"When our muscles contract, they fire a signal back to the brain, stimulating our reward system, and further increasing our level of happy hormones, or endorphins. In short, when our brain feels happy, we smile; when we smile, our brain feels happier."
"Happy foundations is a movement of people trying to build a happier society by encouraging positive changes in peoples personal lives, homes, workplace and communities. Our philosophy – When our smiling muscles contract, they fire a signal back to the brain, stimulating our reward system, and further increasing our level of happy hormones, or endorphins. In short, when our brain feels happy, we smile; when we smile, our brain feels happier. Fake it till you make it! Yes, if you want to be happy, just smile. Thanks to the positive feedback loop of smiling, we can alter our brain's emotional processing pathway to feel happier with a simple smile. Focus – Happy foundations is a not-for-profit organisation and is committed to support a range of initiatives that will help to build a happier society."
-technical codes-
close up shots- vulnerable
establishing shots-location
tracking shots-lifestyle
slow motion
black and white
-language and mode of address-
voice over
imperative
graphics
A1.1: 'Smile Campaign' Brief: Initial Research:
Happy Foundations are a charitable organisation pledged to helping people maintain a sense of happiness in their lives. We have been tasked with creating a print advert and a TV advert for this organisation.
A1: "the assignment would most likely be used to form part of the evidence for the unit, combined with evidence from other assignments."
A2: "as a unit dedicated to undertaking a focused creative project in response to an assignment brief, more time would be expected to be spent exploring different ideas, developing work and presenting outcomes to meet the brief."
B2: "the response itself is likely to be more extensive and fully resolved given the time allocated to the development of work towards the assignment and the depth of content being assessed through the unit.
Criteria for initial research:
- pre-existing media products with similarities to the brief that I can use as a basis to inform ideas for my products. I can use pre-existing
- Statistics based on happiness and the effects of happiness, and how these statistics can be used to inform ideas for my products. Use these statistics to reinforce who my target audience is, i.e. cite demographics most prevalent in given statistics regarding happiness - as the brief states I must "identify the client, their needs and issues".
Identifying the client:
When preparing to enter the pre-production of a media project - one must first identify several variables including the client, the target demographic, type of product, etc. This is so that going in to the production one has a clear idea of the parameters of what is to be achieved with the final product. The brief states, "you need to able to identify the client, their needs and issues." Our completed media products are, as stated by the brief, meant to encourage those that consume it to smile. Given that our client's name is "Happy Foundations", I can infer that our core theme for this product is to encourage a feeling of happiness within the viewer.
"Happy foundations is a movement of people trying to build a happier society by encouraging positive changes in peoples personal lives, homes, workplace and communities. Our philosophy – When our smiling muscles contract, they fire a signal back to the brain, stimulating our reward system, and further increasing our level of happy hormones, or endorphins. In short, when our brain feels happy, we smile; when we smile, our brain feels happier. Fake it till you make it! Yes, if you want to be happy, just smile. Thanks to the positive feedback loop of smiling, we can alter our brain's emotional processing pathway to feel happier with a simple smile. Focus – Happy foundations is a not-for-profit organisation and is committed to support a range of initiatives that will help to build a happier society."
I can derive many key factors from this except from the brief provided to us by Pearson. Firstly - a key point I can infer from this text is that 'Happy Foundations' is a "not-for-profit organisation". Furthermore, understanding this tells me a lot about the client and the type of product that they expect to receive. As 'Happy Foundations' is a "not-for-profit organisation" - I can categorise this company as a charity. I can safely make this assumption as by definition - a charity is "an organisation set up to provide help and raise money for those in need." Happy Foundations is an organisation set to help those in need, a key feature of a charity organisation. Secondly it is a non-profit organisation, another key feature of a charity organisation. Charity advertising differs quite vastly from marketing advertising - so I will have to understand and research the codes and conventions of charity advertising when creating this advert.
Identifying the target audience:
Before starting pre-production of a media product - one must first identify the target audience. This is in order to tailor the product towards the needs and interests of the audience so that the product is more well received and catches the audiences attention upon initial viewing. We have not been given a specific demographic to orient our advert towards - rather the provided brief states that we are to make this advert appeal to our "community." Community, by definition, means - "a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common." From this I can extrapolate many things such as the fact that I am orienting my advert towards my community - which I interpret to mean my local community in a geographic sense. I reside in Sunderland in the Northern United Kingdom - meaning that as I am to orient my advert towards my local community - I am to tailor my advert to the needs and interest of people who live in my local community.
As inferred from my identification of the client - my client is a charity named the 'Happy Foundations'. The main motive of this charity is to create a media campaign that encourages happiness in the audience. That raises the question: who is the target demographic in regards to happiness? As there isn't a clear, discernible, answer to who my target demographic is, I will make an attempt to answer this question through using statistics and pre-existing media products produced by companies with similarities to 'Happy Foundations'.
In a post provided by 'mentalhealth.org', it is stated that "50% of mental health problems are established by age 14 and 75% by age 24. 10% of children and young people (aged 5-16 years) have a clinically diagnosable mental problem." These statistics are rather interesting in the sense that I was unaware prior to this research on the commonality of such conditions amongst young people and furthermore the necessity to catch and diagnose conditions whilst the said person is young (14 - 24). An estimated 10% of children suffer from mental health disorders - this is something I will make reference to in my advertising, in an attempt to educate young people on the commonality of mental health issues and how they should go about seeking help. The necessity of diagnosis at an early age is something later brought up in the same article by 'mentalhealth.org' - "yet 70% of children and adolescents who experience mental health problems have not had appropriate interventions at a sufficiently early age." This particular passage from the article is especially worrying, as it gives the implication that there are a vast quantity of people who suffer every day from pressing mental health conditions - yet have not received the treatment they deserve. As with the previously cited statistics - I will make a reference to this in my advert to reinforce the necessity of being tested and the benefits that come with it. I believe this statistic, in particular, will be useful in capturing the attention of my audience as 70% is a truly shocking figure.
In an article provided by 'Compare Camp', it is sated that Nordic countries are generally the most happy countries in the world and in doing so attempts to give some insight into said countries and why they are so happy. "The World Happiness Report suggests the following reasons why Nordic countries are consistently at the top percentile of the happiest countries: extensive welfare benefits, low corruption, well-functioning democracy, and state institutions. The “Nordic Exceptionalism,” as the report labels it, reminds us of another study where these countries rank high as well:’ commitment to reducing income inequality." Our brief states our advert is meant to appeal to the community - from this I can infer that it is reference to the community of Sunderland - the place where I and where my college campus is based. I bring up this point as Sunderland is a city that suffers greatly from austerity and income inequality - meaning I could use it as a basis for discussing the mental health of people in North East England - and by extension how smiling could potentially improve their situation. In an article from 'World Psychiatry' named 'Income inequality and depression: a systematic review and meta‐analysis of the association and a scoping review of mechanisms' it is stated -"demonstrating greater risk of depression in populations with higher income inequality relative to populations with lower inequality. Multiple studies reported subgroup effects, including greater impacts of income inequality among women and low‐income populations."Before we continue, we must first define what income inequality is: the definition of income inequality, citing Investopedia, is - "income inequality is how unevenly income is distributed throughout a population. The less equal the distribution, the higher income inequality is. Income inequality is often accompanied by wealth inequality, which is the uneven distribution of wealth. Populations can be divided up in different ways to show different levels and forms of income inequality such as income inequality by sex or race." The United Kingdom is a country that suffers rather greatly from wealth inequality - especially northern areas. Using the figure of average estimated income, per person, based on area provided by the University of Sheffield: we can see that Sunderland is in the lowest category - white, meaning that the average yearly income for a person living in Sunderland is between £13,000 and £13,999. The UK has a higher level of regional inequality than any other large wealthy country, according to the cited article from Sheffield University.
In terms of identifying an age demographic - I believe showing people of variable age aids in portraying a sense of camaraderie and community.
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Citation: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/news/nr/uk-higher-regional-inequality-large-wealthy-country-1.862262 CompareCamp later makes reference to the pressing issue of mental health over time - "Research suggests that American adults have been getting less happy since 2000, while adolescents have been experiencing more depression, suicidal ideation, and self-harm since 2010. It’s difficult to say why this is happening, and to tease out symptoms from causes. Some researchers blame rising income inequality; others blame political polarisation." This may or may not be due to the increased acceptability to talk about one's mental health - as in the lower figures of 2000 and 2007 are merely due to people not willing to come forward, giving a percentage that is lower than whatever the actual figure may be. Alternatively, it was implied that the exponential rise in the 7 years between 2007 and 2014 could be due to increased use of social media. Social media's effect on the mental health of young people |
Codes and conventions of charity advertising:
In making an advertisement for a charity - one of must understand the codes and conventions of the type of advert they are making as so that the product has the most possible effect on the target audience. By definition - codes and conventions: "Codes are signs which have the potential for different meanings and conventions are arrangements that become habitual and accepted."
Charity adverts
audio codes-
recognisable songs
dramatic soundtrack
non diegetic voice over
personalised narrative voice over
recognisable songs
dramatic soundtrack
non diegetic voice over
personalised narrative voice over
-technical codes-
close up shots- vulnerable
establishing shots-location
tracking shots-lifestyle
slow motion
black and white
-language and mode of address-
voice over
imperative
direct to audience by characters
graphics
Mental health in 2020 - the effects of COVID-19 and lockdown on people's mental health:
In our brief it is stated that our advert should be aimed towards, "the community. Thinking of things that have had a great impact on my local community; I have decided to incorporate the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as a talking point in my documentary - as it has had a great impact on the mental health of most of the people I have discussed it with. This is statistically backed - in a post by the Office of National statistics, it is stated that two thirds of adults (69%) believe they are concerned about the effect the pandemic has had on their lives. This is a gravely concerning statistic as more people than not are being negatively affected by COVID - furthermore by incorporating this in to advert, it will be more appealing to the viewer as the advert will be discussing an ongoing topic that affects a vast number of people.
Citation: (https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/healthandwellbeing/bulletins/coronavirusandthesocialimpactsongreatbritain/5june2020)
Given that I am talking about the effects that lockdown has on mental health - I am also going to research ways to remedy this, in order to promote a happier standard of life given the situation. In an article from the Mental Health Foundation, a part of the national mental health response during the coronavirus outbreak - providing government advice on mental health, it is stated, "Be in touch with other people regularly on social media, e-mail or on the phone, as they are still good ways of being close to the people who matter to you. " This is in response to the isolation and lack of socialisation that one has due to the legally imposed, mandatory, national lockdown.
Research in to smiling and it's physiological benefits:
Smiling is a natural human stimulus to convey positive feelings - and has many contexts and is associated with many different feelings - i.e, laughter, conveying gratitude. When we smile, our brain releases endorphins, natural painkillers, and serotonin. Endorphins are chemicals produced by the body to relieve stress and pain. They are often referred to as “feel-good” chemicals due to their mood boosting effects on the human brain.
Research in to effective advertising techniques:
In my research I have found that effective advertising has a slogan - I have came up with the slogan "Fighting back against stress with a smile!"
equality in advertising
Research in to shot types:
Close up - close ups, including extreme, big and medium close ups, are used to draw the viewer closer and to involve them in what is happening; they also used to observe reactions and emotions, such is happiness, elation or tension. These shots are often used to help the audience feel sympathy for that character or side with them. Alternatively, a series of close ups / extreme close-ups often make the audience feel quite claustrophobic and uncomfortable.
medium close up -
extreme close up -
medium shot -
long shot - a distance shot where the camera is a long way from the subjects being filmed. A long shot can be effective as an establishing shot that sets the scene for the action and roles in the viewer.
birds eye view shot - a shot taken directly from above something, looking down on it (as though the camera was a bird flying over the scene)
high angle - A shot where the camera is positioned higher than the person’s eye-line, looking down at them. This is often used to make a character in the shot seem weaker, younger or more vulnerable.
low angle - A shot where the camera is placed lower than the eye-line of the person in the shot, looking up at them. It can make the character shown seem big and powerful and it can make us or the character we are seeing through, seem small and weak.
over the shoulder shot:
Dutch angle:
Research in to lighting:
Key lighting - the main source of light in a scene.
Fill light - the secondary source of light in a scene, often used to reduce shadows.
High key lighting - high key lighting reduces the
Low key lighting -
Backlight -
Rim light -
Hard light -
Soft light -
Existing Product Analysis:
When creating your own media product - you must first look at other existing media products that exhibit similar traits and themes as the product you intend to create. In doing this I can take aspects that I think are particularly effective and apply them to my own advert.
I think this video is effective as it shows many people from different backgrounds all coming together to talk about their shared issues of struggling with mental health. I intend to replicate this in my advert. This video makes use of graphic match - which further emphasises the sense of community and shared struggle that the video is trying to get across to the audience.
References that are cited in this post:
1) https://comparecamp.com/happiness-statistics/
2)https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/world_happiness_report_finds_that_people_are_feeling_worse
3)
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