Response to C.R.A.P. Article- Micaela

I think that this article was very informational and interesting. I thought the acyronim C.R.A.P. was a clever idea.The C.R.A.P. principles, contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity are good ways to double-check your design work. I think that by using those four rules you can check your work easier and make sure that you really have actually covered everything you need to have a wonderful website.

Response to Analysis by Cy

The approaches in many of these commercials are similar to my Doritos ad, relying on slapstick humor or an unexpected twist to get attention and promote brand recognition. Other commercials seem to take a different approach– instead of selling a brand, they try to sell an idea. Kodak historical images to convince viewers that they need to record their own memories; Dove tackles body image in a way that promotes the clean, open feeling that they want associated with their soap. This approach appeals to me very much, because I appreciate commercials (or anything, for that matter) that doesn’t hit you over the head with a message, insult your intelligence with crude humor, or rely on celebrities to get my attention. Granted, if I’m trying to sell beer to college kids, my strategy is going to be different from a campaign for kids’ toothpaste.

Each product, idea, and audience needs to be considered differently. It would have been out of place in my commercial for a sentimental flashback or a forced moment of social commentary. My final decisions about what I want my final movie to say about the bookstore will dictate my sales tactic, be it humorous, political, sentimental, bizzare, offensive, or beyond. In turn, that tactic will influence the style of music, camera angles and effects, dialogue, actors, etc. These elements need to be consistent with each other (usually) in order to successfully project the desired message (I don’t hate the bookstore).

Response to Commercial Analysis by Mike

I read Rashida’s analysis on a dove commercial and the technique was totally different.  However, both commercials do only have one main gender target which is sort of interesting. The dove commercial uses the technique of appealing to their audience meaning that they are telling them what they want to hear.  By doing this Dove is tying the belief of “beauty if not what the world (media) makes it” and that every person is beautiful no matter what, to their name and their product.  In other words, it is initiating product loyalty based on shared beliefs between the company and the consumer.

The commercial definitely  appealed to me or at least the message and the way they executed it through the commercial.  It appealed to me because even though I am not a woman, everyone conforms to social norms which are often influenced by the media.  Therefore, I didn’t take the message of we are all beautiful no matter what we look like but more the message of be yourself and dont let people influence who you are.  I think the dove commercial has a deeper message than my bud light commercial since its main purpose is to make you laugh.  Everyone, male or female, can relate to the dove commercial as oppose to the bud light commercial.   Pretty much every aspect of the commercial could be reproduced since for the most part all it is a fast sequence of images or cuts with non-vocal music in the background.  There was only one angle and that being a medium which is the most commonly used shot.  In general, the dove commercial was not a hard commercial to create but it still had a loud message.

Kodak Ad – Tyler

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHPNDjWw1m0

I did the Kodak ad. Its purpose is to remind people that photographs are an important part of life and memories. Also, that Kodak facilitates such things. The ad appeals to everyone both on the personal level when it shows photos of birthdays and weddings, and also on the human level with historic events and figures like Martin Luther King Jr. and Muhammad Ali. The commercial is an average length for television spots and uses quick scenes of only a second or so between cuts. It alters between close-ups of the photographs and extreme close-ups of the children’s faces. It also uses medium shots of the whole group to establish the setting of being in a photo gallery. The transitions are mostly hard cuts with a few pans. I think this adds emphasis to each photo when it corresponds to the dialogue between the guide and the group of kids that accompanies the ad throughout. There is a building instrumental soundtrack that peaks as the commercial reaches its’ point. The commercial evokes a sense of building suspense with a realization at the end. It builds upon itself until the resolution. This approach was used to keep the viewer interested. I think the ad achieved its’ purpose by drawing in the audience. Being as the purpose was not to promote a specific product, the commercial was effective. If the purpose had been to increase sales, it would have been more effective to focus on Kodak products and why they are the best. Instead Kodak chose to focus on the photography industry as a whole which will promote their products but also those of their competitors. I liked how the window of the shot was cut down to fit in between the two Kodak gold colored lines. I knew from the beginning that the commercial was for Kodak. It also effectively used still shots that everyone can relate to. Like I said before, birthdays and wedding are things that most of us experience as well as the historical pictures of historic figures and events. In this way, Kodak relates to all of society… except hermits.

Commercial Analysis by John K

The commercial I picked was the Budweiser commercial in which two men throw paper rock scissors for the last bottle of Budweiser.  The purpose of this commercial is to show how valued Budweiser beer is among its target audience (primarily men).  I think the commercial achieves its purpse through the use of well targeted “Jack-Ass” style humor that appeals to younger men.  I think the commerical is aimed primarily toward men, more specifically toward younger men.  This is apparent because of the style of humor used in the commerical.  The overall length of this commerical is the standard 30 seconds.  The commercial uses 5 main scenes.  The first being a close up angle of a single bottle of beer in ice.  From there a simple transition is used to go to a scene of medium shot of the two men conversing and throwing paper rock scissors.  The commercial then uses another simple transition to a long shot of man number 1 throwing a rock at number 2, and man number 2 falls.  Yet another simple transition takes you to a close up of a beer glass getting filled, as the words Budweiser come across the screen.  The commercial continues its pattern of using simple transitions as it uses another to go to a medium shot of the man lying on the ground, holding his face, and looking for some help up.  The whole commercial is based on male characters interacting in the envrionment of  a backyard party.  The tone is laid back giving the commericial the feel of the casual party its set in.  Sounds in the commercial consist of the dialogue between the characters and the background noise of the party.  I think the techniques the creators used help give the ad a more humorous than commercial appeal.  The ad wasn’t necessary being used to sell more units of beer directly.  The main idea of the ad was to promote the image of the beer and make it a staple of all parties.  By slipping the short scene of the beer in the middle, it gets the message across while still promoting the humor of the commercial.  Overall I think this commercial does a great job of improving the image of Budweiser beer.  The ad’s humor is so good that is played over and over on mediums such as YouTube.

Response to Analysis by Jeffrey

After reading the commercial analysis by Lindsey and viewing the Dove Film commercial, I found may differences from the car commercial that I watched.  The Dove commercial used many less scene changes and did not use humor like the one I viewed.  I felt that the Dove commercial did a better job of presenting a strong message, and it was very easy to tell the point they were trying to get across.  Lindsey felt that the commercial was targeting adolescent girls, and I agree with her but also feel that the commercial was targeting the mothers of young girls.

I do not think this commercial would be very hard to reproduce because it was very simple and would not cost very much money.  You would need to find a way to speed up the video to make it seem more effective.  I do not imagine that I could use this type of video in the making of my video for the Bookstore.  This video was very simple and the format would not really work for my video.

Response to Analysis by Lindsey

I viewed the Doritos commercial, which aired during Superbowl this year.  First, I think Superbowl is a great way to expose your commercial to the public, it especially draws attention to  your product.  However, this commercial differed from mine in a couple of ways.  First, this commercial basically targeted the public because of its open appeal, while my commercial (The evolution of Dove), was specially targeting teenage girls.  It also used humor to catch attention, while mine was much more serious.  They also used the cut technique to transition to different angles.  Where mine used a crossfade throughout to show what they had accomplished, before and after.  The commercial also used a lot of angles, which brought the viewer to different scenes. 

After viewing the commercial it did appeal to me because I think using humor is a great way to grab interest from your viewers.  I also liked all of the different angles and shots throughout it kept my interest and showed suspense.  I do not think I can compare this to my commercial because they had completely different goals.  Mine was more serious to show the public, while they were promoting their product.  This is something I have thought about for my own piece, especially using the different angles and using the cut transition.  However, right now it is hard to say because I do not have my ideas complete.  I also think I will use humor, because everyone enjoys something funny and entertaining versus serious.  I also think they used great thought by coming up with using the mouse trap to make you think of cheese.  Overall, I think it takes thoughts above and beyond to put together a great commercial.

Commercial Analysis by Mike

The commercial I analyzed is a Budweiser commercial form Super Bowl XXXVIII titled Lipstick. Click Here to see the video.

Purpose: Obviously, the purpose is to sell bud light. At the same time they are trying to get you to laugh so that you will remember their product when you are shopping.

Audience: This bud light commercial in particular is targeted to men especially married men or men who know how their female companion nag them when all they what to do is relax (i.e. drinking a bud light). There is no clear target age but it is obviously speaking to those who are 21 and over.

Techniques: This commercial was very short, it only lasted 30 seconds. During that time there were only two different scenes and then the logo “scene”/frame (whatever you what to call it). There are a couple different angles/shots that they used. The commercial started off with a extra long shot (showing head to tow) and then moved into a medium shot (upper torso). There is then a transition to the next scene in which they use the same medium shot. The transition that they used here from the football field to the living room is the common cut where it immediately changes scenes. Throughout the entire commercial there is dialogue occurring. In the beginning where the ref is on the field the announcers are speaking which leads up to the statement of “where does he get that kinda of training” in reference to the ref keeping a “poker face” while being yelled at by one of the coaches. In the second scene, where it cuts to the ref at home, his wife is yelling at him in his ear the same way the coach was. This commercial featured no music. The commercial has an fast comedic feel because they are trying to get a quick laugh, which is very common for bud light commercials.

Relationship between the parts: I think the chose these techniques especially when targeting husbands because i think while they are trying to make you laugh they are also implying that when a man is at home relaxing he should have a bud light in hand in order to take the pressure off that his wife may be giving him. In general the commercial is just broadcasting social stereotypes in order to help sell their product. They link certain stereotypes with their product. Their main objective is to get you to laugh so that their name “Bud Light” sticks with you hence why Budweiser comes out with numerous commercials at the same time with the common theme of comedy.

Evaluate: I mean it depends on the way you look at the commercial that will determine the degree to which the commercial was successful or not. For the purpose of making you laugh it succeeded. For the purpose of linking stereotypes to their product the succeeded. For the purpose of actually trying to sell their product…not so much because they don’t actually speak about the beer it self. They don’t talk about the taste, whether or not it is refreshing, price, etc. All-in-all it just depends on the purpose you are trying to evaluate, thus this commercial in part was successful and at the same time not.

Commercial Analysis by Rashida R.

The commercial that I looked at was the Dove Campaign’s Evolution of a Women.  The Link .  The objective of this campaign is to show the true beauty of women and how at different ages and different sizes we are all beautiful.  The audience would be anyone who wants to evolve into a new form of themselves by accepting what they have and not what the media portrays as being “it”.  The techniques that were used was to place a women in front of a camera without any beauty enhancements and watch her evolve into what is considered beautiful.  Once the make-up was being applied it appeared as if the women was sitting in front of a different set of cameras because lights became brighter and everything else. I worked on a computer on campus so I had to view the ad without sound, but I could imagine what music if any accompanied the piece. 

The purpose of the ad in my opinion was to show how if all had profession stylist then we could all look like we stepped out of a magazine.  The commercial didn’t say “hey buy the product”  but it showed how a womans skin would look like if she began to use the product.  The products that may be purchased are Dove’s lotions, soaps, body washes, shampoos and conditioners–to give the overall look that the model had before the makeover. 

This commercial will appeal to the young women who want to nourish their skin and the older women who want to maintain their skin regime.  This ad would only appeal to women but not limited to just women.  The duration of the commercial was one minutes and fifteen seconds, and during this time there was a lapse of time between her sitting in the chair to the photo shoot that concluded the commercial.  The angles that were used are straight forward on the subject. I did not have to opportunity to know whether there was any sound but I could imagine music.  There is only one main character in the shot along with the makeup artist, the tone appears to be hurried.  The relationship is that they just wanted to show how beautiful we are as women.  I think that the overall effectivness of the campaign was great because it showed that people should always to take care of their skin.

Commercial Analysis by Lindsey

Purpose:  I watched the Dove Film on the distortion of beauty in this world, which was amazing the changes they made.  Their purpose was to show the audience how distorted the perception of beauty is, and the changes that are made before it is placed for the public to view.  They also targeted self esteem and the effects it can have on a person. 

Audience:   At the end of the commercial they mentioned a dove real beauty workshop for girls, therefore I think their target audience is adolescent girls.  For teens this age self esteem and body image runs their world, therefore, I think Dove is trying to show them the technology that is used to get these women to look so perfect.  Also what they see in magazines, commercial, billboards and television is far from reality.  I think this could have a strong effect on their viewers.

Technique:  The Dove commercial I viewed was quite short, but had a very strong message.  The commercial was only a minute and fifteen seconds long and displayed only two different scenes, however in this case that was all they needed.   I think the first camera angle used was a medium shot.  It shows a woman from the waist up to focus the audiences attention on the details taking place in the changing of her facial features.  However, I also think they used the close up angle, considering it just shows a woman’s face to concentrate on as the main point.  It does not have any thing else going on therefore all of your attention is drawn to this certain image, almost like magnifying the character.  Lastly, I think the second scene showing the image of the woman on the billboard begins to use the extreme long shot, considering the image starts out close up and then begins to pull away as if you were seeing the billboard from a car window.    

During the Dove commercial I believe they used a crossfade as their transition style.  They showed a gradual process of how they completly changed a woman’s natural look to a beautiful woman on a billboard, to meet the public’s expectations of beauty.   They showed a sequence of shots at a relatively fast speed to portray their message.  They also used technology across the scenes to change the woman’s facial features, showing the effects their work can have in under two minutes.

This commercial did not consist of any dialogue or narration, however they did play music as the process of making over the woman went on.  The music lasted the whole time, however it started, slow and picked up as her transformation continued.   It seemed to overlap throughout the commercial considering the volume was the only thing changed throughout. 

Throughout the clip there was one woman who was being made over, therefore she was the main human character.  However, they showed the figures of people in the background putting on her makeup and fixing her hair, but they never actually showed anyone ’s face beside the main woman.  I think this was good because it made the audience never take there attention off of the image.  Throughout the entire commercial the tone and pace were consistent with  a beat of anticipation and suspense.  Finally, I think a huge thing to point out in this commercial was that after the woman was completely made over, then technology was shown changing her eyes, cheeks, and neck.  This shows that it takes technology to make an image appealing enough to be shown to the public, which I think is ridiculous, but probably will never change. 

Relationship between Parts: I think the techniques the creators chose to display this commercial were great.  I think they wanted to make the commercial short and sweet to show how distorted beauty can be within a couple of minutes.  I think they also used the crossfade to show the changes taking place and a before and after picture that would amaze thier viewers. 

Evaluation:  I think this commercial is very effective especially when dealing with teenagers.  They are always comparing themselves to others, especially body image, therefore I think this does a great job at showing there viewers the truth.  It shows a completely normal looking woman and turns her into a supermodel under two minutes.  This shows teens the perfect images in society can be distorted through technology very easily.  My evaluation of this commercial is quite good, I think teens need to see the truth about body image and that everyone is not perfect, even though society tries to portray it that way. Therefore, showing the production of a billboard and the changes made achieves the success in this commercial. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdSAYS05iQA