My commercial used many of the common elements within cereal commercials. Bright or warm lighting, for example, was included within the project as well as fantastical elements. In one scene, the cereal bowl within the commercial would move across the table by itself. By including this scene, I was able to include fantasy within my commercial. I also included a child, my brother, as the actor. By doing so, the commercial has a specific target, which is children, as many children often eat cereal. The sound playing in the background of my commercial was bright and cheery as well. The song that I found, played by the US Marine Band, fit well as it is not dark or dreary, and instead is bright, and fits in with similar songs played within commercials. The lighting and setting also fit with the conventions placed, as the lighting is bright and the setting is placed within the kitchen and dining room. In addition, the props used were a cereal bowl, the cereal being advertised, and a spoon, which is shown in many cereal commercials as well. The cereal commercial challenges conventions by using stop motion. Not many commercials use stop motion, and by including that scene, I was able to incorporate the fantastical element in a unique way. The commercial represents social groups by including children. With my brother as the actor, children were represented, allowing for them to see themselves within the commercial.
2. How does your product engage with audiences AND how would it be distributed as a real media text?
My product engages with audiences with the use of stop motion. By adding in elements that are not realistic, viewers are kept wondering what will happen next. If the situation were more realistic, the commercial would not be as interesting, as there would not have been that element of surprise when the cereal bowl moved by itself. This applies to young viewers in particular, because they, on average, have a short attention span and the fantastical elements allow the children to pay more attention to the commercial. This commercial would be distributed as a real media text on children's TV channels, such as PBS kids, from 7:00 in the morning until 10:00 in the morning. Children are normally awake between these hours and have not eaten breakfast yet. By airing the commercial within these hours, the children, who are craving a source of food, will want to buy this product more than if the commercial aired in the afternoon.
3. How did your production skills develop throughout this project?
Throughout this project, my production skills have improved with the editing software I used and with the production of stop motion. Before this project, I had a minimal amount of knowledge on how to adjust volume and apply visual effects. After clicking on several of the buttons and exploring the software, I now have expanded this knowledge and am able to perform each of these tasks without much confusion. In addition, I had not known that the software could apply the fade effect to the video, and now that I have this knowledge, I will most likely use it in future projects. I also learned how to use the stop motion app. Before this project, I did not have any idea about how stop motion works. After following the simple instructions given by the app, I was then able to use it sufficiently and with ease. I also now understand how stop motion is edited together as well. Overall, this project led to a greater awareness of the editing technique of stop motion as well as the functions of the editing software I used to edit the commercial.
4. How did you integrate technologies - software, hardware, and online - in this project?
The technologies used within my project were my phone, the software OpenShot editor, and the app Stop Motion Studio. The editing software, OpenShot, was used to edit the commercial as a whole. Specifically, it was used to adjust the volume, trim video clips, apply visual effects, and add in each scene to create one single video. There are several buttons on the software, that are easy to navigate, however, after trimming, the software does not allow you to attach the clips together again. This may be my fault as I am not sure how to do so, but after trying to find the buttons to perform this action, I could not find anyway to reattach the clips. The other technologies used were the Stop Motion Studio app and my phone. The phone was used to film the entire commercial, while the stop motion app was used to create the scene of the cereal bowl moving across the table. My phone, as it was a Samsung, did not have the best camera quality, however it produced a video that was able to seen and had quality that was sufficient for this project. The Stop Motion Studio app was easy to use and involved following the instructions given by the app. All that I had to do was perch my phone on a stable surface and set a timer counting down when it would take the photos. After the photos were taken, they were converted into a video that able to be used within my commercial. With this app, I was able to create a unique scene of the stop motion of cereal moving across the table that enhanced my commercial overall.
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