Technology:
To create my 30-second advertisement I needed to book the camcorder. Also I needed to learn hoe to use the video camera and its various devices. For example, I need to be aware of the zoom in/ zoom out button in order to vary my range of shots. It could be close up. Long shot, high angled shot etc. I need to know how to transfer the footage I have taken on the camcorder onto the computer. To do this I need to have a firewire to connect the camcorder to the computer. By doing this I can download my footage onto imovie and therefore edit it to create my final outcome. The content of my advertisement did not entail the use of characters, therefore I did not need to organise a team of people. I used my storyboard to provide me with a clear outline of the kind of shots that would be best.
My Advertisement:
To video my advertisement I needed to make sure I had a plan and all my props were in place. Mt advertisement is based on the blockbuster, “Tomb Raider”, therefore I did not need any characters. In class I took a poster and placed it on a blue background on the floor. From this I took various close up shots because the poster did not cover up a wide surface area. Also this was a low budget production and so close up shots appeared to be more effective, the background of the poster would not be appropriate. To give myself a choice when editing, I took a range of shots from different angles so I have the choice of which one would suit my advertisement most.
After downloading my footage onto imovie I was able to structure it effectively using fade in/ fade out, dissolve, push etc. A lot of practice was required on imovie in order for me to apply these actions sufficiently. This helped create a linear effect to my advertisement. Not only did I just insert effective movements from one edit to another, I also inserted written codes between several edits such as, “Coming to a cinema near you.” This helped create various edits in my advertisement as well as extending the length of it to reach the conventional time of an advert (30 seconds).
After structuring my advertisement I have still not finished the final product. I would either require music or a voice over. In my opinion I thought music would be much more effective due to the genre and content of the advertisement. I needed to be aware of copyright so when I was downloading music onto my advertisement I was not performing any illegal action. To avoid this one can either create music or download a record from a bank of music. In my case I downloaded a tune from a bank of music and dubbed it on to create a more effective advertisement. The only sound codes I have used in my advertisement are non-diegetic sounds because I did not have much opportunity to use diegetic sounds.
Problems Encountered:
I only had a short period of time to video my advertisement because it was my second chance at attempting this project. My first attempt did not work out at all, I believe that I was too ambitious in producing an advertisement that I was not capable of. My idea was based on Group Theatre in the Belfast Institute for Further and Higher Education. I had booked the camcorder for three days in order to video my footage. I also had a team of people willing to perform in my advertisement and all turned up for all three days. I gathered a lot of footage with various shots and angles, but when it came to editing and structuring this footage it became almost impossible for me. When I finally structured an advertisement from this footage it had exceeded the time allowance and so the only choice I had was to start again. My mistake was not a waste of time as I learned the importance of time awareness and how the consistent use of my storyboard is effective when deciding on my range of shots.
The footage I had taken had to be edited into approximately 8 frames. I saved the pictures frame by frame into my own file where I was able to make significant adjustments to them. I would liked to have planned a better advertisement, as I did not find the one I produced to be very challenging. Also I would like to have retaken a few shots as they did not appear to be shot perfectly. However this exercise did help me to learn from my mistakes and how to improve next time.
Overleaf I have created a questionnaire to allow people to judge how effective my advertisement actually was, and in order to evaluate it effectively I asked questions concerning the layout, presentation, narrative etc, of the advertisement.
Evaluation:
Before transferring my footage onto VHS I was able to preview it first on the computer to see if I was happy with the final outcome or would there have to be any adjustments made. I enjoyed this project because it gave me the opportunity to learn about the equipment and how to structure a good advertisement. I am keen to develop these skills in future tasks. If I was to repeat this project my advert could have been much better because I know more about the equipment and what the project entails.
