LO2 - Pre- production paperwork
delight_advert_brief.docx |
The above picture is of my mind map that I made prior to planning my advert. I knew that I wanted to make a advert but I wasn't sure on what to make it about therefore, I created this mind map to jot down my ideas and later I picked the ones that I liked and used this as an base for my idea.
The picture below is the moodboard that I created for my advert. This is the sort of atmosphere that I am going for.
The picture below is the moodboard that I created for my advert. This is the sort of atmosphere that I am going for.
Meeting the brief’s requirement
The brief requires me to create a 30 seconds hot chocolate advert, which will involve 3 actors maximum and the plot should involve them being happy because of the product. Therefore, I have come up with the perfect plot to meet these requirements. Since the target audience are set to be females, I have decided to make the entire cast female as this way the audience will be able to relate with the characters better. As for the plot, it will involve the 2 friends being angry at each other and facing the opposite direction of each other to show this. The female waiter will then serve 2 hot chocolate on the table and they will drink it and feel delighted. The drink will melt all their anger and they’ll start to talk and laugh with each other.
The brief requires me to create a 30 seconds hot chocolate advert, which will involve 3 actors maximum and the plot should involve them being happy because of the product. Therefore, I have come up with the perfect plot to meet these requirements. Since the target audience are set to be females, I have decided to make the entire cast female as this way the audience will be able to relate with the characters better. As for the plot, it will involve the 2 friends being angry at each other and facing the opposite direction of each other to show this. The female waiter will then serve 2 hot chocolate on the table and they will drink it and feel delighted. The drink will melt all their anger and they’ll start to talk and laugh with each other.
Existing hot chocolate advert deconstruction
I searched for existing hot chocolate adverts to look for the codes and conventions of a hot chocolate advert. However, there wasn't many options to look at as I could only find the 4 adverts and from those adverts, I chose 2 adverts that had similar target audience as mine to deconstruct.
I searched for existing hot chocolate adverts to look for the codes and conventions of a hot chocolate advert. However, there wasn't many options to look at as I could only find the 4 adverts and from those adverts, I chose 2 adverts that had similar target audience as mine to deconstruct.
Costa Coffee Hot Belgian Chocolate
Visual Code
The video starts out with an out of focus shot then focuses on the barista. The editing techniques they used were cutting to the beat and smooth slow cuts to add to the whole relaxing atmosphere. There’s a lower third shown in the beginning to introduce the barista and a logo of the company, Costa, on the top left corner throughout the video. The video starts off with a medium close up shot of the barista and there’s a non-static shot throughout the video. All of the shots look like they were taken handheld as they're not static. There’s a close up shot of the ingredients being put together then, of it being poured into the costa cup. You can clearly see the logo visible on the cup throughout the video as the cup is always facing with the logo side on screen. Over the shoulder shot was used to show how the barista was making the hot chocolate. Rule of third was used to frame the barista and everything, like the cup in the video. Also, it wasn't really necessary but they swirled the melted chocolate around the cup for about 5 seconds and described how luxurious and glossy the chocolate was. The melted chocolate looked really good. They did this to appeal to the audience. Then there was a close up of the cup, with still the costa logo being visible, we see chocolate bits being garnished on the top to make it look even more tempting to drink. After that, they end the whole process with a close up shot of the hot chocolate being held and drank by the barista to make the audience want it even more. Even during this the logo is visible. Finally, the video ends with the logo of Costa covering the whole screen and it's slogan below it.
Audio Code
Mood lifting/ relaxing music was featured in the background of the video along with a voice over that's describing everything that's happening on screen.
Mood
The atmosphere of the video feels professional due to the barista being in his Costa work uniform and because of his skilled actions while making the hot chocolate.
Audience
The narrator uses descriptive and persuasive words to describe the whole process of making the hot chocolate. He uses a nice choice of terminologies like ‘floated weightlessly’ and ‘perfect bed for the chocolate curls’ to describe the hot chocolate to make themselves seem even more professional. Plus, in the start they have already established themselves as being professional by stating ' ever wondered what a barista crafted hot chocolate would taste like'. The word crafted makes the hot chocolate sound like a piece of art. Craft can also mean skilled. They claim to have real ingredients and say that they are made by real baristas, so you know that a well trained barista made your drink. They also mention real Belgium chocolate to describe the chocolate being used in video. They end the video with ‘probably the best in the planet’ to describe the drink and this convinces the audience to try it because they claim it to be the best, not just in the whole world but in the planet. Using the word planet grabs your attention more than if they were to use the word world. The target audience seems to be young adults between the ages of 17 to 23. Due to the use of sentences like 'adding hots to the chocolate' and because the video started off with a rhetorical question.
The video starts out with an out of focus shot then focuses on the barista. The editing techniques they used were cutting to the beat and smooth slow cuts to add to the whole relaxing atmosphere. There’s a lower third shown in the beginning to introduce the barista and a logo of the company, Costa, on the top left corner throughout the video. The video starts off with a medium close up shot of the barista and there’s a non-static shot throughout the video. All of the shots look like they were taken handheld as they're not static. There’s a close up shot of the ingredients being put together then, of it being poured into the costa cup. You can clearly see the logo visible on the cup throughout the video as the cup is always facing with the logo side on screen. Over the shoulder shot was used to show how the barista was making the hot chocolate. Rule of third was used to frame the barista and everything, like the cup in the video. Also, it wasn't really necessary but they swirled the melted chocolate around the cup for about 5 seconds and described how luxurious and glossy the chocolate was. The melted chocolate looked really good. They did this to appeal to the audience. Then there was a close up of the cup, with still the costa logo being visible, we see chocolate bits being garnished on the top to make it look even more tempting to drink. After that, they end the whole process with a close up shot of the hot chocolate being held and drank by the barista to make the audience want it even more. Even during this the logo is visible. Finally, the video ends with the logo of Costa covering the whole screen and it's slogan below it.
Audio Code
Mood lifting/ relaxing music was featured in the background of the video along with a voice over that's describing everything that's happening on screen.
Mood
The atmosphere of the video feels professional due to the barista being in his Costa work uniform and because of his skilled actions while making the hot chocolate.
Audience
The narrator uses descriptive and persuasive words to describe the whole process of making the hot chocolate. He uses a nice choice of terminologies like ‘floated weightlessly’ and ‘perfect bed for the chocolate curls’ to describe the hot chocolate to make themselves seem even more professional. Plus, in the start they have already established themselves as being professional by stating ' ever wondered what a barista crafted hot chocolate would taste like'. The word crafted makes the hot chocolate sound like a piece of art. Craft can also mean skilled. They claim to have real ingredients and say that they are made by real baristas, so you know that a well trained barista made your drink. They also mention real Belgium chocolate to describe the chocolate being used in video. They end the video with ‘probably the best in the planet’ to describe the drink and this convinces the audience to try it because they claim it to be the best, not just in the whole world but in the planet. Using the word planet grabs your attention more than if they were to use the word world. The target audience seems to be young adults between the ages of 17 to 23. Due to the use of sentences like 'adding hots to the chocolate' and because the video started off with a rhetorical question.
Options Hot Chocolate Advert
The advert consists of a lot of chocolate products flying about and being thrown and destroyed. Also, in the end the same ladies that were destroying the chocolate products are seen enjoying a cup of hot chocolate each.
Visual code
There was a mixer of close up, medium close up, medium long shot, full shot, cutting on action and slow motion used in the advert. Close ups were mostly used to show the actor's facial expression and to show what chocolate product was being destroyed. Medium long shot and full shot was used to show the actions that the ladies were using to destroyed the chocolate products. The visual overall is bright and so to contrast that the ladies are wearing dark coloured clothes. It works really well with the white background of the house.
Audio Code
The music beats in sync with the scene where the chocolate bunny is hit by the bat as well as the box of chocolates. The music is very upbeat and funky so it really builds the fun atmosphere of the advert. There is also a voice over featured like any other advert.
Mood
The mood I would say is curiosity as it makes you wonder if it’s about chocolate in general or a new brand of chocolate as we aren't shown any logo of the product until the end of the advert. Also, since all we see is a bunch of chocolate and a cake being thrown and thrashed, it makes you think that it’s about chocolate however, it turns out to be an advert about not eating chocolate but having Options hot chocolate.
Audience
It only features female characters and by having a big bunny chocolate flying in the air as the very first shot, you can sense that the target audience for this is female. Females are known to have a sweet tooth and of their love for cute looking animals. Also, in the second chocolate shot, there are 2 chocolates that are wrapped in a pink chocolate wrapper, a colour which is generally connoted with females. Looking at the actresses the target age seems to be around 25 to 30 because of how old they look and the type of clothes they are wearing. They aren’t the same range as my target audience however, they are still female so I decided to analyse this advert. Plus, the other few adverts that I could find were not as close to my target audience as this one.
Conclusion
There aren't a lot of hot chocolate adverts out there. Other than Options there isn't really a brand out there that just creates hot chocolate. It’s usually the existing chocolate brands like Cadbury, Galaxy, etc that usually branch out into the hot chocolate industry to milk more money of their products. Since they already have an existing consumer of the product it’s easier for them to do this. These brands don’t really need an advert to sell their product as people will buy it just for the brand because, they know what it will taste like from having had the chocolate before. The adverts are usually of people enjoying the product so I plan to do the same with my product.
Visual code
There was a mixer of close up, medium close up, medium long shot, full shot, cutting on action and slow motion used in the advert. Close ups were mostly used to show the actor's facial expression and to show what chocolate product was being destroyed. Medium long shot and full shot was used to show the actions that the ladies were using to destroyed the chocolate products. The visual overall is bright and so to contrast that the ladies are wearing dark coloured clothes. It works really well with the white background of the house.
Audio Code
The music beats in sync with the scene where the chocolate bunny is hit by the bat as well as the box of chocolates. The music is very upbeat and funky so it really builds the fun atmosphere of the advert. There is also a voice over featured like any other advert.
Mood
The mood I would say is curiosity as it makes you wonder if it’s about chocolate in general or a new brand of chocolate as we aren't shown any logo of the product until the end of the advert. Also, since all we see is a bunch of chocolate and a cake being thrown and thrashed, it makes you think that it’s about chocolate however, it turns out to be an advert about not eating chocolate but having Options hot chocolate.
Audience
It only features female characters and by having a big bunny chocolate flying in the air as the very first shot, you can sense that the target audience for this is female. Females are known to have a sweet tooth and of their love for cute looking animals. Also, in the second chocolate shot, there are 2 chocolates that are wrapped in a pink chocolate wrapper, a colour which is generally connoted with females. Looking at the actresses the target age seems to be around 25 to 30 because of how old they look and the type of clothes they are wearing. They aren’t the same range as my target audience however, they are still female so I decided to analyse this advert. Plus, the other few adverts that I could find were not as close to my target audience as this one.
Conclusion
There aren't a lot of hot chocolate adverts out there. Other than Options there isn't really a brand out there that just creates hot chocolate. It’s usually the existing chocolate brands like Cadbury, Galaxy, etc that usually branch out into the hot chocolate industry to milk more money of their products. Since they already have an existing consumer of the product it’s easier for them to do this. These brands don’t really need an advert to sell their product as people will buy it just for the brand because, they know what it will taste like from having had the chocolate before. The adverts are usually of people enjoying the product so I plan to do the same with my product.
LO3 - Final Product
LO4 - Evaluation
Unit 5 Evaluation
I had to create a 30 seconds advert promoting a hot chocolate brand called Delight. It’s a very cheesy typical type of advert where you see people enjoying the product and showing the positive effects of it. It’s the typical try our product because it’ll make you happy sort of theme. The narrative is basically about these two friends who are angry with each other as they just had an argument and, after having a taste of the product they feel relaxed and happy as that’s what the product is claiming to make you feel. Then, thanks to the hot chocolate they start having a conversation and the awkward atmosphere is gone. As for the characters, they aren’t really shown in detail so they are quite mystified in this advert and you only get to hear their voice during the end, where they say the 1 second tagline so, their characters aren’t really clear in the advert.
The limitations that I experienced during this project weren’t really a problem as I found ways to solve it. I actually avoided some of my limitations by for example, using the basic music that is already in the Mac as they are copyright-free and just there ready to use. This helped me to avoid any copyright legal issues. As for the finance, I used actors that were from Basingstoke and college. The filming was done during college time, plus the hot chocolates were bought from the college café and were not expensive so I didn’t experience any difficulties regarding finance.
Regarding my time management, it was alright because I managed to complete my entire task and work according to my production schedule. Although I did waste a lot of time during the planning stage as I couldn’t decide on what to produce as my final product. I wanted to try something different which I haven’t really done to challenge myself so, I chose to create a short film and did all the paperwork for it but I failed to find sufficient actors that would be available to film. Plus, the weather wasn’t helpful since it was winter and the weather looked very gloomy and wasn’t the right temperature to film the scenes that I wanted therefore, I changed my idea to an advert as I was running out of time to film and I didn’t want to film during the last 2 weeks of the deadline as everyone would be rushing to film their project.
This being an individual task project, I was the one who planned and prepared everything. Therefore, I didn’t really get to showcase any leadership skills until the filming as that was when I could direct the actors on what to do and tell them about the scenario and everything. The only time I used communication in this project was during the process of hiring my actors as, I had to contact people around and ask them if they would be able to take part in my production and if they would be available during the times that I plan on filming. I also used social media and text to communicate with my actors to remind them about the filming and to inform them about any changes that I had made to the script. I think that my communication skills were pretty good because I was able to explain my vision properly to the actors and communicate well with them during filming. The brief required me to produce a 30 seconds advert about their product Delight with only 3 characters and to have their tagline during the near end, which I have done so I believe that I have met almost all of the requirements that were set on the brief of this production. Also, the entire task was completed on the given deadline.
As for the finished product itself, I am personally satisfied with the outcome but I wished that I had better actors who had the free time that I needed to film the advert. This would have resulted with a higher quality production. The shot types that I went for were mostly, close ups to show the cup of hot chocolate and the warm steam coming off it to appeal to the audience, plus of the actors facial expression to make the audience believe that it’s a good product that they must try. I also used medium long shot to display how the actors were positioned and to show the awkward relationship between them in the beginning. For the clothing, I asked the actors to wear their winter clothes and to wear dark coloured clothes as the background of the café is white. This creates a nice contrast. In the very first opening shot of the advert, you can see a bag leaning on the red chair, on the ground; I added that to inform the audience that the actors are the similar age as them. This will help the audience to identify with the characters better. Also, I choose to have a bag instead of a handbag as handbags are mainly used by older women. The technique that I have used in this advert is split-screen during the scene where the actors first drank the hot chocolate at the same time. This is accompanied by a harp sound effect to make the moment seem magical, which it is, as it helps them to melt their anger away. The message of the video suggests that the product can act as a social lubricant due to the 2 actors patching up quickly after having just a sip of the drink. This seemed like a brilliant idea in my head but the outcome seems a bit ridiculous. Since, none of my target audience are going to believe that as hot chocolate isn't really a cool or exotic drink. It’s more of a homey basic drink which is drunk for its sweet taste. So, I don’t think that was effective.
The feedback that I received from my peers were about adding dialogue as the actions were not quite clear; they didn't get the beginning of the narrative. The client was pleased with the advert but wished that there were more actions happening in the advert as it’s quite easy to get distracted away from the advert since, there isn't any dialogue or actions happening. The test audience said that they found it boring because of the choice of music and that it didn't look that professional. Therefore, if I were to do this project again, I would like to choose a better location and narrative because the narrative wasn't really outstanding and so, it failed to be memorable which the client wanted. I would also like to look for a better music and would like to add dialogues to make it look more professional.
.
I had to create a 30 seconds advert promoting a hot chocolate brand called Delight. It’s a very cheesy typical type of advert where you see people enjoying the product and showing the positive effects of it. It’s the typical try our product because it’ll make you happy sort of theme. The narrative is basically about these two friends who are angry with each other as they just had an argument and, after having a taste of the product they feel relaxed and happy as that’s what the product is claiming to make you feel. Then, thanks to the hot chocolate they start having a conversation and the awkward atmosphere is gone. As for the characters, they aren’t really shown in detail so they are quite mystified in this advert and you only get to hear their voice during the end, where they say the 1 second tagline so, their characters aren’t really clear in the advert.
The limitations that I experienced during this project weren’t really a problem as I found ways to solve it. I actually avoided some of my limitations by for example, using the basic music that is already in the Mac as they are copyright-free and just there ready to use. This helped me to avoid any copyright legal issues. As for the finance, I used actors that were from Basingstoke and college. The filming was done during college time, plus the hot chocolates were bought from the college café and were not expensive so I didn’t experience any difficulties regarding finance.
Regarding my time management, it was alright because I managed to complete my entire task and work according to my production schedule. Although I did waste a lot of time during the planning stage as I couldn’t decide on what to produce as my final product. I wanted to try something different which I haven’t really done to challenge myself so, I chose to create a short film and did all the paperwork for it but I failed to find sufficient actors that would be available to film. Plus, the weather wasn’t helpful since it was winter and the weather looked very gloomy and wasn’t the right temperature to film the scenes that I wanted therefore, I changed my idea to an advert as I was running out of time to film and I didn’t want to film during the last 2 weeks of the deadline as everyone would be rushing to film their project.
This being an individual task project, I was the one who planned and prepared everything. Therefore, I didn’t really get to showcase any leadership skills until the filming as that was when I could direct the actors on what to do and tell them about the scenario and everything. The only time I used communication in this project was during the process of hiring my actors as, I had to contact people around and ask them if they would be able to take part in my production and if they would be available during the times that I plan on filming. I also used social media and text to communicate with my actors to remind them about the filming and to inform them about any changes that I had made to the script. I think that my communication skills were pretty good because I was able to explain my vision properly to the actors and communicate well with them during filming. The brief required me to produce a 30 seconds advert about their product Delight with only 3 characters and to have their tagline during the near end, which I have done so I believe that I have met almost all of the requirements that were set on the brief of this production. Also, the entire task was completed on the given deadline.
As for the finished product itself, I am personally satisfied with the outcome but I wished that I had better actors who had the free time that I needed to film the advert. This would have resulted with a higher quality production. The shot types that I went for were mostly, close ups to show the cup of hot chocolate and the warm steam coming off it to appeal to the audience, plus of the actors facial expression to make the audience believe that it’s a good product that they must try. I also used medium long shot to display how the actors were positioned and to show the awkward relationship between them in the beginning. For the clothing, I asked the actors to wear their winter clothes and to wear dark coloured clothes as the background of the café is white. This creates a nice contrast. In the very first opening shot of the advert, you can see a bag leaning on the red chair, on the ground; I added that to inform the audience that the actors are the similar age as them. This will help the audience to identify with the characters better. Also, I choose to have a bag instead of a handbag as handbags are mainly used by older women. The technique that I have used in this advert is split-screen during the scene where the actors first drank the hot chocolate at the same time. This is accompanied by a harp sound effect to make the moment seem magical, which it is, as it helps them to melt their anger away. The message of the video suggests that the product can act as a social lubricant due to the 2 actors patching up quickly after having just a sip of the drink. This seemed like a brilliant idea in my head but the outcome seems a bit ridiculous. Since, none of my target audience are going to believe that as hot chocolate isn't really a cool or exotic drink. It’s more of a homey basic drink which is drunk for its sweet taste. So, I don’t think that was effective.
The feedback that I received from my peers were about adding dialogue as the actions were not quite clear; they didn't get the beginning of the narrative. The client was pleased with the advert but wished that there were more actions happening in the advert as it’s quite easy to get distracted away from the advert since, there isn't any dialogue or actions happening. The test audience said that they found it boring because of the choice of music and that it didn't look that professional. Therefore, if I were to do this project again, I would like to choose a better location and narrative because the narrative wasn't really outstanding and so, it failed to be memorable which the client wanted. I would also like to look for a better music and would like to add dialogues to make it look more professional.
.