Down below is my first project of the year and it’s CCR accompanied with it. This is all to show the progress from my first project all the way to the final project. I’m honestly proud of how we did due to our inexperience. We were given numerous choices on what to make the commercial on. My group and I decided on making a gatorade commercial. We researched the conventions for it and decided to show someone running track since that what typical was shown. We were only allowed to film at our school for this project. For my very first project I did some filming and editing. With it only being 30 seconds and our first time essentially filming to make a product and our first go at editing I think it ended up quite enjoyable. Hopefully you guys enjoy it as well!
1. How does your product use or challenge conventions AND how does it represent
social groups or issues.
The commercial that my group and I did was the drink Gatorade. With any commercial there are certain conventions that each one has. Conventions are ways things are usually done. Before the commercial was storyboarded and filmed, I looked at other Gatorade commercials to see what they normally do. Gatorade commercials typically involve people working out hence it being a drink for exercising. They target a specific audience because they want to appeal to them so that they buy the product. That is why in our commercial we filmed our group member running the track to show a form of working out. We wanted to stick to the conventions to the best of our ability, but some things weren’t entirely possible. Gatorade commercials show multiple people working out doing multiple activities. Although it was plausible that we could’ve done that, we didn’t want to overwork the group member who was being filmed by having them do multiple activities in such little time. The setting is usually in a gym or outside, so we had that since we filmed on the track. When you view those commercials you normally feel a work hard and don’t give up message. That’s why in our commercial we had our group member fail at completely running the track, have her drink Gatorade, and then complete the lap to show a never give up mentality. They typically use close up angles of their athlete, so we integrated that into our commercial. They also have intensifying music so when it got around to using music, we tried using music that seemed intensifying.
When it comes to social groups, I would say Gatorade commercials usually target and represent people who exercise or work out. I wouldn’t say that’s exclusive since that can appeal to a huge population of people. Almost anyone can work out so the way we represented it with what we had was by showing a teenager working out. By using this, people would think that if a teenager can use Gatorade than I can to. This is a realistic approach seeing that anyone can drink Gatorade. Anyone can drink something regardless of race, gender, religion, etc. Viewers can relate to an average person exercising and then deciding to have a sip of a drink. This allows for people to be persuaded into buying that product and if they like the product then they’ll go buy it again. In a way it may seem like Gatorade only targets a select group, it is actually much broader seeing that they show that anyone can use the product. Other than that, no specific issues are represented in Gatorade commercials.
2. How does your product engage with audiences AND how would it be distributed as a real media text?
My product is Gatorade which is marketed as an energy or exercise drink. It engages with audiences by showing that anyone can really drink Gatorade. We will get viewers engaged with the background music voiceovers. The music is sort of intensifying and it makes the viewer want to continue watching to see what is going to happen. The voiceovers have pauses in between them to make the viewer wonder what’s going to be said next. Whenever there is a voiceover it essentially takes away from the music. This is so it can grab the audience's attention and make them aware of what is going on. The voiceovers help illustrate the actions that are occurring. In the commercial, someone is shown working out. They aren’t shown with a six-pack or anything like that. This is so viewers know that anyone can work out and that the commercial can appeal to them. Our message is essentially work hard and don’t give up. This is a message that appeals to most people. They get told this message all the time, so this attracts them to the commercial.
When it comes to distribution, it is planned to be shown as a commercial and advertisement. The commercial will be put onto social media platform such as Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and Facebook. This will appeal to a variety of age groups seeing that people of all ages use one form of these applications. For example, older people tend to use Facebook compared to younger people, so this allows for that older age group to view the commercial and possibly want to buy the product. The same goes for the other social media applications seeing that younger people tend to use them. Another platform the commercial would be distributed on would be YouTube. When people watch YouTube videos there are normally advertisements displayed somewhere before, during, or after the video. The approach would be to pay more money to get the advertisement placed on more videos so that more people can see it. The more people who see it means the more people who could possible by the product. It would be ideal for the advertisement to be played during videos of people working out, sports clips, even on videos of sports video games. This is because the commercial should be played on something that can relate to it. When it comes to Television, we want the product on every channel we can get it on. The amount of viewership a show gets determines the amount of money it would cost to have the commercial played during a break. This allows for a broader audience. However, like I previously mentioned, the commercial still should be shown towards the audience it is ideally for. Some specific channels would be ESPN, Fox, NBC, and CBS. These channels tend to show sporting events which is perfect for a Gatorade commercial. The good thing is that this allows for a variety of sporting events such as basketball, football, or baseball. ESPN is the ideal channel seeing that their premise is sports. Whether that be a sporting event or a talk show about sports. Gatorade appeals to athletes and that is how you get an athlete's attention, by playing it on a network they watch. It would also be ideal to get the commercial to play on specific sports leagues respective networks. The NBA, NFL, MLB,NHL, and MLS are some of the most watched leagues in the world.
3. How did you production skills develop throughout this project?
At the beginning of this project I had little to none experience in this sort of thing. I would record videos and all that, but it wouldn’t be for the reason I did it here. Throughout the whole experience, I would say my production skills did improve. I would never had done storyboarding if it wasn’t for this. Storyboarding allowed me to get a general plan of what to do and what to film. It also allowed me to realize that not everything will go according to plan. If something gets in the way, then you have to adapt and figure out a new strategy. This also made me have a more creative mind. Before we filmed, I was getting ideas of what shots I want to film, how I want to film certain scenes, and how I would edit them together. I essentially got a more envisioning mind for whenever I prepare to film something.
When it came to actually filming, I would say my skills improved. I had to make sure I was getting specific shots such as close-ups or medium shots. I had to make sure I had certain angles in mind such. I had to make sure to do a pan or tilt. Essentially, I had to keep in mind every possible shot and angle I would possibly need to use. I also never really thought of how important lighting was for a video. My group member Brooke luckily would inform on proper lighting and when to best film a certain shot.
When it was time to start editing, my skills also progressed. I realized that I should thoroughly view each take to make sure which would be the best one. To see if they have similar lighting and if they fit well together. I learned how to add and take out sound from a clip which I previously had no idea how to do. This allows me to use these techniques later on whenever I film again. I learned how important a transition really is to a commercial. If you don’t use the best possible transition than your commercial may end up looking bad. I now know not to just pick any transition but to pick the one that makes the most sense to use. I also learned how to split takes, cut them, and properly arrange them in the right order. To sum it all up, I have learned a lot through the production process.
4. How did you integrate technologies-software, hardware and online-in this project?
Technology plays a major factor when it comes to making a film. We used various amounts of technology in order to complete this project. We had access to cameras, phones, tripods, and computers for this project. When it came to filming we decided to use the camera and tripod. When filming with a camera, you should have an SD card. The SD card allows for a place where all your footage can go to. Without the SD card none of our footage would have been saved and we would have most likely had to use our phones. The camera allowed for a smooth process while filming the commercial. The tripod allowed use to have stationary shots. The natural hand may make the filming a little shaky, so a tripod really helps the camera stay in place. The thing about the SD card is that you have to use a SD card reader to get the footage onto a computer. Once we properly put all of our footage onto a computer editing can now occur. The thing about technology is that you should be prepared for it to fail and for us it did. We were told to use pinnacle studios. The editing software didn’t work out originally. Once it did work, I was able to import all the footage and begin editing. Pinnacle studios didn’t work out as it didn’t open the second day we were supposed to edit. Technology allows for multiple ways to do something. iPhone’s and MacBook's have a software called iMovie which allows for editing. I used iMovie now seeing as it was the only option. iMovie was a smooth editing process since it was very easy to navigate and use the application. Since I don’t have access to a MacBook, I used my iPhone to edit. I was able to do it at my own leisure at home. Everything now moving to my phone also allowed me to film a quick voiceover on it that I had forgot to film with the normal Camera. Overall, technology factors into making this commercial majorly.
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