Consuming Identities

 

Bibliography

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoking
Wikipedia, Smoking, 2014, Multiple Authors

http://www.patient.co.uk/health/smoking-the-facts
Patient.co.uk, Smoking - The Facts, 2012, Dr Tim Kenny & Dr Beverley Kenny

http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/2344.aspx?CategoryID=53
NHS, What Are The Health Risks Of Smoking, 2013, Multiple Authors

http://gosmokefree.nhs.uk/ways-to-quit/quitting-for-the-first-time/
SmokeFree, Qutting For The First Time, 2014, Multiple Authors

Evaluation - Research Techniques

Frankly, the research has been a bit of challenge for this assignment, I knew what I wanted to find but because my subject can be a bit personal, not a lot of people were up for asking them. Phrasing the questions, or at first finding the right questions to ask was a little tricky as I planned to do my project based on both smokers and non-smokers so I had to ask questions that could be asked at both of the factors.

Looking back on my research, I don't think I conducted enough for the project. I think my survey worked well as I got enough people within my target audience to answer my questions but apart from that I think I could have conducted more face-to-face interviews to get more accurate answers for my research. I planned on at least asking two extra people for the in-person interviews but however both mine and their schedules prevented us from meeting so I couldn't conduct the interviews. I also didn't feel comfortable asking random people in the street questions that could get personal. The answers I received from these interviews did help me to understand what my target audience would want to see in my photography, for example, both the people I asked said that they'd rather see the negatives of smoking rather than the pros of it, this gave me a solid understanding of what I should include in my photos.

The choice of using a survey to record my information was definitely a good decision; the day I started it I had already got 7 responses with the total number after 3 weeks live being 20 overall. The survey was online which made it a lot easier to distribute my survey as I linked it to both my Facebook and twitter page. The answers I received did help my investigation because they created a more solid understanding for my project, helping me depicting certain points to my photography. Although I feel the responses that I got were not what I initially expected as the questions I asked weren't all that strong, I think I gave myself a strong challenge of asking two different factors the same questions as people who don't smoke can't answer question that ask how old they were when they started smoking and smokers can't give me actual answers about what they think of smokers without being biased.

Looking at my qualitative data which I gathered using an online survey during my primary research. I thought my research was effective but so much valid. This is because, although I offered a range of answers, there was only a select few that I asked my target audience. After finishing the survey I continued to ask myself if I'd provided the right answers for my audience as there are hundreds if not thousands of answers that could have been used.

The project was overall a success and all the research that I gathered was helpful. I wouldn't say my research helped me to a great deal as I had an idea from the start and just progressed from there. I may have changed my idea for this project a few times going from doing it about organisations in London to disability to finally finalising at smoking. I felt this was a stronger subject to focus on as it opened quite a bit more to focus on. Overall I think this project was a success, even though the research wasn't all that good, I think the final images were appropriate for the project and my theme.

 

 

 

Evaluation - Visual Language of Photography

The intention for this assignment was for me to express my opinions and beliefs about the negatives of smoking; how it affects the smoker and also the harm it causes to those around them.

This particular image, for example, was modified in Photoshop using simple effects. The image is meant to show how smoking puts someone instantly into a dark place, the skull represents the long path to death also the large size of the skull represents the high case of death for smokers, as is the large cigarette in hand. Also the model wears black as if they're already dressed for their own funeral.

I think this image is very effective for my particular project as its a dark subject, I wanted the image to fit perfectly into the theme and I think this image and all my others do too.

 Legal & Ethical (Research Techniques)

I approached my photographic subjects and asked if they were happy and able to be pictured for my project. My main concern was the fact that two of my subjects so I not only asked their permission but also their parents. They accepted but requested they see the images before they were to be posted. My other subjects also agreed to be used for my project, but like above they also requested to see the photos before they were to be posted.

With the survey, all those I directly sent the link to were told they didn't have to answer if they didn't feel comfortable doing so as some questions could come across being too personal. Also to those who saw the links that I had posted on both of my personal social media sites, I stated while posting that if they didn't feel comfortable then they didn't have to take part.

The entire project was designed to show off the concern myself and others have on smoking. As mentioned above, all of my subjects were allowed to approve the photographs after they were taken, which ensured that only those showing them in the best way were used. They were all given digital copies of each image they were in for their own record and for personal use.

 

Audience Research Report

My aim for the whole project was to gather a series of photographs that could be used as an article or front cover for I-D magazine. I started off by doing some research into I-D magazine, having a look at what kind of images they use for their covers. On every I-D cover they tend to hide human identity in every picture, I liked the idea of this but I decided to change my design by having inanimate objects instead, then from here I chose my themes in which I wanted my project to portray. Why do people decide to start smoking and how do some manage to quit? I though this would be an appropriate theme to use because I can work with both genders and both smokers and non-smokers, getting their experiences and opinions on the habit.

One of the main points for my chosen question that I had to ask myself was how intense is the validity and reliability, when asking my question to the public I had to make sure my question would actually get an answer, especially with the fact that I aimed it at both smokers and non-smokers, therefore making it more tricky to pick an appropriate question to ask the public. I can't ask a non-smoker about the effects it has on them as they are unaware of this as they would not have smoke, therefore giving them a closed question. Whereas a smoker can be asked both sides of the question, just whether the results will be reliable as most people don't like going in-depth into their personal lives which I respected. Reliability is a main factor in all research because if an anomaly appears, it could severely affect the results and put you back a step in your findings. Within my research I used quantities and qualitative data collection for both primary and secondary research to move forward more easily in my project and be drove in the right direction by what my audience wanted to see, mixed with my own original ideas.

 For my secondary research I decided to have a look at different definitions of certain sampling methods I will be using, which was Volunteer, Quota and Stratified sampling. This helped me gain a better knowledge of the methods I could use to get my primary research in to action. Next, I started looking on Google for images that I'd like to associate my photos with, a colour scheme is very important for photographs. As my theme is based around negatives, I wanted my images to be dark including the colours, I decided to use black, white and grey. To show my research for this I decided to make a mood board using images I found on Google. After creating the mood board I felt I had a clearer vision of what I wanted to happen within my own images. The pictures I chose, I think fitted in very well with my theme, they showed the negatives of smoking very well including the harm it causes to children. Next, I decided to view pieces of peoples own art linking with my theme and advertising. I started seeing consumerism in a different way when I began finding images for smoking to sell certain products. Everyone knows smoking is bad, some just don't know how to bring themselves to stop, I thought that was an interesting route to follow because obviously I want my overall piece to shout stop smoking. The main theme around smoking is the harm it causes to both the smoker and those around them.

I chose a few pictures to include on my blog, just because they seemed very iconic to the theme of consumerism and to my theme, such as two men smoking simply because they can and another photo of a man blowing smoke into a women's face because she likes it. I thought the second photo was a perfect depiction that consumerism creates a wrong idea as to what consumers actually want. All of these pictures made me want to get creative, so I decided to get to work by constructing a few photos for the assignment as a base for my final images. I began by obtaining a cigarette packet and trying to make as many creative pictures with it as I possibly could, I then used Photoshop to add effects to the images. The feedback I got for my images was very appreciative, yet critical due to my lack of Photoshop skills at the start of the project.

I had a search online for artists who make art about my theme, I found out about a Belgium artist called Frieke Janssens who was linking some of his work between smoking and consumerism, as well as reading a blog post from the Bransch Blog which gave me a detailed analogy of the link. This led more onto certain practitioners I'd found out about; Chris Jordan, Gabriel Kuri and Nadav Kander all based their work around consumerism. Gabriel Kuri is renowned for large sculptures and collages made from the remains of everyday purchases and found objects such as receipts and price tags off items. Kuri reconfigures meaning from tickets and receipts, retail supplies and slabs of marble, stones and other incongruous materials of relation to consumption. Personally, I think Kuri's idea for art was a good statement based on consumerism, but I felt he didn't achieve anything from his work, his art was a good way of getting across how money tends to rule our lives but I feel Chris Jordan's art is more creative and makes a bigger statement as he uses items by the thousands to create one large photo. His art is mainly about American Mass Consumption such as his 'Silent Spring, 2014' which depicts 183,000 birds, equal to the estimated number of birds that die in the United States everyday from exposure to agricultural pesticides which is a sad truth in America. Frieke Janssens was a personal favourite because focuses on smoking mostly, which links in closer with my work. One piece that stuck out to me was a piece called Smoking Kids, the piece shows numerous amounts of children of both genders and from all through history visibly smoking, I thought it was really effective in a way that's indescribable.

I'd already begun my primary research by creating an online survey where I asked 20 random men and women between the ages of 16-40 who were both smokers and non-smokers, for each question I gave them a range of answers to choose from. For one of the questions I asked what age they were when they first started smoking, 70% of my answers came out as between 14-17. For my last question I asked, even if they smoked or not, had they known anyone who had passed away from smoking, 53% said they had. These answers pushed me into the direction I needed. I also conducted some interviews as well, my first interview - a 29 year old male, gave off the overall opinion that even though he smokes he would like to see the negatives of smoking presented as it would help him to quit, this brings me back to validity point; what this mans thinks putting negatives on would do for him may not be what other smokers think it would do. This qualitative data helped boost my acknowledgment with the certain negative options I could choose as well as looking at my target audience's answers more carefully. For the interviews I also interviewed a 19 year old female: Non-smoker, her response seemed more helpful than the mans as she actually specified that she would not like to see a women represented as smoking as it makes her look low and very unattractive. She liked the idea of using negative quotes about smoking as she felt it would help smokers realise the harm cigarettes cause to them and those around them.

I have also been gathering multiple pieces of feedback from each piece of work I have created from friends and family as extra research for my project. This all helps because even though its not always valid, due to the audience being out of the age range, it still gives me a little bit of input that I could potentially ask my targeted audience and also re-create the images to what they think would be best, using the images I have already made. Personally, I think my idea is strong enough to move forward, even though I haven't done much research but so far I believe it to be successful towards my target audience.

Looking over my research objectives that I set myself in my research plan, I must admit I haven't met most of them because I decided to base my secondary research on qualitative data, whereas, I mixed my primary data with both. I believe it would've been better to use quantitative data in my secondary research. This is why I went into depth about the three practitioners I found out about as I feel looking at their work has helped towards my final images. I feel as if the questions I asked during my interviews were completely valid as well because I was able to use them and enhance the ideas for my images. The interviews and questionnaire are shown on my Infographic for proof of research. If I were to do anymore research for this assignment, I'd most likely look into I-D Magazine further by possibly purchasing the magazine and reading it more closely to view a wider range of materials they  have created over the years

 

 

 

Infographic

Link for my Infographic on Prezi:

http://prezi.com/zu1fgydc8ahy/infographic/#

 

These graphs were formed using data recorded from a survey I circulated to Smokers I know, which was then forwarded to smokers they know.

The survey can be accessed here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/7Y2YFLK

 

 

 

 

 

 

Final Images

 

 

 

'Workbook' Images

 

 

 

 

Mood Board

 

Analysing Photography

 

The advertisement above is for a professional photographer by the name of Chris Gloag and his company, Chris Gloag Photography. The first thing that catches the eye of the viewer are the numerous photos he has on his advert. They're all different styles too, all people but of different ways to portray them. It gives the idea that he doesn't work for any specific type of persons, and therefore anyone can hire his use.

The different backgrounds in each photo also gives the impression that he will work to your specifications, you tell him what you want and he will do exactly that. The clear texts means its easy for someone to get in touch with him and get more information.
Overall, the poster captures your interest, making you wonder what he is capable of doing and makes you want to visit his website and find out more.

 

Advertising photography 

 

Cancer Research UK

 



This is for the charity Cancer Research UK. It plays on emotions of those who know of the illness or have/had experience of it in some way and who would therefore understand how absolutely terrifying having cancer really is. The aim of this advert is to show how well research is doing to prevent all these life threatening illnesses. This advert gives a positive view on researchers saying that 'one day research will beat cancer, Help us make it sooner' Telling you that even though illnesses can be scary, they can still be overcome with plenty of research, this gives you the confidence that by donating to these people, you will make a difference, and that difference will be all the sooner because of your help.

 

 

Guinness

 



This advert is for the alcoholic beverage, Guinness. The advert is aimed at the male gender as it specifies the 'two things men can't resist.' At first when reading the big red writing and seeing a pint of Guinness with an attractive women sat on top of it, it gives you the idea that these two factors are what will be mentioned next, but in fact the two things a man can't resist is 'a pint and another pint.' From a women's point of view this ad could be disagreed with as most men subject women as one of their desires that they can't resist. Also with the women sat in a sort of provocative pose you'd expect that to be the first answer.

 

 

Colgate Floss

 

This advert is for Colgate Floss, this is a very clever advertisement as it shows that most people only focus on another persons facial features. All the couples in the photos have something in their teeth, this is usually the first thing the audience notices instead of the other factors. The man in the top photo only has one ear, the second photos shows the women with an extra arm (the one round the mans shoulders) and the bottom photo shows the women with extra fingers on one hand. Not many people realise this because we subject the face as the main place to focus on, especially someone's flaws - being the food in the teeth.

 

 

 

 





 

 

The Hornet SC/360

 

 

For an advert, this one is very 'text-heavy,' with a lot of information included from the middle to the bottom of the spread. Although the large image of the car seems to catch the eye of the reader, The text, however, is very straight-forward and very well structured, having the most important information in bold to make it stand out.

The Samsung Galaxy S 2

 

 

 

This advertisement is for the Samsung Galaxy S II, for years now Samsung and Apple have had a long running war against each other and this ad is just another spark to the flame. The ad is clever and humorous against Apple, saying 'The same as iPhone but cheaper!' This ad is not only used to go against Apple but to also attract customers by taking their attention away from Apple products like the iPhone.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cigarette ad

 

 

This ad is aimed at smokers, I chose this one as it links in with the theme of my assignment. This advert is basically about facing the facts that even though smoking kills you, there are other ways of dying so you might as well have a fag as the effects are long-running. This ad doesn't so much show the negatives of smoking as it does the positives, its basically saying how fragile a life can be as there's dangers everywhere and almost anything can kill you instantly if not leave severely damaged.

 

 

 

 

 



 

Adobe Photoshop

 

 

There have been many scandals with how people, especially women are portrayed in the media especially when it comes to photo shopping. This advertisement shows an image of Madonna before and after using 'Photoshop Cream,' the cream isn't real, this ad is going against using Photoshop as a way of getting rid of all skin imperfections to make women - and men, look young and glamorous. The ad features a quote that is apparently from Madonna herself saying 'What's the secret of my success? it's Adobe Photoshop Day Cream.' having a celebrity of her class for the ad would turn more heads, making it a successful advert.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Krow & Wicket's Watches

 

 

 

This ad is for the sale of watches and how a watch will be a 'lifeline provider.' The ad includes a large image of two people, possibly Krow and Wicket, it also includes small texts around the ad telling the readers about the watch, trying to engulf them in. They use phrases like 'live your life to the fullest' and 'punctuality guaranteed' this makes the reader believe that by buying this watch their lives will become instantly better as they'll always be on time and happy. Another good selling technique, especially for women is the fact that they've said 'Complete with diamond studding' and as the stereotype goes, 'diamonds are a girls best friend' this would attract a large female audience looking to buy the product.

 

 



 

Tough Mudder

 

 

This advert is for an obstacle course built by the marines known as Tough Mudder. The text on the ad is absolutely perfect for the subject as tough mudder isn't for the faint hearted, it takes guts to complete it. 'There are seven days of the week. Someday is not one of them' is great motivation for the readers, as a participant in the 2014 midlands tough mudder I know that this would push its audience to train and complete the course. The image behind the text shows two men helping another man get up the obstacle known as Everest - a quarter pipe climb. The object of the course is team work and the image definitely shows this.

 

 

 

 



Cigarette advert

Here's another cigarette ad that would link to the theme of my assignment, this ad shows a man and women staring at each other with the man blowing smoke into the women's face, yet she doesn't look disgusted at his actions. The ad reads 'Blow in her face and she'll follow you anywhere.' this advertisement isn't trying to be against women and show that men dominate them but the fact that the smoke is supposed to smell a certain way for example; cherries. This ad is showing the positives of smoking with the women looking happy that the mans blowing a fruit smelling smoke in her face but it would still harm her as a passive smoker.

Research Plan

The purpose of my research is to explore the reasons why people decide to start smoking and how some manage to quit. Ultimately, I want to find out why it is such a big deal for some to smoke and how even though they know the bad effects smoking has on their body and the people around them and by knowing this, how do they carry on their bad habit.

 I know for a fact that people smoke for many reasons. You could argue that it is not the smokers fault as the habit is very addictive because of the chemical in the cigarette called nicotine. Also clever marketing tactics of tobacco companies has also influenced smokers for many years. Providing those I ask are willing to disclose such information, I also aim to find out the cost some of my participants pay for their cigarettes and how this affects their lifestyle money wise.

For this, I shall devise an online survey, the survey will be distributed on both Facebook and Twitter to get as many answers as possible and it will have both open and closed questions so i can get the answers i am after. For example, questions about cost or the reason that a smoker smokes will be a text-box response, allowing them to have the freedom to give whatever answer they want to respond with. Questions with multiple choice answers would be, for example, asking how old they were when they started smoking or how many cigarettes they consume in a day.

For my photography, I shall be using a Nikon D3100 with an 18-55mm lens. Plan on capturing the negative sides of smoking for example, having a cigarette pack laid beneath a flower bed but have the flowers withered and dying to show the effect smoking has on both the human body and the environment. I also plan on using used and new cigarettes to spell out words or phrases or even small pictures to get across how bad smoking is.

 

Pitch

For my assignment- Consumer Identities, I have chosen to do my project about smoking and the harm it brings to both the smoker and to people around them. Cigarette smoking is the greatest single cause of illness and premature death in the UK, about 100,000 people in the UK die each year due to smoking. My aim of this assignment is to keep people aware of the dangers of smoking as well as the dangers it causes to those they're around.

For the photography side of the assignment I plan on getting photos that show the negatives of smoking, for example; a cigarette packet beneath a bed of flowers but the flowers are withered because the effects of smoking. I feel that there are a lot of good opportunities within this assignment as a lot of people nowadays smoke so both my research and my final edit will be full of content.

I have been deciding whether to do my research on just smokers or just passive smokers, I know both will have different answers to my questions so I was thinking whether to do research on both factors, therefore getting more information and facts for my assignment, therefore making it more realistic.

Stopping smoking can make a big difference to a person's health, I want to show people the effects smoking causes but I would also like to get across to them that it isn't impossible to quit smoking and that there is always help at hand.

Promotional Video

Evaluation

After completing my promotional video for Inspirations 2014 at Barking and Dagenham College, I am very pleased with the work my crew and I created. The purpose of the video was to connect with younger generations by enlightening them on their future prospects and how what they do can define the best jobs for their future plans, Inspirations aims is to do exactly that and they have done well doing so. After getting the brief from the client I didn't do much research into the event itself which would have been a much better choice, instead we just turned up on the day and took what was given to us.

the video we made was part of a competition at the college for our client, we ha the whole day to capture all our footage which consisted of getting ourselves plus the equipment around a very busy college. We managed to get a few interviews from the students as well as the lecturers and our own client. We even managed to get into a board room that was in preparation for student's presentations to the Metro bank. The target audience for the promotional video was aimed at college students so from the ages of 16-19, as I am a student I found it a little easier to make the video as I had an idea of what people my age would want to see in the video. Also I knew how to work with a client as I did my final major project with Resound Training last year.

Along with analysing different promotional videos to specify the correct codes and conventions I had to be aware of, I also had to create three radio adverts for my client as well. I struggled a little coming up with ideas but I did some research into other college based events broadcast on the radio and followed their style of script and production. I used Adobe Audition to edit my radio ads with the sound effects and music I chose for them. I've been using this software for three years now when I had to make my first little side project and I think I advance in it every time I use it as its one of my top favourite software's to use. I was able to normalise, and then prolong the sound adding slight effects and background music to create each advert.

Before I created these, I had to do some research into the production and background of how radio adverts would usually be made then how they're distributed to different stations as well as the best time of day my adverts would be best aired for my target audience. I was unaware of the multiple regulations and learnt about the 'Advertising Standards Agency' but after writing a short essay, I had gained more knowledge of the ASA. As well as this, I analysed two different radio adverts so I had a better idea of how to construct my three radio ads.

My main idea for the promotional video was to be based around Inspirations and the students view on it, we had a lot of options in industries that we could film, we wanted to get footage of interviews from each sector but as we only had a short amount of time to do so we had to choose our options wisely. We decided to choose the classes where we had more opportunities to get decent footage. We also recorded the audio for the radio ads while filming, making it easier to complete the assignment.

The film begins with a fade in of the headmistress at Barking and Dagenham College, the sound was recorded using a boom mic. but for some reason the audio from the footage sounded decent while editing and when he finally finished it but once it was put on YouTube the sound messed up making it difficult to hear when on an appropriate volume. Once the headmistress stops talking the music starts playing and it cuts to different shots around the college of students at work. My favourite shot from the film would have to be the outdoors shot of the college sign with the college clearly in the background; the only let down are the grey clouds above it. The soundtrack used during the video is overlapped throughout it apart from interviewees and speeches to bring in a faster paced, happier tune, directly correlating to the positive aspect of the event.

Next it cuts to a member of staff from the college who is in charge of setting up the Inspirations event for the students; this piece of footage is a medium shot of the speaker as he addresses the audience. The shot then cuts to more footage of students in their industry doing practical work. Apart from the interviews and speeches, the rest of the film is dubbed with music over the top to give it a more professional feel to it. The footage shot in the practical areas were a little shaky as they were shot without a tripod and instead shot with a shoulder mount so we could get stuck into the class ad get the perfect shots for the video.

My next shot is of our first interviewee; this piece of footage is a medium shot of the girl we interviewed. I like what we shot but the background doesn't look very appealing , I think it would have looked a lot better if we had shot it with students work in the background such as our next interview where we can clearly see students working in the background. I just think it adds a more positive attitude towards the film, although we got the privileged to interview a boy who was deaf but was still able to do the course he loved with thanks to Inspirations, I think this was a very nice touch to the film as t shows that anyone can do what they dream of doing even if they have a disability that fights against them to stop them doing so.

Within this project, I believe my research skills and my knowledge of Adobe Audition was my most achievable moments because you can see quite a bit of improvement from my previous projects. As well as this, I now definitely feel that I want to carry on with Adobe Audition and learn everything there is to it. I would say my filming skills lacked with this project, but on the positive side, the footage with my two interviewees went very well apart from audio and the fact that we were only given a few hours to shoot our footage was a very big challenge but we managed to do it and we even won the competition which I used for my testing the material. This is where our planning element was crucial - getting all the footage - because it shows how we could depict a plan spontaneously and use trial and error until the footage looked good enough together.

In my next project, I will be using more skills that I've learnt on Adobe Audition as well as creating an atmospheric element with music for my audience. As well as this, if I need to use any voiceovers I will be using actual sound equipment to ensure that the quality is perfect.

 

 Final Video

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Testing The Material

 

Our video was part of a competition that took place on the day of the Inspirations 2014 event on the 3rd March, groups of media students from different colleges had to film the event then edit the footage together to make a promotional video for the client. 

 

My group and I were successful enough to win the competition, technically testing the material with the client and clearly they liked it.

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Health and Safety

 

 

So regarding health and safety and ethical issues as well as following the codes of the Advertising Standards. The promotional video was filmed at the very busy Barking and Dagenham College and I had to be very wary of many hazards such as tripping hazards that could be caused by cables trailing along the floor as well as being careful of all the students and lecturers round the college as we had a lot of heavy and expensive equipment. We also had to be careful of sound, as we were recording atmospheric sounds as well as speech using a shotgun mic. so those in charge had to make sure the sounds were decent enough to use but they also had to be careful about loud noises affecting their ears. As we were filming at a college we had to make sure the people who we would be filming were okay with us doing so, taking their feelings into consideration as well as respecting them.

 

Another place we filmed was outside the college, the main hazard here would be the fact that there's a very busy main road by it so we had to make sure both us and the students and lecturers were safe before, during and after filming. As it's a busy road with students walking into the college we also had to be careful of tripping hazards again but this time it was more of a risk, also we had to take extra care of the equipment being out in public.

 

Overall the main concept was to make the people around us plus students and lecturers we were filming also helping out the client throughout was fulfilling as everything they wanted in their film was there, even themselves. Everything we filmed was truth and fact for the Advertising Standards Agency because you cannot lie during a promotional video. 

 

 

 

 

 

Radio Commercial Industry 

 

Commercial radio is radio that generates revenue by selling air time to companies; these are filled with commercial advertisements. The money from the advertisements creates money to run the radio station and also creates profit. A commercial radio stations aims are about getting the highest number of listeners possible, they mainly play mainstream music that is popular as this is what attracts the highest possible amount of listeners. The BBC is a public service broadcaster and this means that they care more for the needs of different audiences rather than the high amounts of viewers. Yet in the UK the only commercial station nationwide is Classic fm, they are owned by Sky. Even though that is the only nationwide station it is not the most listened to, as Capital radio which is in London gets the most listeners a week.

 

Commercial radio nationwide employs 10,000 people - just under the 11,000 people employed by the BBC nationwide (48%) of all employment in the British radio industry. Advertising opens up a greater chance for our economy to be enhanced as well as granting people with the advantage of getting more jobs. The majority of the entire radio workforce is based in London (38%) of all radio jobs are located here, including 59% of all BBC radio jobs. Media studies is important to work in production as just over two-thirds (69%) of nationwide workers are graduates, whilst 18% didn't secure a qualification. According to Skillset, future employees to the radio sector will need 'multi skilled talent to deliver flexibility and adaptability'. As well as technical and creative specialists to help 'break new ground'.

 

Radio Producer -

"Radio producers are responsible for the audio content of broadcasts via radio; they are involved in the entire process, from generating ideas to managing the audience response after a program. Producers manage and work with broadcasting assistants, presenters, DJs, engineers and IT staff."

 

Radio Broadcast Assistant -

"Radio broadcast assistants provide vital support in the development and day-to-day production of local and national radio. They give practical assistance to program producers and presenters to ensure that shows run as smoothly as possible."

 

Broadcast Presenter -

"A broadcast presenter is the public face - or voice - of programs broadcast on television, radio and the internet. They work on a variety of platforms including national, regional, satellite and cable television, online or radio, but their role is always to entertain and inform their audiences by presenting information and/or entertainment in an accessible and attractive way".

 

Radio Traffic Manager -

"Radio Traffic Managers in Commercial Radio are responsible for scheduling advertising and promotions in line with the business strategy of a radio station or group of stations, in order to ensure effectiveness and maximise revenue".

 

Radio News Editor -

"The Radio News Editor's role is to oversee and direct the work of a news team supplying news content for one or more different outlets, from single local radio stations to international news services."

 

Sales Executive -

"Radio Sales Executives or Account Managers are responsible for generating the income for Commercial Radio stations for advertising sales and sponsorship. This primarily involves selling the benefits of radio as an advertising medium, to both media agencies and individual clients."

 

Broadcast Journalist -

"The majority of Broadcast Journalists working in radio supply news content, for one or more different outlets, ranges from single local radio stations to international news organisations, and their related websites."

 

Marketing Executive -

"Radio Marketing Executives may be involved in a wide range of activities in order to market the services and products of a radio station, or group of stations, to existing and potential listeners and clients. The aim is to increase brand awareness and loyalty, grow audiences, and attract advertisers."

 

Programme Controller -

"Programme Controllers or Programme Directors are responsible for leading programme teams on Commercial Radio stations - to ensure that they produce programming which meets the creative and commercial needs of each station."

 

Station Manager -

"In Commercial radio, the focus of the Station Manager's role is sale: maximising revenue for the station, and managing its budget and resources. Although Programme Controllers or Directors usually have day-to-day responsibility for programming, their roles and those of Station Managers are interdependent."

 

Commercials Producer -

"Commercials Producers create radio advertising and station promotions for radio stations. The work requires a combination of high level radio production skills with an understanding of the creative potential of radio and audio content, in order to market and sell products and services."

 

Found on (http://creativeskillset.org/creative_industries/radio/job_roles)

 

 

It's clear to see that there is a very large team is needed for radio broadcasting, but in fact it doesn't stop there. Even though the media is growing rapidly and it's beginning to become hard for the radio industry to keep up, I still think radio is the best possible media out there today.

 

There is a small list of the regulations advertisers have to carefully follow and watch for. An advert clearly has to be engaging and interesting for the listener, although another main objective is that the advert has to be: legal, decent, honest and truthful. Radio advertising is very much like film advertising believe it or not, this is because it has to follow the Radio Authority's Code of Advertising Standards & Practise and Programme Sponsorship.

 

Every advert has to follow regulations of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). "When the ASA feels a complaint is justified, it can take action with the broadcaster concerned. The ASA can require the broadcaster to withdraw the advertisement immediately, amend it or suspend it while investigations are carried out. The ASA council's interpretation of the code is final and its adjudications are published weekly on the ASA website, www.asa.org.uk . Complaints, advertisers and broadcasters may request a review of council decisions by the Independent Reviewer of ASA Adjudications."

 

"For serious or repeated breaches of the Code, Ofcom may impose sanctions, ranging from a formal warning to a request for broadcast correction or a statement of findings, a fine or the shortening, suspending or taking away of a license to broadcast."

 

(http://www.cap.org.uk/Advertising-Codes/Broadcast-HTML.aspx)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brief

Purpose:

The aim of this project is to extend your production skills in both video and radio and to develop your experience of producing commercial content for an external client. You will also gain more knowledge of how cross-media advertising campaigns can successfully get a message across more than one level of media.

• After receiving this project I was able to work for my client Inspirations at Barking and Dagenham College, and see that the purpose of this project is to produce a promotional video and three radio adverts to promote their inspirations day at the college.

My aims:

To connect with younger generations by enlightening them on their future prospects and how what they do can define the best jobs for them for their future plans.

• I found my aim after our first initial meeting when inspirations 2014 enlightened us with the information about how many young adults are seeking jobs within their chosen industry and how apprenticeships are the right path to take to achieve their goals.

Key messages:

The target audience for this project is young adults who are both in education and work but mainly those who are seeking access into their chosen industry with the help of inspirations. As well as this, creating a bigger awareness for Barking and Dagenham College who are in control of inspirations and who help their target audience find their right path to take.



 Budget:

The typical animated promotional video costs anywhere from £3k to £10k a minute and the client would be asked to pay up to thousands of pounds depending on the size of the company and the importance of the film. Radio adverts are a lot cheaper to air compared to video advertising. For our project with Barking and Dagenham College, I will not be handling the distribution for either the video or radio adverts, although I would suggest that the radio ad is to be aired on the local radio station Time 107.5 at a reasonable time, although an ad of its kind trying to attract the attention of its target audience - young adults, the ad would have a more successful chance if it was aired during early mornings when the audience are off to college and work and late afternoon when they're on their way home, these however are the most desired time slots making them the most expensive to have.



Overall Summary:

• Create a promotional video lasting five minutes max.
• Create three radio adverts lasting 30 seconds each.
• Target my campaign at an audience of young adults who are seeking experience in their chosen industry.
• Promote Inspirations 2014 and how they plan on helping their audience as well as Barking and Dagenham College who are the founders of Inspirations and are here to help its audience.

 

 Codes and Conventions

As many people know the RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) is a very well-known animal charity who work to improve and maintain the welfare of animals everywhere. The promotional video was made by Afterglow Video Production, their aim is to encourage the audience to donate money to the charity. The purpose of every promotional video is to either create awareness to their audience about the charity and what their aims are, the main subject for the RSPCA is animals as we all know animals connect with a wide audience both male and female, therefore we can tell that this video is aimed at a very wide audience.

The video features a female voiceover with a warm tone who tells of the charity whose purpose is homing many animals. The speech is positive saying 'giving them a safe, clean and loving environment.' One of the main conventions of a promotional video is to use key words that will attract the audience's attention as every word counts, like a radio advertisement for example. First of all the camera captures a positive glow on the dogs as they freely and happily round a field, showing a safe and positive environment for them. The video is very positive towards the charity, giving the audience the right to trust them. Finally we get to meet a member of staff who gives a very positive outlook on the charity and she also gives a warm, caring appreciation towards the well-being of the animals, At the end of the video we are given the number to call for any donations or volunteer work that the audience may be interested in. All these points put together make the codes and conventions for a successful promotional video.

The second promotional video is of Hunt Companies, the video begins with a male voiceover telling the audience about the history of the company and how it was at first a small family company but has now grown. The video features nothing but a voiceover and moving images so it doesn't follow the same concepts as the first promotional video exactly. Even though this video is very stylistic for the client, showing what the company does and how they do it, I don't think it got itself across that well as it was hard to keep up with the fast speaking voiceover, maybe the producers should have included an interview so the audience got to see someone who actually worked for the company to trust in them. The target audience for this video is both male and female but mainly those who are interested in the business.

Both videos have a calming but at the same time enlightening background music, which is a common element within a promotional video. As well as hearing the voiceover, the audience are also pulled in by the music which creates an atmosphere that pleases and calms the viewer. If all the codes and conventions are used properly this can prove a great success for a promotional video.

 

Analyse two radio advertisements

1. Dogs Trust Ireland Radio Advertisement 2013

The radio advertisement is advertising Dogs Trust Ireland, the use of the voiceover being spoken in an Irish accent makes it easily identifiable to the audience as the voiceover is clear and can be easily understood. The advert is direct and straight to the point, within 6 seconds the audience are introduced to what is being advertised to them. The advert begins with the sound of different people calling for their dogs, however this isn't clear at first. The audience's attention is captured by this and then the male voiceover begins to explain the purpose of the advert. The dialogue alone clearly explains the purpose of the advert without packing too much information into a small space of time. This ensures the audience's attention is kept and that they don't become bored, confused or sarcastic. The language used is informal which resembles what it is that is being advertised. The advert uses persuasive language with a direct address to the audience "come to dogs trust". The advert uses exaggerated language in order to impress the audience and as a persuasive technique to advertise dogs trust. This is also achieved through the use of statistics "over 3,000 people have found their best friend at dogs trust". This provides factual information and supports what is being said in the advert. The advertisement is clearly targeted at dog lovers of both genders as the purpose of the advert is to convince people to adopt a canine friend.




2.Tesco Price Drop Radio Advert

The Tesco price drop advert conforms to conventions of radio advertising as the duration of the advertisement is 25 seconds long. The advert is fact filled and to the point and doesn't include any jokes or thrills. It uses dialogue which gets straight to the point and therefore doesn't confuse the audience. There is a voiceover read over the advert which is read in a strong, clear voice that is spoken in an English accent, which is conventional of radio advertising. This ensures and allows a clear and concise recording that can be easily understood. The advert uses informal language which is a conventional style. In my opinion I believe too much information has been packed into the advert causing the message to get lost within the amount of dialogue. Although the speed of the dialogue is an advertising technique used in effect to the audience to demonstrate the Tesco price drop, I feel like the meaning behind the dialogue becomes lost because of the speed and I felt when I was listening to the advert that I lost concentration due to the information being too overwhelming. The advert doesn't include any music or sound effects, it just includes dialogue. This is effective in this advertisement as the audience's attention isn't distracted by anything other than what is being advertised to them.

 

 Pitch

http://prezi.com/079u9wgg4rl_/inspiration-2014/