As you all may know, I am currently a student and I have just finished my first-year of Creative Communications at Red River College. As my school year winds down and summer starts up, I am busy looking for jobs and trying to make up for all the time I've lost with friends and family.
This blog was originally a school project that stretched the entire year. Now that I have all my marks accounted for, I could stop writing. Yes? No. Though I can't promise I will post once a week, I will try and update the blog as much as I can. Hopefully anyone (if anyone) reads this, they've enjoyed my ramblings about things ad related or off some tangent of that.
I plan to make music over the summer, which is actually me doing homework. For my final thesis-type project in CreComm next year, I will be making an EP, accompanied by a website and webisodes. I haven't had time to make much music during the school year and I am very VERY excited to dedicate some serious time to making it.
On the job front, I've already cast a couple resumes and applications out. Hopefully, I will be behind a camera, perhaps shooting football players or up north shooting some polar bears. One can only hope!
Anyways, that's my update. Check back every so often and hopefully there will be something for you to look at!
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Saturday, April 17, 2010
My mother made me realize...
that there are truly, truly different audiences for different ads.
I sat down while she was watching TV this afternoon and she was leisurely flipping through the channels. Of course, every channel she went past, commercials were playing. Out of the 15 or so images that flashed onscreen, none of them had an actual program playing. Typical.
Anyways, she flew past a quirky Stride gum ad, an AXE ad, an eHarmony ad, and a couple beer spots. Without a pause, she applied pressure to the 'channel up' button.
But, my friends, she did stop on some commercials. She stopped on this A&W commercial, to comment on how the carelessness of the employee aggravated her and that she wished for me to never become like that. She also stopped on this Delissio's Pizza ad to say how she would react if my sister brought home a guy like that (God forbid).
One that really got her attention was one about osteoporosis and calcium intake. Exciting stuff eh?
I can't, for the life of me, remember what the product was called. All I remember was that the product is a calcium supplement drink and it showed how much broccoli or milk you'd have to eat/drink to get as much calcium that there is in one of their fine products. Then there's a shot of all the women sitting in a room having fun and looking healthy.
I think the fact that I can't even remember what it was and how I didn't really care about it is a clear example of how ads are target driven. My mom was engulfed by the concept, since she can relate to it and all, I guess.
After it finished, she moved onto the next channel before settling into a rerun of Friends.
I think we all know what I'm getting at here. The moral of this story is that all women should start thinking early about osteoporosis and need to get the recommended amount of calcium for strong and healthy bones!
Click HERE for the Osteoporosis Canada site!
I sat down while she was watching TV this afternoon and she was leisurely flipping through the channels. Of course, every channel she went past, commercials were playing. Out of the 15 or so images that flashed onscreen, none of them had an actual program playing. Typical.
Anyways, she flew past a quirky Stride gum ad, an AXE ad, an eHarmony ad, and a couple beer spots. Without a pause, she applied pressure to the 'channel up' button.
But, my friends, she did stop on some commercials. She stopped on this A&W commercial, to comment on how the carelessness of the employee aggravated her and that she wished for me to never become like that. She also stopped on this Delissio's Pizza ad to say how she would react if my sister brought home a guy like that (God forbid).
One that really got her attention was one about osteoporosis and calcium intake. Exciting stuff eh?
I can't, for the life of me, remember what the product was called. All I remember was that the product is a calcium supplement drink and it showed how much broccoli or milk you'd have to eat/drink to get as much calcium that there is in one of their fine products. Then there's a shot of all the women sitting in a room having fun and looking healthy.
I think the fact that I can't even remember what it was and how I didn't really care about it is a clear example of how ads are target driven. My mom was engulfed by the concept, since she can relate to it and all, I guess.
After it finished, she moved onto the next channel before settling into a rerun of Friends.
I think we all know what I'm getting at here. The moral of this story is that all women should start thinking early about osteoporosis and need to get the recommended amount of calcium for strong and healthy bones!
Click HERE for the Osteoporosis Canada site!
Friday, April 16, 2010
They'll Fight Back
The Canadian Cancer Society has broken free of the conventional stereotypes that most people associate with charitable organizations.
Two peers of mine, Lauren Feilberg and Lindsey Enns, will be doing a promotional video for this organization next year, and showed me this video:
Now I'll give you all a second to go blow your noses and wipe your eyes. As they fight back against cancer, these survivors and people affected by cancer leave us fighting back tears. The first time I actually saw the video, I didn't actually see it. Two people were watching it behind me with the volume on. I immediately knew this was effective because I didn't need to see the visuals to be affected.
When you usually think of organizations that support a cause, you usually think something along the lines of, "Oh, that's so good they're doing that," and, "Sure, I'll donate to them...maybe later though." You know that they need support but your only justification for it is that it's because they're a charity and charities need money. People who aren't personally affected by it never are able to put a face to the cause, and I think this is why they don't contribute. They don't have a "what's in it for me" aspect to it.
This one video gives you 8 faces to put the cause to. And you don't want to support these faces because you feel sorry for them, you want to support them because you want to stand behind them while they fight. We see these incredibly strong people and support them because we want to be like them.
The story behind this is that they put these people in a room, not knowing what was going on. They then told them to say what they would say if cancer was in the room. The result: pure raw emotion.
This is a great new campaign that makes us feel all the emotions that some of us might not go through in a mere two-and-a-half minutes.
So dry you eyes and help fight back! http://www.fightback.ca/
PS: Eyes will become wet again after visiting site and watching more videos.
Two peers of mine, Lauren Feilberg and Lindsey Enns, will be doing a promotional video for this organization next year, and showed me this video:
Now I'll give you all a second to go blow your noses and wipe your eyes. As they fight back against cancer, these survivors and people affected by cancer leave us fighting back tears. The first time I actually saw the video, I didn't actually see it. Two people were watching it behind me with the volume on. I immediately knew this was effective because I didn't need to see the visuals to be affected.
When you usually think of organizations that support a cause, you usually think something along the lines of, "Oh, that's so good they're doing that," and, "Sure, I'll donate to them...maybe later though." You know that they need support but your only justification for it is that it's because they're a charity and charities need money. People who aren't personally affected by it never are able to put a face to the cause, and I think this is why they don't contribute. They don't have a "what's in it for me" aspect to it.
This one video gives you 8 faces to put the cause to. And you don't want to support these faces because you feel sorry for them, you want to support them because you want to stand behind them while they fight. We see these incredibly strong people and support them because we want to be like them.
The story behind this is that they put these people in a room, not knowing what was going on. They then told them to say what they would say if cancer was in the room. The result: pure raw emotion.
This is a great new campaign that makes us feel all the emotions that some of us might not go through in a mere two-and-a-half minutes.
So dry you eyes and help fight back! http://www.fightback.ca/
PS: Eyes will become wet again after visiting site and watching more videos.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
I have a dream...
Here is a video that I filmed and edited for my TV Production class. Please take a look at it before reading any further!
I wanted to do one of two songs. I tried filming to a Patrick Watson song, with my eight-year old brother as the star but I soon learned that he must have ADD or just might just hate me because he did not want to cooperate. Instead I chose to use Bon Iver because it's a emotional song that picks up and has a large climax and the end.
I really didn't have a concept. I just called my two friends up and filmed them. It was kind of a disaster since I had no shots written out or any sort or direction I wanted to go. After I compiled all my footage, I started seeing things fall into place. The only shot I knew I wanted was the beginning with Rachael's face slowly coming in and out of focus and also ending with how the video started, but this time with a slow smile, signifying some sort of hope to whatever needed to have some.
Something I didn't notice until someone pointed it out to me was the fact that all of Nick's shots were with snow and Rachael's were without. It just so happened that we had a freak snowfall after the initial filming and I needed to get some more footage.
Anyways, after I cut the bulk of my footage, my concept was she was the "girl of his dreams". So, she never really existed, but after I screened it to a couple of my friends and peers, I usually got one of two interpretations.
1) They were ex's and he was recalling the good times they had together.
2) She is actually dead, and he's reminiscing of the happy times when she was alive.
I prefer #2 to #1. Only because it's less cliche and cheesy.
So, I'd like to ask: What did YOU think it was about after watching it?
PS. I KNOW I ACCIDENTALLY LEFT THE CORN POPS BOX TOO OPEN TO THE CAMERA. I AM SORRY.
I wanted to do one of two songs. I tried filming to a Patrick Watson song, with my eight-year old brother as the star but I soon learned that he must have ADD or just might just hate me because he did not want to cooperate. Instead I chose to use Bon Iver because it's a emotional song that picks up and has a large climax and the end.
I really didn't have a concept. I just called my two friends up and filmed them. It was kind of a disaster since I had no shots written out or any sort or direction I wanted to go. After I compiled all my footage, I started seeing things fall into place. The only shot I knew I wanted was the beginning with Rachael's face slowly coming in and out of focus and also ending with how the video started, but this time with a slow smile, signifying some sort of hope to whatever needed to have some.
Something I didn't notice until someone pointed it out to me was the fact that all of Nick's shots were with snow and Rachael's were without. It just so happened that we had a freak snowfall after the initial filming and I needed to get some more footage.
Anyways, after I cut the bulk of my footage, my concept was she was the "girl of his dreams". So, she never really existed, but after I screened it to a couple of my friends and peers, I usually got one of two interpretations.
1) They were ex's and he was recalling the good times they had together.
2) She is actually dead, and he's reminiscing of the happy times when she was alive.
I prefer #2 to #1. Only because it's less cliche and cheesy.
So, I'd like to ask: What did YOU think it was about after watching it?
PS. I KNOW I ACCIDENTALLY LEFT THE CORN POPS BOX TOO OPEN TO THE CAMERA. I AM SORRY.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Kings also freak me out...
Burger King just released this commercial:
Pretty funny, and plainly showing that they've created a cheaper alternative to McD's breakfast sandwich. In fact, they're saying it's the exact same thing.
I don't think McDonald's has to worry about losing their morning business because of this commercial. I mean, people aren't going to go out of their way to work in the morning just to save however much the difference is. Though, now that I think of it, all those fast food are usually cluttered together. Still, if you have a routine, you probably won't change it. That's my opinion though.
The breakfast wars between fast food restaurants has been raging for sometime now and this doesn't really change anything. I think this is kind of positive for McD's as well. Not only are they basically mentioned in the ad, but one could interpret it as "it's so good, BK had to steal the recipe". This would reinforce existing morning McD customers to go there even more and perhaps get others to go. Of course, BK wants them to do the switch.
I always find direct "attacks" on other companies kind of lame. Instead of solely positioning YOURSELF in the public's mind, you're reminding them of the competition as well.
Now, the King. The BK King is terrifying. He belongs in this scene of Eyes Wide Shut. The single non-changing facial expression is terrifying. Also, remember my last post? How I thought babies climbing fences was scary? Well, King's that can climb fences in a bound is doubley scary. The one good thing about this commercial is that it gives the King another layer. Kind of a bad boy, secret agent one that works.
I'd interested in seeing if there's any sales are affected by this ad though!
Pretty funny, and plainly showing that they've created a cheaper alternative to McD's breakfast sandwich. In fact, they're saying it's the exact same thing.
I don't think McDonald's has to worry about losing their morning business because of this commercial. I mean, people aren't going to go out of their way to work in the morning just to save however much the difference is. Though, now that I think of it, all those fast food are usually cluttered together. Still, if you have a routine, you probably won't change it. That's my opinion though.
The breakfast wars between fast food restaurants has been raging for sometime now and this doesn't really change anything. I think this is kind of positive for McD's as well. Not only are they basically mentioned in the ad, but one could interpret it as "it's so good, BK had to steal the recipe". This would reinforce existing morning McD customers to go there even more and perhaps get others to go. Of course, BK wants them to do the switch.
I always find direct "attacks" on other companies kind of lame. Instead of solely positioning YOURSELF in the public's mind, you're reminding them of the competition as well.
Now, the King. The BK King is terrifying. He belongs in this scene of Eyes Wide Shut. The single non-changing facial expression is terrifying. Also, remember my last post? How I thought babies climbing fences was scary? Well, King's that can climb fences in a bound is doubley scary. The one good thing about this commercial is that it gives the King another layer. Kind of a bad boy, secret agent one that works.
I'd interested in seeing if there's any sales are affected by this ad though!
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