Main conventions used in today's adverts:
- Camera angle and shots
- Iconography
- Editing
- Lighting
- Sound
- Music
- Computer Graphics
- Special Effects (SFX)
Part One- Codes and Conventions of TV Advertising
Three - The Pony
Camera angle and shots
There are a lot of camera angles and shots used even though this took 6 days to make there was a lot of shots; establishing shot, long shot and close ups were used to make the absolute truth realistic spontaneous and just an epic advert. The first shot used was an establishing shot which captured the lovely cliffs at 0.01, my favourite scene is at 0.18 where we see a close up of Socks' face shaking his hair back.
Iconography
In my opinion, the most iconic scenes in the advert would be 0.33 and 0.47 where Socks (the pony) is walking around the water whinnying and also where he stops to look up at the farmer to see if he's gone. I genuinely love these scenes because it is very realistic and can send chills down the public's spine.
Editing
The only editing I believed went in this documentary was in 0.44-0.57 where the similar scenes had to be re-shot using different scenic backgrounds to make it look like the pony is travelling further than he originally is.
Lighting
I don't believe that there was a lot lighting used to make this advertisement. With it being set in the sunny cliff of the coast, I would presume there would be a fair amount of natural light and light clouds to brighten up the advert and to make it seem naturally beautiful and real.
Sound
There is not a lot of sound used in this advert, the only sound actually used for it are the horses in the background the wind, the horse itself and the tractor during the horses little moon walking performance. Even though there is not a lot of sound, it works very well seems all imaginatory in a way without and sound.
Music
The song used in this advert is Fleetwood Mac's 1987 hit song 'everywhere'. This was an ideal song to use for this advert because it is very catchy and sweet- like the pony itself.The music goes so well with the advert because of how the pony moonwalks in rhythm to the song and how he bops his head in the same way the song the change verse in 0.18.
Computer Graphics
There isn't really visible computer graphics used in the advert. although there was no graphics, i read in an interview that the pony actually was taught how to briefly moonwalk but it was up to graphics on how to speed up the pace of the walk in order for it to fit in with the song.
SFX
As I said above, the only special effects used in the advertisements was to speed up the pace of the pony's moonwalk to fit in with the song and so it was going along with the song, to make it look more realistic and too make it much more realistic entertaining for the audience.
Hovis - 122 years of Hovis
Camera angle and shots
There are a lot of angles and shots used in the advert to capture everything that was happening as he travelled through time. I believe his adventure is also ours - to learn and to remember our history.
Iconography
The most iconic scene in this advert was from 0.50-1.10 where the little boy has just walked into a WW2 bomb site. As the little boy is looking at what's happened, there is the Churchill speech in the background with the memorable "We shall never surrender!", followed by the air force planes flying over.
Editing
There was quite a lot of editing used in order to out the scenes together to make it look like the little boy is running through time getting from the shops in the late 1800's to the early 2000's. I think editting all the scenes together and making it look like a 'time run' was very effective and interesting for the audience to watch.
Lighting
I don't believe lighting was used very much in the course of filming this advert, it is clear, the directors were filming in the day time mostly so maybe they used lamps in order to set the correct tone or to minimise shadows when filming.
Sound
There is quite a lot of sound used in this advert. As we go through time, there are all different thongs happening to London. In 0.17, the audience can see and hear the woman's rights campaign take place which was one of the biggest changes in our country. At 1.12 when V Day took place and also 1.37 where the riots took place.
Music
The music used in this advert is not a song, merely a melody made for the advert. I think the piece played is almost a part of the little boy because the music speeds up when he is happy and running and slows down and becomes colder when he sees the bomb site and riots.
Computer Graphics
I don't believe any computer graphics was used in this hovis advertisement, everything looked too realistic in order to make the past seem like it happening to him and that was running through time.
SFX
Two my eyes, I can not see any editing on this advert, all I believe there to be is props and sets which gives the illusion the advert is edited. I think that not using any effects in this documentary is best for this advert because were looking at the past and how everything has changed, producers don't need CGI or special effects for memories when the past is so easy to redo.
Part Two - Style and Form
Style
Humorous - Hamlet Cigars
I have chosen this advert for humour because it was voted advert of the century and also won a gold award for television advertisements. I believe it is so funny because it's a scenario that everyone can relate to. It's something that can happen to everyone and it is a common scene in some movies e.g. Penelope, The Princess Diaries and Mr Bean. From 0.01-0.20, the character is portrayed as a middle aged man who is calmy come to get his picture taken. At 0.33, the camera flashes but not on cue because of the man trying to see if his money was fed into the slot properly. He tries and and again- all missing each flash until in 0.44 where his chair collapses, feeling defeated, a cloud of white smoke appears from his head indicating he has lit up a cigar to destress. I believe this advert is quite entertaining due to the characters facial and body expressions and general performance of the whole advert.
Parody - Specsavers Advert
I have used this advert for parody because it is mocking the Lynx advert in which the guy is spraying himself with the body causing thousands, maybe a million women from all over trying to get him because he smells so incredible. However this advert shows the same scenario yet it has a few comedy factors with girls running with coffee cups and shopping bags in high heels at 0.32. His dream soon comes to an end as he puts on his hideous glasses at 0.44. In to see what's happening causing the women soon stopping at their tracks- almost a metre away from him- feeling quite embarrassed and disgusted, they then walk away leaving him because he should have gone to Specsavers to get better glasses.
Surreal- Evian Baby Dance
I have used this video is an example for surrealism because I found it quite weird but very intriguIng. This is the Evian advert which is known for using the phrase "Live young. Evian" meaning if you drink evian water you'll be feeling like a child or a baby because you're so healthy packed with all the vitamins and minerals you had when you was a child. I used to believe that throughout this advert we was just watching a group of babies roller skating but now i see a different story at the start of the advert we have a voice over say "Lets observe the effects of evian on your body" then the scene cuts at 0.04 where a baby is shown playing a boombox and all the skating babies appear. From 0.07 to 0.027, I realise that we was watching the advert where the skaters were a group of men dancing and because they've drunk Evian water, they've transformed into babies because of their nutritious values in their body. Overall, even though this advert is quite strange and different, it makes sense and fits together.
Form
Dramatic - YDA The Wedding
I think this is a perfect example of a dramatic form of advertisement. These are series adverts made by the YDA which are always titled as 'Born to create drama'. Out of the other adverts similar to this, 'The wedding' has to be my favourite because one little thing can ruin a wedding day and make it full of drama and I get the impression this little girl has achieved just that. At the start of the advert we see a young man and his daughter playing on the swings, he takes a call and stops pushing her where she then jumps up and peaks her face through the gate where shes a group of people and the bride and groom in a back garden celebrating. In 0.28, the little girl runs up to the groom shouting "Daddy, daddy! Where's mummy?" and hugs him. The rest of the family and the bride all look at the groom incomplete confusion and suspicion as to what the little girl is talking about and where she's come from- possibly indicating that he could have another life. In 0.39, the little girl looks up at the camera with a sly, conniving smile on her face indicating that she lied and she's done it on purpose. The end of the advert then says 'born to create drama' meaning the little girl was made to cause drama for other people and that's all she ever does.
Realist narrative - SMA Growing Up Milk
The SMA Growing Up Milk is a great example of realist narrative because it really does happen to parents and everyone. When a baby or toddler is naughty that's just part of growing up and parents seem to think that they fail as parent when thier child is naughty and doesn't respond to anything. The voiceover says "Naughtiness shows that your toddler is developing well, 90 years of experience tells us that." From 0.00-0.29, we are shown split scenes of different toddler all misbehaving causing the parents to stress. The point of this advert is to tell parents that they're not doing anything wrong and that the babies are doing well and developing successfully. The slogan even said at 0.25 "Take it from us, you're doing great." I personally think this is a great message to have because it just gives the parents that boost they need when they are having stressful and hard times where they might doubt themselves about being good parents.
Anti- realist narrative - Citroen C4 Transformers
I have used this advert as my example for anti- realist narrative because this or any car cannot transform into a robot and ice skate along a lake. The advert is promoting a new Citroen car and producers wanted to spice it up a little by including the scene where the car turned into a transformer to promote the new film. At 0.05, the car is pulled over by the driver and then transforms himself into a robot. It is shown gliding through the ice on which appears to be the window wipers in 0.16. When the car returns in 0.23, it goes back in its original state and the slogan pops up saying "Alive with technology". This tells myself and the audience that the car is alive because of all the new technology and gadgets in had programmed in to it.
Animation - Twinings
I have chosen this advert as an example for animation because I find it is rather sweet and it is soothing and relaxing like the product itself. This animated advertisement is about promoting and trying to sell Twinings tea. Twinings is known for being very therapeutic, relaxing and good for you so I believe with this advert, they wanted to come across calm, magical and quite dreamlike so that they could relate back to the product they was trying to sell. From 0.35-0.47 the girl I'd trying to reach someone else and get them, it isn't until 0.51 where you finally realise she's trying to get back to herself- like the slogan says.
Documentary - Marmite Rescue Advert
I used this advertisment as an example for my documentary form of advertising because it is a good reenactment of a animal rescue and rehoming centre. From 0.00-0.05, there is a voice over that sounds quite similar to a normal documentary. The scenes between 0.05-0.11, we see the team ask permission to search around the house in order to find any neglected Marmite, they find it stuffed behind some time in 0.18 and remove it with a box to take back to the rehoming centre. In a separate 'find', one of the officers search the cupboards of a house and find an adult and baby Marmite jar, in 0.52, the owner's faces are blurred put to protect their identity. I think this is quite effective because most crime documentaries use this in order to protect the identities of the crooks involved in the show. We then see at 1.21 that the Marmite that was in bad condition was rehomed to a loving family.
Talking heads - Yasmin Oral B
This oral b is a good example of a talking heads form of advertising because there is only one person talking about the product. This woman, Yasmin has got the new Oral B toothpaste and is more filmed like a home diary instead of a advertisement which is quite effective because it makes the whole as very realistic and genuine. We see her talking about the toothpaste and how she feels about using it in 0.06. At 0.14, there is a detailed graphical list of what Oral B does for your teeth and gums compared to competing toothpastes. In 0.22, we see the morning after where Yasmin says "I don't know if you can hear this.. But my teeth are squeaking clean!" This tells the audience that the effects of oral b are long lasting and are reliable.
Stand alone - MasterCard School's Out
This is an example of a stand alone form of advertising because it is the only advert made and the only used for a specific time. I have used MasterCard, this advert is specifically made for when the summer holidays are on due to the content of the advertisement all together. At the beginning of the advert, there is a building filled with anxious and fidgity work staff who you can see atr ready for the bell to ring which announces it's summer. At 0.09, the song "Schools Out" starts playing and the staff members have run wild outside their offices, chucking paper in the air and ripping their uniform. From 0.17-0.28, small prices appear on screen about what you can get done on holiday and how much for, this tells the audience about the deals they can get on holiday if they use MasterCard. As time goes on, all the staff have gone through the airport, to a plane, to a cab, to a sunny pool in the mediterranean, they all jump it when the bell rings indicating that Summer holidays are here.
Series - Compare the Meerkat
I have used this advertisement as my series form of advertising because the meerkat adverts have been going around since 2013. We have seen Baby Oleg grow from being an abandoned baby to going away to live in Africa with the other baby meerkats. There has been a number of small episodes where we've seen the three meerkats bond and merge in to a family together. Each advert is different to the each, telling the audience a story and giving us updates on what's happening for the people imterested.
