Commercial and CCR

            This is my Gatorade commercial and CCR. We had a list of products to choose from, and my group and I chose Gatorade. We thought that making a Gatorade commercial would be really fun and exciting. The commercial was our first ever project for this class. It was definitely a cool experience while making the commercial. I learned a lot along the way which helped me in my later projects. 

Creative Critical Reflection for Commercial

1. How does your product use or challenge conventions AND how does it represent social groups or issues?

The product is a commercial that is advertising Gatorade. The commercial genre is sports drinks, since it is promoting Gatorade. All sports drink commercials generally include athletes that are usually working really hard while exercising or playing a sport. These commercials also include the athletes drinking the sports drinks and then getting energy and the ability to perform better. The product uses conventions because we include conventions that would typically be in Gatorade commercials.  In our product, we have a scene of one of our group members drinking the Gatorade and filming it close up. Shooting the Gatorade up close made it clear what our commercial was trying to promote and made it clear to the audience. This is in other Gatorade commercials as well to get a good shot of the product. This shows how our product uses conventions because this is what you would find in most Gatorade commercials. Our product also uses conventions because of the music and sounds we used. The sounds and music usually intense and show that there is a lot of action going on and that they are working harder, which our product included as well. Sound effects of crowds were also used. These sound effects intensify the importance and excitement of the commercial. The product uses these conventions just like a Gatorade commercial would. Also, the camera is often moving to show the actions that are going on and is never really still. In our product, the camera was also often moving, and therefore also shows how our product uses conventions. The product also challenges conventions in a few ways. In the commercial, we used natural lighting since we were outside. Usually, Gatorade commercials are outside with sim lights from the stadiums or the field. Our product represents social groups because our commercial is for all different age groups, typically those in the middle-aged group. Our commercial is meant to be for those who usually stay active and either exercise or play sports. It also represents social groups because it is for all different groups of people. The product is for everyone, which is why the commercial is for all different genders, races, ethnicities, etc. Our product is made for all social groups and advertises Gatorade to attract everyone.

2. How does your product engage with audiences AND how would it be distributed as a real media text?

Our product engages with audiences because it attracts those who are into fitness, exercising, sports, etc. Our commercial shows how Gatorade gives people energy and the strength to do their workouts or play in a sport. It also engages with audiences by making people want to buy and drink Gatorade. The product also engages with the audience by the type of music and phrases that are said throughout the commercial. The motivational music and phrases will catch people’s attention and make them interested in the commercial.  It also engages with the audience because our commercial shows someone running the track but then getting so tired that she falls down. After she drinks the Gatorade, she gets energy and is then able to finish her lap around the track. The audience might be able to relate to the product because they might experience similar things. While they are training or working out, they get tired and might feel like they can't do it, but if they drink Gatorade, they will get the strength and energy to finish. The audience will want to get Gatorade to help keep them hydrated just like the person in the commercial. The product also engages with the audience by making them want to buy and drink Gatorade to perform better during their sport, practice or exercise. This commercial would be distributed as a real media text through commercials on sports channels. It would be distributed here to advertise Gatorade and make athletes want to get the product. It might also be distributed on sports or athletic websites to promote Gatorade. If the commercial is distributed on television or websites that promote sports, it will make viewers want to buy the product since they see that Gatorade is a popular drink and benefits athletes' performances. I would also probably distribute the commercial and put it on main channels with the most broadcasting and views. I would also want to air the commercial at times that most people are watching to get Gatorade advertised as best as possible. Overall, the commercial engages with the audience mainly by being a motivational and relatable commercial. That way, people will be interested and want to buy Gatorade. The commercial would also be distributed as a real media text through television and would air at the most popular times.

 3.  How did your production skills develop throughout this project?

Throughout this project, my production skills developed in many ways. In the beginning, when we did our storyboard, I learned how to properly plan a film. This taught me how to be more efficient and be more organized so I can plan the best way. On the first day we filmed, I learned how to use the camera and tripod properly. I was taught how to correctly turn the camera on and off, as well as how to put the SD card in. With the tripod, I also learned the correct way to set it u and how to shut and close it up. Then, I had to attach the camera to the tripod and adjust the knobs on it to get the perfect angle for our filming. All of these skills were new to me, and I can now do it again more efficiently. My production skills also developed throughout this project because I can now better identify camera angles, shots, and movements. While we filmed our commercial, we had to make sure that we were including the requirements for the project. Doing this, improved my skills on these topics since we had to identify them, as well as making sure we filmed them. In the scene of my group member going into her duffle bag to grab out the Gatorade bottle, we made sure to film at a high angle to get the shot of her going into her bag. During the scene of my group member drinking the Gatorade, we filmed a medium close up because we wanted to make sure we filmed the product of the commercial close up, but not too close so that we still got our group member in the scene. When we filmed the scene of her running on the track, we used a pan movement. We left the camera stationary on the tripod, and I moved the camera lens from right to left using the handle on the tripod. My production skills developed throughout the filming part of this project because I learned how to use the equipment, as well as learned and understood the camera angles, shots, and movements better. Filming this commercial works as a reference to me because I can now use it to help me remember what some of the camera angles, shots, and movements look like. I know the type of shots that we used and when they were used, so this will help me remember what they look like. Another way that my production skills developed throughout this project was during the editing process. My knowledge expanded more when I learned how to dump, import and export on the computer and pinnacle studios. After we were done filming for the day, I would go and dump all our footage from the camera, into a file on the computer. Then when it was time to import, I had to select all the footage and import it onto pinnacle studios. At the end of our commercial, we had to save and export the film. I now know how to do all of these skills and do them efficiently. My skills also developed throughout the editing process while using pinnacle studios. I learned how to put the footage together and how to put it on the correct track, as well as how to remove audio from the footage. We had to cut some of the film to make it the correct length, and also add music into the commercial. I recorded the voiceovers while my group member said the phrases, and then we inserted the voiceovers into our film. Overall, my production skills developed greatly throughout this project, and I can now do the process more efficiently since I know how to correctly do all of these techniques.

4. How did you integrate technologies – software, hardware and online – in this project?

Throughout this project, I used three main software's, which included google drive, pinnacle studios, and iMovie. Other technologies and hardware that I used were cameras, SD cards, and SD card readers. While making the commercial, I had to integrate technologies to get my footage from one place to another. On the first day of filming, we received a camera, tripod, and SD card. I then combined the camera and SD card by inserting the SD card into the camera. To insert the SD card, I had to open the little door where the SD card goes. Then, I put the SD card into the slit and made sure that the words on the SD card were facing me. Once the SD card was in the camera correctly, I closed the little door. The SD card was now successfully in the camera and ready to start filming. We first filmed everything that we needed for the commercial out on the track. We filmed each scene a few times to make sure that we had enough takes. This then allowed us to pick the best scenes to use. Once we finished filming for the day, I had to dump all of our footage onto the computer in case we didn’t get the same SD card next time. We also did this so that we had our footage in more than one place. To do this, we had to integrate the SD card and the computer. I went and got an SD card reader, and then inserted the SD card into the reader. Once it was in, I inserted the reader into the computer and pulled up the files. Then, I opened the folder that our footage was on, highlighted all of our footage, and then dragged all of it into a folder on the desktop. We also needed to put all of the footage onto our google drive so that we had another backup place that our footage. I opened google drive and made a new folder that I could put the footage into. Then, I had to download the footage, and wait for it to finish. I could then put all of it into the folder I created on google drive. After everything was on my google drive, I just closed out of it. I then integrated technologies when putting all the footage from the desktop onto pinnacle studios. When I opened up the software, there was a sample film on the track showing up how the software worked. I needed to start fresh, so I went to the top and clicked file, then new, and the track was now empty. To get the footage on pinnacle studios, I had to open up the software and click import at the top. Then I selected all of our footage and clicked import and waiting while it all imported onto pinnacle studios. Everything was now on the software, so we started building our commercial by pulling the best pieces of footage onto the right track. We weren't able to finish our commercial during the class so we decided that we would use iMovie to finish over the weekend. Throughout this whole process, I was integrating technologies from google drive, to pinnacle studios, and then to iMovie. As well as from the camera and SD card to these software's.