How did you use Media Technologies in the Construction, Research, Planning and Evaluation stages?

Throughout the production of my A2 media portfolio I have used a wide variety of different media technologies. All work produced for my coursework can be seen on my blogger site which is the first example of media technology that I have used. Using blogger.com has allowed me to display my work in a variety of different forms which otherwise would not have been available. It also enables me to make any changes I deem necessary to make sure my work is to the highest standard.

Media technologies were vital in research for this project. YouTube has been heavily involved throughout the project including researching existing energy drink advertisements. By analysing current, professional, advertisements it allowed me to notice various conventions that appear in adverts of this type. The comment feature on YouTube was also helpful in determining whether that particular advert was successful or not.
The Internet in general was vital for the research process. Most of the research we conducted was on how to make successful advertisements. We also thought it would be important to find out the cost for advertising to assess which ancillary projects to make with regards to value for money. We also thought it was vital to research the ASA to make sure our advertisements meet the required codes so our advert did not mislead, offend or harm anyone who may witness it.
As well as research into advertisements we also researched audience. The audience are the most important aspect of any advert as they are the ones who deem whether an advert is successful or not. We researched multiple audience theories using the Internet and various media resources we received in lessons and applied them to our product.

Media Technology was also involved in the planning process for our advert. Once we had decided that we wanted slow motion footage in our advert we thought it would be best if we could test the camera fully so that we were prepared when we were ready to film. The Casio High Speed Exilim EX-FH20 was our camera of choice and we tested it thoroughly before filming at a number of different frame rates. Media technologies were pivotal in deciding our soundtrack. We wanted a popular song and also a song that people could imagine themselves exercising to. After listening to tracks on YouTube as well as looking through the charts at the time we eventually decided on a song, which we then used as our soundtrack throughout our campaign.
Adobe Photoshop was also used in planning our advert. We needed a label to use on our bottle in the music video. We decided to use photoshop as it could give us the professional feel we craved despite our little knowledge in the software before we started. We eventually created a label with the brand name large enough to be seen clearly throughout the video.

Construction of our project was heavily reliant on media technologies. Firstly filming was done using two cameras, the slow motion Casio High Speed Exilim EX-FH20 and for the other shots a Creative Vado HD. Filming in HD was important as the majority of TVs support HD and by filming in HD we would appeal to the largest audience as the advert can be viewed in Standard and High Definition. The use of the slow motion camera also gave a contrast to the other camera which emphasises the struggle to perform of the runner.
The editing was done on a Macbook using iMovie 9. The editing allowed us to fit the clips together as well as change the colour in the initial clips. This allowed us to implement our main idea of Regenerate bringing the colour back into the workout. It also allowed us to insert our soundtrack to make the advert memorable as well as text at the bottom of the screen to meet ASA regulations.
Photoshop was used once again in the construction. The Internet pop up was made using photoshop as well as the magazine poster and the end of advert picture used in our full and short advert.

The image used in the sponsorship sequence was taken using the camera on an iPhone 4. It was then edited using an app called 'ColourSplash.' This allowed us to continue the theme of Regenerate bringing colour into the workout by making the picture black and white and the bottle in colour.

The website was made using weebly, a free online website making service due to our limited budget. We also used Facebook and Twitter to support our advertisement with respective pages for our product.

The Evaluation is presented on my blog with all the other posts allowing for a fast change between all stages of the project. It also allows me to use photos, and links to other areas breaking up the text. YouTube was also vital in terms of my evaluation as it allowed me to post my video and receive the necessary feedback in order to learn for my next product. Social networking sites also allowed us to widen our feedback range to an audience similar to our target audience.
Overall media technologies were vital in the production of my A2 media portfolio. Without them our product would not have been up to the same standard.

What Have You Learned From Your Audience Feedback?

Once we had completed our adverts we posted them to YouTube where we could receive any feedback. As can be seen in my earlier post we also used social networking sites, such as Facebook, to extend any potential feedback we may receive. We concentrated on getting feedback on our full advert because the shorter advert contained the same footage just cut down.

Overall our feedback was fairly positive. We received praise for our song choice and our easily understood narrative, due to the colour effects. This suggests that our advert would be successful if launched for real as the message showing the effects of the drink were easily understood and the advert would be remembered due to the popularity of the song.

However we didn't learn too much from our positive feedback. It was more important to receive any criticism on our advert so that we could learn for our next production. One criticism was a small continuity error in the bridge sprint scene. At one point Adam is sprinting and then after a cut it appears as though he is just starting. This small editing error could be easily rectified and would be something to consider next time we make an advert because even little errors could prevent people from buying our product.

Another small criticism we received was also an editing issue. It was suggested that the cuts on the bridge could have fit in better with the beat of the music. We agree with this point as it would make the advert flow better and as a result more effective. However this was something we did try to achieve but found difficult due to the varied lengths of clips we filmed. This is something to bear in mind next time we produce an advert as we would have to think further ahead in the filming process so that we cover every eventuality.

Both criticisms on our full advert were down to editing errors. This may be down to both me and Adam having little experience in editing before we made our advert. As a result next time we would have more experience in editing than before this project.

We also received feedback on our ancillary projects. Our Internet pop up advert was well received as it contained many features of existing Internet pop up adverts. One small criticism was that it could become quite repetitive as the 'Prolong Your Workout' is on a constant loop. This could have a negative effect as consumers may deliberately avoid our product as a result, however as can be seen with GoCompare adverts repetitive and annoying adverts can be effective.

Overall we were encouraged by the positive reception that we received in our project. However we have learnt to be more thorough in our next project, especially in the editing process where the two small errors were pointed out.

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Our main product (full advert) has conformed to many of the codes and conventions of advertising. In my earlier research I identified the various codes and conventions of TV advertising as well as well as discovering how they differ in advertisements for energy drinks.

The first convention our advert meets is the use of a song to promote our product. Our advert uses a popular song which will help to make our advert memorable. This means that whenever that song is played there is a chance that viewers of our advert will recall our brand name which could potentially lead to further free advertising or them taking action and buying our product. Not only does our advert use this song it can also be linked to our product as it has the tempo similar to good motivational exercising music. The lyrics can also be linked especially 'I get a feeling that I've never had before' which implies that our product has an effect like no other.

The use of music is just one of many conventions met by our full advert. In TV advertisements it is vital that the viewers know what brand is being advertised. This is especially the case for a new product such as ours in which the brand is unknown and as many shots as possible are required in order to get the brand name known. I feel as though we have met this especially after filming extra footage after receiving feedback from our class. Showing the brand name was met through the slow motion drinking footage, the relay style baton shot towards the end of the advert and the final screen which contains our brand name. The slow motion footage is the longest time the brand name is on screen. This accompanied by the soundtrack in the background helps to make this rememberable and the brand name is the most important aspect that we want viewers to remember. In the relay baton shot not only is the brand name on show but there is also additional text saying 'Prolong Your Workout' which is a tag line used throughout our campaign. This tag line is not especially catchy like many tag lines however it does inform people of what our product provides and also after extensive usage throughout our campaign it will begin to stick in the minds of viewers. The final showing of our brand name is the final screen. By showing it last it is fresh in the memory of the viewers, especially if the advert has been effective at grabbing the attention of the viewer which we feel we achieved.

A convention of energy drink adverts especially is a visual effect that drinking the product will have. We feel that we have met this with our advert and possibly developed it further with the use of colour. By drinking Regenerate the colour is brought back into the advert after it had previously faded away from the advert as a result of the workout. This is our visual aspect that is present in other energy drink advertisements showing the effects the product has on screen. However we developed this further by using the soundtrack to further show the effects of the drink. Before drinking the song is fading until the point where the song is quietest when Regenerate is being drunk. Upon finishing the drink the music returns to the fastest, and loudest part of the song for the final sprint across the bridge.

One aspect of our advert that may differ from the codes and conventions could be the fact that our advert doesn't show the product or information straight away. The reason for this is that the narrative of the advert meant that it was difficult to show the product towards the start. However by the use of such a popular song and the effects of fading the colour from the advert until the drinking takes place we believe that viewers will still be engaged by the time the advert reaches the drink scene. Also by making a shorter advert where the drink is shown much earlier this combats this problem and this is likely to receive the higher audience because it is likely to be shown more often on TV due to cost implications.

Finally applying media theories to our advert we can see that our advert has similar effects to real media texts. The consumer involvement theory is met through getting people to remember of a time where they have felt similar to the actor on screen and as a result take action to prevent it happening to them again. They may also take action by going to our website to view the full advert which means they are more likely to be exposed to Regenerate for longer. Also if the hypodermic needle model is to be believed then we have also achieved success as our advert has visual effects as a result of drinking our energy drink. This would then be absorbed by the viewer and they would bear this in mind when it comes to shopping for energy drinks.

How Effective Is The Combination Of Your Main Product and Ancillary Tasks?

An advertisement campaign is much more effective if it consists of more than just a TV advertisement. We therefore made many ancillary tasks to accompany our two adverts. Our ancillary tasks consist of;

• A Radio Advert
• Sponsorship Sequence for ITV weather
• Internet Pop Up Advert
• Mobile App Pop Up Advert
• Magazine Advert

As well as the above ancillary products we have also made a website, Facebook and Twitter pages for our product.

Throughout all of these adverts we made sure that we maintained a similar theme. This theme consisted of our colour scheme which was an orange that faded to white on the images and animations. This colour theme is also present in our film products where the product brings colour back into the shot. This is present in all our filmed adverts and can be related to our images and animations. Sound was also very important throughout our advertisement campaign. Obviously sound is not present in the images and animations but in the radio advert, sponsorship and TV adverts the same soundtrack is used. The same actor, Adam, was also used in all of our filmed products. By using a similar theme we created synergy throughout the campaign. This association makes the brand name more likely to be remembered by the public who are exposed to the advert, especially as they come into contact with the advertising more often than if we just made a TV advert. A much wider audience is also reached through the vast range of ancillary tasks on a number of different media platforms. If launching this campaign for real there would be cost implications and we would therefore have to choose between which ancillary products to launch with our main TV advertisement. By having an association between all of our products we have made them interchangeable making for an effective campaign.

Feedback on Our Advert

After completing our adverts we uploaded them to youtube. By doing this our video is available to the public to view and comment with their views on our advert. It is important to obtain feedback so that we can look for ways to improve next time. From an advertising perspecitive feedback also allows the next advert that is produced to be more effective which could result in more sales for the company.

With our video on YouTube it is open for anyone to comment on. Commenting on YouTube means that the video is fresh in the mind of whoever is commenting making any feedback even more appropriate.

This screenshot shows the actual comments on our YouTube video for our full length advert. Overall the feedback is very positive mainly praising the use of the song to suggest the effects as a result of drinking our product. There was similar praise for our editing. The use of colour was praised as it also suggested a relation to the product. These two points are also reassuring for our ancillary products which use the same song and a similar theme involving colour.

One criticism we did receive through this form of feedback was a small continuity error in the bridge scene. 'rafaliscooltoo' suggested that in one scene Adam is sprinting and then after a cut it appears as though he is just setting off. Fortunately this could be easily rectified but shows the importance of feedback especially criticism.

In addition to the comments on the YouTube video we decided to use social media to get the views of friends on Facebook. Getting the views of a similar age to ourselves is important because our advert would likely appeal to our age range. The screenshot to the right shows the actual message sent through Facebook's messaging service.

Once again we found the general feedback to be positive. One message we received was:
"The song choice for this advert is very effective, as it literally makes people feel good, so it portrays a positive message with the energy drink. The use of close ups are extremely effective, as it shows emotion which helps us as an audience relate to the actor. Also, the Olympic logo at the end adds a good touch to the advert as makes people want to buy your drink because if athletes buy it, then it would be good enough for everyone else. However if i had any constructive criticism it would be to cut to the beat of the song."

Once again the song choice is praised for the positive feeling that it gives the viewer, which implies our drink has a similar effect. There was also praise for our end of advert picture, something mentioned in a YouTube comment, which gives a professional feel. One small criticism was that the cuts weren't to the beat of the music. This may be the case but it would be difficult to make this happen due to the length of the clips not being as long as the time in between the beat changes in the song.

Another comment we received was:

 "The combination of the slow motion shots and the change of pace in the song are very effective, as together, they highlight the runners struggle to perform. The transition from black and white to colour is also effective, as it portrays a positive vibe to your consumers."

This comment praises the slow motion part of the advert and the way the song also changes pace at this point suggesting the struggle in performance. This is good to hear as it is the effect we desired in order to suggest the positive effect that Regenerate has. More praise was received for the use of colour and it suggesting a good positive feeling to the viewer.

In general the feedback for our advert was positive. However more important than positive feedback is the constructive criticism received. Both critical points of view refer to the editing of the advert, one suggesting a small continuity error and the other suggesting the editing should fit with the music better. These points will be considered when producing our next product. Also when producing our next advert we will both have more experience in editing, which we didn't have when entering this particular project.

Overall we are very pleased with the way our advert has been received, especially the praise for the colour scheme idea which we thought would be effective in the planning stage. More importantly however is the fact that everyone who has viewed our advert immediately got the message which means our advert is effective in suggesting that Regenerate can benefit your workout.

Short TV Advert

This is a shorter version of our advert. It contains all the information needed to advertise the product sufficiently but is shorter than the other advert. This advert is under 30 seconds which would save a considerable amount in advertising costs yet still achieving the same effect. The advert features the same song, clips and editing techniques as the main advert making it instantly recognisable. It also has text diverting viewers to the website to view our full length advert if they have not yet seen it. By sending people to the website the company would benefit from more, effectively free advertising from the content on the website. When shortening the film we have not altered the narrative in anyway, even though this is under half the length of the full version, this means that even if people do not view the full advert they can watch this and still get the message portrayed.

Full TV Advert

This is our final full advert. I believe that it follows many conventions of adverts that make it successful. When analysing energy drink advertisements for our research a reoccurring theme was a visible effect that drinking the product will have. Our advert meets this through the changes of colour, tempo and the music getting louder. Our advert is also effective at showing which brand the advertisement is for. We got many close ups of our product including the slow motion which gives the brand name plenty of time on screen which is important especially when launching a new product. This particular advert may be shown for a week in order to get the name and advert known and then we would switch to the shorter version which would save money. This advert would be available to view on the Regenerate website. The end of the advert contains brand name, website and our sponsoring of London 2012. I chose the London 2012 sponsor over the others due to the nature of the advert being running which is an olympic discipline and also the shot where 'Prolong Your Workout' appears has similarities to that of a relay baton change.

Radio Advert

This is our completed Radio Advert. It follows many codes and conventions of Radio adverts. Our radio advert lasts 33 seconds. This makes it long enough to get the message across but not too long that the viewers are bored and switched off when the important information comes at the end. The information at the end means that the brand name is fresh in the memory of anyone who listens to our advert. The use of our soundtrack is also effective. Not only does it create synergy throughout our campaign it is also a popular song which means our advert would be played on a radio station with a similar genre of music. This would mean our advert appeals to the largest number possible and also should someone hear our advert then they may associate it with that song whenever they hear it.

Making And Editing Our Radio Advert

Previously we had edited our products using iMovie software. However for our radio advert we had no images and needed to record a voice over for information that could not be provided through the use of images. We therefore decided to use Audacity.

The first job was to assemble all the files required for our advert. Once again we decided to use Avicci - Levels to continue the synergy throughout our campaign. Without the use of images though we had to find sound effects that portrayed a similar message. We therefore used sound effects such as footsteps, heartbeat and an "ahhh" to suggest that exercise is being conducted and also that a drink of some form is being consumed. We then needed to make sure our brand name and details were known by the listener. In order to do this we needed a voice over at the end of the advert. This was created in Audacity using the laptops microphone shown by the image to the right.

Now we had all the sounds that we needed to make our radio advert they needed to be added to Audacity and arranged to make an effective radio advertisement. The advert starts with the sound of footsteps suggesting that someone is running, which is similar to our TV advert, this point is then reiterated by the heartbeat sound effect which gets progressively louder to emphasise the runners struggle. Next the sound of someone drinking cuts in over the top which is then followed by the 'ahhh' sound effect to suggest replenishment and regeneration. After this our song begins with the lyrics "I get a feeling that I've never had before" This is similar to our main TV advertisement where these same lyrics feature whilst Adam is drinking.

Towards the end of the advert our voice overs begin to feature over the top of our soundtrack. This is when we encountered a problem as the soundtrack was louder than the voice overs. This made them difficult to understand and as this is an important part of the advert it was vital that we amplified the voice overs to make them clear for the listener to hear and absorb the information. After some experimenting we decided to make the soundtrack quieter so that the quality of the voice overs was not damaged by trying to make them too loud.

After Amplify had been applied

Before soundtrack had been altered.

Once the clips had been organised and edited to create our radio advert we decided to compress the file into an mp3 file format. This would be the most compatible format for radio stations which we decide to advertise on.

Our final advert shown in Audacity,

Planning Our Radio Advert

As with all of our anciallary products we wanted to create synergy with our main advert in order to get our brand name known as fast as possible. With this being our aim we decided to use Avicii - Levels once more in our advert. By using this song so often people may begin to associate the song with our brand name and with it being a popular song they're likely to hear it quite often which is positive from our perspective.

Without the use of images to portray our message of bringing the colour into the workout we struggled to think of ideas. We decided to keep the idea similar to that in the main tv advert, but using sound effects and a narrator to describe the effects that drinking Regenerate can have.  

Codes and Conventions of Radio Adverts

Like all forms of advert we have researched there are many codes and conventions that appear in radio adverts.
Various conventions of Radio Adverts:

• A brief outline of the product/service
• Details about product/service
• Assosciation from other advertising forms (or clips from the main programme if TV programme is being advertised)
• Usually use a narrator
• Music of a similar genre to the radio station the advert features on
• Usually 30-40seconds

Analysing Radio Adverts

The main element to this advert is humour. This particular advert targets IT workers through this advert. This has two benefits, one attracting those who do work in IT by saying they deserve a reward for their hard work, which other workers can also relate to despite it being specific to IT. It also uses the IT as part of the humour as if they are heroes which is accompanied by the heroic music in the background. This heroic metaphor is used to suggest that as a reward they should treat themselves to a Strongbow. The humour element makes it memorable as well as the slogan 'Bow Time Hard Earned' and the arrow sounds that are apparent on all of the forms of Strongbow adverts. Unlike many other forms of advert it is unknown what product is being advertised until the last few seconds. The advantage of this is that the brand name is fresh in the memory of the listener. However if the advert was disinteresting then this could have a negative effect as any listeners may have switched off come the end of the advert.




This second advert suggests that Coca Cola is an essential product especially for summer. The use of season can be very effective especially in this case as Coca Cola is considered a refreshing drink which is required more in summer than winter. However this advert cannot be used all year round which means another would have to be made for other seasons which costs more. This advert uses sounds that you would normally associate with summer and then after features the sound effects of a man drinking a product that is described as Coca Cola. This suggests that with the sounds that are normally associated with summer Coca Cola should be one of them. The sound effects, especially considering that this advert will usually be played in summer, make the product sound more appealing possibly resulting in higher sales as a result of this advert.

TV Sponsorship Sequence

This is our finished sponsorship sequence for Regenerate. We feel that we meet many of the codes and conventions of sponsorship sequences in our own piece. As you can see it contains the footage from our main advert of Adam drinking in slow motion.  This similarity with our main advert creates synergy between our different forms of advertising in our campaign. This links all aspects together helping people to remember our product and brand name more easily. Our sponsorship sequence is 15 seconds which is perhaps on the limit for a sponsorship sequence. This is due to our product being newly released and needing to get the brand name known, any future sponsorship sequences may be shorter once our drink is established. There is no real narrative to this sequence just the assosciation with the narrative from our full advert. This link to our advert could be associated with the weather that we are sponsoring. The clip shows bringing colour back through drinking. This is similar to that the sun can bring the colour back into the day.

Magazine Poster Advert

Although advances in technology has meant more information is now available on the internet magazines are still purchased in high quantities. As well as this there are free magazines which are also widely available for the viewing of the public. With such a mass audience, and our product appealing to the masses, we thought that it was important to make an advert for a magazine.

Advertising in magazines can also be targeted to a direct audience. Our product may interest the masses but it is important that we target the consumers who have an interest in exercise and sport.

Inspiration for our Magazine Advert

This is an advert for a sports drink featured on the back of a cycling magazine. This advert caught our eye due to its colourful nature and also the large title at the top. This is a title that would appeal to a large number as many people find themselves wanting to burn more fat. By drawing viewers in by the title there is then more information for viewers in smaller text alongside the picture of the featured product. This effect is similar to the effect we wanted to achieve with our magazine advert. The colourful nature of this advert gave me the idea to continue the theme of colour in our advert. This is obviously an effective method, as it caught our attention immediately, and also continues the theme from our main advert on colour which creates synergy between our adverts.




Our Magazine Poster Advert

The above picture shows our finished magazine advert. It would feature on the rear cover of a sports related magazine. The theme of colour that proved successful in the above advert is apparent but in a slightly different way. We decided to have a grey background with our product in colour, similar to what we did in our TV sponsorship sequence. As well as the product being in colour we decided to have the title across the top in the same colour orange as in other parts of our advertisement campaign. Not only does this create the synergy that we crave it also grabs the attention of the viewers as it stands out compared to the grey background. Whilst making the poster I also decided to blur the picture. This gives the impression that it is moving which links in with the effects that drinking 'Regenerate' will have and also looks unusual therefore grabbing the attention of viewers that perhaps might not notice it otherwise. As a result of blurring the picture the label on the bottle was not visible anymore, this meant that I had to use our logo underneath to make sure the brand being advertised was known. Underneath the brand name I listed our sponsors, and underneath that included the same text from our advert so that our advert does not mislead in anyway which may cause the ASA to take action. 

Mobile App Pop Up Advert

The UK is the leading European Country in smartphone usage. Against an average penetration of mobile subscribers of 45.2 percent, 52.6% of UK consumers had used a smartphone, such as the Apple iPhone, BlackBerry phones, Windows Phone or one of the many Android smartphones. The UK also lead the pack on mobile app usage (49.7% vs an average 39.2%), browser usage (50.6% vs 39.2% average), mobile games play (35.4% vs 28.1%), text messaging (91.8% vs 84.5%) and mobile social networking (38% vs 26.4%). (According to research by comScore)

With figures such as these we thought it would be important to use advertising in apps. Many free applications are funded by the revenue from adverts. On the android market there were 134,342 free apps in April 2011. This added to the 121,845 available on the iPhone app store at the same time means the potential audience is massive. Mobile App ads run at about $.04 to $.20 per click and an ad campaign can be kicked off with as little as $50. Paying per click is the best value for money in relation to the effectiveness of the advert. Also our advert could be placed in specialist apps that are relevant to the product being advertised. For example we could use a sports app to advertise our energy drink.

Analysing Current Mobile Adverts

These three pictures show an advert for Wonga. They are all part of the same campaign that is similar to the television and internet campaigns for the same company. This creates synergy something which we have tried to do throughout our campaign. These adverts also have animation in the form of the change of text that is displayed along the bottom. Despite the animation, the brand name and 'find out more' remain on the screen at all times so that any viewers instantly know what is being advertised. This is also helped by the same colour scheme used throughout their campaign. Another feature of this advert is an incentive exclusive to the mobile advert. The picture to the left shows the advert saying that they can borrow money using their phone. This extra convenience offered gives the advert an advantage over similar services.











Our Mobile App Advert

The advert above is our completed mobile app pop up advert. This is very similar to the internet pop up advert that we have also made. This creates synergy between different parts of the campaign making our brand name more rememberable which is an advantage especially as this is a campaign for a new product. The animation is the growth of our tag line 'Prolong Your Workout.' This growth grabs the attention of the viewer which is even more important than the internet pop up as the screen is smaller and the user is more focused on their current activity rather than adverts surrounding. Also the continued use of our tag line will help promote our product as people will begin to associate this particular saying with out product. One difference to our internet advert is the fact that the 'Regenerate' logo is along the bottom rather than the website. This was due to lack of room on a smaller screen but pressing the advert will take you to the website anyway.

Filming and Editing Extra Footage

With similar light conditions to our original days filming we decided to go and get the extra footage we needed immediately. 

With the majority of the feedback suggesting that we filmed more of Adam running towards rather than away from the camera we had to improvise our camera angles. Due to the narrowness of the bridge Haran offered to climb on one of the supports for the bridge to get an alternative angle showing Adams face in more detail. 

Whilst Haran was there we also decided to try and get the brand name in once more. Our idea was that Adam ran past with the bottle stretched behind as if it was a relay baton like in the olympics, which Regenerate sponsors. This proved difficult to film as getting the angle of the bottle and the height right was crucial. After multiple takes we ended up with footage that we were happy with. When it came to the editing process however the bottle passed so quickly that the name was unreadable. This caused me to improvise and pause the clip for around a second, in time with the beat of the music, in order to make the brand name visible once more. 

Another suggestion we had was to shorten the starting sequence because for the first 25-30 seconds before the bottle was shown it didn't have the feel of an advertisement. We therefore solved to problems in one and filmed by filming the start sequence with Adam running towards the camera. This solved our problem of too much footage from behind the runner and also shortened the intro to give a feel as if it is an advert that you are watching. As the picture shows Adam is running towards the camera in our first scene. Unlike before this is know in colour, which was our original idea, to make sure the message of the advert is received by the audience. Adams face is also looking down in this scene which implies that he is struggling to keep going. 

Another Idea suggested by Mr Silverwood was a close up of Adam's face just before he drinks Regenerate. This would show signs of struggle and that the drink is vital for him to keep going. We decided to develop this idea further and to emphasise the hard work that exercising can be. We thought that Adam could wipe his forehead as if he was wiping sweat away before he replenishes it with a drink. We recorded this from many different angles but decided that a front on angle would be best to fully show the emotion. It also added a slightly more light hearted feel to our otherwise very serious advert but without going overboard because the energy drink adverts we analysed were often very serious. 

After we had filmed this extra footage we needed to insert it into our existing advert and edit. We didn't need to remove the colour or slow down the film at the start in order to satisfy the suggestions our class made. The main editing that we needed to do was the extra showing of the brand name towards the end of the advert. As can be seen in the picture above the clip is split so that the clip has the effect of pausing for 1 second. This results in the brand name being on screen for longer than it would be normally. 

Feedback on our Advert

After we had finished filming and editing we showed our finished advert to members of our class and our teacher. This gave us feedback from members outside the project who gave honest views. As they are not involved with the task they do not get emotionally involved and give an alternative opinion which would in turn make our product appeal to a much wider audience. 

Overall the feedback for our advert was good, however a general consensus was that the start of the advert was weaker than the ending. Mr Silverwood in particular was keen to point out that the start had little resemblance to an advert which we needed to rectify. He also said that we should include more shots of Adam running from the front rather than behind which would show more emotion in Adam's face. This was especially important after he'd just finished the drinking stage as showing his face would result in  emphasising the effects that the drink had had. This effect would be doubled if facial expressions shots were shown before as well. 

Taking these comments on board we decided that we would need extra footage in order to make the required changes. We therefore set out to film using the same props and costumes as before which would mean the continuity of our advert remained. 

Creating a Website for Regenerate

A website is an important asset to an advertising campaign. Not only can it provide additional details on the Regenerate brand, it can also encourage customer involvement which shows that customers views are valued making your campaign more successful than another.

The website would be visited when the internet pop up advert is clicked. The only problem we had was due to our limited resources we could not host an actual domain name which we had already put on the drinks bottle label, advert and internet pop up. We therefore had to create a free website using weebly but with more resources and funding we would create regenerate.co.uk.

Our website can be visited at regenerateuk.weebly.com

Home

The website homepage is the first page that viewers will see when they come to the website. When our video has been uploaded it will be the viewable via our website. Their are also links to encourage visitors to follow/like Regenerate on our Twitter/Facebook pages. This will maximise the visitors to these respective pages.

Who We Fuel
This page contains information about the product and the athletes that benefit from us. By listing sponsors it suggests to any potential customers that Regenerate is a good quality product developed for the best and open to the public. Having worldwide sporting events will also help to establish Regenerate in a worldwide market even though our TV campaign is currently based in the UK. By including sponsors on our website their is a chance that they may return the favour therefore widening the viewers for our brand.

Participate

This page features an event called Sky ride in which Regenerate sponsors and provides drinks for. This gives the company a good reputation which is invaluable in advertising terms. Also giving drinks away at public events such as this gets the brand name out and known faster than any other form of advertisement. A link is also available on this page to the sky-ride website therefore benefiting both companies.

Keep Fit

This particular page contains fitness information for the general public to view. By giving this it enables our product to work at its full potential, which will impress customers and encourage them to keep buying the product. This is also a form of good customer service which many customers will reward with them buying our product regularly because they feel valued.

Contact Us
The final page on our website is a contact form which gets the details of customers as well as their thoughts of the product and ways in which they feel it could be improved. Market research is vital when it comes to advertising as a new product must be designed and marketed with the customer in mind, therefore resulting in higher sales. By entering you get entered in a prize draw which encourages people to enter because without this incentive they may not bother.

Editing Our Sponsorship Sequence

After Researching sponsorship sequences and discovering that many have synergy with the TV adverts for that particular product we decided to try and use the footage we already had after filming our advert.

With the theme of bringing colour back into the workout present in our advert we decided to use the slow motion clip  as not only did it have relevance to the weather forecast which would be shown afterwards, it was also a shortened version of the one present in our TV advert which increases the chances of exposure to our brand.

Once again we had to remove the colour from the initial clip to continue the theme of bringing the colour back through the Regenerate drink and also to have a direct link to the brightening of the day that people hope that the weather will cause.

To keep the similarities with the TV advert we kept the same soundtrack. We wanted to have the lyrics the same as well because in this case it could have a double meaning. It implies that the drink gives you a good feeling and also that a good weather forecast can also give you a good feeling.

We wanted to include a voiceover for our sponsorship sequence to supplement the on screen footage. Adam recorded 'Regenerate, sponsors of ITV national weather.' This mentions our brand further as well as revealing what we are sponsoring. After we recorded the voice, we imported it into Garage Band and then altered the sound as well as the effect to make it sound more professional.

To accompany the voice over the on screen images we decided to edit the image that Adam made earlier originally for our main advert using 'ColourSplash' app. We added the text to the images which says the same message as the voice over and these pictures also continue the theme of black and white into colour as a result of the Regenerate drink.

Codes and Conventions of Sponsorship Sequences

Most sponsorship sequences consist of an opening and closing sequence and sometimes with ones during the advert breaks.

Sponsor Sequences are typically:

• 10-15 Seconds Long, with break bumpers even shorter.
• Little or no Narrative
• Associate the brand with the channel or programme, sometimes including elements of the programme in the sponsorship
• References to the main TV advertisement. (creating synergy in the campaign)
• Use of Symbolism to get point across

Analysing TV Sponsorship Sequences

When thinking about a TV sponsorship sequence we immediately thought of sequences before weather forecasts. As this was our immediate thought we decided that we should do the same because that was our first thought for sponsorship sequences which could mean that we are most exposed this particular form of sponsorship. We also thought that we could link the weather to our advert, as featured in our advert is the drink bringing colour back into a workout which has similarities to the people looking at weather forecasts to brighten up their day.

Advert 1

The above sponsorship sequence was shown before ITV national weather forecasts. This advert is similar to their main TV advert but shorter. They also have adapted the lyrics to their song to fit the theme of weather forecasts, which they are sponsoring. Sponsorship sequences consist of a opening bumper to the programme in question and a closing one. This particular clip features before and after the weather forecast. This method is not uncommon as it saves money for the company and also the repetitive nature gets the product/service known to the viewers. This is also helped by the catchy nature of this particular sequence which not only has a catchy song for viewers to learn it also has words in a karaoke style along the bottom. This particular sequence is 15 seconds long, most TV  companies won't permit sequences much longer than this because of the tight TV schedules. With such a short time on screen it is vital that the brand name is shown for the majority of the advert. In this particular case their is a black banner at the bottom of the screen displaying the programme being sponsored and the company that is sponsoring.

Advert 2

Despite deciding that we wanted to make a sponsorship sequence for the weather, we thought it important to analyse sponsorship sequences for programmes as well. This particular advert is for Cadbury sponsoring Coronation street. The first difference between the previous sequence is that this sequence has nothing to do with Cadburys TV adverts. This may be due to the nature of the product being advertised, however as Cadburys adverts regularly change. This advert, like the previous, has a relation to the programme being sponsored. In this case the street is made of chocolate. Because their are more advert breaks in a TV programme than a weather forecast it gives the opportunity to make a mini series out of the sequences, which is a more light hearted version that the programme being sponsored. The break bumper (shown below) is shorter than the others and is very simple giving the logo of the programme and the sponsor with little else in terms of information. The same voiceover is used for all sequences, saying the exact same phrase which is memorable.

Editing the Advert

 Before editing the advert we encountered a small problem. The cameras we used recorded and saved to an AVI file. This was not accepted by iMovie that we were using on the macbook. We therefore had to convert the files to a compatible MP4 format using a converter found on the internet. Luckily this did not disrupt the quality of the files.

Our first job was to import the newly converted files into iMovie. Once imported and added to the project we decided to remove the colour from the clips that are before the drink is filmed. Luckily iMovie has a designated black and white setting which we applied to the required films.

The screenshot to the left shows us removing the sound from our recorded clips. We did not want any diegetic sound in our clip, especially with the soundtrack over the top

This next screenshot shows Adam adjusting the brightness on the slow motion clip. The brightness was only a problem after the transition to colour was in place. By lowering the brightness we made the advert flow and continuity was restored.

The screenshot above shows us cutting the song for different scenes of our advert. The song is not chronological as it appears in the advert as we have used different parts of the song to reflect the images that are on screen. For example when drinking we have made the lyrics 'I get a feeling that i've never had before' play which implies that drinking Regenerate gives you a feeling like no other.

The above screenshot shows a section where Adam is running across the bridge. Because of the difficulties involving panning it was vital that we used fast changes of scene to imply speed. This shows that four different scenes were used in as many seconds giving any viewers the impression of speed, especially as it happens just after the slow motion footage.  

Whilst in the editing process we decided to add text along the bottom of the screen. This is present in so many adverts and is required to make our advert meet the regulations enforced by the ASA as without it our advert could be considered misleading and possibly removed from the TV which would cost money.

 To exaggerate the effect that Regenerate has we altered the speed of the clips before Adam has drunk the drink. It also suggests that the runner is really struggling before he has a drink therefore emphasising the effect of Regenerate through the sprint finnish.

This screenshot shows that we stablalised many of the clips in order to reduce and shaking in the camera. Although we used a tripod for many of the clips it was still necessary to stabalise a few clips to create the proffessional feel that we desired. By stabalising the clips it made sure viewers could concentrate on the message of the advert rather than any unstable clips.  

 For the end of the advert we decided to have our brand name exposed once more to get the name out to the public faster. I also decided to include the three sponsors that featured on the label. If they were real sponsors this may be a requirement, it also has benefits for our brand however as it suggests to any viewers that if its good enough for top athletes then its good enough for them. Because we had three sponsors on the label we had to include all three in some way on the advert. However all three logos on one screen looked untidy and as the picture is only on screen for a few seconds their wasn't enough time for all three sponsors to be seen and absorbed by the viewer. I therefore decided to make three different endings to our advert which we could then add to a duplicate advert.

Filming Our Advert

Equipment Required For the Days Filming

Picture showing Haran set
up the tripod before we started

• Creative Vado HD Camera - for filming main shots
• Casio High Speed Exilim EX-FH20 - for filming close up slow motion drinking
• Adjustable Camera Tripod - to avoid camera shake which could cause an unprofessional feel
• Correct Clothing - to add authenticity and continuity should we need to film on more than one day
• AA Batteries (Including spares in case they ran out) - for slow motion camera
• Props (such as iPhone holder, headphones and bottle with label attached as shown in Costumes and Props post)

We decided to film our advert chronologically, in other words as it would appear in the final product. This allowed us to picture the final product in the filming stage and film from as many different angles as possible to ensure that we had covered every eventuality. After recording the inital running sequence, before Adam had drunk Regenerate, we set about filming the slow motion drink.


Haran, as Camera 2, was in charge of filming the slow motion part of the video. I directed him to film as close as possible to get the brand name as large as possible and making it easily readable. Despite this we wanted to show Adam actually drinking the drink to make sure that the viewers know that drinking the drink has had an effect later on in the video. We also wanted to show Adam's face so people could see that he'd been exercising for a long period of time and yet he still had the energy to sprint afterwards thanks to our energy drink.


We did have a few problems however. First pictured left was the cameras heavy battery consumption. Even after a few seconds of filming we were getting low battery messages. This was inconvenient and even though we had planned in advance and brought spare batteries this was still not enough as we didn't have the quality of film we desired when we viewed it whilst editing.
This meant we had to film the slow motion part again. For continuity we made sure Adam wore the same clothing and also refilled the bottle to the same level as when we started. The picture on the right show the filming of the actual footage we used in the final product. The only problem was it was brighter when we returned to film the slow motion part something we would have to tackle in the editing process.


After we had filmed the slow motion part we set about the sprint across the bridge to finnish our advert. Our first issue was the fact the bridge was the only route across a certain path. This meant that should we encounter any pedestrians then we had to stop filming and let them get out of shot. This made filming difficult especially as we wanted no one else in the shot to give the effect of isolation to exaggerate the effects of Regenerate. The narrowness of the bridge also meant there was not enough room for a panning shot. This would have emphasised the extra speed Adam had gained as a result of the drink. We therefore decided to do lots of different shots in short bursts. Then when we came to editing we could use fast changes of scene which would give viewers the impression of the speed he was going as a result of the drink.

At the end of the bridge we decided that Adam should finnish as if he was racing. This would once again show the speed in which he was going and that Regenerate brings out your competitive side. Also by doing such a finnish it would imply that Regenerate can give you the edge when you need it. The picture on the right shows Adam trying to do the finnish. After a few takes Haran showed Adam how to make it look realistic which Adam took on board and we had the effect that we desired.



For the ending shot we had originally decided that we would cut to a picture. To keep our options open however and a brainwave I had whilst filming the above shot I thought it would be good if after Adam had run past the bottle would appear on the railings behind him. This would however go against continuity but that was not an issue if this was executed properly. However due to the round nature of the top of the railings it was difficult to hold the bottle steady. We had to get Haran to hold the bottle at the bottom and film above his hand. After this we thought that our original idea would probably be more professional, but we left this decision until later in the editing process.