Ruairidh Johnston

Evaluation
The Product I decided to advertise was the Febreze odour removal spray. In my
advert we follow two similar characters Jack and John. Jack cleans with an inferior
product to Febreze and fails whereas John cleans with Febreze and goes on to
have an exciting time cleaning.
When I was first working through pre-production I had to think about who I
wanted to aim this advert. By analysing various other advertising campaigns for
similar products like Airwick and Glade I identified that the audience these
companies usually try and communicate to, are class C1/2 middle aged mothers
who stay at home to raise families. I therefore decided to aim my advert towards
them, however as I continued to research deeper I found that no product like this
was advertising even partially towards a younger audience of students for
example which meant there was a gap in the market, so finally I decided I would
aim more towards a younger audience by using conventions like an unrealistic
narrative as well as including the usual codes of and conventions seen in other
adverts like this.
Storyboarding
Storyboarding I found was useful in helping me break down my initial idea into all
the shots I needed. My original idea I knew from the start was fairly ambitious as
I wanted to use a mild form of special effect which was a smoke machine. This
meant that when it came to storyboarding I was able
to break down what it thought would be more the
difficult sequences into various shots which made it
easier to plan the finer details alongside, as I was able
to get the overall look done in the storyboard it meant
I could focus on props costumes and smaller details in
the advert. Storyboarding also made it easier for me
to write up my script and shot plan. Most importantly
storyboarding helped me filter out the ideas that
would be too difficult to produce using the equipment I
had. For example I planned to get a birds eye view
shot of my characters having a Febreze fight at the
end of the advert however when it came to storyboarding I found that it would be
too difficult to produce effectively and safely so I therefore re wrote the
sequence.
Mind Maps
Mind maps did prove useful to an extent. I found that
throughout this project I didnt really have to use or refer to
them that much. As opposed to using mind maps as a way to
develop my initial ideas I simply used them to keep track of
ideas I was having so I wouldnt forget them, so this did prove
useful. I think the reason why I didnt find them completely
useful was because the idea I produced for my final product was
the first idea I had and I liked it and after trialling it in a focus
group setting I received approval from everyone so I therefore
just ran with it as opposed to having to go through the
development process using mind maps.

Ruairidh Johnston
Discussion Notes
Discussion notes I found highly effective in developing my idea. It was useful to
talk to other people about my ideas and get their opinions on it because it meant
that if they didnt like it I could tell from their facial expressions and tone of voice
whereas with a survey people could potentially randomly select an answer just to
complete the survey quickly which could potentially affect my results and
ultimately what advert I pick. By far the most useful quality of discussion notes
was that I know I could receive honest feedback. For example after I explained
my idea to the group they went on to point out areas that could be hard to film
or justify and unless I had already thought of ways to successfully film and justify
my actions I would go on to consider rewriting that area of the advert. Discussion
groups also helped me focus my ideas into on concise thought, so when it came
to preparing my idea for the group I had to write an explanation of the narrative
of my advert which meant I had to pull all my fairly vague ideas together into
one paragraph which proved highly useful in later pre productions task like my
script and pitch.
Comment from Peers and Others
Comments from peers and others was equally as effective as discussion notes. It
mostly became useful as I was editing the final version of my advert, Peers would
watch the advert as I was developing it and give me immediate feedback so for
example that I should change the background song. The most important piece of
feedback I received from peer comments was that my advert wasnt paced well
enough, I was told unanimously that the beginning was too slow and that it only
sped up towards the end, this proved highly useful as it meant that I could delete
dead footage which added nothing to the narrative to make a more concise and
fast paced advert than before. I found that I was able to remove about 20
seconds of useless footage thanks to comments from my peers and other.
Visual style
When I originally set out to produce this advert I took inspiration
from the director Wes Anderson who has a highly distinctive visual
style comprised of oranges and browns and a regular use of filters.
With this in mind I decided I wanted to use colour correction in
editing to make a visually appealing advert. However when it came
to actually setting about make the colour corrections in editing I found it hard to
get exactly what I want for example when I was tweaking the contrast I found
that it was too distracting from what was actually happening on screen so I
decided to abandon a unique visual style and stick to a more naturalistic overall
visual style. One area however of my visual style which did go well was my
choice of colour for props and setting. I made sure that the only blue seen in the
whole advert was the blue on the Febreze can itself I even matched exactly the
colour of my text on screen to that of the can, I wanted to make the pale blue
stand out against the background so I framed the close ups of the cans against
darker colours and used a soft box to make the can sparkle and shine which
could connote positive thoughts about the product subliminally to the audience,
on the flipside when I filmed the inferior product I made sure no soft box was
used and that the dark orange of bottle was placed against the same dark
backgrounds as the Febreze can so it would make the inferior product look

Ruairidh Johnston
visually unattractive next to Febreze. So overall I feel that my visual style across
the whole advert was successful but not unique and particularly interesting
however at some points I felt that the visual style was highly successful in
communicating hidden messages to the audience.
Soundscape
As far as my soundscape went I think I was highly successful. My reason behind
this is one of my main productions strengths is sound and music choice. As I
have said earlier when explaining who I aimed this advert at, I said that I wanted
to pull in a student audience so in order to do this I used the instrumental of a
contemporary song that is performed by a highly popular artist for people in this
target audience (The song was the devil is a lie by Rick Ross) by using this song
I broke away from the traditional codes and conventions of adverts for products
of this nature which usually uses calming background music. However in order to
stop the regular target audience from feeling alienated I decided at some point
to use the calming music. The other areas of my soundscape which I thought
went well was my use of non-diegetic sound effects for example the ding that is
heard when titles become super imposed on the screen, I think the sound was
effective because it is a mix of three sound which I blended together to subtlety
communicate different messages to the audience. To break it down the least
prominent sound of the three when Febreze is being discussed is the lowest and
most negative sound which is a low and echoing church bell, however whenever
the inferior product is being discussed the church bell sound fills the mid-range
with the more positive sounds being mixed lower so the sound used in the
segment discussing the inferior product sounds slightly more negative than that
of the sound used in the segments discussing Febreze.
Appropriateness to the Audience
When I set out to produce this advert I identified the regular target audience as
class C1/2 middle aged mothers, however I thought I could communicate to this
audience as well as a new target audience Class E young adults and students. As
far as communicating to class C1/2 middle aged mothers I think I was still
effective but not as effective as I communicated to class E. My reason behind this
is that I still used some of the traditional codes and conventions seen in
previous ad campaigns for products like Febreze, for example I used calming
music at points a home environment and the progression of a house smelling
bad to smelling good. However that is where the similarities stop and although I
did still attempt to communicate to the regular target audience in comparison to
the codes and conventions I used to entice a younger audience this wasnt as
effective. Examples of codes and conventions I used in order to interest class E
young adults and students are: A non-naturalistic narrative, use of special
effects, using an actor which physically looks similar to students and young
adults in terms of dress sense (i.e. using a popular brand of trainers and a large
sweatshirt as opposed to wearing a full suit) and using popular music as the
general background to the advert. By employing these techniques I feel that I
was effective in interesting Class E young adults and students as there is a
character music and setting they can relate to, and as far as interesting Class
C1/2 middle aged mothers went, I believe that I have been able to convince
them to potentially buy Febreze for their children who could be students however

Ruairidh Johnston
I dont think I have successfully convinced them to out and out buy the product
for themselves.
Comparison of Finished Product to Original Intentions
I feel I was highly effective in this area. This is because my idea hardly changed
from my original intentions to my finished product. Some areas of the advert that
did change however are only light for example slight changes to sound used and
music as well as removing footage that wasted time. The only big change to the
advert was the idea of having a Febreze fight at the end of the advert however
that was disposed of early in the production process, I decided to get rid of that
idea because a fight using the product would be hard see on camera due to the
fact that the spray from the can is clear and also required a large amount of
actors which I would find hard to organize, also by using Febreze as a weapon it
could connote a negative message to the audience that the product is
dangerous.
Effectiveness of Techniques
I think I was relatively effective in my use of techniques. When I set
out to produce the advert I decided I wanted to break away from the
normal conventions for adverts of this nature, as far as techniques
for these adverts go they tend to use multiple static mid shots with
maybe one wide establishing shot to open the advert. In light of this
I decided I still wanted to use the traditional mid shot but in order
to encourage pace and make the advert exciting to watch I used a
mix of extreme close ups, worms eye views and close ups
alongside the normal shots seen in adverts for products like
Febreze in order to produce an advert that would seem similar to
some but also broke away from convention. As far as editing went I
feel it was effective but not necessarily creative or unique. I only
used jump cuts as opposed to fades and wipes which I felt was
appropriate for this advert as I didnt want to overload the audience with visual
information, I also used jump cuts exclusively as they promote a fast pace and it
meant that I could cut to the beat of the song whereas with a fade it would show
a slower more relaxed message as opposed to the fast exciting message I was
trying to show. Another form of editing that I thought could have been more
effective if I had more time was my use of green screen. I used it briefly to show
a flash of pale blue light which would signify Febreze working to improve the
odour of the house, However when it came to editing I found that the effect
could have look more professional however I was unsure how to achieve this
whilst maintaining pace, the problem I had was by using a fade to transition from
the white to pale blue it wrecked the fast pace of the advert however by using a
jump cut to transition the two looked unprofessional but maintained the pace.
Given more time I would of filmed the outside shot without the green screen set
up and then set up the green screen and filmed it again, then in editing I would
cut from the clear window (as opposed to white) to the pale blue which I think
would better signify the Febreze explosion that what is in my finished product.
Effectiveness of Advert
I feel that overall my advert was effective. I feel that I achieved most of the goals
I set for myself when I first begin creating this product. One area where I felt I

Ruairidh Johnston
was most effective was creating an advert which broke away from normal
conventions of the household odour spray advert, for example where there was
once calm music I put in energetic up beat music where there is usually a
stereotyped female figure who only stays at home and looks after children there
is now a young male figure instead. However what made this area of my advert
effective I feel was that amongst this is was still able to sell Febrezes qualities, I
didnt get so caught up in being different and creative that I didnt showcase
Febreze and how it can eliminate odours, I did this by including a direct
comparison between Febreze and another product and by showing that the
protagonist achieved in eliminating the smells in his house and by finally through
my slogan if odours had a butt you would kick it which tells the audience
directly that Febreze helps get rid of odours. A second area where my advert was
effective it achieved its goal of being humorous. After I completely finished the
product I tested my advert on five of my peers making sure they covered
different age and class backgrounds ( I tested it on 3 middle aged people (to
cover my class c1/2 target audience), and on 2 students (to cover my Class E
target audience) and everyone laughed and enjoyed the advert. A third area
where I felt my advert was effective was through my more creative use of
camera angles and techniques. I wanted to create a visually different and
interesting advert which would entice the viewer and encourage them to watch
the whole thing and I feel I achieved this goal. The reason why I feel this way is
because I made sure that I didnt use the regularly used mid shot without
breaking it up with a different kind of shot, every mid shot was then followed by
a different kind of shot like an extreme close up for example in order to keep the
advert visually interesting and not become boring.
Technical Qualities
Following on from this I feel that my technical qualities were
effective. My reason behind this is that although the equipment I
had was limited in comparison to that of a professional production
company I feel that I still used to the best I could. One example of
this was my use of soft boxes, even though it is a fairly basic piece
of equipment I feel I used it creatively and effectively to make my
advert look more professional. One example of this was that for
shots of my protagonists faces I made sure that the light was shining
on one side of their face which lightly illuminated there face against
the ambient lighting in the room thus drawing the viewers focus
away from the background and onto the actors. I also used the soft
box in order to increase the effectiveness of the smoke special
effect, I shone the light from the back through the smoke so when
the protagonist opened the door and the smoke leaked out the light
would make the smoke look bigger and illuminate the character from behind
which could potentially connote angelic and god like qualities to the audience
which in context could show that the character has succeeded in destroying the
odours in his home. If I had the opportunity I would have wanted to use a higher
definition camera because it would give the overall look of my advert a more
professional feel however I felt I still used what I had successfully. For example I
used a tripod throughout to provide stable shots at all times and when a pan or
track was necessary I used a steady cam rig in order to eliminate camera wobble
which in a professional environment would be unacceptable.

Ruairidh Johnston
Aesthetic Qualities
In this area I feel I was fairy effective. The main aesthetic area in my
final product where I felt I was most effect was in my selection of colour
and props. For example the red sunglasses that the Febreze user wears
when cleaning I picked because red is a highly attractive and also
connotes defiance, it is one of the brightest primary colours so if the
viewer was on their phone for example and the advert came of the red
of the sunglasses would instantly grab the attention of the viewer as
the colour itself could not be ignored. Following on from this I picked
the costume surrounding the colour red, for example the wearer of theses
sunglasses is seen in a light grey sweatshirt which is neutral and
does not stand out against the pale yellow and white of the back
ground which further draws the viewers attention to the actors
face, the grey also accentuates the colour of the Febreze bottle
and brings out some of the smaller details like the white
surrounding the logo. On the flipside the character who does not
use Febreze wears a plain black sweatshirt, as deep black can
connote negativity (hence why a night time setting is popularly used in films and
TV in order to create a negative atmosphere) I decided to use that colour to
dominate that characters outfit so the colour association would perhaps help the
audience follow the advert better. Another reason why I picked this is because
light reacts different to these colours. When the bright soft box light was shone
on the grey sweatshirt the light was reflected which made the colour look lighter
and more positive an did not pull light in but instead kept the levels steady which
meant the frame was consistently brighter. However when the light was shone
on the black sweatshirt it absorbed the light and drew in the ambient light which
the frame look more negative and darker which could connote bad messages to
the audience which would then transfer into the effectiveness of the inferior
product versus Febreze.
What Could You Have Improved On?
I feel that I could have improved on the pace of my advert. Although my advert is
not overly long (being just under a minute) I feel that the pace is not consistent.
For example there are some shots that last two seconds followed by some that
last for up to 10 seconds and this creates quite disjointed pace at times whereas
in previous adverts for products all shots are of a relatively consistent time,
certainly without out such a large difference in length in mine like at some
points.
A second thing I would improve on would be my colour correction. I feel that
overall colour wise my advert looks quite discoloured and washed out, although
this is down to the camera used I feel that if I had more time I would of wanted to
use editing filters for example to make my advert look more vibrant and
aesthetically pleasing than it is.
A third thing I would improve upon would be my use of green screen. It is only
used once in the whole and in comparison the rest of the advert the effect looks
rushed and amateur. I would improve upon it by using two separate shots faded
together as opposed to just the one with the insides of the house reflected as
pure white suddenly snapping to blue I feel that if I did one shot without out the

Ruairidh Johnston
green screen in the window and then a second identical shot with the green
screen set up so the audience would see the everything inside turn pale blue
instead, this in conjunction with making the colour glow as opposed to just using
the plain colour which looked very two dimensional would improve the look of
the effect and fit better with the quality of the rest of the advert.