Library trip

In our tutorial session with Faye, we printed off our labels and headed down to the library to collect them.We were shown how to use the printers by swiping our cards in the scanner and selecting the document that is available.We were also shown around the library were the black and white and coloured printers are and which sections contain the media books that we will be able to use on our course.We were also asked to find a book and take a photo of it . I chose a photography book and an anime book (Death note).We were to have a look around by ourselves and view the books and Dvd's on offer.We were told basic information such as opening and closing times , how much printing credit we get and how many books we can take out (including when we will have to return them by).

Photoshop - (Choosing Fonts) and designing a label

Today in our first session with Owain , we went on to the website DAfont.com and chose  3-5 ,or more fonts that would be suitable for our video advertisement product label.We did this by typing in our product name , choosing the fonts and then print screening these .Then i pasted them onto Photoshop , used the marquee tool to crop them and then saved this file as a JPEG.

I think the fonts that i have chosen match the freak or unique theme and will suit my product as they are all a bit strange and 'horror' like.Each font that i have chosen is different and unique.One of these fonts or one of the fonts that my other group members have chosen will be designed as a label onto our shampoo bottle .Again our product will be called 'Good For You Shampoo'. The slogan could also possibly be designed using a similar font.You can also change the colour of these fonts on Photoshop but i have yet to learn that skill.

For the second session , we were asked to design the label for our products.Using Photoshop with the previous skills i had learnt in Owain's lessons we chose a font , pictures off google images and extra information/details.In this case i used ingredients and a bar code for scanning.Discussing with my team we decided upon the dimensions and the idea to put a clown onto the label.I myself have decided to also include a picture of a woman with healthy looking hair which is also the message that we are trying to express throughout the advertisement.I combined the two images to portray a before and after look , as when you have unhealthy looking hair it can make you feel different and even ugly.So my idea is that with this shampoo, it can make you feel more confident about your hair and overall a lot happier with yourself in general.

Storyboard work for video advertisement

Today in our second session we made a spider gram of our ideas for our video advertisement.Our ideas are unchanged from yesterday's session with Faye as we still want to use the idea of advertising a shampoo product using a clown and a student (Damon). We wrote our proposals' and then went on to complete our location recce's. We had to fill out 2 as we are using 2 locations for filming.Our group name we decided upon after much debate was Toleda which is mine , Toms and Damon's first 2 initials of our names.Finally our last task was to create at least 8-12 slots on a storyboard of our advertisement.

Video Advert Proposal

The product we are planning to sell is a brand of shampoo for women.Our idea is to advertise the shampoo using a clown secretly following someone to get the bottle of shampoo.The person wont realise the clown is there until the end when the clown is sat in a public area looking sad . The student/ person then walks over to the clown and hands her the shampoo.The clowns' hair and face then changes back into an ordinary person and then the product will be shown along with the logo at the end.There will be 2 actors throughout the advert.We are aiming our advert at 12 years plus.We might use a ghost effect for the clown.

The props we will need are a green wig, shampoo bottle without the label on, yellow shoes , a clown mask and headphones.The equipment we will need is a camera , tripod , microphone , headphones and an SD card.The locations we have decided upon are the spiral staircase , the corridor next to it and the seating area on E floor.The obstacles we may face by doing this are other students / staff walking past in the areas.Another obstacle could be the sounds that could disturb our filming.

The editing techniques we plan to use are sound effects, music,we may also need to cut some of the footage out to fit the 15-30 second limit for the overall advert.The music and sounds will add more suspense and emotion to the advert, making it more enjoyable to watch.

I think this advert could also turn out to be comical in ways but also unique.At the end of the advertisement , there will be a close up shot of the shampoo bottle which will have a designed label on it (which will be completed in Owain's lesson).

The label will have a clown on and maybe a background that is quite dark and mysterious.Along with this will be the Good for you shampoo name and a slogan.

Video advert planning session

We were given the task of  coming up with different video advert ideas along with a product and a slogan.

Originally , we wanted to use a McDonald's product and advertise this using an actor dressed up as a clown (me). After discussing this we realised that our original idea would not be individual enough and we wanted to produce something more unique and overall freaky.

We discussed what other products we could possibly advertise and decided upon a bottle of shampoo. Still using the idea of a clown around the college campus , we plan to make it so that another actor (Damon) and me the clown would result in a type of chase around certain  areas such as the spiral staircase and other areas on floor E.At the end of this session i (the clown) will end up in the seating area on floor E looking quite sad and lonely and fed up of my hair. This will then result in Damon (college student) walking up to me and handing me a bottle of shampoo.I will then suddenly change as my hair returns to normal and my clown mask has gone.

The name for our product is 'Good For You Shampoo' and the slogan is 'Shampoo that is good for you'. Both catchy and easy to remember.

We plan to use a mix of Mid shots , close ups and wide shots when filming. Also we plan on adding some creepy music or sound effects such as footsteps to add more emotion to the video.

The props we will need for this are a green wig/ green coloured hair spray) , a clown mask , a shampoo bottle , a red nose and finally some yellow shoes . ( i will change back into the shoes i usually wear for the end). Damon will need his phone and headphones as well.

As we changed our original idea , we decided to look for some more inspiration involving the idea of shampoo and hair products. From this we discovered the dove advert 'Girls shampoo isn't made for real men'. This was very inspirational to us as it gave us some more ideas as to using a longer haired/ messed up wig and for different angled shots.
The link for this is below along with pictures of our brainstorms/ notes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-K29F3WU5Q

Video Production Groups with Faye

In our first session , we were introduced and placed into our video production groups.There are 3 people in our group consisting of me, Damon and Tom. We Discussed our skills and decided that Damon would be in charge of editing , Tom would be in charge of filming and i would be doing the acting and makeup along with a bit of filming to help.At first we were all quiet and awkward but i think this will fade as we get to know one another better and we actually start to produce the work for the advertisement.

We were asked to find 3 freaky adverts , allowing us to find the inspiration to make our own for the assignment. The three adverts we found were :


- Creepy Ice Cream Commercial ad

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rx4jEIZyTZU

This advert mainly used a 'close up shot' which gave a creepy and intense effect. The body language of the actor is very intimidating and strange which also makes you want to watch more , for example the eyes were staring directing into the lens.This advertisement uses a voiceover , otherwise known as a non diegetic sound and accompanying this is some background noises which faintly sound like the music from ice cream vans , except the tempo has been slowed down to make it more dramatic and creepy and to also get the viewers attention. Overall the advert appears very direct.The music is in a major key.

-Scary Banned McDonald's ad


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ob0GbuUr8wc

This advert contains a lot of freaky content . The clown acts very weird but also it could be considered scary to some people. This clown acts very happy , scaring the children and everyone else. It is an old advert advertising McDonald's food.The camera angles are a mix of 'mid-shot' and 'wide shot'.The advertisement uses a non diegetic sound (voice over) along with some background music in a major key.The tempo is quite fast and the music seems energetic and lively.

-Extremely creepy 1960's cereal commercial

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2vBJt1iG60


This advert also contains a clown and is quite old fashioned (due to it being from the 1960's). This adds a very eerie effect and in modern times can be considered freaky and unusual.Again the clown acts very overly happy which can creep people out and it definitely is not considered normal.The camera angle seems to mainly be 'mid-shot' throughout.This advertisement uses diegetic sound ; as you can see that the clown is speaking.There is no music, except for a cockerel sound at the start (non diegetic) which symbolises morning/ the start of the day.From this people could guess that it would be a cereal advert.

As individual research i decided to have a look at a couple more freaky advertisements .

- Baby Doll Playstation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqkNPcUMffU



This advert uses multiple types of shots such as mid shot ,  wide shot  and close up. The advert consists of a baby doll and a playstation 3 . The baby almost looks possessed during the advert and i like the use of fire and dramatic occurances in the eyes to give a freaky , dark and weird appearance. This advertisement has a mix of diegetic and non diegetic sounds coming from the baby and the playstation, its a very 'different advertisement'.                                                                                                            

Photography research

We were asked to find 10 images that we thought matched the freak or unique brief.


1)   This image is very unique and weird.I think it was created by merging together a high heel shoe and someones foot over it.This could be recreated by having someone stand in front of the camera wearing heels , a shot can be taken of one foot in the shoe  and then another shot could be taken of the bare foot arched as if in a heel . These two photos could then be merged together.

2) I think this image was created by merging a face , arms/hands and facial features together.  It is very odd and definitely matches the freak or unique theme.However i cant really think of an advertisement idea to go with this .                                                                                                                                       

3)    I like this image because it focuses on one main aspect of the horse and it looks quite mysterious and Spooky.I also like the fact that there is a limited amount of colour used which makes the photo quite dark it looks very focused. From this photo i think i could take inspiration from the blurred background.

4)  This photo overall looks ghostly and faded (as if the horse doesn't exist) .This is the general idea for my advert that i want to recreate.

5)       I like the use of colour in this photo , it adds a unique and Halloween touch.This image has been edited to take the original colours out of the photo and add new ones in.

6)     From this image i particularly like the black and white effect , also the horse looks like a silhouette which altogether looks spooky.

7)    This image was probably made on Photoshop , using model horses or real life horses , followed with a lot of editing to make the bodies look decayed and old .  

`

8) I like the mist in this image as it adds a haunted effect.It almost has a sepiatone filter as well , which makes it look old and vintage.

9)  This image definitely has that Halloween era about it, making it more suitable for my advertisement , seeing as it is close to Halloween now.The black and white filter , silhouette figures and use of the pumpkin definitely make it freaky.I think this was created by a video and it has been edited so it is constantly on a loop.The setting is in a dark wood /forest  and the rider is dressed up. Props used are the pumpkin and clothes.

10)  I like how this image focuses on the eye of the horse . I think something individual could be photo shopped into the eye or around it to make it freaky .