Gold Standard

Overview of brief requirements

The first thing to say is that I met all the specific requirements. My product was protein powder supplied by Optimum Nutrition, an established brand, it was exactly 45s in length and I spent a valid amount of time planning it. I defiantly learnt the basics from the production. For example, the first learning curve was the depth of the pre-production and planning. Although my advert didn’t go entirely to plan, without the story board and treatment, I would have no basis on anything, and the advert would merely be camera improvisation.

My story board and treatment were the biggest help I think on making a production come to life. It provided me with a detailed step-by-step overview that allowed me not to get side-tracked. For the treatment, it was a constant source of reference for everything. My interests lie with the story and the writing, the visuals being the finished product, so to have a detailed creative writing piece that gave me the whole mood, shot, purpose and feeling made the production and edit so much easier. Whether it be the excessiveness of the bland chicken helping develop the low angle wide of multiple containers of chicken, of the anguish felt by Bob in the desaturation in the colour scheme in post-production, it helped me throughout the whole process. The storyboard was a method for those visuals to come to life. It is the first example of how something might translate on the scene and it enveloped me into the realities of how to make it. For example, the location it is in and how I might be able to film it there, whether the props will be easy to come by and inexpensive, permissions needed with filming in places, and most importantly, how and what I need to change to make it realistic. For example, the supermarket scene drawn was an attempt to show the process and time consumption of buying the food and how it is so much bigger than just eating. However, when I attempted to get permission from the supermarket, this proved not possible due to legal reasons and the stores insurance. This allowed me to tweak it into a scene that would capture the same purpose, but much easier.

With the actual production having no real experience behind a camera, it gave me my first insight on the reality of the production. I attempted some less standard shots than the static tripod, with using various pans, tilts, subject moving into focus and the use of a shoulder rig. All were experiences and all are introductions to the technique on how better to get my imagine on the screen. The main learning curve for me is the trial and error technique and the planning involved before filming. Without the experience and knowledge, I found it hard to know how to get what I had in mind and found it rather frustrating when it took longer than I thought to start filming the shot. However, this is all part of the learning curve when you start something new.

For me, I found the editing process reasonably alright. It’s not my love, but it allows for the project to slowly develop into the reflection I have produced, and it was nice to see it work out in its different ways. I found the most crucial element the pre-production, so because I planned it strictly, I already had an idea on how I would edit it. I think just learning the software and what does what would be beneficial, as I seemed to usually know what I wanted, just needed help on achieving it. Saying that though, when things didn’t plan out, the edit was a way to make something of what you have, especially if it didn’t work out exactly how I wanted it to.

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Technical & Aesthetic Qualities of Piece

The style of it was supposed to follow a more professional aspect. I wanted the protagonist being someone who looks as if they knew what they were doing, to make it seem that even the best can get better, and sometimes need help. This, however, proved not possible. The actor I required was not available, and the location envisioned too. Instead of getting a muscly guy working in the gym on a

wide shot (a crucial shot to setting the tone of the world of the character), I was left with an ordinary room and person. There was room to work though. I had to instead show this from the POV from someone ordinary and relatable. Instead of it being an appearance versus reality, it was more showing the journey of someone, which worked. Various camera angles were used to get this effect, the mid- shot of the torso and plate making the eating seem more gruelling and heartless, the low angle shots of the cutlery as he pauses before eating the food, putting you the viewer in his eyes. There is a real sense of being revolted by eating it. The wide shots I used were key too. The initial unfocused wide of Bob, with him walking into close up and focus was supposed to make him seem ordinary, one of many, stepping into frame to take you on his story, one hopefully relatable with the target audience. Although it wasn’t the take I had planned, it made it more relatable to people who at interested in getting big and are at the start of their journey. However, more shot planning wouldn’t go amiss. In the shot my lampshade got into frame, which takes away from that interview like setting. It doesn’t make the subject stand out as much, and it’s frustrating to look at.

Other techniques I used include the tilt and zoom on the photographs of bodybuilders. This I view as particularly effective as it is a quick low angle shot, giving power to the bodybuilders. These are the professionals and the role models for those who want to get big. It is still not how it was originally planned though. I was meant to use posters on walls, but due to time constraints the shipping proved impossible for it to arrive in time. This is an example of how further planning in finer detail may allow for my reflection to more accurately project on the big screen.

The mid shots at the dinner table, the I had planned for, worked just as expected. The low angel without a visible face took emotion out of eating, making it seem more like a chore. I would say to make it more humorous, I would have had the actor wear different clothes to give the effect of time passing and the food staying the same, but I didn’t plan for it, so again maybe my pre-production could have been more thorough. From this point on however, the colours dip into a dull, plain look, unappealing to the eye. This was done in edit, made by limiting exposure, increasing highlights, whites and blacks and drastically removing saturation. The effect makes the food look like matter rather than food, bland pulp. This was particularly effective in making the eating process involved seem more gruelling and giving it almost a depressing mood. This juxtaposes from the end, with the protein shake highly satirised to make it seem more glowing and colourful, highlighting it as the solution to your problems. Although it’s not perfect, the final pack shot worked successfully. The shooting of it with the angle gave me the exact effect I was looking for, a. weirder, more exotic setting that contrasts from the relatable life that had been witnessed. The only thing I would improve is maybe the green screen image. It does relate and it’s not terrible, but obvious that it is a green screen which takes away the illusion. Other than that, though, shooting wise it was very successful.

Discussing audio, I was relatively pleased. It was harder than I thought finding copyright free music to use, but luckily, I am a fan of classical music, which is almost always somewhere uncopyrighted due to them being dead by hundreds of years. The heavy metal rock worked quite well, almost a trope and gimmick to the usual stereotypes of gym goers. The major downside was the voice over. Dialogue wise, no problems. It didn’t sound too cringe and was exactly what I was looking for. But the quality was an issue. Due to me leaving it till last minute, I didn’t take the time to use higher quality equipment available to me, meaning there is a low-level hum throughout the whole video. It doesn’t make it seem very professional and it’s annoying as the required equipment was available to me. However, this comes more over time constraints and planning that was the downfault.

The part I loved was the filming. This, though, isn’t necessarily fully accurate. When it went right, I loved it. The experience of seeing what is in my head come to life was amazing, but when it didn’t go to plan, it was quite frustrating. The other most enjoyable part was the pre-production, specifically storyboarding, treatment writing and the whole development of the story and concept. These highlight my interests, and hopefully my qualities as more of a directional creative. Being enrolled in a story is, to me, the most satisfying part, which is why the creative writting appeals to me. The filming process gave me equal satisfaction. I loved being in control of everything. For example, talking with my actor

and getting him to do exactly what I wanted was a great experience, setting the shot too. Just that feeling of control really thrived me, which I guess is why I love the writing process too.

The least enjoyable parts for me was the paperwork part of getting it all there. For example, finding actors proved essential and very difficult. It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy it, but not finding one frustrated me quite a lot. The setting up of shots proved long too. For example, managing the time cooking the chicken and getting Bob to come around made me panic. Other less enjoyable parts was the advert analysis on the pre-production and the research and codes. They are necessary parts of the process, so it wasn’t that I wasn’t willing to dedicate time to them, they just didn’t excite me as much as the other parts.

It didn’t meet my expectations too much. I had the vision in my head of what it could be, and although I made an attempt, it just doesn’t feel like it had that special feeling to it that comes along when you see something you know is great. However, this isn’t a bad thing. If anything, it gives me fuel to put in more effort next time to make my vision come to life more. One thing I have definitely learned is the importance of planning with time management, and the importance of finding people you love to work with, other creatives. If I could just have someone I could relate too, similar in ways and with enough passion in what they love- for example an actor- then maybe it would make the whole process more fulfilling and smoother. With planning, the longer spent on it, the more of a route there is to follow that would give me more time to get it all done the way I wanted.

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Peer and Audience Feedback

From my questionnaire on Surveymonkey, the main aspects that needed improving was the audio. As said before, the quality of the voiceover really made it seem less professional, and a little more planning would have gone a long way.

The visuals were mentioned. I think this was probably due to the green screen, although I can’t be certain. Again, it was effective in what I set out, but it did make it feel less professional. I think that the quality of the advert wasn’t bad, it’s just that most of my concepts had to be changed, and maybe that is just due to it being a first project, but I think a little more planning would go a long way.

Comparisons between your piece and Industry pieces

I will be comparing my advert to the advert from my analysis on protein shakes.

The first thing to mention that we both did successfully I the use of colour. I notice a duller look on some of the shots, shots I believe that only look like that due to the desaturation used in some of my effects. Both adverts narratively are a view of life with and without the product. Therefore, and emphasis on brighter colours for the pack shot and duller for the parts without make the product seem more meaningful. It makes it have a bigger impact and entrance and make consumers more likely to buy.

We also both successfully use mid shots to make what’s out of frame have a deeper impact. The advert uses mid shots to make the innuendo of the shake funnier. This makes the scenario and advert more memorable, and makes its selling point shown in a bigger way. I used the effect of a mid-shot on the characters face to take away emotion from the situation- making the eating process on weight gaining seem more horrible. Both different effects, but both are successfully used to show the point with the same technique.

Other than that, both adverts are not as similar as first thought. The advert uses more static shots on tripods, portraying the same situation in different scenarios. This I important as without the same shot, the scenario wouldn’t seem the same. Mine, however, using a variety of camera angles for different effects. One similarity I would say would be the eating scene in mine. I use the same shots cut next to each other to show time passing with the situation staying the same.

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Personal Development and Improvements for the future

I have learnt a lot from this first project. I have learnt how valuable pre-production is to the process. How it falls as the basis for everything you do later in the production. I have learnt some editing skills. Other than the basics, I used keylight from After Effects and the greenscreen to remove the background and use imagery, I learnt how to change the colour in edit to make a mood more apparent. I have learnt the importance of lighting to a shot. The outside shot when I tracked was shot near night, which made the visuals poor and glum. Without colour correction, the shot would of looked very low lit and would of stood out as an irregularity from the theme and mood of the piece.

Improvements other than just general technical ability, I would say confidence. There is a lot that was not achievable but having the confidence to get what I wanted and looking funny in front of others would have given me the tools to go out there and make a great project. Also, I would say planning. Planning really is everything, and besides the actual idea, it allows for the production to run as closely to your vision as possible.