John Lewis Advert:

John Lewis 2010, it is a moving image advert. 


Camera: 
The advert opens with an establishing shot of a baby, embracing the audience attention from the start of the advert, and connoting the life span of the Brand 'John Lewis'.   The camera then tracks along, following the movements of the young girl, indexically implying the child is growing older. This is reinforced by the next shot of the child older.  The camera then pans as the child goes through the play tunnel, which is the transition shot for the young baby growing into a girl. As the girl moves from one location to another to camera follows her movements, by panning this indexically implies the growth in her age through life.  The camera uses tracking to transit through the various locations, resembling the child growing older and the how the brand 'John Lewis' is always present in her life. The camera circulates around the child, this transition works in sync with the change in lighting, and connoting the transition in age.  This use of panning and tracking, following the movements of the central characters, is repeated throughout the advert, this gives the advert a smooth and flowing feel.

Mise-en-scene:
The opening shot is set within a baby's room, the white furnsihings connote the high end brand 'John Lewis' is and the beautiful furnishings they make. The baby wears a red outfit sybolic of wealth, this also allows the baby to stand out, sybolic of her importance in the advert. The use of the play tunnel connotes the transition in age and indexically implies the age of the young girl. The location changes and iconic of the age of the child, for example the following shot is where the girl is in her school uniform connoting her age and her immaturity. The colour red is a central colour throughout the advert and the young girl is always placed in this colour, this denotes her presence in the advert and red is symbolic for richness. The lighting is a significant transition from one location to another, as the child blows the candle, their is a dip to black and this then fades into the next location and the differing the young girl. The colour red follows the character within the wedding shot, the bokay of flowers. The location change is of great importance, as it highlights the changes in her life and the presence of the John Lewis brand as it follows her journey.  As the women gets older the different is outfits is visual, along with the difference in hair colour as she is now aging, connoting the changes in her life and how long the John Lewis brand can say with one. This could be a USP of the brand. 


Editing:
The editing is intrinsically linked with the sound and the use of the music, as the music pace picks up the editing becomes quicker. It mainly uses cuts to transit from one location to another which connotes the change in her age. A graphic match is used o transit from one age to another within another john lewis. 

Sound: 
The music is centered around the main female character who the advert is about on her journey 

The Pen Story: Olympus Pen Advert

This advert is in stop motion, and is advertising the Olympus Pen.

                     

This advert is in stop motion, and is advertising the Olympus Pen.

                     

Camera: The advert opens with a long-shot of the office work space where the advert will commence. It is followed by a series of centralized photographs, which are literally telling the story through the on-going changes in the photos.  The cameras position move alongside the image horizontally for the first 10 seconds, as the photograph pattern is laid down the table leg the camera is then vertically positioned.  There are various mid and long shots used indexically imply the difference in age of the child this is reinforced by the change in colour of the ever changing photo. The camera tracks back along the photographs in another series of shots and then another layer of photos are added.  Close ups are used to allow the audience to be unconsciously absorbed into the narrative. The camera is not completely straight and is slightly slanted to indexically imply the movement and motion.  This is followed by extended series of photographs whereby the camera positioning follows the photos with a variety of mid- shots and close ups.  A minute in there is a slight variation where by the photograph is raised, therefore it not flat on the table indexically implying the depth of the shot by the lake with the other photos placed behind, the camera then pans around the photo to change the scene.  This is followed by another series of shots and a zoom in to transition from one shot to another, to connote the movement within the advert and keep the audience embraced.  The same techniques are used throughout the advert with variation of the subject matter and narrative.  

Mise-en-scene:

The adverts’ location is set within an office or house is symbolically represented in the first shot of the office table and the movement of the photos throughout the house. The photos and the location are intrinsically linked; this can be seen in the photo of the person in the water as it placed in the fish tank.  The narrative is presented through the photos, as the character gets older, the differing outfits change connoting the difference in time and the years that have gone by. This is also shown through the variation of black and white symbolic of old photographs and then the change to colour photos indexically implying  the modern contemporary age.  

Sound:

The music behinds and indexically resembles the mood and tone of the piece, it connotes the products like ability factor and the light hearted narrative of the advert.   The lyrics are linked with the narrative of the piece, memories is repeated connoting that the camera allows you to re-live those time with your family and friends. This is reinforced in the last shot of the group of friends together, indexically implying the products USP. The music fits along with the pace of the editing, this connotes to the audience the contrasting time periods and how time is gradually moving forward through the memories.  

Editing:

The series of shots are put together to make a narrative sequence, to allow the audience to feel as if they have been on the character’s journey. The sense of time is create by the fast pace of the editing, connoting to the audience that the memories are ever-changing.  The editing and music are concurrent  is allows the audience to feel as if they are involved and embraced in the narrative through the fast pace and the ongoing variations of narrative.

Amazon Kindle Advert:

This advert is a stop frame TV commercial, advertising the Amazon Kindle, a digital book reader, created by photographers Angela Kohler and Ithyle Griffiths.

This advert is a stop frame TV commercial, advertising the Amazon Kindle, a digital book reader, created by photographers Angela Kohler and Ithyle Griffiths.

Camera-   The advert opens with a long shot of the product, the Kindle, denoting to the audience what the advert is promoting. It is followed by a series of centralized mid-shots of the female in the advert, as it is a stop frame advert various changes happened to the female character but the camera never moves. The Kindle is now centralized and placed in the female’s hands indexically implying her devotion to the gadget hence her body language.  The product is then removed from her hands and items are placed around her connoting to the audience how her imagination has consumed her. A long- shot is used to denoting to the audience that she is flying through her idealism. This is followed by a series of shots long, medium, and close-ups on the female character to connate the different emotions and experiences the Kindle gives you.   

Mise-en-scene-   The female character wears a white dress and red ribbon in her hair connoting her age and the different between reality and idealism.  The background is blue to begin and there are various dispersing clouds which indexically imply that she is floating and allowing her imagination to consumer her, which is later reinforced. Items such as a pilot’s hat, airplane, goggles and winters coat are added symbolically implying that she is flying and connoting to the audience that her imagination has frenzied her mind. The pilots outfit is then rapidly taken off, in a series of shots to indexically resemble how she is back in reality, with her kindle, connoting the free nature of the product merging into realism and idealism.  Realism is connoted to the audience by the use of the bike prop and flowers and the females dress, allowing the audience to identify with a normal day to day life. In a series of shots the female character merges from reality back into her imagination, into a shooters dress to connote the differing virtual experiences the Kindle gives you. The background then changes into a red screen indexically implying magic reinforced by the magic hat, bunny and magic wand at the end.

Sound-    The music is inextricably entwined with the mise-en-scene as the words and optimistic tone is reinforced in the advert connoting the audience the positive brand they are. As the chorus line is ‘Will you fly me away?’ which connotes the audience the message of the product, or the USP is that reality and one’s imagination merge into one when reading with the Kindle.

Editing-   The series of shots are put together to make a narrative sequence, to allow the audience to feel as if they have been on the products journey. The sense of realism and idealism is created by the juxtaposition of shots in the sequence, this is very significant when constructing meaning  within the animation. This is seen within the opposing sequence shots of the female character on a bike in normal dress and then it cuts rapidly within another sequence to the female character viewed within her imagination and all sense of realism has been irradiated, this sequence of narrative is then repeated four or so times, with different variations.  

Different forms of Advertising:

In my research questions, I highlighted that I must research the different forms of adverts and areas that advertising agencies work with to make unique and different adverts to inform and promote their brands. I researched this because I will be looking into these specific areas of advertising: 

Print Advertising – Newspapers, Magazines, Brochures, Fliers

The print media have always been a popular advertising medium. Advertising products via newspapers or magazines is a common practice. In addition to this, the print media also offers options like promotional brochures and fliers for advertising purposes. Often the newspapers and the magazines sell the advertising space according to the area occupied by the advertisement, the position of the advertisement (front page/middle page), as well as the readership of the publications. For instance an advertisement in a relatively new and less popular newspaper would cost far less than placing an advertisement in a popular newspaper with a high readership. The price of print ads also depend on the supplement in which they appear, for example an advertisement in the glossy supplement costs way higher than that in the newspaper supplement which uses a mediocre quality paper.

Outdoor Advertising – Billboards, Kiosks, Tradeshows and Events

Outdoor advertising is also a very popular form of advertising, which makes use of several tools and techniques to attract the customers outdoors. The most common examples of outdoor advertising are billboards, kiosks, and also several events and tradeshows organized by the company. The billboard advertising is very popular however has to be really terse and catchy in order to grab the attention of the passers by. The kiosks not only provide an easy outlet for the company products but also make for an effective advertising tool to promote the company’s products. Organizing several events or sponsoring them makes for an excellent advertising opportunity. The company can organize trade fairs, or even exhibitions for advertising their products.

Broadcast advertising – Television, Radio and the Internet

Broadcast advertising is a very popular advertising medium that constitutes of several branches like television, radio or the Internet. Television advertisements have been very popular ever since they have been introduced. The cost of television advertising often depends on the duration of the advertisement, the time of broadcast (prime time/peak time), and of course the popularity of the television channel on which the advertisement is going to be broadcasted. The radio might have lost its charm owing to the new age media however the radio remains to be the choice of small-scale advertisers. The radio jingles have been very popular advertising media and have a large impact on the audience, which is evident in the fact that many people still remember and enjoy the popular radio jingles.

The Fundamentals of Creative Advertising:

This research was conducted from the book ‘The Fundamentals of Creative Advertising’ by Ken Burtenshaw, Nik Mahon and Caroline Barefoot; it has allowed me to understand the effect advertising has on society and the power of commercials themselves.  The advertising companies use advertising to inform people of their brand and because of how easily it is to target specifically a fragmented audience with the use of advertising especially using TV.

By knowing a more in-depth range of knowledge about the advertising companies and the pros and cons of using advertising; my research is developing along with my awareness of this form of media.

I also looked into the different ways in which adverting companies develop a unique advert, this is a challenge for companies as this is what makes and breaks a brand. It has to be faultless and distinctive so the target market of their product or message is affected by it.

Written Research: Task List

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This written research highlights the questions I will need to research over in more depth to allow a wider knowledge  of advertising itself.  This will help me formate where my research is going and the progress I am making. 

This highlights the different areas I will need to research such as Whether advertising works?, Product placement? Different types of adverts and how they are constructed? What limitations there are within advertising? The brand, the synergies and differing methods used to create a brand suited to their target market? Audience research focus on the hobbies, Who is my target market beyond age and gender?

Branding and target Market:

What is a target market?

The two most important facts about an advertising campaign are the brand itself – that is, the product or service being advertised – and its potential purchasers, its target market. You might think the former to be far more important than the latter, and this would undoubtedly have been the view in years gone by. But today the two are seen to be symbiotic: the brand and its target market are inextricably entwined.

 Advertisers need to find out everything they possibly can about the exact segment of the population they are targeting their unique and individual product to.  Second, the growth of market research allows advertisers to know who their potential customers are with much greater precision than used to be the case. And third, media audiences are themselves now so segmented it is essential to specify the target market in order to advertise in the media which will reach them most.

The outcome of these three factors has been that products and services are no longer designed and formulated for 100% of the population. They are designed for specific c target markets: clearly defined population sectors, large and small.  When I make my advert I must think of the brand and the target audience that I will promoting to.

Research conducted from Winston Fletcher's 'Advertising- A Very Short Introduction.'

In-depth Research into Advertising:

Advertising is...

·         paid for

·         a way of promoting products, services or information

·         a form of communication (between manufacturer and consumer)

·         a physical commodity

·         an important economic force

·         a part of our urban landscape

My advert must promote and sell the product or message I am advertising, It must entice the audience and keep them watching.  The difficulty will be making it unique and original, enhancing the image of the brand rather than just a product.  

The media – in particular, television, print, posters, radio, cinema, and the Internet – carry and publish advertisements in return for advertisers’ money. Today the media receive approximately 90% of all the money the advertisers spend. We can see the shear amount of advertising as it is everywhere; it is now a part of our urban landscape, promoting their products and messages where ever the public are.

As there are so many adverts around, advertising agency think of new strategies to promote and sell their product whether that be TV or internet e.c.t.  There are different types of adverts; there are advertisements which people look for (classifieds), and advertisements which look for people (display). Display advertisements are necessarily intrusive, because they must catch the attention of people not initially interested in their messages; classified advertisements are not intrusive, because they rely on people perusing them for items they are consciously searching for.