Instagram Promo Idea

My idea is piano related promo, this is because I enjoy playing the piano and is a topic that I am interested in. I will have to make up a product or service that the promo will be for, this would either have to be the actual piano/keyboard or a piano tutoring service. I can make up a logo and build up a brand image for this, as well as using this 15 second Instagram promo, to promote the product or service.

Within the 15 second clip, there will be two characters, the piano tutor and a student. The tutor would welcome the student into the tutoring room and introduce them to the piano. Throughout the promo, the background music will be a pianist playing, so the audience can identify and are immediately aware of what the clip is about.

This media production is considered fiction, because I don't actually have a piano tutoring service, however I can create one for this promo. I have also researched how to record a piano so I can get a god quality recording for my promo, and so that it sounds professional.

Focus Groups

A focus group is a small group of people, usually around 3-6, where someone is asking a series of questions on a certain topic of subject, which turns into a discussion used for market research. Focus groups are a chance to get more detailed answers and also to gain consumers opinions on the subject. Although this can be a good way of collecting useful data, it is considered quite a time consuming task and does not often provide a large number/variety of answers.

In our focus group we had a few questions that we wanted to ask and wrote this on a discussion template, here is the video clip of our focus group.

Here is a screenshot of the discussion template which we completed before the focus group, so I had an idea of what questions to ask within the discussion.

Last week we watched a YouTube video on focus groups, this video had different groups of people at a desk, three at a time, where they were asked the same questions on a smart phone they were given. The groups of people included young girls aged around 20, children aged 5, typical goths, muscly men and more. These people all had very different views on the smart phone and the video demonstrated the sheer variety of answers and opinions people have.

Here is a link to this video: Smart Phone Focus Group

Construction Toy Ideas

Today Blake and I brainstormed ideas on construction toys that we could sell. We came up with a variety of ideas, all of which we think has not been created before. For example a bake a build kit, wire string bridge construction kit and jelly mould construction. Although some of these ideas are a little out there and strange, they are certainly unique.

We have decided to go for the construction of a watch, which includes making the band as well. It will be for an older age range, however it will not be overly challenging as it is a toy. Although you can not make a variety of things, you can customise your watch and would not be just one design. The watch band will be made out of small magnets, so it is fairly simple to put together and can be changed for a new style.

For example there would be different designs and colours of watch faces, band magnets, clock hands and more.

Advert Campaign Textual Analysis

The advertisement campaign I have chosen is a series of public safety adverts. It is the 'Dumb ways to die'- (November 2012) for Metro Trains video, which went world wide and  numerous other sequels have been made since. Here is the video clip below:

The target audience for this campaign is mostly aimed towards adults, as this is most likely the age range to be using Metro Trains. However, because the short film is animated and uses lots of bright colours, this attracts younger audiences like pre-teens and teenagers, who may also use the train to get to school or college.

It uses a catchy song, when explaining the dangers of public transport (in this case trains) and uses clever rhymes and comical lyrics to make the campaign more rememberable.

The humours theme attracts a variety of people, yet still manages to get the message across, which is to be safe around trains. Although as the advertising campaign got more popular, in my opinion I think it just got to the case where people just wanted to watch the video for entertainment purposes, however this worked well for Metro Train.

Also an actual game has been created based on the success of the advertising campaign.

Filming Cold Fusion Continued

Today I continued with the filming of my 3 minute short film on cold fusion. However this time I focussed more on the more dramatic scenes with all the characters in, for example near the end of my film there is a struggle between all three characters which leads to Mai being badly hurt. This took quite a while to film as I also wanted the formula to be lost within the struggle. I wanted this to look realistic and therefore took longer that I would of liked, but I am happy with the footage now.

I used the same equipment as last time and used natural lighting for the majority of the filming, as there is lots of windows in the lab and is generally lit quite well. I used a Canon 500D, a Libec tripod and a Rode mic.

During the filming, I adapted some of the script so in the moment the dialogue is more realistic and blends in nicely with the rest of the scene. However in the end scene where theres the 'fight', swear words are exchanged which I did not write in the script originally, although this works within the context.

Gloucester Uni Trip Reflection

On Friday our media group went on a trip to Gloucestershire uni. Here we completed various tasks to gain an understanding of what the media courses there include and also to find out what the campus and 'uni life' is like.

The three area topics that we looked at was TV, journalism and animation. We also got a shot tour of the uni. In the journalism sector we discussed the target audiences for different magazines and reflected on our findings with the rest of the group. During the animation task we pieced together a stop motion clip on the specific topic we were given, it gave me an insight to how certain films were made. Finally in the TV task we were all given different jobs that helped make an episode of the uni's talk show. I was on camera 2 and worked on the lighting in the gallery behind the scenes. I enjoyed filming with the cameras, as I made sure to zoom, focus and slightly pan during the talk show on air.

Also during the breaks that we were given throughout the day, we got the chance to explore the campus and time to enjoy the food and refreshments that the uni offered. Overall I got a good understanding of what Gloucester uni is like and what it is like in general. The area I enjoyed the most was the TV sector, as the tasks were more hands on and gave me the chance to really get stuck in.

App Idea and Project Update

In todays' lesson we discussed teenage millionaires and the apps that they created that made them millions. One of which was Dong Nguyen, who was the creator of the app 'Flappy Birds' who supposedly earned over $50,000 a day, as the app was downloaded more than 50 million times.

Next we paired up and tried to come up with a unique app idea, that has not been done before. Imogen and I came up with an app called 'Try' where you can try different makeup products and brands on your own face digitally before you buy them. It would also include a reviews section, where people can write in what they think of the product once they have actually tried it.

In the second part of the lesson I continued with the Flash popcorn project.

I have now completely finished the first and second sequence on the popcorn project, after that I need to complete the 'how a steam engine works' sequence. The last stage of the project is to link the sequences to the menu, and to check that the buttons work.

Filming Cold Fusion

Today I started filming my cold fusion film, so made sure I had the science lab and the equipment booked and ready to be collected. I also made sure all the cast were there and available to start acting in my film.

I started by setting up the equipment and letting the actors and actresses read the script to get an idea of what they need to say. There are three characters in my film and they are played by Summer, Imogen and Kez. Who played the characters Jessica, Mai and Timothy.

Firstly I filmed the scenes with Mai by herself and the short, no dialogue clips that can be edited in, to intensify the scene. For example when Mai and Tim find out that Jess was in the lab when the formula was stolen, they both look at each other in realisation.

By the end of today I have filmed all the scenes with Mai alone and the small clips that I can have choice of when it comes to editing.

I have also booked the lab out for next Tuesday, ready to continue filming.

Here is an image of Immy acting in my film:

Toys & Games- Dance Mixer

This is a picture of the toy/game I picked:

This toy is from Hawkins Bazaar in Bath.

I chose this because if I was younger, this is the type of toy I would be interested in, as I liked dancing and listening to music. (And still do!) The packaging of this product is very colourful and a bright colour scheme is used. This is because the target audience of this toy is aimed at younger children aged 5+, and so they would be drawn to this straight away.

The font is large and is in capitals, again this is to stand out and to attract the target audience. It has an image of the product on the front of the box and not a clear window like a lot of other toys. I think this is because with this certain product it looks better when set up, whereas if there was a window, the mat would have to be folded and therefore wouldn't look as appealing to the child.

Website Wireframes

I researched some website wireframes to gain more of an understanding of how to create a simple layout design with no colour or actual text. Here is an example of a website wireframe, including a before and after image:

I then went onto Adobe Illustrator to create my own wireframe layout on my perfume product. This is what I came up with:

This is the desktop view of the website.

In this layout design I have chose a very simple theme, because I think this works best and is very clear for the audience to navigate around the site. I have also included a lot of image spaces, as this makes the overall look of the website more interesting, instead of rows and rows of text which comes across as boring.

Next I designed a mobile version of this website design. This is what I created:

Here is my second desktop view of a different wireframe I have come up with:

Here is the mobile version of the one above:

This is my third and final wireframe option that I have created on Adobe Illustrator:

Finally, this is the mobile version on my final website wireframe:

My favourite desktop and mobile wireframe is the first one, as I think it looks professional, yet simple and clean. However I think that my second wireframe would suit my product the best, as I am only selling one product on the whole site, so needs to be chic and simple.

This is good because the user would be able to clearly navigate around the site easily, both on the desktop and mobile versions. It also looks very uniform and classy which I think connotes an elegant, high end product that is being sold on the website, and therefore attracts the audience.

Research on Perfume Website Design

Here I have got 3 screenshots of fragrance websites for inspiration, as my product is going to be a perfume.

This first screenshot is of Fragrance Direct. This is the on of the simplest out of the three and only uses a very limited colour scheme, which comes across  professional and more high end in my opinion. I think the white, red and black works well. Also the layout is chic and again fairly minimal, so is clear and easy to read.

Here is the second screenshot, this is of the Perfume Point website. This is much more colourful and packed with lots of information. In my opinion, at a first glance this looks quite cluttered and therefore suggests a discounted range of perfumes, rather than the very expensive high end fragrances.

Here is the final screenshot, this is of Juicy Couture's website, on the fragrance tab. I think this is very minimalistic, however the swirly, feminine font makes the website look more interesting and unique. The colour scheme is very bare and is mostly white excluding the actual products, which is very simple and therefore is considered classy and elegant. 

Menu and Popcorn Buttons

This is how far I have got on the popcorn project. I have nearly finished my menu, however I still need to add two working buttons to the last two options.

I have also completed my first sequence on how popcorn pops. I just need to add text on the stage to help demonstrate the question.

Here is a screenshot of my second sequence on how popcorn is made, again I still need to add the text.

I have started my third sequence on how a steam engine works, however this is taking a bit longer as I am attempting to make the steam train run across the page. Here is what it looks like so far:

Overall I have made a lot of progress, there is only a few more things I need to add to make this project complete.

Communication Theories

Hypodermic Needle Theory

The hypodermic needle theory is an idea at which a certain advert or TV programme is injecting the audience with information. The audience could take this in one of two ways, these different types of audiences are either passive or active. Passive is when the audience does not question what is being presented to them and tend to not get involved. Active audience members get more involved and would often question what they are being told. For example, this type of audience might ring up on quiz shows to vote.

Here is a screenshot of a photoshop test that I did, which includes a brief summary of this theory and on active and passive audience members.

I think this theory is quite outdated now, because with todays modern technologies it is much easier for the audience to get involved, as there are various apps and commenting sites for people to connect with the producers. For example reviewing sites and audiences can write to the makers for tips or complaints. Also people are inclined to have more of an opinion, because everyones opinion is accepted and heard in today's society.

On the other hand, audiences can tend to get a little bit lazy and could be considered more as a passive audience member.

Maslows Hierarchy

Malsows theory is a pyramid which demonstrates what people's basic needs are, developing into more optional/wanted needs that makes people happy and human. The topic include; physiological, safety, love\belonging, esteem and self actualisation. 

Here is an image to explain this further:

Nearer the top of the pyramid, are more desirable traits/needs and at the bottom are the necessities or basic needs.

Uses and Gratifications Theory

This theory suggests that there are different reasons that people would want\need the media. Here is a screenshot of a table that I filled in, on the four different reasons that the uses and gratifications theory include.

Different people have different needs and respond individually to media texts. This would be unique to a certain individual. Audiences can use media to feel a certain way, for example if someone is sad, they could listen to uplifting, joyful music to make them feel better. Also each of us gain something from the media and consume gratification from this.

Production- Moving Image

Over the next few weeks in our moving image lessons, I am going to be filming my short film. I will start by choosing the appropriate equipment and set up in the starting location. I would then test out a few starter camera angles to find the best one for that specific scene. I also want the transitions and change overs from each clip to run smoothly and match up when the film is eventually edited. This would make the film look very professional and this is something I want to aim for.

By the end of the 5 weeks, I would like to have filmed a successful short film, that fits in with my narrative and with the mood that I am trying to get across to my audience in that scene.

For example, when one of the characters is suspected as dead, the camera angles and movements should reflect the intensity and build up for this scene, to overall make the film more effective. I would also like to have appropriate sounds and music background throughout my film, that again fits in with my narrative and scene itself.  

Colour Schemes

The difference between CMYK and RGB is that the first is a subtractive mix and RGB is an additive mix. This means that the additive is when you add colours it creates white, and subtractive is when you add colours, it blocks the white.

There are three ways you can create your own colour from a pure hue. For example a tint, would be adding white to a hue, shade would be to add black to a hue and finally tone would be adding grey to a pure hue. Here is a picture to demonstrate this:

Here are my four colour schemes:

 Monochromic 

 Analogous

 Complimentary

Triad