This is my final completed product.
Evaluation
The product purpose
I think that my product is fit for its purpose because it is funny and lighthearted which is what the target audience looks for in a good ad. My product shows a funny story where nothing is taken too seriously and it highlights the fun and carelessness of being young. This is what my client was looking for in an ad, they wanted to attract a young audience aged 18-24 and through my research I learnt that what they want in an ad is a funny, memorable ad and that they see being young as having fun. All of this is reflected in my ad. My product is also fit for its purpose because it uses local slang and people from Sheffield to emphasise where the brand is from and how they are “northern and proud”.
My ad fits the appropriate codes and conventions for an ad. It achieves this because in the ads that are shown on TV they tend to have product presence throughout the ad, a slogan and a logo and upbeat music. My ad has product presence throughout the ad, this is clear in the presence of the tea box with branding on which is in many of the shots and in the whole concept of the video because they are making tea. My ad also contains a slogan and a logo which is seen at the end of the ad and throughout the ad on the tea box. Aswell as this my ad also uses upbeat music to make my ad more exciting and attention catching. One way that my ad goes against the normal codes and conventions is that it has humour in it, most ads are more serious and don’t contain jokes. However I chose to do this because my client wanted to target a young audience and I found that the best way to achieve this would be through humour.
I could have improved my products’ fitness for purpose by making my ad cooler. One of the requirements my client had for this ad was to “bring tea into the 21st century” and to make tea cool again. Although I believe I have targeted the correct audience and therefore made tea seem more appealing to a modern audience, I did not not achieve making tea cool again. I could have achieved this by choosing a cooler concept and by having a more modern feel to my ad. Another way I could have improved my product’s fitness for purpose is by making it more clearly based in Sheffield and if I had emphasised the “northern and proud” concept more. Although my ad attempts to fit this, I could have made it more clear by using more local words and by having my slogan reflect this as well. Overall my concept could have been more Sheffield based to fit what my client wanted better.
The feedback I received from my peers was mostly positive, although one person said my ad “didn’t really fit into the northern brand” which reflects what I said was missing from my ad. Although another peer of mine said that my ad “Definitely met the brief.” This shows that although some parts of my brief were not completely met, overall my ad gets the point across and is received well by a young audience.
The Film
The direction in my ad was quite good. I made sure to make the actors feel at home in front of the camera by making the environment of the production calm and fun, this meant that the actors could give their best performance. However I didn’t give a clear enough explanation of the ad to the actors before starting the filming, this meant that they didn’t fully understand the concept when we were first filming which affected their performance negatively. I fixed this by explaining the concept in detail later on in filming which meant that their performance improved from that point.
The camerawork in my ad overall was good, all my shots were in focus and were mostly framed well. Overall I could have improved the camera work in my ad by being more ambitious and using camera movement in my shots to make it more interesting and exciting. I also could have improved the camera work by using a wider variety of shots and changing the angles more, this would have improved my ad because it would have been more interesting for the audience to watch.
This shot is effective because it is in focus, all the action is within the boundaries and the framing is good. This makes the shot enjoyable to look at and there isn’t anything to distract the audience from the action.
This shot is less effective because although it is in focus, the framing is wrong because the middle of the two actors isn’t in the centre of the frame, this makes the shot look uneven and means that some of the action is happening outside of the boundaries. This distracts the audience from the action and doesn’t look as good.
The sound design of my ad isn’t very good. The female actors voice is too quiet, meaning that you can’t hear some of her lines well and lose some of the storyline because of this. On the other hand the male actor’s voice is loud and sometimes sounds too loud. For example, on the line “what’s all this” his voice sounds slightly distorted because of the volume. Despite trying to adjust and fix this on Adobe Audition when in the production stage, I couldn’t adjust it enough to fix these problems. This reduces the quality of my ad and makes it seem less professional. However the music I used in my ad is upbeat and a good volume throughout. This helps because it makes the ad more modern, enjoyable and upbeat.
The editing in my ad is good quality. Although it only uses quite basic editing techniques and transitions, it flows well and the fast pace of the editing keeps the storyline going and makes the audience feel more excited by what’s happening on screen. I could have improved the editing in my ad by trying more ambitious techniques and pushing myself to learn new and more interesting effects and styles. Overall I feel like the editing in my ad achieved what it was meant to be effectively and emphasises the theme of youth well.
The lighting in my ad was alright, I used natural light from the window and the lights in my kitchen to light the shots. However because the widows were behind the actors in the shots, it meant that it was mostly backlit meaning that you can’t see the actors faces as clearly as you would be able to if it was lit from the front. Despite this tha shot is well lit and you can see everything clearly. The brightness of the lighting also helps reflect the fun and upbeat theme which attracts a young audience.
The props used in my ad are a strongpoint of the ad. I had a tea box with the company’s logo and branding on, this appeared in many of the shots and made sure that the audience knew what was being advertised. This was good because it made the ad seem more professional and made the advertising clear. The other props in my ad were a kids chemistry set, some scissors, a lighter, a kettle and two mugs. These were used throughout the video to make the tea. By using these props the storyline was made clear to the audience, especially with the use of the chemistry set. The chemistry set also added humour to the video which will appeal to the target audience.
The feedback I received from my peers was mostly positive with one person saying my ad had a “Really detailed, interesting story” and another saying that “The edits were smooth and fit together well, and there was an overall good comedic tone to it all. However the female actors’ audio should have been a bit louder. Fits the brief well.” The overall feedback to my ad from people was that the concept and storyline of my ad was good and it sold the tea well, but the female actors’ lines were too quiet and it didn’t fit the northern theme very well. Overall I agree with this feedback and it reflects what I have written.
Laura Altman 