Advert Idea's

Before choosing a service, I thought it would be a good idea if I made a brainstorm of all the different services which I could advertise for. By doing this I can clearly see the amount of services I could advertise for. 

By brainstorming idea's I can now decide which type of service I am most interested in. I like the idea of events, and planning various types of events. Overall, the brainstorm has been very helpful as I can clearly view the topics and area's which I am least interested in or most interested in.

Purpose of adverts - why were they made?

The main purpose of an advert is ultimately to make the product or service known to the consumer. People even advertise established products to ensure that the audience being targeted is always familiar with the brand, and not necessarily to directly encourage sales. Advertisements are everywhere, print or digital, people are surrounded by adverts.

Adverts that tell us to buy a product and adverts that are never subtle in their approach are classified as 'Hard Sell' advert. On the other hand, an advert that appeals to the better nature or the emotions of the audience is classified as 'Soft sell' adverts.

This is one type of advert, advertising car insurance for women. It is evident who the target audience is and what the advert's purpose is. The audience and purpose is something I have to consider before I start storyboard as I should ensure everything the advert represents and displays will appeal to my audience.

All adverts are different in many ways. It is key to be creative when making an advert. Below is a dairy milk chocolate advert which was very popular as it was unique.

This advert is for a product not a service (like Sheila's wheels). This advert's purpose was to catch peoples attention and ensure the brand is more recognizable and make sure people are talking about it (which did happen). Therefore, this website was proven successful because of how original it was.

I will not be taking part in print advertisements, just radio and digital adverts.

Difference between advertising for a product and service

I need to research into the difference between advertising for a service and advertising for a product. This will help me decide and start narrowing down to help me brainstorm ideas. Whilst in this process, I can weigh up the positives and negatives of advertising for a service and advertising for a product to see which one I could do the best.

Advertising a product

I can choose any type of product to advertise which can range from - item's of clothing's, food, drink to a car or vehicle. Therefore, I could choose from a range of products I could advertise for. However, I need to consider how I will make the product unique e.g. logo and design, and how I can transform the design onto a product. This may be a problem as I would have to ensure my product looks professional and authentic. 

The benefits of advertising product:

• Creates exposure to the brand
• Based on a product not a company (not complicated)

Disadvantages:

• If not done well, the advert might not look authentic

On the other hand, I have the option to advertise a service. Advertising for a service is very different from a product as there is no main item which I could advertise for therefore audience rely on the advert to attract them and make them want to engage in the company. 

The benefits for advertising for a service:

• As no items will be involved, the advert is more likely to look real and professional
• Sophistication 
• Attract a wider audience as it is not a specific item 
• Services are more viewed as an essential and a need more than a want (e.g. car insurance)

The disadvantages:

• Services are for a wider audience which is risky as niche is more reliable (have a set target audience) 

Chosen brief

After looking into short films, adverts and music videos I have decided adverts is the best choice for me. The reason I chose adverts is because I personally think it will suit my ability more than making a short film or music video. I like the idea of the adverts being short, but there are more than one of them and I like how the advert can be based on a product or a service. 

I now need to consider:

• Researching into what an advert is and what is the purpose
• Am I doing a product or service?
• The audience 
• Representation
• Genre
• The history of advertisements - and how they have changed

Adverts

The last brief is the adverts. I have the option whether to advertise a service or a product. I personally think a service would be more challenging, however, I do think it would be much more original and interesting. However, advertising a product would be fun but might limit my creativity unless I advertised a product which was not common. I am going to look into real adverts and A2 media coursework adverts.

Adverts vary from being comical to serious and to professional. Therefore, I need to ensure I look into diverse adverts so that I can be sure if this is the breif I would like to choose.

Below is an advert which is about a serious topic, but is presented in a comical way to engage the audience and therefore will be memorable. From this advert, I enjoyed the many people involved, and the fast paced editing, I think it was very engaging.

The next advert I watched is one created by a student. It is evident the camera quality was poorer than the previous advert and this is something I really have to consider when creating an advert. However, I did like this advert.

Therefore, I think creating an advert would be really interesting and I would enjoy making it.

Music Video

Another brief which I could choose is the music video. I think doing a music video would be very fun and interesting. However, I am not aware of the process of making a music video therefore I do not want to jump into any conclusions as I may find it extremely difficult to create. Because of this, I am going to look at different music videos and past A2 media coursework music videos to decide whether I would like to do one or not.

Below is a video of 'Green Day - American Idiot', which is a performance based music video. Arguably, performance based music videos are viewed to be the easiest because it is only one location. However, it is hard to keep an audience engaged when their is only one location which means the camera/editing/mise-en-scene and sound must be outstanding in order for the audience to be fully engaged. Therefore, it would actually be very challenging to do and because I would have less advanced technology, props and sound I may find it difficult to be successful.

However, their are other styles to music videos. Such as, narrative based music videos. I think a narrative based music video would be interesting to create as you can create a story or a message. I have looked at the music video 'Christina Aguiliera - Beautiful', which is in a way, a story but more of a message. It displays many different people and their problems, however, in the end of the video their is hope for all of the various people. Therefore, the director has gone for the more traditional way to tell a story.

Below is a music video produced by an A2 student. This music video tells a story which I found really interesting. 

 

Moreover, not all music videos have meanings and in some cases they can be completely random. Therefore, creating a music video, likewise to a short film, opens a lot of various opportunity's to show my creativity and ideas.

Short Film

Creating a short film is one of my options. The film is supposed to last around 5 minutes long and can be anything from a documentary to a story. Therefore, creating a short film is quite open to creativity. 

I have researched breifly into diverse short films - ones that I found interesting to see if I would enjoy actually creating one.

This is one of the short films I looked at to gain an insight into what a short film is. 



I really enjoyed watching this short film. It was a narrative film, a boy that did not speak but his mind did. The camera work was interesting, numerous long shorts to convey his lonliness which was the purpose of the short film. The voice over (all throughout the film) was very engaging to hear, as you watch what the boy does.

To continue my research into short films; I have decided to look at past A2 media examples of short films. This will give me a realistic idea of what props I could have and how advanced the camera is compared to the first short film I watched.




This is the second short film I watched, a film that was produced by an A2 media student. It is quite evident from watching the film that the quality is much poorer than the first one I saw and the story line was less engaging. Therefore, if I was to make a short film I would have to consider these type of problems. 

Overall, I like the idea of creating a short film. However, I personally would struggle to keep an audience interested which would be hard. Although this would be a challenge to me, I would like to keep my options.

The Three Briefs

Before starting my A2 coursework I need to choose a specific brief. However, it is important that I closely look into the briefs with great detail so that I can gain an insight into the various briefs. 

Brief 1

A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, no longer than five minutes duration, together with:

• a cover for its release as part of a digipack (CD/DVD package)
• a magazine advertisement for the digipack (CD/DVD package)

Brief 2

An advertising package for a new product or service, to include two TV advertisements, together with

• a TV programme sponsorship sequence
• a radio advertisement

Brief 3

A short film in its entirety, lasting approximately five minutes, which may be live action or animation or a combination of both, together with:

• a poster for the film
• a film magazine review page featuring the film

Due to all three briefs being quite short I think I should do some extra research into the briefs and see what I need to do. This may include looking into old A2 coursework by previous students.

Additionally, I also need to ensure I am always reading the assessment objectives.

Assessment Objectives

• AO3: your ability to plan and construct media products using appropriate technical and creative skills
• AO2: your application of knowledge and understanding in evaluating your own work, showing how meaning and responses are created
• AO4: your ability to undertake, apply and present appropriate research

Progress from AS to the start of A2

Media - Progression from AS to A2 by Jess Mockler

AS blog

jessmockler.blogspot.co.uk