Recently in my Pre-Production class at the Southern Institute of Technology I was made aware of an online program called Scenechronize which offers free usage to film makers anywhere.
It is a Pre-Production tool used to create script breakdowns and also call sheets for television episodes, feature films, and short/indie films. I experimented with it this week and absolutely loved it.
This is a screenshot of the short film project I was working on for an assignment.
All you have to do is import your script and it breaks each scene up for you. Then it gives you departments to fill in such as costume, art, camera, gear, casting etc. This script was very simple for me as the entire thing is only one scene but the program makes it easy to fill in all the elements needed for each scene within a script. I will certainly be using this in my future projects both here at SIT and also in my later career.
In a few weeks my film making class will be designing and filming some adverts as an assignment. In preparation for this we were set a task to examine two ad's and evaluate them.
I chose two New Zealand advertisements due to the fact that the non-profit organisation that we will be making advert's for is also New Zealand based.
The first TVC that I looked at was the Mitre 10 Ad - New Zealand vs. Aussie Kids released in 2008
Product
Mitre 10 “DIY, It’s in our DNA”
Target Market –
NZ Males 20-60
Problem –
Contract builders reducing their
sales to the average man (my own deduction)
Concept:
Two boys at the playground
talking about DIY reinforces the slogan. Then they use our age old competition
with Australia by having the Aussie kid against DIY. Using the idea of
manliness which is important to NZ Males.
Technical Elements:
Cinematography – Kids shot at their level
as if the audience is one of them rather than an adult. Good.
Production Design – The day is bright and
clear which is the kind of weather men would put a retaining wall up in. Kids
holding tools.
Performances – AWESOME!! NZ language used
is similar to the target audiences.
Editing – Clean and easy editing that puts
the audience into the world of the kids.
Post-Production – Ending slogan with
product placement is good.
Thoughts:
Using the kids as actors relates to the 'DNA' idea of their slogan as they haven't had a chance to learn to be this way just through the New Zealand culture. The technical elements including the Mitre 10 song that is used in most adverts are used effectively to put the audience into the world of the kids and promote the product/brand.
Over-all Opinion:
Success!!!
The next ad I chose was the National Cervical Screening Programme TV ad - Lunchroom.
Service –
Smear Testing
Target Market –
Poly and Maori Females aged 35-60
Problem –
Not enough Poly and Maori females are coming in to get tested before its too late
Concept –
Woman around a lunch room discussing how to tell friends to get tested in a laughing manner.
Technical Elements:
Cinematography – Pushes in to the conversation as if the ‘audience’ is just joining the conversation. Movements in the camera make it all seem realistic rather than static.
Production Design – The lunch room looks average and relatable to most women in office jobs or anything like that.
Performances – Not well acted (in the sense of real life) but the women do seem friendly with each other. Man in background at 11 seconds is hilarious and truthful.
Editing – It cuts between each woman's opinion well as if the camera is another person in the group.
Post-Production – Applies the question at the beginning which is very good. V/O at the end sends the message home.
Thoughts:
Getting tested for cancer can be quite scary and off putting. This advert makes the concept a lot more inviting for the average woman.
