Charity for a disability - ZOLOFT

Evaluation on Charity Advert

Evaluation: 

What was the task you were given and who was your target audience? As the audience wasn't typical of the product how did you manage to sell it? What was the name of your brand? 

My group and I was given a task to construct an advert for a disability charity towards a teenage audience, who struggle with addressing their stress. We decided to focus on the awareness of schizophrenia and display what they see and feel, which allows the viewer to understand the aspects of the disability. At the ending of the advert we applied important facts about schizophrenia, showing how serious this is but also stating the fact that they are not alone and there are people to help, like this Advertising Charity. Additionally, we display our slogan 'address your stress' along side the logo 'Z' (that stands for 'Zoloft', an antidepressant tablet). Subsequently, this further reinforces the help that we would provide and that dressing your stress, allows you to deal with it.  

Who did you work with and how did you divide the research, planning, filming and responsibilities?

For this project I worked with Tom Snow, Robert Mckinnon and Sofya Latepova. 

• Tom was the main character, who impersonated an individual who has schizophrenia. 
• Rob edited the advert, filmed and produced the plan.  
• Sofya completed the analysis; analysing other videos that inspired our advert. 
• I also helped with the plan, create ideas and film/act in some parts. 
• Our responsibilities were quite fair, however I believe that Rob achieved too much in this project. To change this, me or Sofya could of helped with the editing. 

How did you plan your sequence? 

We organised a clear and sufficient plan, splitting the sequence in several parts - using a table - highlighting the camera shots, the duration, the process and the special effects. This helped us be organised and prepared as we knew what we was doing step by step. It allowed the group to display our different ideas, to see what worked and what didn't. 

What research did you undertake?

As we was advertising a charity, we had to research information about what other charities achieve, which could influence our video. For example, we noticed that most videos included: subtle and sad music, a slogan, facts and a soothing voice over. Furthermore, after deciding to focus on the aspect of schizophrenia, we watched more videos that focused solely on this disability, which helped a lot as this gave us a clear understanding of what we needed to include and involve in our advert. 

What was you initial feedback? What did others say about your production? How successful was your sequence?

My group and I was really happy with the final edit, due to the advert clearly showing how people with schitophrenia feel. The jolting shots and transitions, the suspicion of sensory overload, the dense and dark appearance, and lastly the dramatic non diegetic sounds imitates what this disability is. Therefore, I believe this project was very successful. Nonetheless, to improve I - personally - would include a softer appeal, with more meaning, which enables the audience to not only connect with the charity and its purpose but to understand what this certain individual is going through. 
We haven't been given initial feedback from others, however we would take negative and positive feedback inconsideration. 

What have you learnt from completing this task?

From this task i have learnt the importance of planning, communication, creative input and lastly using our initiative. 

1. Planning allowed us to be extremely organised and confidently happy with the ending result. 
2. Communication enabled our group to discuss what we liked and disliked and express our ideas. It also helped us to avoid misunderstandings and complete the project in a quicker and more efficient manner. 
3. Putting forward our creative ideas was difficult as designing a charity for a disability was something we haven't done before. However, just by designing a name, slogan and logo dramatically helped as a starting point. Additionally, after researching our creative input increased. 
4. Using our initiative allowed us to improve, prevent issues, and more importantly achieve an organised and well thought out project.

plan for advert (disability charity)

Camera

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S- Scenes switch often, however at the beginning, people with mental illnesses are mostly in dark places or in places where it would be easy to suffer from sensory overload, such as the party and on the bus

T- A prominent theme throughout the advert is the struggle to overcome bad situation and the mental illness. Kindness is also a major theme, since people who are allies of those with mental illnesses are portrayed in a very positive light

I- Important icons include the crisp packet and the 'stop button' on the bus since they show that even small, everyday things can cause stress and anxiety in people with a mental disorder

N-  The struggles of people with mental disorders and the solutions, which can be offered to help, such as having someone to rely on

C-  People with mental disorder, allies of those people and the mass (People on the bus/ at the party) 

T- "#We can, we will" is the slogan, which was used, because it is memorable and inclusive, with the repetition of 'we' creating a sense of community and togetherness.

Mise en scene

C- The characters with mental disorders are all wearing dark, dull colours such as black, which often represents mourning and has connotations of depression and sadness. The man at the party has a shirt with the words "believe in yourself" written on it which shows that they too, can have confidence in themselves as long as they have someone else to rely on.

L- All the characters with depression seem to be in places which are not very well lit, such as the woman in bed, the man at the party and the man in the music room. Their faces often have light falling on only half of their face which creates an atmosphere of isolation around them. However by the end, the lighting becomes bright and fully illuminates the people's faces.

A- The actors are of different ethnicity and age to show that people of all types are affected by mental illnesses 

M- No make-up used for effect

P- A good example of a prop is the book the musician has, which transforms by the end into something completely different and shows that through a struggle mental disorders can be slowly overcome

S- The scene is set during different times of the day for different people to show that their disorder affects anything and everything they do, during day and night

Sounds

M- At the beginning, the music sounds sad, however by the end it becomes inspirational because of the images that are being shown alongside it

C- No contaparallel

D- Diegetic sounds such as the crisp packet, the button on the bus and women laughing are all used to create an overwhelming atmosphere

O- No sounds Off-Screen

V- Voice-over used to narrate the struggles of people with mental disorders as well as offering a solution to dealing with them 

E- Emotive language is used throughout the video to make people sympathise or emphasise with those struggling with a mental disorder  

D- No dialogue can be heard throughout the video, and any speech between characters is silent, leaving the audience to rely on the actor's facial expressions to work out what is being said

Editing

S- Each person with a disorder gets somewhat equal screen-time, 

T- Most of the transitions, are smooth, until the woman with anxiety suffers from sensory overload and the transitions become fast, showing her discomfort in the situation

O- There is no way to know what order things are done in, however the jumps from night to day would suggest that this is a random order of narrative as we go through different characters and their conditions

P- The pacing is slow at the beginning, however the woman with anxiety on the bus quickens the pacing

S- No special effects used

Camera

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S- Set in a typical office environment in the modern day

T- A prominent theme throughout the advert is the struggle of making a decision and normalising speech about the issue of mental illness. 

I- Icons include the shoe which shows the incorrect interpretation of people with mental disorders

N-  A man questioning whether he should ask a colleague how his day was because he heard he has a mental disorder and the video ridicules that fear, making it seem undeserved and absurd. 

C-  Person who was off work with a mental health issue, the colleague who was doubting whether he should speak to him, other people at the office (extras)

T- "It's time to talk. It's time to change" is the slogan, which was used, because it is memorable 

Mise en scene

C- Both men are wearing formal wear which makes them look similar and shows that it is hard to differentiate between people with mental disorders and those without

L- At the beginning of the advert the lighting is white and harsh, however it is dull, making everyone seem pale and sickly. However, at the end, after everything is resolved, the light becomes brighter. 

A- The actors are two men, the main character is portrayed as ridiculous for doubting himself about an insignificant question, his posture is slouched and he looks uncertain

M- No make-up used for effect

P- An important prop is the printer, which is used to show the absurdness of the fear of talking to a person who suffers from a mental illness

S- The artificial lighting in the office makes it impossible to know during which time of the day the scene was shot

Editing

S- The two men get equal screen-time, although the main character gets slightly more time so that the audience can find out what he is thinking 

T- The transitions are smooth and fast

O- The shots are in chronological order and real life time would be equal to the video time

P- The pacing is slow throughout the first  part, however it quickens after the question is asked, for comedic effect

S- Making the man seem like he exploded in a burst of white powder

Camera

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S- Set in a living room of a normal family home

T- A prominent theme throughout the advert is the struggle of loneliness 

I- No icons

N-  A man struggling with a mental disorder (depression), who feels better with his friends and family

C-  man with depression, family members

T- Uses statistics to inform and persuade to become an ally

Mise en scene

C- Normal clothes for a home, creating a warm, family atmosphere

L- At the beginning of the advert the lighting comes through the curtain behind the man, which makes only the silhouette visible, making seem isolated. At the end, when the family is having dinner, the room is well lit and everything can be seen clearly

A- The main actor is a young man, who, statistically, is very likely to suffer from depression and other mental disorders

M- No make-up used for effect

P- Important props include curtains, since at the beginning, they dull the light and create the wanted effect of only being able to see the silhouette

S- The scene was shot during the daytime, although at the beginning it is not clera because the light seems unnatural

Editing

S- The man with mental disorder gets as lot of screen time

T- The transitions are smooth and fast

O- The shots are in chronological order and real life time would be equal to the video time

P- The pacing is relatively fast throughout the advert, however at the beginning the end it is quite slow

S- Showing the isolation of the character through special effects

TV DRAMA Feedback

WWW:

- top 10 lists and facts were clear 
- lots of information, well presented, i learned a lot 
- very informative and statistics helped, well researched 
- clear explanation backed up by statistics 
- good detail 
- good detail with companies, audiences, regulation 
- good presentation with a lot of relevant information 
- very informative, range of dramas, great audience research, good detail on amazon and Netflix 

EBI:

- add some animations
- complex
- section things out more 
- need info on the devices 
- need info on how you watch them 
- need more information on ofcom

TV DRAMA

theories

Curran and Seaton – Power and Media Industries:

- What is the theory?

Newspapers should reflect the interests of an audience otherwise they will go out business. They should be liberal and anyone should be able to make one. However, this does not happen in practice and the press can be used as a propaganda tool to influence the audience.

Curran and Seaton: ‘diversity is in the public interest – but modern societies suffer from collective attention deficit disorders[…] 

the public interest has to work harder to be noticed, and we need agile but resourceful media.'

to do that

- The freedom to publish in a free market ensures the press reflects a wide range of opinions and interests in a society. If a viewpoint is missing in the press, this is because it lacks a sufficient following to sustain it in the market place. However, since the press has been industrialised, the ‘assumption that ‘anyone is free to start a paper’ is an ‘illusion’.Whilst the press used to be independent of outside financial  interests, most British press was bought up in the 1960s and 1970s by conglomerates. The press have become a subsidiary of these companies and harms their independence. Furthermore, anti-monopoly legislation has been ineffective, allowing the creation of large media monopolies, which allows individual companies a great deal of power when the desire to publicise a message to vast amounts of people is enacted.Curran found evidence that media owners did interfere and manipulate newspaper content at the expense of the independence of journalists and editors . Rupert Murdoch in 2003 strongly wanted a war with Iraq and its no coincidence that all of his 175 newspapers around the world that he owns supported this view in their articles

Livingstone and Lunt – Regulation: 

the idea that there is an underlying struggle in recent UK regulation policy between the need to further the interests of citizens (by offering protection from harmful or offensive material), and the need to further the interests of consumers (by ensuring choice, value for money, and market competition)

Hesmondhalgh – Cultural Industries 

' the book takes on new and vital targets, for example claims that the Internet is replacing television in everyday media consumption.... In the process, Hesmondhalgh provides us with an essential toolkit for making critical sense of the digital media age, and our places within it' 

Club Advert

My group and I constructed a remake of the 'Club Biscuit' advert as a practise for editing, using diverse camera shots and learning how to use Premier: