Media evaluation

Media Evaluation

Part one

The research I completed prior to the production of my storyboards assessed the conventions of modern music videos and how they can convey meaning through technical aspects of the shots used.

            The ‘Foals’ music video I looked into used a still camera and slow shots in order to create an air of depth and emotion to the music video. Although it was indeed slow moving the video did have a dramatic effect and felt as though the entire video was a visual metaphor for modern life. Shots included a black sea with black ice floating in the waves and a white object which starkly juxtaposes it’s surrounding image. This could be interpreted as a visual metaphor for people, those who stand out and those who ‘fit in’. The use of such a isolated location gives the impression it is reflective of the emotions behind the song and therefore the artist also. A shot which influenced my storyboards would be the extremely long shot at approximately 34 seconds into the video, it shows a figure walk in the distance, contrasting with background the figure is barely noticeable but adds to the effect of the isolation of the figure. I used a similar shot (14) in my storyboards except with the added effect of using an over the shoulder shot from one person with the same style of figure in the distance.
         Another video influencing my storyboards is the 'Afterglow' video. Consisting of a large amounts of shots and almost a caption in each of them, the video is fast paced and amusing. It tells the story of a couple and every factor in their relationship. By showing the audience key moments in the relationship the audience is forced to become attached to them, I used this in shot 6 of my story boards by using a girl blowing out the candles on her birthday cake with the boy from shot 4, establishing them as a couple and presenting the enigma of 'where is this girl?'.
       In the video for 'Use somebody' a large amount of close up shots are used, this personalises the audience with the artist. This is a typical convention of rock music videos and I used similar techniques in the close ups in my storyboards to give the shots a more personal feel. The narrative of the video shows the band going from concert to concert endlessly, the travelling is emphasised by the city shots flying by underneath the camera and the speed at which the shots jump to one another, this speed is copied in my storyboards as it increases the suspense when the boy is running in search of the girl. This can also be used for dramatic effect if fast shots are mixed with slow motion shots, this adds emphasis to the difference in speed between the shots. The visual style of the Use Somebody video is very cinematic, rarely do we get a clear view of anything in this video without some form of technique being used. The majority of shots of the artist have his face in shade or at a skewed angle, so we only get rare glimpses of his face in clear light. I used this in my storyboards to add mystery to the girls identity, giving the narrative a sense of drama and tension.
        In the Otis video by Jay Z & Kanye West low angle shots are used effectively to make the artists look larger and more dominant. I used similarly low angles in shot 14 of my storyboards, this was to make the girl of the video seem more dominant as it is the boy chasing the girl afterall, this low angle reinforces this ideology however. The low angle used also emphasises the size of the sand dune the girl is stood on, making it more of a task for the boy to climb therefore adding to the tension and implying the question, 'Can he actually reach her?'
      In the Mad World video the entire video gives the impression it is filmed in one continuous shot, this has the effect of making it interesting to watch however it also makes the video

a lot slower and at parts it can become dull. It’s for that reason I chose to use jump cuts in my storyboards to keep the narrative exciting and the audience interest. The speed of shots in my storyboards is a key influence to the narrative, by using jump cuts each shots perspective is changed causing the narrative of the plot to become more confusing but significantly quicker. This is necessary to build momentum in the narrative and tension also.

      In the No One Knows video the narrative is basic but unconventional, I appreciated how they used the role reversal of deer/man, although this is potentially too far it does stray from the norm of music video narratives. This influenced my decision in making a more unconventional plot to my storyboards.

 

Evaluation part 1

Evaluation part 1  Media

When looking through adverts especially one’s that where purely based on the environment I found that a lot where very simplistic in trying to get the point across whereas other where very cluttered and had a lot of writing this I did not like and felt had lost its message due to the over clutter of words.

When watching the NSPCC Cartoon boy I was inspired as they took something a simple as a cartoon, which conveyed and innocence and lack of complication with in the character and was very clear why they had chose to use the cartoon, the innocence gave a contrast to the evil beating’s he was been giving adding a sinister touch to the advert, this is something I took on when doing my advert, they where all slightly sinister with a dark touch to them a lot of the time connoting death or a punishment of some sort for the crimes against the environment.

Even though my advert full of many different shots when looking at the one child advert I saw that there was very few shot and even when they had changed it was after a prolonged time that and lingered on the one shot making you forcibly create a relationship with those of the character on screen from that I once again took that simplicity the abstract idea that I did not have to add many of this to get any message across but instead it was more powerful to keep it very simple. Something else of which inspired me was that there was always one central item which you was drawn to and the background was very bare, so as an audience having no interest to us and making keep our eye on the central object, one other thing is the colours all being very dark once again adding a sense of pain.

Watch Your Own Heart Attack Film British Heart Foundation, this very much impacted on my advert as I like the idea of being interviewed or interrogated by someone, someone of some sort of authority. Also something very small but what I thought was effective is that the interrogator wore a suit, show his professionalism and sense of intelligence in contrast to what the person who is being interrogated. This would show who has the power in the situation and who has come more prepared and also did this with chair, as I would have the person who has done the wrong on an old wooden chair and the interrogator and a black office chair, once again backing up that idea of authority.

Greenpeace car ad, has a direct influence to my advert as it was about the environment as was mine, once again it added to my already cemented idea of keeping it simplistic as this once again was as it took an everyday situation and turned it on its head I took this idea of an average person being put through a difficult situation that’s why in my advert the person being interrogated was no one of any significance and was a common citizen of society this would show the audience that this could be them or anyone which was a strong theme that I wanted to get across and also making the audience feel as though they are being directly addressed.

Amnesty International TV Advert Teleshop Mother London this very much give me the idea that I wanted it to be sinter and I struggles to do this visually so I went about it with sounded and still following the idea of it being simplistic I decided I wanted drums one that gradually got faster and faster all showing that it will lead up to some finale and throughout building suspense in the advert not only for the audience but showing that the person who was in the wrong was also being tense they almost acted as if it was the sound of a heartbeat that was becoming faster the interview went on .

 

Time to Change Schizo Movie advert this one made me really think about how dark I wanted the advertisement to be and I did throughout want it to be dark so I was able in the end to have some sort of resolution so what it was that I decided to do was have the lights out rhoughtout but just have spotlights on the person be interrogated and then in the end for it to go pure white as if some sort of punishment or resolution has come about.

Evaluation part1

Evaluation part 1

A lot of adverts inspired me in the making of my storyboards one of the main adverts that inspired me with my storyboards is the Greenpeace what does your car say about you advert. the reason this is because in this advert everyone that knows the main protagonist is looking down on him for having a car because in this advert hardly anyone in the world owns a car and the only person that does is the main protagonist. So all of his colleagues around him start to abuse him and look down on him. Now the main protagonist in this advert does not notice people are doing this behind his back. So for my storyboards I wanted to carry this is dead across of everyone looking down on the main protagonist but I wanted the main protagonist to notice and show the audience how much everyone looking down on a young homeless child can affect them. This is why by the end of the advert I kill off the homeless child to make the audience think that they are always ignoring homeless people when a lot of them are innocent so the death at the end will hopefully impact on the audience emotionally.

The NSPCC advert Cartoon boy also inspired me with what type of character I should have in the advert because in the Cartoon boy advert it is a small child being abused I wanted to carry that sense of innocence to my advert. So I decided on a child that is just about in their teens so that the advert did not seem so unrealistic and that every action that is happening in the advert is actually possible. This shock factor and the fact that this video is actually relatable really adds to the impact of the advert and the way this advert makes the viewer feel related to it is something i wanted to include in my storyboards because i knew that doing that would give the video a bigger impact. Also the sound in the advert was very effective because it was all happy and cheerful when the father was abusing his son this was to show that everything was okay with this abuse also when something bad happened to the child the audience laughed in the background giving the advert a bigger impact which was something I wanted to carry over to my advert a soundtrack that was really effective.

In the time to change mental health discrimination advert for schizophrenia they use the conception that people with schizophrenia are people that have lost their mind and just go round killing people liked it cannot be stopped. This advert plays on that really well because when we finally see our person with schizophrenia he is just an average normal man with a normal life. That is something i wanted to get across in my advert for the biggest impact because a lot of people mistake homeless people for being drug addicts and drunks whereas the truth is a lot of them are on the street not of their own doing. This is one impact i really wanted to get across in my storyboards and I think i did well.

In the amnesty water boarding advert it uses a lot of close-ups that are very effective and that disorientate the audience and this is something I wanted to incorporate into my storyboards because using a lot of fast paced close-ups really really gets the audience involved and makes them feel like they are actually there. So in my storyboards I wanted to use quite a few close-ups and shots that where fast paced to get the audience more involved with the advert giving the advert a much bigger impact but also to disorientate them so they do not know what is going to happen until the final few shots. I believe I have done this pretty well and that i was able to get the impact I wanted in my storyboards.

In the Act on Co2 advert the sound used is very superb the soundtrack from start to finish is very touching soundtrack it is daunting from start to finish you mix this with the topic that the advert talks about it has a very touching and heartbreaking impact on the audience watching. The soundtrack makes the adults feel guilty for what they have done and this mixed with the dialogue makes the adults watching think what they might be able to do for them to save the planet for the children. This advert made me think how important sounds can be to and advert so in my advert I wanted to make sure the feel of the advert was empathized with the right sounds to have a much bigger impact and that is why my advert has no soundtrack to give the advert a bigger impact on the audience.