2. What creative decisions did you have to make to solve problems
and how did this depart form your original plan?
One of my first problems was that the ‘Party Crowd’ background was too loud
so I had to lower the volume so it didn’t over power the music which was also
playing in the background; however this wasn’t the biggest problem. That
prise goes to not being able to find a scanner noise for a shop, this was a huge
road block because it was the only thing that let the listener know that they
were in a shop, so it was the only sound effect that could set the atmosphere.
Because of this I wasn’t able to find a solution to the problem. With all this in
mind, I wasn’t able to follow the script as well as I wanted to because there
were some time constraints which meant somethings had to be cut out, such as
some minor dialogue.
3. Both individually and working with others how did you work and
what challenges did you face?
The biggest challenge, for myself (apart from not being able to find a suitable
replacement for the scanner) was using a programme (Sony Vegas Pro) I
hadn’t had any experience with previously, so I had to learn how to use all the
functions and how to fix and improve all the recordings. Another challenge
was finding a room which didn’t have tonnes of echo and wasn’t already in
use, the room I did end up using to record in was not the best as it did have
some echo but it wasn’t the worst either.
4. What advertising techniques did you use to hook your intended
target audience?
The biggest challenge, for myself (apart from not being able to find a suitable
replacement for the scanner) was using a programme I hadn’t had any
experience with previously, so I had to learn how to use all the functions and
how to fix and improve all the recordings. Another challenge was finding a
room which didn’t have tonnes of echo and wasn’t already in use, the room I
did end up using to record in was not the best as it did have some echo but it
wasn’t the worst either.
5. How did technology enable the creative process? Was it difficult
to use any of the equipment and did you learn any new skills?
The programme I used the radio advert with was Sony Vegas Pro which is
more used for film editing and whatnot but it still worked pretty well
considering it’s not intended for the purpose I was using it for. I had never
really used Sony Vegas before so it was new to me and I had to learn how to
use all of it’s functions (the ones I needed anyway). The only bit of hardware I
used was the microphone which I used to record the voices for the radio advert
and one single sound effect which was a fizzy drink opening. The mic itself
worked perfectly it was the surroundings that were the problem, the room used
to record in had quite a bad echo so when it came down to editing I had to
work around the background noise.
6. What conventions of a radio advert have you used or not used
and why?
The first radio advert convention I used was music; the music cannot be heard
throughout the whole advert only at the party so one could argue that the music is
atmospheric as it sets the scene although the music could also be ambient as it isn’t
needed to set the scene. Another major one is the voice over, this can be heard at the
end advertising the product more than the dialect in the advert itself, this let’s the
listener hear about the product in more detail. Finally, the atmospheric sound effects,
these can be heard all the way though the advert from a party crowd to footsteps and
various car noises, these are used to tell a story with no vocals as it is quicker and easier
to understand because you need to listen to what people are saying to fully understand
what’s going on.
The only one I might not have used was the ambient noises as there wasn’t really a
place for them, the only thing comes close is the music when the characters are at the
party and at he end under the voice over to act as a bedding track which is more music
based anyway. In my advert I used the stereotype of people in their teenage years liking
to go out and party instead of work towards their school grades or getting a job, this
plays well with my radio advert because it shows that Pepsi is in fact a good substitute
for bevvies and gives as much fun as an alcoholic drink.
7. What and who are you representing in your advert and how?
In my advert I was trying to represent people between the ages of 16 and 24 of
any gender because this is the age group that receive the most hate from the
press and society because of their age this is partly due to stereotypes which
come from chavs and other such groups. Although how they are represented in
my advert isn’t such a good thing because of the party and things, there is no
sign of alcoholic drinks so the party is clean and legal although the do drive
down to Tesco so they could be old enough to drink. The advert also shows
that people the age group like to live life in the fast lane as they go to parties
and do other activities that only some people can dream about doing. I am also
representing Pepsi as big brand names don’t usually change their formula or
bring out anything new that changes the taste of the product because that’s
what made them popular in the first place, so by advertising new flavours it
shows that big franchises are willing to add and change things to make their
product better.
8. What feedback did you get and did this help you realise anything
about your product?
I didn’t get much feedback but the things I did get were quite helpful. Firstly
when the new flavours for Pepsi were on the drawing board someone said that
the flavours were to obscure and wouldn’t sell; such as Caeser Salad, Beef
Steak and Caffeine Blast (Which was 100% caffeine). Although I took their
opinions on-board I opted to keep the flavours because that was the whole
point of the new flavours, to be completely new and out of this world.
However, with this information there were a few other flavours added such as
Pitaya (Dragon Fruit) and bubble gum, these are still new flavours but are well
known across the globe.
