My brief for my A2 practical production project was to create and produce a perfume advert and an accompanying teaser. I chose to do this as the advertising industry fascinates me and it would be very interesting for me to produce my own advertisement. I hoped that I would gain a sense of knowledge of how the advertising industry works and how it affects us as a potential buyer. I wanted to find out just exactly what made people buy a certain product through use of advertising alone. I also chose to do produce a perfume advert as I was curious to know how the credit crunch was affecting today’s perfume industry and if advertising was helping to maintain high sales figures. This is different to my AS level practical production as I now have a wider knowledge of the filming and editing system. Also, I chose to work by myself this year as that way I could work in my own time and rely solely on myself. Also, last year I produced a trailer for a thriller film, which although I found to be interesting, was not something I would have personally chosen as I do not have an ardent enthusiasm for the thriller genre.
Planning my production was a very interesting process for me. I have learnt a lot about specific adverts and the advertising industry as a whole. Firstly, I started off by researching the history of perfume and how it has evolved over the years. I then began to research into the perfume industry, more specifically into the history of the notorious Chanel No.5 perfume. I chose to specify my research on this perfume as it is a world renowned scent and everybody, old and young, will know what it is. Although my advert was not a reconstruction of the Chanel perfume adverts, I heavily based some of my ideas on the previous Chanel adverts, particularly the most recognised Chanel advert, ‘The Film’ of 2004 starring Nicole Kidman and Rodrigo Santoro. After researching into the Chanel advertising history, I started to look at a wider range of adverts, mostly to see what ranges of adverts are in today’s media. I looked at various adverts including the advert for Gwen Stefani’s perfume ‘L by L.A.M.B’. I found this to be helpful when deciding what kind of advert I was going to produce. In addition to the visual aspect of advertising, I also noticed a regular pattern beginning to emerge with the audio aspect. I began to notice that adverts were using less dialogue and more music, as the adverts were speaking for themselves. I found this to be a very effective alternative to dialogue, thus why I chose to use this method in my own production.
After this, I delved into some research for my target audience. I had to find out what people wanted and preferred, and what sort of age group and persona would fit my target audience. Initially, I decided that I did not have a particular age range as everybody wears perfume and there is a scent for everybody, this changed however when I realised that my particular perfume was specified to a certain age range; the 16-40 age group. I had to learn about the ‘perfect client’ and what kind of personality they would have. I came to the conclusion that my perfect client would be young and single, reasonably sensible yet laid back.
When deciding on factors such as locations and actors/actresses, I wanted them to be completely realistic and seem reachable for the audience. This is why I chose one of my friends of 18 years old to be the sole actress in my advert that I shot in my own bedroom. I chose my own bedroom because it was a location that was normal and something that everyone has. The whole point of the advert was for it to be something that anybody would love. I initially wanted to create a production in a more exotic location and I had completed a storyboard using the other location but decided against it as I delved further into my audience research. I have uploaded a copy of my original storyboard in addition to the final one that I used. I decided against the other location because from results such as posting a specific question about perfume advertising on Yahoo Answers and questionnaires, I found that people are much more drawn to an advert that they can relate to, something that they know is within their grasp. I also specifically chose to only have one person in my production. This was because the slogan of my perfume is ‘Release your Inhibitions’ which I wanted to be a slogan that was personal to each individual, and a production containing more than one person would, in my opinion, dilute the slogan.
Overall, the planning stages of my production took me a lot longer than I had first anticipated, due to the fact that I had changed my mind on several occasions on what type of production I would like to create. I do believe this had caused me to fall slightly behind but it was also beneficial for me because when I finally decided on something that I wanted to create, I knew it was the perfect choice for me. I believe that the process of trial and error was very useful.
It took me a while to finally decide on how my finished production should look. The finished production is very unique and unconventional, taking ideas from previous commercials and adding them into my own production. I believe that the uniqueness of my commercial is what makes it so appealing. I have found in my research that people are more drawn to buying a product of the commercial can stand out amongst others and remain in the head of the audience. In today’s media, it is very competitive and my target audience are very impressionable and need something that will stand out in their minds.
I decided that the commercial should start in black and white until the product is shown, to connote the dullness of the character’s life before she sprayed the perfume on herself. My intention for this was to emphasise the product and highlight exactly what the product could do. The end half of my commercial shows my character jumping on the bed and having fun because she has sprayed the perfume. The reasoning for this to happen was to connote to the audience that the product allowed you to release your inhibitions and let go and have fun, and this is achieved through the shots I have at the end half of my production. Also, my research shows that women feel much more confident and self-assured when they spray perfume on; this is certainly portrayed in my advert, it is obvious how much confidence the character gains when she sprays the perfume on her.
In addition to this, my production is completely free any form of dialogue, the only form of audio that was used is the music throughout the advertisement. I chose the song ‘Sex on Fire’ by Kings of Leon because I believe that as well as being a modern and well known song, it relates heavily to my target audience. The song connotes having a good time and letting go of all inhibitions, which I want my target audience to relate to. The song is also fairly modern and still in the UK music charts so it coincides with the youthful approach I have taken to my production. I thought that if the song was modern and catchy then it would remain in the audience’s heads and they would begin to associate the song with my production. There are also no voice-overs in my advert. I didn’t want any voice-overs because after having analysed many perfume advertisements, I’d noticed that nearly all of them contained voice-overs and for me to have one in my own production would not be staying within my unconventional approach to advertising. I also wanted the visual aspect of the commercial to be able to sell the product by itself.
My production completely represents my target audience. I have maintained a sense of realism amid my production as it enables the audience to believe that the product is attainable for them, not something that they can only wish for. This also widens my target audience and shows that although it is specified to a certain age group, it can be for anybody if they wish. After basing much of my research on the Chanel No. 5 advert of 2004 starring Nicole Kidman, I realised that the director Baz Luhrmann intended the advert to be seen as a mini film, not a commercial. I do not think that this would have been the right approach for me to take as I think that it would not deem the product within reach of any blue or white collar workers, or students, which are my main targeted groups.
I believe that my production looks fairly professional, given the equipment that we used. I do believe that I have analysed enough perfume adverts to understand and gain a knowledge of what audiences are looking for and how I can achieve this in my own commercial, but adapting it to stay unique and different. I think that the music allows my commercial to stay close to the real thing because I’ve used a song that everybody knows or has heard at some point. The only way that my commercial would differ from the ‘real thing is that I have no voice-overs or dialogue.
When I finished editing my production, I gathered a few people who fitted into my target audience age range and asked them to watch the production and give me some feedback as to what they thought about it. There was a varied response. One girl, of 14 years old said that the commercial ‘looks fun and the music is good’. Also, I asked an 18 year old girl to comment on what she thought and she said that ‘the technique is good. I liked the part when she sprayed herself into perfume and everything burst into colour. It looked very effective’. However, it was not all positive as one person said ‘the advert is unclear at the start. It does get better towards the end but it wouldn’t make me buy the perfume’. I have found from the feedback that the most effective part of the advertisement was the colour change. My target audience noticed that the perfume came into the shot when the black and white screen burst into colour and they said that this was an effective technique. Also, the end shot of the perfume bottle was valuable because it gave the audience a final shot of the product so the perfume was a reminder of the product so it stayed in the audience’s memory after the commercial had finished. I was pleased that I successfully completed my commercial fitting into the target audience group that I had previously stated.
I believe that my production was a success. The biggest challenge for me was that I was working solely on my own so I completed all of the filming and editing by myself with my limited knowledge of the editing process. I do believe that my final production was reflective of my storyboard and I managed to complete it to the best of my ability. I had learnt about filming and editing as I was doing it and have gained a significant amount of knowledge in the practical area. Although I did change my storyboard a few times, I believe that it was only beneficial because the final storyboard was the one that had the most positive feedback and looked the most professional. It did take me longer to start progressing onto the practical element of the course as it had taken me a lot longer than anticipated to decide on how my production should look. The process of trial and error only strengthened my final idea and production.
I believe that the weaknesses I found were my own personal fault. I thought that I was capable of more than I thought, thus leading me to believe that I could achieve certain things that I actually couldn’t i.e. the exotic locations I first sketched in my storyboard and the overly exaggerated storylines. Although my initial ideas were creative, they were not practical for an A level student, something which I later found when trying to prepare the filming. Another of my weaknesses was thinking that I could complete everything within a shorter time frame. I believed that I could finish my filming and editing within a time that was not actually possible and I myself had made the mistake of rushing to finish everything at the end of the course.
Overall, I do believe that my final production was a success, considering the circumstances and limitations that I encountered.
