For the final assignment in Advertising and Imagery, we were asked to split into groups to work on an advertising campaign that could possibly be used for next year's relay for life. I am part of the audio group, and I am in charge of a possible superhero theme. The final product of my work is a superhero-related radio spot that raises awareness and advertises Relay.
In the Public Service Advertising reading, it is mentioned that in order for a PSA to be sponsored by the Ad Council, the issue must be about health and safety, education, or community. Technically, Relay for Life meets the criteria of being about health, so our individual advertisements could too. In addition, the Relay advertisements and radio spots also serve a similar value to the campaigns sponsored by the Ad Council. For example, Bill Clinton is quoted to have spoken highly of how the Ad Council helped with speaking to children about gun safety and drug usage. In a similar manner, our own advertisements also speak to viewers in a similar way and help raise awareness about the Relay event, while encouraging people to join in.
I would say that the main strength of the finished superhero radio spot is definitely the message and presentation of the message. Plenty of work went into writing and re-writing the scripts in order to create and improve the message being sent. I mentioned the presentation of the message because I recorded my own voice in a way that sounds sort of like a super-hero announcer and put in background audio that reminded me of superheroes.
At the same time, I feel that the main weakness of the finished product was the fact that I had to record it with my own voice. I believe that a voice actor or even someone more popular than I would attract more attention to the listeners. However, I used superhero-sounding background music to help attract listeners.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Capstone Research / Progress (2nd Week of April)
This week I just focused on audio editing all of the sound effects and recordings together to create my final podcasts. I also did some research on the technical aspects of creating a podcast, since I have not actually done it before. It took a long time for me to figure it out, but I finally found a website that allows for audio and video posting and gives a rss feed that can easily be used by iTunes.
I did not do any heavy research this week. Really, it seemed unnecessary since I already have prior experience with audio editing. All of the work was hands-on. However, this does not mean that prior research failed to drive through my mind while in the process of doing the work. For example, the whole time while in the editing process, I continuously thought back to all of the podcasts that I listened to at the beginning of the semester. They all had their differences. Some had background music most of the time, while others had just speaking. Also, some used many sound effects to create a scene, and others failed to do that. However, I feel that my podcasts are somewhere in between. They utilize useful and entertaining sound effects and music, while also using plain speech and many interview sound bytes. Overall, I feel that I have reached my goal of creating relevant news-based podcasts for a mostly student audience that can be played alongside many other podcasts.
I did not do any heavy research this week. Really, it seemed unnecessary since I already have prior experience with audio editing. All of the work was hands-on. However, this does not mean that prior research failed to drive through my mind while in the process of doing the work. For example, the whole time while in the editing process, I continuously thought back to all of the podcasts that I listened to at the beginning of the semester. They all had their differences. Some had background music most of the time, while others had just speaking. Also, some used many sound effects to create a scene, and others failed to do that. However, I feel that my podcasts are somewhere in between. They utilize useful and entertaining sound effects and music, while also using plain speech and many interview sound bytes. Overall, I feel that I have reached my goal of creating relevant news-based podcasts for a mostly student audience that can be played alongside many other podcasts.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Capstone Research / Progress (1st week of April)
I have set this week and next week aside just for editing purposes. At the end of last week, I re-recorded my audio to make it sound more like how a normal person would speak, instead of like an English paper. In doing so, I feel that I have finally created quality recordings that are capable of used in a podcast. Many of the edits that I did were to make myself sound less "robotic" and a little less scholarly (which some people may see as being "snobby").
In addition, I am attempting to follow the suggestions from Jonathan Kern's book Sound Reporting as closely as possible. One thing that is helping me conform to audio broadcast standards from Sound Reporting is a section that explains not using "confusing identifications" and "unidentified actualities" (109). In order to avoid confusion with my sound bytes, I have clear identifications set just before the sections that I plan on adding the sound bytes to, and I never mention another name right after a sound byte from someone else. In a way, an identification for everything may seem a little formal, but it is necessary for avoiding confusion.
At the same time, I have been encouraged to be a little more experimental with some of my sound bytes. I am thinking about doing so, but, in a way, I am also trying to weigh that suggestion against my research and my opinion on whether or not an average listener would understand what was going on the first time. The last thing that I want to do is suddenly create something that could be potentially confusing, especially since I have already followed so much advice on not making a confusing audio broadcast. However, during the editing process, I do plan on experimenting some just to see if I can make the suggestion work.
One other thing that I completed last week and early this week was the creation of sound effects. I now have a definite theme song for the podcast and some sound effects to help stimulate the minds of the viewers. Hopefully, the sound effects work to attract the attention of the audience and strengthen the stories. From this point on, I just have to focus on the proper usage and placement of sound.
In addition, I am attempting to follow the suggestions from Jonathan Kern's book Sound Reporting as closely as possible. One thing that is helping me conform to audio broadcast standards from Sound Reporting is a section that explains not using "confusing identifications" and "unidentified actualities" (109). In order to avoid confusion with my sound bytes, I have clear identifications set just before the sections that I plan on adding the sound bytes to, and I never mention another name right after a sound byte from someone else. In a way, an identification for everything may seem a little formal, but it is necessary for avoiding confusion.
At the same time, I have been encouraged to be a little more experimental with some of my sound bytes. I am thinking about doing so, but, in a way, I am also trying to weigh that suggestion against my research and my opinion on whether or not an average listener would understand what was going on the first time. The last thing that I want to do is suddenly create something that could be potentially confusing, especially since I have already followed so much advice on not making a confusing audio broadcast. However, during the editing process, I do plan on experimenting some just to see if I can make the suggestion work.
One other thing that I completed last week and early this week was the creation of sound effects. I now have a definite theme song for the podcast and some sound effects to help stimulate the minds of the viewers. Hopefully, the sound effects work to attract the attention of the audience and strengthen the stories. From this point on, I just have to focus on the proper usage and placement of sound.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Capstone Research / Progress (5th week of March)
This week's focus will mostly be just on recording. For research, I have been reading articles on sounding conversational, although, I will go ahead and state that I do not believe I have ever successfully sounded as conversational as I could with audio recording. Hopefully though, the research will help me with this task.
According to Jonathan Kern, the author of Sound Reporting, in order to write successfully for the radio, the statements must be easy to follow (25). Basically, this means that more simple statements are a plus. Huge complex sentences generally do not work, but this also depends on how the sentences sound. When writing for the radio or any kind of audio broadcast (in my case podcast), one must read the information out loud and be able to judge whether or not it sounds good and works when spoken. Too much information at once can cause an audience to not "catch" it all, and since this is audio, they cannot go back and reread the statements (Sound Reporting 26).
It is also good to be able to write the way that you speak (Sound Reporting 27). This is the section that gets me because I often have problems articulating my thoughts out loud already. Normally when I write for an audio recording, it sounds unnatural because I often do not speak in a clear articulatory manner. I have always been better at articulating thoughts in writing, for example, than in person. However, I plan on doing the best that I can to not sound too unnatural and unlike myself, while speaking intelligibly. Also, it is best to make audio sound as though the communication is between the reporter and a single listener instead of a large group of listeners (Sound Reporting 27). So, basically, my biggest challenge will be finding a balance between speaking like myself and being intelligible, while trying to sound like I am speaking to a single archetypal listener.
Kern, Jonathan. Sound Reporting: the NPR Guide to Audio Journalism and Production. Chicago: University of Chicago, 2008. Print.
According to Jonathan Kern, the author of Sound Reporting, in order to write successfully for the radio, the statements must be easy to follow (25). Basically, this means that more simple statements are a plus. Huge complex sentences generally do not work, but this also depends on how the sentences sound. When writing for the radio or any kind of audio broadcast (in my case podcast), one must read the information out loud and be able to judge whether or not it sounds good and works when spoken. Too much information at once can cause an audience to not "catch" it all, and since this is audio, they cannot go back and reread the statements (Sound Reporting 26).
It is also good to be able to write the way that you speak (Sound Reporting 27). This is the section that gets me because I often have problems articulating my thoughts out loud already. Normally when I write for an audio recording, it sounds unnatural because I often do not speak in a clear articulatory manner. I have always been better at articulating thoughts in writing, for example, than in person. However, I plan on doing the best that I can to not sound too unnatural and unlike myself, while speaking intelligibly. Also, it is best to make audio sound as though the communication is between the reporter and a single listener instead of a large group of listeners (Sound Reporting 27). So, basically, my biggest challenge will be finding a balance between speaking like myself and being intelligible, while trying to sound like I am speaking to a single archetypal listener.
Kern, Jonathan. Sound Reporting: the NPR Guide to Audio Journalism and Production. Chicago: University of Chicago, 2008. Print.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Controversy: The Dove "Real Beauty" Campaign
The Dove Real Beauty campaign is a good thought. Basically, Dove decided to feature models who were not exactly flawless in their appearance to model in their advertising campaign. The problem is that the company Unilever, which owns Dove, became very two-faced in appearance because of their advertising used in Axe campaigns that do use models who are touched up to an unrealistic and virtually unachievable version of beauty. Also, the Axe ads use female sexuality to market to younger men, which does not make the company look good when comparing it to the Real Beauty campaign in which they attempt to prove that real beauty can be found in anyone.
Dove's Real Beauty campaign would also be much more effective if they did not "touch up" the models as much. It also may have gone too far when they allowed votes to be cast by campaign viewers by allowing them two choices to vote on to describe the model in the particular Dove ad. A thin line may exist when allowing a viewer to vote a model as "fat" or "fab." This is especially the case when the Western concept of beauty is so deeply rooted in our society that the negative choice prevails.
The image above is from Dove's Real Beauty campaign. One signifier is the woman's gray hair. Gray hair can signify experience and wisdom. However, it can also signify being elderly and, in cases when the gray hair is beginning prematurely, it can signify stress. In the case of this ad though, it seems to signify being elderly more than anything.
I believe that the Real Beauty campaign would be more successful without allowing people to vote. In addition, Unilever would look better and the whole campaign would be less controversial if they did not advertise beauty and sexuality in Axe campaigns. Perhaps if Unilever cared about Dove's Real Beauty campaign and what it stands for, they would use the same view that beauty can be found anywhere with all of their products.
Dove's Real Beauty campaign would also be much more effective if they did not "touch up" the models as much. It also may have gone too far when they allowed votes to be cast by campaign viewers by allowing them two choices to vote on to describe the model in the particular Dove ad. A thin line may exist when allowing a viewer to vote a model as "fat" or "fab." This is especially the case when the Western concept of beauty is so deeply rooted in our society that the negative choice prevails.
The image above is from Dove's Real Beauty campaign. One signifier is the woman's gray hair. Gray hair can signify experience and wisdom. However, it can also signify being elderly and, in cases when the gray hair is beginning prematurely, it can signify stress. In the case of this ad though, it seems to signify being elderly more than anything.
I believe that the Real Beauty campaign would be more successful without allowing people to vote. In addition, Unilever would look better and the whole campaign would be less controversial if they did not advertise beauty and sexuality in Axe campaigns. Perhaps if Unilever cared about Dove's Real Beauty campaign and what it stands for, they would use the same view that beauty can be found anywhere with all of their products.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Capstone Research / Progress (4th Week of March)
This week I have been focusing on editing and recording. I have completed the editing I planned on doing for all of the interview sound bytes. Now I am beginning the processes of recording myself (by the end of this week or start of next week), finding/creating and editing sounds for audio scenes, and further editing my scripts. Because of beginning the new process, I have done some additional reading on writing news stories that I feel will assist in any editing and that has already assisted in some of the writing that I have done.
As far as the script editing goes, I have read an article on media college.com that states many different aspects that assist in the creation of news stories. These aspects are similar to what I have read before from other sources. Basically, the article says that the creation of a news story deals with stating the "who, what, when, where, why, and how" within the story. Now this article is based more for print journalism, but that is also an important aspect for audio news stories too. I checked through my scripts and each one answers all of those questions without being too blatant.
Some other things on this article about news stories that caught my eye were:
Wavelength Media. "How to Write News Stories." Media College - Video, Audio and Multimedia Resources. Web. 22 Mar. 2011. <http://www.mediacollege.com/journalism/news/write-stories.html>.
As far as the script editing goes, I have read an article on media college.com that states many different aspects that assist in the creation of news stories. These aspects are similar to what I have read before from other sources. Basically, the article says that the creation of a news story deals with stating the "who, what, when, where, why, and how" within the story. Now this article is based more for print journalism, but that is also an important aspect for audio news stories too. I checked through my scripts and each one answers all of those questions without being too blatant.
Some other things on this article about news stories that caught my eye were:
- news is "all about the people"
- news should be objective
- quotes should be included
- language should not be "too flowery."
Wavelength Media. "How to Write News Stories." Media College - Video, Audio and Multimedia Resources. Web. 22 Mar. 2011. <http://www.mediacollege.com/journalism/news/write-stories.html>.
Semiotics Interpretation for Hummer Ad
- The camera angle of the Hummer in this advertisement is a signifier. The effect caused by the angle signifies that the vehicle is large and capable of being used in rugged terrain.
- Another signifier is the orange background around the hummer and the tear. This color of orange reminds me of a rocky or even desert-like terrain and seems to signify adventure and the fact that the Hummer H3 can handle any kind of outing.
- The text that says "brace yourself for the next big thing" is also a signifier. In this case, the text seems to signify that the new Hummer H3 is going to be popular. However, it also could signify that the Hummer itself is large, even though the Hummer H3 is smaller than other Hummers. In this case, the signified is more of a joke.
- The Hummer's pristine condition even after having ripped through the background could also be considered a signifier. It signifies that this vehicle is solid enough to resist damage from obstacles. Pristine condition on an automobile also typically signifies that the vehicle is new (or newer).
- In addition, the centered composition of the advertisement is also a signifier. The composition signifies that the Hummer in the advertisement is the center of attention. In this case, the signified could also be that the vehicle is popular because no other vehicles are like it.
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