The meeting with Claire really gave me a lot to think about with regards of making myself as employable as possible, and as Claire said; sometimes agencies are only looking for one person to fill the job rather than two, with the way the economy is at the moment. So, it'd be a good idea for myself and Danielle to have our joint portfolio of work with our 'imaginary farm' branding but separately branded C.V's to keep our individuality.
With regards to designing a creative C.V - where do I start? I've started looking on the internet and in books for examples and inspiration, which has made me think that something really quite unusual would stand out and be remembered, however, the more unusual design the more difficult it would be to fit all of the information in. It also needs to reflect me and my personality whilst staying professional.
As you can see from the content of our video, due to the nature of our idea (no pun intended), we couldn’t exactly plan what was going to happen during the shoot, we just had to go along with whatever occurred. Quite understandably, I was terrified at first when approaching this big group of giant cows – but as we began filming it was quite apparent that they were a lot more scared of me than I was of them, so I began to relax (well, maybe just a little bit)
I really wanted to get a shot of the ball rolling through a cows legs, however this was impossible because the cows kept moving every time the ball rolled near them. This wasn't exactly good, seen as we wanted it to look like they were taking part in the game but never mind! We managed to do a lot during post production, to make it look like they were playing.
Overall i was really happy with the outcome of our video. I have to say, the country music was a brilliant touch - it just adds so much more humour. I think our video would be a successful viral because it’s so unexpected. For starters, you don’t expect to see someone dressed as a cow, playing football with a load of cattle and the fact that it’s me – a girl – makes it even more unexpected. People would probably expect it to be a lad kicking the ball about and making an absolute idiot of themselves, so I think the fact that it was created by a couple of girls makes it quite surprising.
Secondly, you have to admit it is pretty funny to watch. The look of ‘disappointment’ on that cow’s face when I score my ‘goal’ is priceless, and the voiceover - well if cows could talk, i think that's exactly what they'd sound like! Ha ha!
Although i was pleased to get the video finished and submitted, i just cant get enough of it... so here's another little imovie i made showing some unseen footage from our shoot:
Doing this has allowed me to further practice my digital skills, particularly my video editing skills. The music i have use is a slightly different take on the music we created for the viral itself - i created the melody on a harmonica and replaced the guitar with a banjo to make it even more country and to add more comedy value. This was the first time i have ever used GarageBand - and oh what fun it is! I think i've found myself a new hobby.
While I was in Edinburgh on Wednesday there was a photography exhibition; "Spirit of the Wild is in St Andrews Square, Edinburgh. The exhibition runs until 16th May as part of the International Year of Biodiversity and Edinburgh Science Festival." I've never really been stopped by photography, but the images were all so different and so captivating that I found myself walking around and looking at them all.
The link below details the exhibition and shows the images.
I think that the most captivating thing about his photography is his ability to capture the wild animals in their natural environment looking so at home and relaxed, doing anything that comes natural. It's hard to choose a favourite as there are so many amazing photographs that are full of life and energy.
I particularly love the image above because it just seems so impossible to get that close to a wild animal and for them too feel completely comfortable to go about their normal activities.
It's getting very close to the end of the course and I'm starting to feel the pressure!! There's so much to do in so little time!! Final show, 2 modules, and so much more!
I found the meeting with Claire today very helpful in understanding exactly what is needed to pass the course and more importantly get employed!
Few points:
It's good to be an all rounder person and be capable of doing everything that is asked.
Possible attend summer school to brush up on Mac skills.
Set a website up, as this would make it easier to contact agencies and make my book easier to get around.
Design myself a creative c.v, as a well designed one will be remembered and act as a first step of getting my foot in the door.
Always ask questions.
Network and make contacts to keep.
All of these points will make me a better student and therefore employee.
Well.....here's our iMovie for the AMV Pepsi brief! Not what we had originally intended on creating but hey....when Danielle mentions she has a cow suit and would like to wear it again for entertainment purposes how could I say no? I must admit - I did find watching her run around in a field full of randy cows with a football pretty funny.
I personally feel the production of this iMovie compared to the one we made last year is of a much higher standard and felt as though we have put a lot more effort into making the finished product an effective piece of film, whilst including; transitions, sound effects, background music and clip stills to add tension and shift focus.
It did take us quite a while to decide on the final order of the film and to agree on the edits and arrangements, if we had any longer to finish the film I can imagine we would have spent a lot longer tooing and froing between clips. However, I feel as though working on the film over a couple of days allowed us to look at with fresh eyes from day to day, which is always a good thing as it really pays off to take your mind off it and look at it again with a clean mind. I really think this helped as we were able to make decisions a bit faster and were less fussy, which I think is one of our down points, we like everything to be just perfect that we fuss and fuss over the tiniest points - where in many cases we have to agree to disagree to meet deadlines.
I feel as though I have learnt a lot while learning how to use iMovie and feel more confident with the software and it's functions. I think it would be really useful and wise if I started learning how to use other creative programs to their full potential, especially Dreamweaver and Wordpress as this would come in handy when I need to create my own website to display work. All of these added skills will increase my appeal to future agencies.
Less than two weeks now to our final college deadline, and the days are flying by! There's just so much to do - live briefs, writing a report, PPD work, looking for placements, not to mention organizing our final show. So much to do, so little time! On a positive note, the digital skills module is done and dusted! I have to say, i am quite impressed with the enormous mountain of work i produced... and then there is our imovie (i think the word 'legendary' pretty much sums that up) ha ha!
This is a classic ad for Levi's jeans, created by BBH and directed by the fabulous Jonathan Glazer (who is responsible for another of my favourite ads - the Guinness 'Surfer' spot).
The 60-second spot grasps the viewers’ attention immediately and manages to hold it intently throughout, due to its combination of powerful imagery, intriguing plot and emotive music.
Whilst the ‘Odyssey’ spot is both visually and spiritually stirring, some people could argue that the decision to use a score of classical music for an ad that is supposed to capture the imagination of a young generation of new buyers makes no sense. Mood music for young people is typically pop and rock. Pretty much everything and anything comes before classical. Therefore using a classical piece (which originated over 250 years ago) in order to sell fashion and lifestyle to under-twenties breaks all rules and conventions. However, the music perfectly fits the pace of the drama and succeeds in building tension throughout. The music is unexpected, pioneering even, and it is the use of classical that takes this ad and transforms it into a piece of theatre.
The ad may be seen as slightly pretentious and over the top, but I feel it has a strong narrative and authentic performances. The CGI is totally believable and the great imagery of running and jumping successfully epitomises freedom. I think this ad represented a new level of excellence in television commercial effects work.
Music in advertising is often employed as a device to help an ad capture a feeling or set a mood. The choice of music can make or break a TV ad. Different music can change the mood of an ad entirely and the right track can take a commercial to a totally different level.
Below are a few examples of recent TV ads that I think use music extremely well:
For it’s 2009 Christmas ad, John Lewis chose to use a Folk cover version of the Guns n Roses classic ‘Sweet Child Of Mine’. This is one of my (many) favorite rock songs so for many reasons I should typically hate this version of the song. However, within the context of the ad I think it is great.
The softer, subtler version helps create a festive atmosphere and it manages to capture the innocent excitement of childhood in a very poignant way. The ad successfully evokes childhood and reminds people of the magic of Christmas, without the use of an obvious seasonal track.
The music in this ad feels very natural and it works well with the idea, the tone and the brand. I think it is the perfect use of music that has taken this ad to a different level.
This ‘Lyrics’ ad for Budweiser is bright and uplifting. The Hours’ cover of The Beatles’ All Together Now is the perfect song to get you singing along and tapping your feet. It is joyous and fun – reflecting some of Budweiser’s core brand values. The band chose to record the track as organically as possible to keep the tone in line with the film. It was recorded in their hotel room using basic, unsophisticated equipment and apparently some of the percussion was even made in obscure ways like banging a fire extinguisher against a metal heater (how inventive!)
The ad was shot from within a moving train, which had to travel at precise speeds that mimicked the pace of the song. As the train trundles along, scenes appear outside the windows that match perfectly the song lyrics. Each ‘lyric’ (30 in all) coincided precisely with the train’s schedule and the visuals are all beautifully choreographed to fit.
Music is usually selected after an ad has been shot, however for this ad the track obviously needed to be chosen before filming. Surprisingly, the song wasn’t part of the original script. It was found later during pre-production. The script simply specified “a song that everyone likes and wants to sing along to.” However, this particular song fits so perfectly, you would think that it was part of the initial ad concept.
Last week we jetted off to the one and only New York City - and it was absolutely amazing!!! Well, apart from the torrential rain we were greeted with on our first day. I must admit, it wasn't much fun trying to make our way around Times Square through a mass of speeding umbrellas! Not to mention the cold, soggy mess that became of my feet! (For future reference - suede boots and big wet puddles really don't go together well). Despite that, I had a fabulous time.
3 days really wasn't long enough to explore such a vast city, but we did our damn best! Unfortunately, the rain slowed us right down on Tuesday - but we did manage to get a fair bit of shopping done and after a quick change out of our drenched clothes and shoes, we went to see a show on Broadway. Much to our disappointment, The Lion King was sold out! So instead, we went to see a show called Memphis. I have to say, being a bit of a musical fanatic, I was quite surprised that I had never heard of this show before. It was definitely worth a watch though (even though I didn't know the songs to sing along to).
The weather on Wednesday was a hell of a lot drier, so we went about seeing some sights. We got the Subway into Brooklyn and then walked back to Manhattan over the Brooklyn bridge. We then ventured through the financial district over to Ground Zero and visited St. Paul's Chapel, which was quite an emotional experience. I still cant believe that that little Chapel remained untouched amongst all the chaos and destruction that occurred. I mean, not even a broken window - it truly is remarkable. Perhaps even a miracle?
As well as shopping and sight seeing, we also visited 2 New York advertising agencies during our trip - McCann Erikson and DDB. Both are really great agencies, and it was useful to see first hand how the ad industry works over there. A lot of the things we were told were similar to what we've heard on visits to London agencies, however there also seemed to be some substantial differences to how the industry functions in New York. The main thing that stuck out to me was the importance of a creatives' CV (or resume, as they like to call it). We were told a few times that it is imperative in the recruitment process for a prospective creative to have a good CV and relevant qualifications. In this country, this isn't really the case. Getting into a career as an advertising creative is all about portfolio and personality - or at least that's what we've been told (repeatedly!) But i guess it's useful to know that if i ever decide to pursue an advertising career in New York - i'll also need a cracking resume!
