CANON- Evaluation

 Initial research

I started the brief off by interpreting what i had to do. This was to proof i understood what i had to do and what the brief was about. This was to create 2 products to promote Canons new line up of Cameras in association with their new campaign called Journeys. The product would be aimed at young people aged 16-25 years old and would be 2 of 3 things: a magazine cover, Print advert or advertorial for a magazine. This helped me have an idea of the brief before moving onto the next stage, client and audience research.

Following up me summing-up the brief, i had to do some background research on the client. This gave me a better insight into who the client is and what they do such as what there other campaigns they do and what products they make, and who were their previous campaigns targeted at. This helped me gain background info on them as a business and what they do. This helped me get an idea on what sort of a product they would want me to make and how i would then create that to suit their brief. Would then figure out how i would alter the style of their previous campaigns to suit a younger audience rather than an older audience. I could then conduct a character profile on Canon which would help me start to plan out how i want to make their new campaign.

Existing products.

 I then looked into previous products that Canon had made for their previous campaigns to gain some basic ideas and inspiration of how i might develop my campaign and how i want to create my advert. Here i was looking at some of the Canon magazines that they had made which was called Photoplus which was an official Canon Magazine. From this analysis i discovered that the previous campaigns were primarily targeted towards an older audience of middle aged adults and older people which were a lot more friendly with using technology and other Canon and camera related products. I found out to not make my audience feel put off by all the tech related terms and lots of text, that i had to minimise it so it was minimal but also got the message across with the required info. This meant i decided to have the title, with a few captions and short sentences but not as detailed as these magazines. I wanted my advert to be user friendly to help teach the younger audience about Canon products as most young people record on their phone. Canon wanted to teach the Younger generation ow to use cameras as the young people are the future of the media industry so its important to get young people to use cameras. In the second slide with the text i go into detail about my Thoughts on the existing products and how i will adapt it to make the new campaign.

I learned that with one of Canons previous campaigns, the Young people Programme, they want to engage young people into using Camera equipment to teach the future generation of media. This is something that is going to be carried over in the purpose of this campaign. I also saw how the posters primarily focus on detail that is produced in the images by the cameras.

Overall the previous campaigns have one thing in common which they have a key colour scheme of white, red and black which helps represent Canon as a company. This is something i was inspired by which i will use in my campaign. I also noticed the text and background are contrasted using light and darker colours which is something i noted as i wanted to use it in my adverts. As well they use images with vivid colours to get the audiences attention as it stands out and makes you want to find out more. As well, these images are in crystal clear detail so i wanted to replicate this by getting good lighting and camera angles to make my image perfect.

I learned that i needed to capture a very scenic shot which captures an adventure or going somewhere new as the previous campaigns included images of new places which were similar to somewhere you would go to if you were on holiday which is the sort of impression I get from the previous campaigns. I learned how Canon present their magazines and the layout of them and how everything is organised. I saw hoe the magazines have the title at the top and that its got a plain black or white background around the text to make it contrast so it stands out with bright text on a dark background or the other way around. I also seen that on top of the image that they used captions which showcase what the product is about such as the features and specs which is used to impress the audience as it really sells what the product is about.

Audience research

After gaining research into the client, i got some research into my audience by creating surveys for young people aged 16-25 years old. I asked a variety of questions based off the client and the brief so i could find out about what my audience would be interested to see in a Canon product aimed at them. I asked them if they know anything about Canon to test them to make sure they were aware of the client in case they didn't as i would have to then teach them. I then asked them how often they use a camera in case they don't use a camera, then i would have to focus on showing them why they need to use a camera and the features it has and what you can do with it. I then asked if they prefer to shoot on a camera or a phone any why. This is because everyone records things and takes pictures but without asking you don't know if they are using a phone or camera. If people use a phone then i need to show why a camera is way better than a phone at taking good quality images. I noticed lots of people prefer to use phone as its easier to carry around and and its more simple to use compared to a cameras. Although a camera looks more complicated to use, i knew in this campaign i needed to explain why a camera is better and i wanted to this by showing off features of cameras by including captions.

     One key question i wanted to ask them is what comes to mind when they think with the term "Journeys". This informs me what things or events people associate with the title of the campaign. This lets me generate ideas on Where i could take my shots for the advert. Lots of people i asked linked Journeys with holidays and going new places. This helped me think of the idea of taking a picture on Seaburn beach as a beach is where you would go on holiday. I thought this will help get the audiences attention.

To follow up the surveys, i then did a focused group where i took a few people from my target audience and asked them similar questions as with the survey, but this time this would help me get a more explained and detailed response to find out what they want to see from the advert but also find out more about the audience and their requirements such as what would draw them in most to an advert. I also asked what would draw them in most to an advert so i could get ideas on how i wanted to structure the advert.

    This research helped me start to generate a rough plan on how i wanted to create my advert such as a colour scheme, design, layout, location of shot. By researching into what the client and audience like, i can insert this into my own plan for my own advert so i could move onto the pre production phase.

Filming

During production i wanted to get a variety of shots. I wanted to get a few different shots that were similar by testing with different lighting, using high and low angles, checking the focus and doing this by altering the settings on my phone to achieve different effects with the image by manipulating all these different things. I had to work with the environment around me to alter how the lighting affects the background So i moved around different parts of the beach to capture the right shot.

Software I used

For the editing process of post production, i used an editing app on my phone called "Adobe Photoshop mix" which is an alternative Photoshop app for mobile. I used this rather than doing it on a computer as i thought it was more efficient since i took the images on my phone. Also i was quite familiar with the editing software on my phone rather than on the computer. It was useful as it allowed me to cut out backgrounds of images to let me insert things into my advert. for example i used the cut out tool to edit out the background of a picture of a camera to add to my magazine cover. The software let me layer my images into any order i wanted to.

Skills I learned

During production and filming, I developed my technical skill by taking a good picture. I did this by altering the angle, zoom, focus and shot size to capture the perfect shot. I needed to make sure the lighting was right so i could get the right effect i wanted in the shot.

I also further developed my technical skill by editing the product as i had to use an editing software and manipulate my image to create a print advert and magazine cover. I had to try and experiment different designs and layouts with making the product before i could make the final product the way i want. Through this process i developed my confidence using various photoshop tools like cutting out, the shape tool to add backgrounds and boarders to my image. These skills were sort of the same for both products. If i had a bright coloured text i used a dark background to contrast it together as it was really eye catching and made it easier to read.

Problems that occurred during production

During production, there was many of problems that stopped me making progress or made it difficult that prevented me making progress. One problem I had during production is i had to wait a few days in order to film as it was raining a few days in a row which would ruin my shot. So i therefore had to delay the filming u til i had good weather. As well on production i had poor lighting when trying to get one of my shots, so i had to keep moving around to different parts of the beach in order to get the right angle where there was some good light to brighten up the scenery. By encountering problems it allowed me to teach myself ways to tackle them and fin ways to make my shots work.

During post production, I struggled to find a way to get the images from my phone to the computer as i had problems with the computer where the airdrop wouldn't. I worked around this issue by editing on my phone as i had a very similar editing software on my phone that gave me access to lots of the same tool that you see on Adobe Photoshop.

Drafts/ Experimentation

When producing my advert, I did some experimenting and testing out with different layouts By adding the Canon logon at the top which i think blends in well with the dark background. Something i learned from previous Canon posters is that they are very simple so i don't want to over complicate things as i want to put the more detail and info in the magazine cover. This experimentation gave me an idea on what my sketched plan looks like edited with my image. From here i can reflect on the things that went wrong and how i can improve it when i produce my final product. By analysing my own mistakes I can Find out how i need to improve it for the final product.

    I wanted this draft to be based off my sketch that i did for my pre production plan as i wanted to see my plan come to life and see how it looked, what went well and how I can improve it for the Final Product. I like how the bright text stands out on the darker background which makes it pop and stand out to make the audience want to pay attention to see what the advert is all about. I also wanted to include an image of one of Canons cameras so therefore when people see the advert and see a camera and the red background and then associate it with Canon. This is to increase brand awareness by using the colour scheme of red, black and white as these are the colours that Canon have used previously in their campaigns. I think this particular image works really well with this poster as its simple but very well detailed and colourful and the lighting is right which helps make the image crystal clear.

In order to improve this i think i would include information on the canon website as since its a print advert and it doesn't present any information, i want to let my audience know where they can get the information on the client and the products if their interested in the advert. If they see the advert and they are interested but there is no information on the products or where to buy them, then they cant look into it and find out more. So if i add the website name, they can visit it and find out more about Canons product line of cameras and where to buy them

Final products.

Print Advert:

After the initial draft that i had made previously, i made the improvements that i suggested. I decided to add the website name in small writing at the bottom so it is not too big but is noticeable so they can find out more. I also added a black and red boarder to really make it stand out so they don't miss it. Therefore they can get further information on Canon and their products if they are interested. I think this best suits my target audience as in the audience research surveys they told me they associate the term Journeys with going on holiday or going to new places, and i think that the beach will link best to a holiday and viewing imaginative scenery. I think the image perfectly captures and represents what a journey is as it shows what the end of the journey is which would be the view that you get. This also uses lots of vibrant colours thanks to the lighting making it a very appealing image. The darker setting in the sky really helps to make the light coloured text stand out.

Another thing i changed from the draft is that I added a red boarder around the poster. I think this is good as it helps it stand out if there is a bright colour along the sides. It was a technique i saw in other poster adverts so its something i was inspired by and wanted to use in my campaign. I went with the red colour scheme as it is distinct and unique to canon as a company as no other Camera company use the colour red. I think this will help stand out to be Canon which will help increase brand awareness for the client.

As for the shot, I wanted this to time this as the moon was rising as i wanted the lighting to be just above the horizon so it was just shining and reflecting off the sea which will brighten up the image. The reason behind this is that i wanted the horizon to be the focus as the light in the background will be at the centre of the image so your attention is focused on the centre as its the brightest. Then as you look further out you see the lighting effect that comes off the sea making the sky look blue and the sea look shiny. The shot wouldn't of looked nowhere near as good if i didn't get the moon in the horizon. By having this lighting it really sets of a good vibe where the moon lightens up the atmosphere so the shot looks brighter than it actually is.

The fonts i used was off a website called fontspace. for the "capture your memories" slogan i used a typewriter font as i thought that fit in best with the aesthetic of Cameras, printers and magazines and newspapers as they have that type of font on the inside so i thought it matches the theme and calm mood of the advert but also looks clear and readable on the poster so it is clear to the audience.

Magazine Cover:

For the image i used in this advert It is a different shot but has the same shot angle. I wanted too capture a scenic shot which like the last one features light in the background to help lighten up the sky and the atmosphere. What i liked about This shot is it showcases the beach but also the land which includes lots of different coloured streetlights from the houses and restaurants, and i like how these lights reflect off the water. With the good lighting it made the sand look a golden colour which i really like and looks way more appealing than the way it looked in real life. I think this will suit the audience as its a very distinct image with lots of detail.

I wanted to stick with the colour scheme of red and white as they are bright distinct colours as they are used in previous Canon magazines. I thought if id use red on white for the Canon logo then i'd invert the colours for the tag line so there read separately and so the tagline is noticeable. I liked using the Off white colour for my letters a since its a dark image, the white really pops out and loom eye catching to anyone looking at this as it stands out from the dark background I think the typewriter font for the "capture your dreams" tagline is simple but unique  it first the vibe of the advert as it fits with the theme of canon products. I found the font for the journeys font when i was browsing bold fonts on fontspace as i wanted journeys to be distinct and stand out so i wanted it to be big and bold. I found the font and i thought it fit perfectly as it was very simple and was easy to read. It also fit with the theme of journeys and i personally think it looks very distinct and unique and fits with what the client is looking for.

I wanted to include an image of a Canon camera as i thought it would show the audience what it being advertised. I backed it up by adding a red square and altered it by editing the colour settings to make it brighter and stand out suddenly so the camera stands out on the front cover so the audience know what the advert is about. I then added a black boarder round that to separate the camera from the image background so they didn't clash together that way you can clearly tell the image of the beach is the background and everything else is to stick out apart of the magazine cover.

After production when i was organising my assets, i knew there was too many good images that it was difficult to decide which 2 to use. Then i came up with the idea later on that i could include smaller images on the cover. This idea was based off looking at Canons photo plus magazine where they used a variety of smaller image as well as the big image as the background to show multiple types of images you can take with Canon cameras. This was an idea saw in my research and then wanted to use in my campaign. I backed this up on a white frame so it stood out on the cover and didn't look apart of the background image. 

To finish off i wanted to edit in some attributes which were featured on any sort of magazines which will make mine look kore like a magazine. for starters i wanted to add Headlines in bold and in capital letters to stand out so the audience read what's underneath. Then in the typewriter letters i wanted to add some information about the product to show the audience the specs and features of Canon cameras. This is to make them feel interested and persuaded to use Canon cameras. Another detail i had to add was the publish date and issue number which will let the audience know when it was made so they know how modern it is when they read it later in the year. In present day this will tell them that it is fairly new. I added the price in the bottom right corner. I made it dark blue which is a colour i advent used. This is so it stands out so the audience know how much it costs. Previous Canon magazine cost £6-£8 and they were targeted towards an older audience. To make this more friendly towards younger people wanted take it half the price so it was more affordable for them.

How this suits the client.

Overall i think these products are good for the client and their new Campaign for journeys as it gives young people an insight into examples of images you can take with Canon products. It presents detailed colourful images to show what Canon products are capable of. I also features info on the specs which will interest the audience into what Canon products can do. It is simple and effective as it is not as over complicated as the previous Canon campaigns which were targeted at the older audience which were used to using canon products. It shows an image of a beach which links back to the brief of journeys and going new places and exploring scenery that you would see on a holiday. The purpose of this project was to persuade young people to start using Canon cameras as as i discovered in my audience research i discovered most young people use phones to film with. so in this advert i taught young people why cameras are way better for a variety of situations.

The project as a whole

I think The project as a whole turned out really well. i did research into my client and audience prior which really helped me plan out my advert but finding out what they like. Although i encountered a few problems during the filming process, i was able to be resilient in order to tackle these issues and still produce the media and gather the footage i wanted. The product is short and sweet and straght to the point. It quickly explains the required details about Canon and their products to inform the audience why they need to use Canon cameras and not phones but doesn't over complicate it like other Canon campaigns aimed for adults. By using the red colour scheme it will help resonate the campaign with canon which increases brand awareness for the client.

 I like how detailed the image turned out due to the good lighting. This really helps it look vivid and unique to this campaign so it stands out from any other previous advert. If i was to do this next time i would make get a picture of a young person using a camera as i think this would help to influence your people to use a Canon camera more if they saw someone their age using a camera as if they see people their age using it they might be convinced that Canon products are good and they should use them.