Submission Sheet

Video Production Advert Evaluation

In the video production lessons we had, we were required to create a short 15 to 30 second advert on a product that we had chosen in the groups that we were put into. We had to research many different video advertisements and look at the things they were selling and how they went about achieving that. We also had to look at how the product itself was featured in the advertisements and where it was placed – the beginning, the middle, the end or if it was featured/placed all the way through. We also had to research different shot types and how they were used in short films, such as ‘Soft’ and ‘Wasp’ (that we had watched during the lessons).

Both researching the shot types and different types of advertisements were very helpful for when it came to planning out the video advertisement we were going to be creating. They helped us to understand that not every advertisement was the same and that they all had a lot of thought put into them.

During the video production lessons, we learnt a lot. We learnt that different shot types give off different effects and messages when they are used in different situations and that, sometimes, the shot type used didn’t match the message trying to be conveyed.

With what I have done so far – the filming of the video advert as well as the skeleton edit we did in Adobe Premiere Pro – I am happy with it. I feel that it went very well and very smoothly while filming and, while we had to film a few parts more than one time, it helped us to see how things can turn out differently if only something it shot from a different angle.

While using Adobe Premiere Pro for the first time in order to create the skeleton edit (an edit that does not include special effects or sound effects) of our advert, I found that it was rather tricky to figure out to begin with. However, once I had tried out the different tool available to me, I got the hang of what I needed to be doing. I managed to shorten down all of my group’s footage to only 23 seconds of footage. The next step is adding in the effects and finishing off the editing for the advert.

If I did this project again, I can’t think of much that I would want to do differently, as I felt that the majority of it went quite well. However, I do think that when we were in the filming process that we could have done more takes of the different scenes and tried more different angles and shot types to see if that changed how we felt when we watched the footage back again. We also could have tried using different locations that did not have as much natural lighting, as I feel this may have helped us out more when we watched it back.

Print Advert Evaluation

From the photography and graphics lessons that we had, we were required to produce an image montage and a print/magazine advert, respectively. Throughout both lessons, quite a bit of research was required, from simple image research to the sizes of magazine/print adverts themselves, which proved to be a lot harder to find than I thought. This was because there are many different size magazines, so they obviously have different sizes. The image research that I was required to do in photography helped me because I got to see freaky/unique imagery on a whole scale; there were some images that I saw and found that I wouldn’t have fit on the spectrum before.

In the photography lessons, I learnt a lot of new skills. I learned how to set up the camera - as well as how the camera works, the tripod and how to alter the height of it to how I need it, the redhead light and what to do and not to do while using it and then I also learned how to set up the seamless background which proved to be very helpful for when I was shooting images. When it came to using Photoshop in the photography lessons, we were taught how to use the ‘levels’ and ‘curves’ tool which allowed us to change the brightness and contrast of the images we had taken.

In the graphics lessons, a lot more skills were learnt; though I felt this may be because we were doing many different things each week. We learnt how to use many of the different features on Photoshop, from cutting out using the ‘pen tool’ to blurring with the ‘gaussian blur’ tool. A lot of the skills I had learnt in this lesson aided me in being able to create my final piece in both lessons.

I am happy with my final pieces; though I feel as though I was supposed to end up with only one by the end of this assignment. I like that I was able to bring in what I had learnt in my Photoshop lessons into my photography lessons when it came to the editing process for the montage I created. The Photoshop tools that I had learnt in my photography lesson also proved helpful when it came to my Photoshop work, as I used them on the images I was editing for my final magazine advert.

If I did this assignment again, I would first make sure that I knew what was being expected of me by the end. I feel as though I was only supposed to end up with one final piece from both of the sessions, but I was unclear during the project. I would also make more of an attempt to bring in the photographs I had taken in the photography portions of my lessons into my graphics lessons. If I were to do this assignment again, I would also ask for more techniques and tools to be taught to me so that I could try and experiment with them.

Notes on Editing in Adobe Premiere Pro

Lesson: 07-10-2015

Once we had finished filming for our advert, we had to open up Adobe Premiere Pro and get used to editing in this software and produce a 'skeleton edit'. A skeleton edit is an edit without including any special effects or sounds and just getting the parts that cut that we needed to use and discarding the parts that we didn't need to use. 

When we first got started, it was hard to get the hang of what we needed to be doing, as I was new to the software. Marissa helped us in setting up the initial document settings, as we were unsure how to help set it up. 

Once we had gotten started, Bethany and I were okay with cutting out the different parts of the clips we had taken in order to get what it was that we wanted to keep. When we had gotten through one part and cut the part we wanted, we had to insert the part we had cut into the timeline shown at the bottom half of the program.

We did this for all of the clips we had and then saved what we had done for our skeleton edit.

Notes on Filming

Lesson: 07-10-2015

While filming our advert, I helped Rosie to set up the tripod before we began. I voiced my opinions to my group as we were filming. I did this by letting them know what I thought might work better and the different angles we might be able to shoot something from. When I had these ideas, I would use the camera in order to show how some angles might work better to others.

In the areas that we had more natural lighting than we would have liked, we tried to use it to our advantage, rather than letting it hinder our progress.

As our third location was in a different building, we had to ask for permission to use it, which Bethany had already done before we had to begin our filming. This was helpful as it meant that we could get right into filming the final part of our advert.

Magazine Advert and Evaluation

Lesson: 08-10-2015

In this lesson, we were designing and creating our final piece for our magazine advert that was based off of the short film advert we created in Marissa's lesson.

We were introduced to some guidance for creating our magazine advert, and were advised that instead of creating it straight into Photoshop, it would benefit us to create some rough sketches first. These sketches were so that when we came to designing our advert in Photoshop, we would already have a rough idea of what we wanted to put where. 

In the guidance we were shown, we were also told the kind of things that were had to consider putting onto our magazine advert; these included, a slogan, headline and the product itself. We were also told that if we wanted to, we could include a sub-headline, extra info the buyer may need and even a logo.

When we were aware of what needed to put onto our magazine advert, we had to do 3-5 (or more) rough sketches about what we might want our advert to look like once we created it in Photoshop. Once we had these designs, we had to go about creating our magazine advert in Photoshop.

This is the magazine advert I created.

In order to get to this stage, I had to research sizes of magazine adverts so that I could have something that resembled the actual size of a magazine advert. The size that I used was 210mm in height and 148mm in width. Once that was done, I went out to finding a background that I could use on my advert. We were told that for this assignment, we could use one from the internet that we could find. 

While the background I decided to use didn’t match the product I chose to sell, I found out during my research on different types of magazine adverts that they don’t always directly include the product they are trying to sell in their magazine. I went with an image of an abandoned roller coaster as I felt that it still felt a bit off-putting to look at, and I also felt that clowns are often associated with theme parks, hence my choice.

Copying that image into Photoshop, I used the ‘free transform’ tool in order to stretch my image until it fit the size of my advert. Following that, I used the ‘blending options’ and then ‘colour overlay’; then, I selected the shade of red that I wanted and used the ‘soft light’ blend mode at 70% opacity which gave me the background how I wanted it to be.

Next, I opened up the product label that I had created and dragged the title of the product into the file I was working on. This was so that I could use the same font for my magazine advert. Then, after positioning the product name where I wanted it to be, I pressed CTRL + T to enter the free transform mode and pressed the button at the top which allowed me to ‘switch between free transform and warp mode’. Doing this allowed me to stretch the image into an arch, which was the effect that I wanted to have. Then, going back to my product label, I dragged over the ‘shampoo’ text that I had, again as I needed to use the same font for it.

After dragging that over, I positioned that where I wanted it and then I used the ‘ellipse’ tool in order to use that as a background for the ‘shampoo’ text.

Then, using the ‘rounded rectangle’ shape tool, I created one and positioned it in the top right corner, so that it looked like a banner. Then, changing the opacity to 70%, I created a text box and used the Agency FB font at 14pt, as well as changing the ‘horizontal scale’ to 160% for the writing in the text box. Once that was positioned on top of the rounded rectangle that I used, I was finished.

Throughout this task, I learnt many different skills. Though a lot of it was through clicking on things and seeing what they did, I feel as though I learned a lot. I learned that having a rough sketch of a plan before beginning with the Photoshop process was very helpful. I found that, even though I didn’t stick to any of the sketches that I had designed before we began, I still found that it was easier to get started with something as a rough guide.

While I am quite pleased with my final piece and how it looks, I feel as though it could have been a lot better, had I prepared better. The final product is quite simple and doesn’t look too crowded. I wanted to try many different tools out; however, I felt as though the final piece would have looked very crowded and a bit too busy if I had. So, while I am pleased with how it turned out in the end, I felt that I didn’t give myself enough time to be able to try out all of the things I wanted to try out before the deadline.

If I were to do this task again, I would do a few things differently. Firstly, I would plan out my time better so that I could have the time to try out different techniques and tools. I would also try out different designs to see if something else would have fit it better. I think I would also try to make the advert about the product that had been done in my group; I feel that this may have worked better in the end.

Week 5 - Memory Check

Lesson:12-10-2015

Memory Check

What is ISO and what does it effect?

• ISO stands for International Standards Organisation and it affects how sensitive the camera is to light. The drawback to using a high ISO is that the pixels become grainy and detail is often lost in the photograph taken.

When would we use the ‘P’ control setting on the camera mode dial?

• The 'P', or Program, setting on the camera is something akin to semi-automatic. The camera would handle most of the work, but you can make adjustments to the ISO and White Balance when you need to.

• We would use the Program setting on the camera when more flexibility is required. It is also helpful when working on composition, as it means that you don't need to worry about the aperture or exposure when getting shots.

Name two important considerations when attaching the tripod base plate to the bottom of camera?

• Make sure that it is fastened tightly to lessen the chances of it coming loose.

• Ensuring that the and ensure that it is put on the right way around, with the arrows pointing towards the lens. 

Name three important considerations when using a red-head lighting kit.

• Make sure not to touch the red-head light and the surrounding barn doors that are there as the protection. 

• Leave the red-head light to cool down for 10-15 minutes after use. If this is not done, the filament in the light bulb is prone to breaking.

• Health and safety regarding the power cables of the light should be taken into consideration.

When focusing the camera, what do we place on the object/subject to ensure it is the center of focus?

• The small green rectangle that appears is where the subject of the photograph needs to be, so that it is the center of focus. In order not to break the rule of thirds, once the shutter button is held halfway down for the focus, the camera should be moved to get the right composition for the shot.

Name two techniques we can use to adjust the brightness and contrast of a photograph?

• To adjust the brightness and contrast of a photograph, you can use the 'levels' and 'curves' tool in Photoshop. When using the camera, we could adjust the brightness and through control of the ISO, shutter speed and aperture.