Evaluation

Evaluation

Requirements from the assignment brief asked that I created a television advert and three print adverts. I think that I could have done better as I began running out of time, partly abandoning my schedule that I created to prevent running out of time and I kept changing my mind about what to have in my television advert and what the subjects of my print adverts where going to be. As well as this, it was only when I started editing my advert did I realised how difficult It was to get so much footage into a product that was only 30 seconds. However, there were also aspects that worked in favor to what I have originally planned. For example, one of my print advert ideas stayed the same throughout the entirety of my project. That was the first print advert that I had edited - “2 for 1, from £38, for Students”. Visually, this is my favorite print out of the three as it is eye-catching and conveys mass amounts of happiness and joy to my audience. Although I believe that some aspects of my work could be better, I still think that my campaign sends a clear message to my audience – this is that no matter how badly you need your glasses, the Specsavers team can get you an appointment quickly and affordably whilst also giving you great discounts and deals. If I had more time on the project, I would find a better actor (someone that doesn’t live with me for example) so that the scenes looked less forced and scripted. This would benefit my advert as the use of emotion in the advert is essential to the audience. 

I conclude that my adverts are successful in attracting my target audience. I think this because the use of students in my television and print advert allows my demographic to relate to the campaign, as well as this, the use of people who wear glasses makes my adverts convincing. I feel that my final project was relevant to my target audience as I know, taken from conversations with my peers, that buying glasses is expensive and it is difficult to find a suitable pair for a good deal. 

During my project, I had made a schedule to help me keep track of what I should do and when. I allowed myself plenty of time for post-production and time to film and edit my print/ television adverts, however, towards the end of the project I began to forget about the schedule and lost focus on what should be done in each time zone. Nevertheless, I still managed to come back to the schedule once I had finished all of the editing and filming to be able to make sure everything in post-production was accounted for.

I think that my primary and secondary resources where effective in influencing my adverts as they allowed me to understand how important it was for teenagers to have appropriate eye-wear to be able to work efficiently in school/ College. As well as this, it also helped me decide what discounts to offer these students as I found that Specsavers are most likely to offer large discounts and deals on their glasses and free eye-tests. As well as this, the skills that I used in the production of my project allowed me to get work done at a relatively steady pace as I am quick at setting up a tripod and adjusting camera settings. As well as this, I learnt new skills like using a Canon camera efficiently as I haven’t used many Canon cameras. Other skills that I used in editing, such as visual effects and transitions, I hadn’t used often before this project – this allowed me to take the time to learn these things and appropriately apply them to my television advert, for example, the Dip to Black transition that I used at the end of my television advert.

From my primary research (my questionnaire), I discovered that 80% of people asked have had an eye test, 60% of people wear glasses, 30% of these students do not have a job and 50% of those asked do not get paid the National Minimum wage (which for people aged 16-20 is between £4.20 and £5.90 and hour). This was useful in the making of my print advert as it gave me a valid reason behind making my adverts about Specsavers – meaning that I could offer a large target audience something they are interested in and need. As well as this, when asking my target audience about my adverts, the responses I received where akin to each other – such as “very compelling”, “eye-catching” and seems “professional, like a real Specsavers advert”. Through my secondary research, I found my target audience using pre-made deals offered by the Specsavers company. For example, “2 for 1 from £69” and “25% off for over 60s”. This way, it was easier to target my specific audience (students) with similar deals such as “2 for 1 from £38 for Students” and “2 for 1 from £38 for 12-21 year old's”. 

When filming my project, I used my knowledge of cameras to do things such as white balancing, adjusting the contrast and making sure that I have used the right type of shot style and camera angle to convey and emotions/ tones to my audience – for example, I did this in the TV advert when trying to convey sadness by getting a low angle shot of my actor when she discovers her broken glasses. Similarly, I also did this in my print adverts. When taking the photographs for my prints, I made sure to use an eye-level shot for each of the to show the expressions of people’s faces and to make the audience aware that they are on the same level/ equal to the subjects used in the photographs. From my understanding, this makes my print adverts effective in capturing the audience's attention – especially with the use of Pathos in them to convey the happiness felt when you can use a product that helps you see. 

In my small team of people, split into two groups as one was filming and one was photography, my easiest team which I didn’t have any trouble with getting was the photography group. The team worked well, and they listened to me – however, I think this is because they were also doing the same project as me, so they understood the urgency behind it. Whereas, my filming team – which consisted of me and my sister (the actor in my TV advert) - was harder to work with as they didn’t understand what the project was about nor how professional they had to be. Nevertheless, I managed to get all the shots I needed without considerable amounts of hassle or worry and everything turned out to work. Through-out the entire project, I was the director, cameraman and editor. This meant that I had a firm grip on all of the scenes and I knew what went well/ what could be improved. 

Overall, the quality of my television advert could have been better. For instance, the cuts between footage could have been quicker and cleaner to make sure I save seconds for other, longer footage. As well as this, the way the actor expresses the emotions in each scene could be better as it seems very scripted. However, I appreciate the way the print adverts turned out and I am happy for them to stay the way they are – no more editing needed. To conclude, I am satisfied with the way that my project turned out in the end and I believe that it successfully appeals to my target audience.