Blog Post 4: The Target Audience (Males and Females 16-25)

I researched my target demographic to find out about the lifestyles of the different age groups and genders and take into consideration their views on existing take-away food delivery brands and my ideas for my advert. I did this through asking questions to a variety of friends I have from ages 16-24, the age range the brief stated. When summarising the data, I put together this list:

-  The age category from 16-18 mostly live with their parents.
-  They are usually heavily dependent on social media.
-  They don't have much money. Especially university students. However, teens who live with their parents, often get pocket money or minimum wage from a part time job.
-  Watch and interact with some, and if not, a lot of TV.
-  Many teens I spoke to enjoy using apps like Just Eat because of the convenience and ease while using the app
-  Especially the younger side of the demographic, tend to have a preference to more unconventional adverts since they are more interesting.
-  One of the top cuisines ordered is Chinese.
- They like the convenience of ordering the food at an unusual hour and eating it in the comfort of their home/dorm.

I also researched 'UK Tribes', known as 'the home of UK youth research' which was actually created by Channel 4, the channel I will be creating an advert for. They split the youth of today into five categories: 'Alternative', 'Mainstream', 'Leading Edge', 'Urban' and 'Aspirant' which were then further analysed to create several 'genres' of people. When reading their information of different kinds of people, I realised just how broad and expansive the youth of today is and truly how many different kinds of people there are. This made me realise how important it was that I made my advert diverse. Also, with a lot of the 'tribes' they named, social media and technology was highly involved in each of them, further backing my point as to how ingrained our generation is with it. Since this website was created by Channel 4, I feel it's important to involve these ideas since it will match and fit with the Channel's identity well.

When reviewing what people have said to me, I found out that males and females more or less had the same opinion. However, I didn't gather as much research on people outside of my age group (16-18).  This has helped me make sure my advert appeals to all ages by conveying an all-inclusive takeaway service which doesn't favour the younger side of the demographic. I am thinking of having one of my adverts in a skate park and one at home so the university students can also relate to it since they will not be spending time at home.

Sources:

https://www.uktribes.com

Blog Post 3: The ASA BCAP Code

I researched the ASA BCAP code to make sure I wouldn't add anything unacceptable to my advert before I started planning. It was a good idea to make sure I knew what was and wasn't acceptable in adverts on TV.

- The ASA want to protect people, especially children by working to ensure that every advert on TV is appropriate.

I had to make sure:

-  It didn't condone the use of alcohol, restricted video games and using cars irresponsibly.

-  It doesn't encourage bad nutritional habits.

-  It doesn't promote foods high in fat and sugar (to lower the rate of obesity in the UK.)

-  It isn't misleading and is recognisable as an advert. 

-  Marketers don't speak falsely of their product.

-  It doesn't cause physical or mental harm especially to those under 18.

-  It shouldn’t be offensive to any race, religion or minority. 

-  It shouldn't pressure the watcher into buying the product.

-  It shouldn't hide any important information.

I looked at the Skittles 2014 advert that got banned everywhere it was broadcast:

I feel this is because: 

- It's content was offensive due to its sexual nature. 

- It was borderline pornographic which is another rule on the ASA BCAP code.

- It would be extremely inappropriate for any child under 18 to view.

- It is very misleading and you think you're watching something which isn't at all an advert at first.

When managing to get the code down to main categories to consider when designing my advert, I narrowed it down to accuracy, harm and offence, making claims without strong evidence, social responsibility around cars/driving and no alcohol or 18+ computer games to be shown throughout the running time of my advert. 

Source: ASA website

Blog Post 2: Channel 4

I followed my research on industry with researching Channel 4 mainly for me to understand where my target audience would fit into when looking at scheduling and to see what Channel 4 stands for and represents.

When researching Channel 4, I found out that:

-  They want to be a catalyst for social change.

-  They stand up for diversity around the UK.

-  They're inclusive, experimental and innovative.

-  It attracts mainly ABC1 social economic groups and with it's variety of programmes ranging from informative documentaries to alternative, quirky shows. -  Channel 4 is the UK's only publicly owned, comercially-funded public service broadcaster.

- Channel 4 was the first service to host programmes late at night and through the night - probably one of the main contributors as to why a youthful demographic engages with the service.

All this information led to how well the service fit with my target audience, especially when looking at the scheduling of the channel.

- I found out that there are 10,000,000 users registered to Channel 4 and 50% of them are 16-24 year olds. Proving the vitality and entertainment Channel 4 has to its company.

- Over 18,000,000 people across the UK engaged with Bake Off on Channel 4 whether it was on All4, to catch up, or on live television.

-  When looking at the Channel 4 schedule, on Tuesday for example, we have The Simpsons, followed by Hollyoaks, then followed by Bake Off appearing from 6pm-9pm, where many people aged 16-24 will engage most in. Therefore, I shall pay for my airtime to place my advert in in these slots:

- Monday: 18:30 (after The Simpsons and before Hollyoaks)

- Tuesday: 20.15 (throughout Bake Off)

- Wednesday: 18:30 (after The Simpsons and before Hollyoaks)

- Thursday:  23:00 (after Naked Attraction and before Gogglebox - aim at older ages of demographic)

- Friday: 12:00 (in between The Simpsons 11:30am and Channel 4 news - appeals to uni students)

This research was useful to me because it stimulated the idea of making my advert diverse and youthful so it could appeal to the Channel 4 demographic well, making experimental and innovative

https://www.channel4.com/tv-guide

Blog Post 1: Existing Take-Away Food Delivery Services / Industry

I initially started off my research with searching existing take-away food delivery services. I felt this would further my knowledge on what's currently in the market and would clearly tell me what my competition would be.

- I found out that the main delivery services available in the UK were Just Eat, Hungry House, Uber Eats and Deliveroo.

-   I found that Deliveroo and Uber Eats, having a pricy £3.50 delivery charge and deliveries from more expensive restaurants like Byron Burgers, were considered more high end companies compared to Just Eat which delivered from your local take-away restaurants.

-  I thought it was very interesting how all companies allowed you to track how and when your order was being made and delivered on the app itself, which I considered a clever and imaginative USP. 

-  Whether it was Just Eat's simple time line of the preparation of your food or the capability to actually track the car your food was being delivered in on Uber Eats, I feel all companies promoted efficient delivery services and really conveyed the convenience of their company. 

When researching Just Eat I found out that:

-  Just Eat is the longest running take-away delivery service and Hungry House was bought by Just Eat in 2017, making Just East a highly growing and well known, trusted service.

-  Recently in the news, Just Eat got critiscised from delivering from restaurants with poor hygene ratings even as bad as 0/5 stars, meaning in the lower end of the market, a trust between customer and company has been slighlty broken.

- However, Just Eat now allows you to leave a review on the restaurant  you ordered from. I feel this is a very useful selling point because it helps customers discover new restaurants that have promote good hygene suit them the most.

- Just Eat is extremely easy to use, giving the option to use either cash or card.

- I found my Just Eat research through downloading the app and looking at their website:

https://www.just-eat.co.uk/

From this research, I discovered I really wanted to portray the use of convenience my service will offer the costumer- quick, hassle free delivery through a user friendly app.

Big Issue Evaluation

WWW: I think the colour palette works really well - the reds, yellows and green create a bold chaotic, fun atmosphere which reflects and compliments my character well.  I also really like how the photo of my character came out. I think my body position and the microphone in my hand makes it look like I'm truly in my element and will create more audience appeal.

EBI: Even better if I added more side headings of what's in the magazine so it truly looks like a Big Issue cover. At the moment, it looks slight incomplete due to lack of text on the background.

Disney Trailer Analysis: Bambi

In this Disney classic, a young deer named Bambi starts his life journey with new friends he finds in the forest. As he grows up, he realises there are dangers in the open meadows and learns that there is tragedy as well as beauty in the forest world, leading him on a scary but fascinating path to adulthood.

Before the trailer even starts, we see a transition into the trailer of a Disney emblem 'cutting' into the first shot. This is a unique and clever idea because before the trailer has even started, we can already identify it's Disney. This broadens the target demographic because we see what company the trailer is by before getting a glimpse of what genre the movie will be; action; coming of age etc. Using the 'Disney Four Quadrant Marketing Plan', within only two seconds of the trailer, practically all parties are targeted. 

This transition cuts into a green background with a silhouette of a tree and the heading "AT LAST". The emerald coloured, mystical background gives a hint that the film may be set in a forest and the stars that are shining all around the heading connote fantasy and a make believe atmosphere, perfect for women and children along with families in the quadrant plan. The words 'at last' show that this is a film people have been waiting a long time for and creates excitement for the audience watching. 

After this heading, we see a tracking shot of a forest. However, the lighting is dark and the colour scheme is mainly greys and blacks. Although this doesn't fit the main genre of the film, I think it's important because a key aspect of the film is Bambi learning the dangers of the forest. Therefore, as well as creating an atmosphere of enigma for the audience and possibly attracting the boys and men category in the quadrant plan, it could also foreshadow Bambi's future endeavours in the film, making it a well thought out, symbolic trailer. 

We then see a cut to a shot with all different kinds of animals wandering and hopping about in the forest. This is then used with lighter, more bright lighting and lifts the mood and atmosphere of the trailer as the audience get more of an idea what the film will be about. The fact that a wide range of animals are used in the shot, could actually be leaving a message of all inclusivity for the children watching the film. The wide variety of animals from skunks to birds could have a deeper denotation to include everyone no matter what race, religion etc. Also the exotic location of a fantasy forest surely must attract families since it could possibly be a location a parent takes their child for a day out. 

The first time Bambi appears in the trailer, he is almost 'floated' in with a bright gold, colour that fades into a spark, in an essentially angelic way. This could denote that 1) he is the main protagonist in the film as he is given more importance and 2) The innocence he portrays as he wakes up from his nap due to endearing face. This will 100% attract children because already in a few short seconds, he is presented in such a cute way, we become fascinated by him and leave a soft spot for him. 

Around three quarters through the trailer, we see a quick, one second shot of fire travelling through the forest. This shot will attract the boys/men category in the quadrant plan since they are the core demographic for action and adventure films at the cinema. The fire denotes danger, peril and having this shot placed towards the end of the trailer, gets our hearts racing with tension, creating enigma and leaving us worried for what happens to Bambi. This is a clever marketing tool because it makes us want to find out what will happen next and hopefully go out and watch the film. 

The trailer ends with a Bambi's mother's warm voice saying "my little Bambi". This will attract the family category since the parents could relate to this and view their children with the same love Bambi's mother has for Bambi, making it a pleasant, capturing film to watch.

Continuity Task 2: Reflection of Continuity Practical

1) What was your role in the task and what did you actually do? 

I was the actor in this piece and played the role of the teacher. I contributed to the story line, coming up with the idea of Ben smoking in the storage room but him finding a fault to me as well. I also recorded the scenes I wasn't in and helped edit the final video, mainly trimming sections off clips we didn't need to achieve good shot continuity.

2) What factors did you have to take into account when planning, filming and editing?
When planning, we had to make sure the story made sense and it wouldn't be too complex to film in two period. We also had to take into consideration what location we would film in knowing there were classes going on around the school, who would film what section of the task and what shots to use for each clip of the film. When filming, we had to make sure everyone was acting well and it looked believable. Every time we filmed a new clip, we had to make sure the sound was working, all the correct props were in the shot and each shot linked to the next for good shot continuity. We also had to the aware of the school bell that would go off half way through, after the first period and the fact that we were sharing a space with other people - when filming the doors, we had to make sure nobody from the other group could be seen through the glass.

3) How successful was your sequence? Did you manage to demonstrate match-on-action, shot-reverse-shot and 180 degree rule? Did you achieve continuity overall? 
I think our sequence ended up being very successful. We used many match-on-action shots throughout - an example of this was at the beginning when Ben was walking towards the classroom and pushed open the door. This made the sequence flow nice and smoothly. We also used shot-reverse-shot to compliment the conversation I was having with Ben. When doing this, we tried our best to keep the 180 degree rule by not moving the length of the tripod or moving the camera on the tripod, simply just the position of the tripod itself. I think we achieved good continuity throughout the sequence and there was nothing that looked too jarring. Our film would have looked even better if we had a closer master shot - the one we had was a bit too far away and although we increased the volume in the editing process, it looked a bit detached from the actual film.

4) What have you learnt from completing this task? 
From completing this task, I have learnt to make sure that in future tasks, I make sure of what props are in each shot, making sure not to make any silly errors that will effect the continuity of the film. Unfortunately, we accidentally forgot to remove my bag in one of the shots towards the end where I picked it back up from another location in the following shot. Although this wasn't too noticeable, it gives a less professional feel to the film. To avoid this, I think it would be a smart idea to make sure we have a plan with every prop, actor and location in each shot so we have a very clear idea of what to film.