule

The shoot schedule gives an overview of each session of photography: where and when it will take place, its purpose, and who will be involved.

Location report

I created a location report to identify potential problems with the background locations in advance, therefore minimising disruption on the actual day of taking photographs. I think this worked well in terms of streamlining the process. Going there beforehand has also allowed me to refine my ideas - for example, according to Google Maps' image of the area, which was 2 years out of date, there were two bollards on a path. I had considered using them as a frame within a frame, however actually visiting the location I saw that one of them has been removed, meaning I had to adapt my ideas for that advert to overcome the problem.

Shot list

I also made a shot list to break down the required shots even further, so that I could keep track of which of the 10 necessary photographs had been taken.

The shots were not taken in the adverts' numerical order. This is commonplace in the industry as it allows the crew to work according to when resources are available and be more time efficient. For example, once I had taken the photographs with the models on the 'skateboard' (in reality a stack of books for health and safety reasons), I did not require them to stay, as I had to take photographs of the skateboard on its own so that the shots could be digitally combined later. As a result, I scheduled 'advert 4' last to allow the models to leave as soon as their part was over.

Props list

While not many props were required in the production of my adverts, I felt it was still worth preparing a props list to coordinate them, especially so that I could always be reminded of how I planned to shoot the skateboard (without the models riding it, then photograph them in the same position and superimpose them later). I was not able to work on the project for the majority of the February half-term so this documentation was useful for remembering my plans in detail when I began production the following week.

Logo design

I designed the logo before beginning the adverts so that I would be able to create an advert layout that accomodated it effectively. The logo contributes to a Wave's memorable branding: the colour used is a striking blue that will be visible and recognisable. The name 'Wave' is represented by a wavy line that separates the logo from its tagline, 'Catch the wave'. 'Catch the wave' is here used in the sense of 'join the trend', suggesting that Wave is a popular product. It also has connotations of activity - for example, catching waves is a surfing phrase, as well as to physically catch an object as one might do in several sports - again, all going back to Wave's brand identity and active, youthful audience.

The 'Wave' logo and tagline.

9. The practicalities of photographing: when and where production will take place and who with.

As my backgrounds will be photographed separately from the models, I have allocated the weekend of February 17th/18th to photograph backgrounds at Finsbury Park. The photographs of the models will be taken in the school media studio on Tuesday 20th and Friday 23rd of February. I have made the following table to organise this information:

8. The planning I intend to complete in order to ensure a successful outcome for my production

The creation of a successful advert will rely on pre-production planning in order to minimise complications during the shoot itself.

Here is a list of planning material that I plan to develop prior to production:

• Risk assessment

Assessing risks will be important for keeping everybody involved safe during the shoot, as well as preventing damage to any equipment or public property. As such, a risk assessment is incorporated into documents such as the shoot schedule and props list in order to determine the hazards and how they can be avoided.

• Shoot schedule - 8th February 2018

The shoot schedule will detail the days on which filming takes place and the people required for each session. I will of course be taking part in every session, and any actors that appear in my adverts will also be included on their respective days. They will be shown the shoot schedule in advance to confirm that they are available at the planned times, and if not, plans can be changed ahead of time.

• Props list - 9th February 2018

A props list will document any props used in the adverts, and where they will be obtained from - as well as any potential risks associated with their use.

• Shot list - 9th February 2018

A shot list will be instrumental in keeping track of what still needs to be shot, and which advert each shot will be used in.

• Location report and photos - 17th & 18th February 2018

A location report table that includes every location will identify what each location is specifically for and include a photograph for visual identification. It will also identify any potential issues with the location in advance in order to minimise disturbance on the day itself.

• Branding design - 19th February 2018

The logo for 'Wave' will be very important in the branding of the product and will need to be present in all four adverts. Designing this in advance of advert composition will allow it to be better integrated into the adverts' layout and design.

7. My Statement of Intent

My Statement of Intent, written on the 1st of February 2018.

6. What I have learnt about industry in relation to print advertising and how I intend to use this knowledge and understanding to ensure my production is appropriate to the media industry context of the set brief I have chosen

A particularly important aspect to consider in the production of my adverts is the industry context that they will be displayed in, and especially any rules or regulations imposed upon the medium.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA)
 
In my production, I will need to adhere to the ASA's advertising standards codes - particularly the non-broadcast section, as that will be relevant to my print adverts.

An example of one of the ASA's rules is as follows:

"Marketing communications must not contain anything that is likely to cause serious or widespread offence. Particular care must be taken to avoid causing offence on the grounds of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability or age."

A Marc Jacobs advert in breach of the ASA's rules

The ASA provides a resource for the public to complain to, should they see any advert as inappropriate. For example, complaints about this Marc Jacobs print advert were upheld by the ASA, because:

• The positioning of the bottle was sexually provocative
• The clothing and pose of the model "drew attention to her sexuality", which was not allowed as per the ASA's rules on the sexualisation of minors (the model was 16) 

Another advert that has broken of the ASA rules.

Another Marc Jacobs advert for 'BANG' was also banned for being too sexual, and I agree that using sexual poses such as the one shown here would not be appropriate for Wave's advertising campaign, considering that part of the target audience of Wave is under 18 years of age.


In the advertising of Wave, I will take care to adhere to the ASA's rules by:

• Avoiding including anything that is likely to cause offence on the above grounds
• Avoiding obvious exaggeration or misrepresentation of the product's capabilities
• Avoiding depicting the models in the advert in an explicitly sexual way
• Avoiding promotion of the drinking of alcohol or smoking of cigarettes as an integral part of social success, especially in the context of my models being 16/17 years old.

Total Film Magazine

The February 2018 cover of Total Film Magazine.
The main feature is Pacific Rim: Uprising, which released
the next month.

As my adverts will be located within Total Film magazine, it is important that I am aware of the magazine's target audience and typical content. Total Film magazine targets men and women aged 18-35, which means that 40% of their audience is also within Wave's target age demographic of 16-25 and can be advertised to. Regular readers of Total Film are likely to be film enthusiasts who often buy DVDs and go to the cinema. The magazine's content discusses recently or soon to be released films, often with relevant interviews with high-profile actors, writers and directors. Part of the magazine's appeal comes from the audience enjoying being able to understand references to their favourite films, and one feature, 'You Talkin' To Me?', even uses famous quotes as humorous questions in a celebrity interview. Having done this research, I have decided to incorporate film quotes into my own adverts, to increase their relevance within the magazine and therefore increase their appeal with the target audience of Total Film.

5. What I have learnt about the representation of events, issues, individuals and social groups in print adverts and how I intend to demonstrate this knowledge and understanding in my production in order to communicate meaning successfully

It is important that the events depicted in an advert, whether print, TV, or radio, include representation of events, issues, individuals and social groups in order to communicate their messages effectively to their target audience. In my research that I conducted to find how I should best incorporate representation into my own advert, I located several existing adverts where these issues of representation have been clearly considered.

For example, the quote on this advert communicates ideas of resilience in the face of failure, and in turn represents the woman in the advert as a strong and capable individual, especially shown through her pose and the physical strength it indicates she has. This therefore connotes that the product, too, will make the user better, stronger, and able to bounce back from anything. Alicia Sacramone, an American gymnast, has been used as the model for the advert, someone who is known to be successful in her field. This suggests the model to be an inspirational figure for the target audience. Even though the advert references the fact that she fell off the balance beam at Beijing 2008, it uses this to emphasise her resilience.

Here, traditional stereotypes about masculinity and strength being attractive are reinforced and used to appeal to the target audience who may want to be as attractive as the man in the image. The model is in a pose that emphasises his physical strength and there is an implicit sexual reference in ''As worn by men with big ticks', suggesting that they will experience enhanced social interaction if they use the product. Overall, this advert plays into traditional ideas about what men imagine is attractive to the opposite sex and uses these representations to better appeal to the target audience.






In my adverts, I have chosen to represent both sexes in order to communicate the unisex target audience of the product to the viewer and make it represent both genders of the potential buyers. I have done this by making the 'main character' of the adverts ambiguous - you could see the meeting from the perspective of the male or female and it would not change anything. This also promotes equality of gender, as they are depicted as equal in all four adverts. I have also created a positive representation of a healthy, active lifestyle, as the subjects of the adverts are always depicted outside and enjoying themselves in the presence of sport or exercise, and this should present activity as social and positive. My advert also creates a positive representation of 16-25 year olds and shows them to be friendly and sociable, in contrast to how the media might want to portray young people as stereotypically antisocial or as troublemakers. Representing their age demographic in a positive and realistic way is therefore likely to appeal to the target audience.

4. What I have learnt about the content and appeal of print adverts and how I intend to demonstrate this knowledge and understanding in my production in order to communicate successfully with the target audience

Adverts appeal to their target audience in a variety of ways, and the ways in which they decide to appeal will be based on their target audience and brand identity, as well as the intent and message of the campaign the advert is part of. A strong sense of appeal, including but not limited to reasons discussed in Uses and Gratifications theory, can be seen demonstrated in several adverts:

Axe Anarchy 'Unleash the chaos' advert

For example, this advert for Axe (Lynx) Anarchy appeals to the audience by:

• Appealing to their need for entertainment - they may enjoy humour shown by the characters' obliviousness to the immediate disaster.

• Depicting an attraction between two individuals, which relates to the main selling point of Lynx, that the product will make you irresistible to the opposite sex.

• Using two genders to represent both sides of the audience targeted by the unisex product.

'Be funky' advert

This advert appeals to the audience by:

• Using a variety of fonts and a 'drawing' aesthetic as part of the design to communicate and reinforce the 'funkiness' that the product can create.

• Depicting the model in casual clothing and with hair across her face. This creates the idea that the users of this product are just like you, and are friendly and dress casually. This may make the viewer more likely to purchase the product if they feel the users are similar to them.

• Showing the model with a clearly happy facial expression, supposedly because they have used the advertised product. This tells the audience that they too will be satisfied with the results.

In order to successfully attract the target audience, my advert will have to be specifically designed to appeal towards the age and social groups targeted by the Wave campaign. Two main points on which Wave must succeed are in targeting an audience of 16-25 year olds and being a unisex deodorant. I have reflected these well in my adverts, as they feature models within that age range in realistic scenarios. This allows the advert to be more relatable for the target audience, which in turn gratifies their need for an insight into personal identity - they may see themselves in the advert's characters and their characteristics. This is helped by the unisex style of the adverts and the fact that there is not a clear 'main' character' - it could be either gender who is the focus of the advert, and this allows the viewer to put themselves in the shoes of whichever they please.

My adverts will also play into the entertainment and information sought by the readers of Total Film magazine, the publication in which the adverts will be featured. By using famous film quotes as part of the advert, it integrates it into the world of film that the viewer will most likely already enjoy, so this adds to the overall appeal of the advert. Film is generally also accepted to be a means of escapism for the audience, and so tying the adverts into the filmic world will also boost its value as part of a medium that already appeals.

3. What I have learnt about the codes and conventions of print adverts and how I intend to demonstrate this knowledge and understanding in my production in order to communicate meaning successfully

There are many conventions of print adverts that are important to follow in order to create one that successfully presents the product to the target audience. In my research, I have looked at several adverts to help me identify these codes and conventions so that I can include them in my own adverts.

Annotated advert 1

Annotated advert 2

Annotated advert 3

Annotated advert 4

Common conventions I have identified in these adverts are:

• Brand name - To tell the viewer what the product is called, and if the brand is a famous one such as Dove, Lynx, etc., can be a strong part of the brand identity as the audience will be familiar with the types of products that company makes.

• Tagline - A short memorable phrase promoting the product. May be a pun with relevance to the focal image, or may state a defining quality of the product.

• Pack shot - An image of the actual packaging of the product. This helps with visual identification, as the audience will have to actually buy the product and need to know what they are looking for if it is not seen in the focal image. The packaging is likely to reflect the overall advert branding in terms of design (colour scheme, fonts).

• Copy -  A description of the product ranging anywhere from a sentence to a paragraph in length. Featured in smaller print on a lot of deodorant adverts and can serve to elaborate on a caption or tagline.

• Mention of a USP

• High key lighting - To connote a positive mood or atmosphere in conjunction with the use of the deodorant.

• MCU, MS, MLS framing - This helps the audience to focus on the relevant part of the action shown in the focal image - for example, if an advert depicts a model using a deodorant product, a long shot would make the action smaller in frame and harder to identify.

Therefore, in order to create a realistic print advert, I will be sure my ideas are informed by these conventions. For example, I will also include a prominent brand name, tagline, pack shot, copy, mention of the product's unisex USP, and high key lighting. It is important to note that not all adverts have all the conventions listed, as they need to adapt to their product, target audience, display location and message that they want to connote with the advert.

2. Existing adverts/campaigns I have researched and how these have influenced my ideas

It is important to bear existing campaigns in mind when designing an advert, as these can indicate what is effective and conventional in the world of print advertising. In order to organise and create a visual representation of some of my research into deodorant products for 16-25 year olds, as well as the other specific requirements of the brief like the name Wave, I created a mood board showing useful images pertaining to existing adverts and ideas for my own.

My mood board

An Axe advert

Another Axe advert from the same campaign

'For him' / 'For her' products, targeted at both men and women. This is reflected in the adverts, which shows both parties seemingly experiencing a strong attraction for each other - synonymous with Axe/Lynx's overall theme of making the user irresistible to the opposite sex. The campaign also uses humour to appeal to the audience - obviously the unification of these two would be disastrous due to the objects they are holding. The pack shot is also distinctive and is repeated across both adverts in the same position, lending a synergistic presence to the adverts.


How my research has influenced my ideas

In my own advert, I will also use both genders in order to better reflect the target audience of Wave. All four of the adverts will promote the overall message of Wave helping the user be a confident and social person, and the presence of two people of different genders - one of which the viewer may see as representing them - will amplify this.

The physical product itself will not be seen in the focal image, and it is therefore essential that it is prominently featured via a pack shot in all the adverts, in order to show the audience what to look for when they buy it, and also to give a greater sense of identity to the product and what it looks like.

My adverts' models will also be located centrally, as it is through their poses, positioning and expressions through which the message of the advert is shown. Overall, the synergy of these repeated aspects across the four adverts will help to solidify the brand identity of the product, as was done with Lynx, which was what led to its widespread success.



While not necessarily similar to my own advert ideas, this is an advert from a basketball magazine, and therefore a basketball player (Charles Barkley) has been chosen as the model for the advert to make it more relevant to the other content in the magazine. While I must adhere to the conventions of a deodorant advert in order to successfully promote the product, the print adverts are for Total Film magazine, and being aware of the context in which the advert will appear will be important in order to better appeal to the magazine's readers. As a result of this, I will include movie quotes as part of my adverts, which will serve to appeal to the readers of the magazine.


In conclusion, I have decided from these existing campaigns that it would be beneficial to depict two characters with an implied friendship or attraction in order to appeal to the audience who would like to be sociable people. This lends itself well to the fact that I plan to include both a male and female in the advert to effectively represent the target audience.

1. How I intend to fulfil the requirements of the brief I have chosen

I have adhered closely to the requirements of the brief in the planning of my ideas. My chosen medium is print (Brief 2), for which I will produce four full-page A4 print adverts.

My initial ideas for the adverts incorporate four outdoor locations and two actors my own age (16-17), one male and one female. This reflects the brief's requirement for an active, youthful, unisex brand identity. The theme carried by my campaign will be that wearing 'Wave' allows you to be a confident and social person. My adverts will also conform to the brief by using a blue colour scheme on all branding elements to create a strong and consistent brand identity between the adverts. This brand identity will also be reinforced by the tagline 'catch the wave', which will be present in all the adverts. The actual product itself will be incorporated via a pack shot composited over the image. All imagery featured in the adverts will be original photography taken by me. I plan to research existing adverts in depth in order to identify common conventions of print adverts and incorporate these into my adverts. I will also take care to ensure my adverts adhere to the rules of the ASA and are appropriate for the target audience, and will reference my planning with the ASA's list of print regulations to make sure the adverts are not in breach of the ASA codes. I have decided to reflect the placement of the adverts in Total Film magazine by incorporating a movie quote into each of the adverts. I would also like to create generic hybridity by making the background to emulate a depth of field effect and create a more filmic look. This would fit well with the content in Total Film magazine and increase the appeal towards that audience.
As part of my planning, I created a flat plan in order to visualise my ideas and identify any potential flaws before going further into production.

A plan for one advert

A plan for another advert

While only ideas for the final adverts, this has helped me to see how well the layout of the advert and blocking of the depicted scene fits the requirements of the brief, and whether the elements work together effectively at this early stage.

Homeland Continuity Task

1. What was your role in the task and what did you actually do?

My role in the task was writing the script with Tilly and Cherish. We had to make sure it represented the plot conventions of Homeland and formed a convincing scene from the spy thriller genre - we therefore decided to make the scene about an interrogation, a common trope of the genre. I also appear in the video, and created my own edit of the scene.

2.  What factors did you have to take into account when planning, filming and editing?

When planning, we knew that we would only have an hour and twenty minutes to shoot the scene, and we therefore made sure that the scene would be of an achievable length. As well as this, we created a shot list so that the shoot would be structured and so that we would have a clear idea of which order we were going to film the shots in. A storyboard helped us to plan the framing of shots and positioning of characters, which would later help the blocking of the actors in the filming of the scene. When editing, I had to make decisions about when to cut to different shots in order to keep the visuals interesting and relevant to the events in the story. It was important that continuity was maintained through match-on-action; for example, the moment when Riana slides the folder across the desk is shown in two shots, and it had to already be moving in the second shot.

3. How successful was your sequence? Did you manage to demonstrate match-on-action, shot-reverse shot and 180-degree rule? Did you achieve continuity overall?

I think our sequence was successful, as there is a strong sense of continuity across the whole scene. Between shots, we kept the background as consistent as possible, and kept props in the same places to avoid breaking continuity. As an actor in the scene, I tried to keep my actions as consistent as possible in order to allow a the full range of shots to be used and still match up in terms of continuity. We adhered to the 180-degree rule, filming only from one side of the conversation so as not to confuse the viewer's perspective. The shot where the door is opened has been edited so that it effectively uses the match-on-action technique, again lending consistency and continuity to the final edit of the scene.

4. What have you learnt from completing this task?

From completing this task, I have developed my understanding of shooting and editing a scene, and how these two parts of the process can influence each other and need to work together in order to create a successful final product that has a good sense of narrative flow.