M3 - Justification

Justification

Our Promo

I will be discussing the creation of our audio visual promo. Our promotion is a short 59 minute video advertising products and brands that link back to HMV, a pop-culture and music store. Commonly, promo's for products last no longer than a minute and we originally planned to have our promo be around 30 seconds long. However, with how much content we have and our choices in editing, the promo ended up being longer, which took to our advantage as we were able to include the fast paced style and music we wanted. Using the hardware and software provided from the school and our own inventory, we brought the advert to life by working together. Here is a step-by-step justification on why we chose to do what we did for each scene of the advert.

Beginning

The promo begins with this frame as an introduction. It immediately informs the audience that this is a promo for HMV by HMV (although it isn't legitimately made by them). The font used is called vinylcuts, which is a clear reference to how the font represents the retro style of vinyl. We chose it as it was the closest font to the HMV one while also keeping that cool, stylistic feel that we want to show. It also makes sense as the text is edited to be into a vinyl player itself which is another indicator that this is a HMV advert. The vinyl is a common image shown throughout all of HMV's branding so including it in this advert is crucial. Not including at least the imagery of music or a vinyl player in a HMV advert is like having no shoes in a shoe advert. I wanted to fit the text into the circle of the vinyl because it would make it feel like the text is part of the player or jumping out from the player, which makes it subtly attentive. We did this again at the end of the advert.

The birds-eye angle chosen for this shot is purposely done to create clear shapes that draw the audiences eyes to the center of the screen and the text. The area around the text is dark and wooden, which contrasts the vivid pink text in front and the colorfulness yet to come.

A glitch effect transitions the vinyl video into the graphic above graphic of a guitar-pick with text over it. These colours are a lot more softer than the strong ones used in the last shot, which catches the viewers eye again from the juxtaposition. The yellow text stands out against the teal and pink imagery behind so the reader can clearly read it (the backdrop shadow enthesis's it even more). The teal guitar-pick is a simple but effective shape and correlates with the "top picks" text as a play on words. The animal print background adds a bit of coolness to the already stylized graphic. 

Another glitch and static effect translates into this shot off all the logos in one. These logos are for the brands that are affiliated with HMV and most of them will be shown throughout the advert. The simple green background highlights each recognizable logo that can be noticed by the viewers in a glance. One more glitch and static effect transitions into the next segment, which keeps the pace fast while having a cool, electronic way of moving from one shot to the next.

Hasbro

The Hasbro part of the advertisement consists of two flashing graphics of different Hasbro toys and action figures that can be bought at HMV. They're done in a grid pattern with the logo intertwined with the products, showing their relation. The HMV magenta colour is in the background of this graphic, blending the Hasbro and HMV brands together. These graphics flash on screen in a similar way neon lights flash on and off. It makes the shot feel cooler and almost hypnotizing with how the logos and toys switch positions. It is also done to create a pattern like feel, which will be shown throughout the promo.

The scene starts to distort and alter as it goes on, with the colour gradient changing and the images warping and blurring. This is done to make the scene look more frantic and glitchy, and to show something both new and the same at the same time. These effects were done using the effects board while editing which meant I could play around with the imagery and make it look less boring. This keeps in line with the storyboard while having some extra creativity and interest.

Nintendo

The Nintendo segment has the camera at a first-person perspective of someone holding the Nintendo switch and using its features. The person (Jodie) scrolls through multiple games with the thumbstick before clicking on a random one. The camera (me) then look up at the table of games, fading into a mid shot of a bag full of games and the switch on the table. We framed it this way so the viewer feels like they're using the Switch themselves, which also makes them feel like they're part of the brand. Speaking of brands, the HMV logo is shown again on the flannel bag full of games, yet again intertwining the synergy between Nintendo and HMV. If I could make any changes to this scene, it would be altering the lighting to be more brighter and balanced, as the scene looks more darker in post than I expected and could help enthesis the focus on the games and product more.

Kenji

The Kenji segment also includes photographic imagery, but is done to create a stop motion animation with the Kenji products. Using many pictures of the characters, we mad the tiny figures circle and spin around the Kenji logo, with two large plushies in the background. We made this into a stop motion animation because we thought it would be a cute and creative way of showing off the product, as well as helps brings the inanimate objects to life. We made the lighting extra bright in this scene so the pastel colours of the characters pop out more. In order for the stop motion to be effective, we had the camera in only one position, at a close-up mid shot of the whole table. This allowed us to see both the moving characters and the background characters too, which makes the scene look fuller and more lively. To be extra sure that the viewer knows what brand (most) these characters come from, we included the logo underneath them, as they circle around it, mesmerized by the Kenji logo, like its more than a product and almost cultish.

EarPods

The EarPods segment of the promo is the most altered part of the promo from the storyboard. It originally wasn't even meant to be in the promo, only filmed for fun by myself and a few friends. But when we needed to make the video long enough to time with the music we included it in post. Another reason we chose to include this clip is because it is similarly a stop-motion animation, like the Kenji segment, meaning it being edited directly after that part helps the advert flow well. The EarPods spin around, similar to the Kenji toys, which gives them more life and makes the audience smile in glee. This is done in a birds-eye shot which fully shows the EarPods in a simple and central way. Full emphasis is on the EarPods as their black colour contrasts the light blue background, with the side lighting giving it more shadow.

Sony

The Sony segment uses a screen recording of the website to show the many products it has. This has been done for multiple purposes. For one, it saves time and money on buying the real products, which are often expensive, while showing the full extent of what the products can do straight from the source. It scans through the many features of the website and everything Sony holds. Because this is formatted in a portrait mobile formatting, the shot is able to fit three of the same recording shown at the same time. I chose to do this because this is how the next segment in the promo is formatted, which makes each shot flow well with the next. However, because of how easy this segment was to record, it is also the most boring part of the promo, as it doesn't have any special aspect aside the sudden bursts of speed that helps pace the showing of the website. If I could change any part of the promo and had more time and recourses, I would probably change the whole presentation of this Sony segment. Yet again, showing the website in full may also encourage viewers to check out the store themselves, or link back to HMV and look at the Sony things they offer there.

Disney

The Disney segment comes after the Sony segment and uses a mix of videos and images to show off the Disney clothing and merchandise that can be bought in HMV. It includes actors: me (the toothy girl in the Simba hoodie) and Jodie (the queen in the Stitch hoodie). We are shown having fun and playing around in the hoodies, which makes the audience want to also have the hoodies so they can experience the same happiness. The first shot is formatted in a vertical phone recording way that makes it look like a Tik-Tok or other short form content formatting, which is popular for this current generation of youths. Pictures of the hoodies are in the background of these videos to make it look cooler. It then shows a series of images with the two models posing in the hoodies and appearing on the screen in a rhythmic way. A strange bulge transition shows the last image of me and Jodie stood side-by-side, which both compares how the hoodies look together and how the hoodies can help form bonds with close friends who like the same brands. This ultimately links back to HMV in how it keeps a fun, energetic mood and makes pop culture products look desirable.

Squishmallow

The last segment in the whole promo is the Squishmallow scene, which includes a combination of images and video to show the Squishmallow plushies in their full. These were provided by Jodie, recorded in her home, with her phone and her own plushies. I was able to edit all of these images together, timed with the music and combining the videos together. This scene includes rhythmic sequences of images being show in a pattern, a motion picture of the number of Squishmallows progressively increasing and a final video of three Squishmallows being thrown at a wall, all of which are an individual video recorded on a phone but also in sync. Although no logos are shown in these shots, similar to Disney, Squishmallows are popular and mainstream enough to only show the plushies themselves as the imagery. The indoor home setting for this shoot was unintentionally chosen because it creates a toned down feel that relates to the audience of casual youths. They can picture themselves with this product at home thanks to the setting chosen. We made sure to have the Squishmallows always in the center of the shot, so the viewers' eyes are always drawn to the stuffed animals. Their bright varying colours also contrast the beige plainness of the room, which in itself tells a narrative of standing out from the norm in your own colourful way. The final part of the Squishmallows thrown at the wall has a white fade effect that transitions into the ending shot, showing that this is the final part of the advertisement.

End

The final shot of the promo that shows the logo once more. It has the same font and coloured text as the one shown at the start of the promo and includes slang text that flows into the logo well, creating a sentence out of the imagery. "What U Need" is the main slogan of the whole promo, referencing the song that had been playing throughout the advertisement which is also called "What U Need" from the Sonic Rush soundtrack. It's a final message to say that everything you've seen in this advert can be found in HMV and the blunt wording indicates its "What you need".

Feedback

The feedback given has been greatly appreciated from test-viewers and has helped us understand the positives and negatives of the promo and how we could improve if we were to recreate the promo. The mostly positive comments have been reassuring for the work we put in, with us using many different styles for our promo and the energy we've tried to give it. The negative comments are seen as positives as much as the positive comments as they can be used for change and advancement another time we make something similar to an audio visual promo. All of this information was gathered using Microsoft Form as well as a custom questioner sent to both friends and random individuals.

Strengths

Our strengths are that the advertisement was fun, stylistic and overly well made. We wanted the energy to be quick and flashy, which, according to our viewers, we've seemed to accomplish. This is great as most of the viewers we've had are our target demographic; young people of different cultures and backgrounds but ultimately enjoy HMV. People have also said that they watched in enjoyment of the products being shown, which they recognize and like. The editing, effects and transitions are another thing that people have enjoyed about our promo, such as it flowing with the beat of the background song and including a variety of styles. These styles also include the use of colour and music, which has been described as lively and bold, but not too overwhelming.

Weaknesses

Despite our viewers overwhelming praise, there are a few issues present in our promo. To begin with, The YouTube upload of the HMV promo is extremely low quality and hard to see, which can greatly hinder a viewing experience. Other editing qualities such as the white balancing, colour grading and timing could of been improved upon also, which is available with software such as Adobe After Effects. With personal statements, some believe that the advert was too chaotic and hard to properly follow and enjoy, which could be changed by making a better narrative structure or clearer transitions from one scene to the next. Speaking of transitions, other piece of feedback believes we could try experimenting with different types of transitions and effects such as a swipe or fade transition, or masking effect and overlay.

Analysis

If we were to do this again and remake our HMV promo, we could improve with many different things, such as working on color, the quality, graphics and editing, while also sticking to what we're good at, such as style, energy and spreading a positive message.