Filming and Camera Use

I have started taking shots using a camera to get myself familiar with the camera as in my AS production I was more involved in the editing process rather than the filming process. I practiced a few shots including close ups, long shots, medium shots, extreme close ups. As well as pan, tracking and zooms. To start off with I found it a bit hard to keep the camera steady however, as time went on I became more confident with the camera and I was able to hold the camera a lot more steady making the shots come out a lot more focussed and steady.
I now need to start filming my advert as I feel I am ready to do so and have planned exactly what needs to be filmed.

Props

I have gathered all the props that i will use in my advert. These include :
- Toys in the child's room to make it clear to the audience that it is a child's room
- Schoolbag

Planning of Advert - Filming

I have planned my filming schedule to take place on weekends as this is the best time to get the most amount of filming done as possible.

The lighting isn't really much of an issue as the majority of the advert will be filmed indoors so daylight wont be as much of an issue. The only part of my advert that will be affected by the daylight is the start of the advert which features the schoolgirl walking up to her house. However lighting still isn't much of an issue as it doesn't matter whether it is sunny or not as I had originally planned to use daylight at the start of my advert to show the contrast between the outside world and reality inside the home. Due to the recent weather which has been grey and gloomy, I could incorporate this into my advert by not using the idea of of portraying happiness at the start of my advert. I could just use the consistent theme of sadness throughout the advert so the audience know from the start what the overall atmosphere of the advert is going to be like. 

It all depends on the weather on the day I start filming, this is why I have this back up plan just in case I cant have my advert the way I originally planned for it to be. However, I can always change the brightness of the scenes in the editing process of my production. 

Sound/Music Research

Taken from : http://aaroncambelapa.blogspot.com/2011/01/codes-and-conventions.html


Sound/Music: Catchy Jingle (Annoying) The sound and the music are by far the most important ingredient in any media. Depending on what you are watching; for instance, if you were to watch an advert about child abuse you would quite often hear slow music so that the viewer would feel sympathetic towards it. As well like the go compare advert where they specifically chose a tune that people would find annoying because people tend to remember them more.


Child abuse adverts have slow paced music which sets a serious and depressing tone. I will have to find a piece of music that will fit the advert, timing wise as well as set the right atmosphere for the advert. 

Logo Research Continued

The idea of adding an image into my logo is something I have been thinking about. 
I have found this image of a baby's arm reaching out which I could incorporate into my logo.

The way that I could use this image is by making it black and white and it symbolises the help children need, that they are calling out o be helped.

Another idea that I have is to have an image of the sun coming out from the text of the logo. This is an image that I have found:

The way in which I would incorporate this into my logo is to use half of the sun and have it coming out from a corner behind the text. The reason for choosing an image of the sun is that it connotes happiness and brighter days. 

I have drawn up sketches of different logos to see what they would look like. The different logos that I have drawn up consist of a plain logo with just the text and the number of the call-line. The font that I have chosen to use is plain and will be the main text in my logo as it will be of the name of the organisation. I have decided to keep the theme of using a plain font in all of my logos as this is what is commonly used by the child abuse campaign logos I have researched and also to highlight that this is an issue that is to be taken seriously. Another sketch that I have drawn up is the same image as my first logo but with two arms coming out of either side of the name of the organisation. The reason as to why I had this idea was because it symbolises arms reaching out, seeking help. I like this idea as it fits into the overall message my advert is sending out, however, I need to find images of arms to use in my logo. The other sketch that I have drawn up is of the same logo but with a half-cut sun at the right corner of the text. The reason as to why I chose to use an image of a sun is because it symbolises happiness,hope and brighter days; a chance to be saved. 

(ADD SKETCHES OF LOGOS)

Another idea that I have in regards to the logo is to have the font of 'SaveAChild' to look as if it has been written by a child. The reason as to why i thought of this idea was because it would connect with children and show that this is an organisation which focuses on the needs of children and make it clear to the audience that this is a child based advert. I can also incorporate colours into the text to make it look bright and stand out as compared to my previous ideas of having it bold and black.

Camera use and editing

Camera angles and shots to use (editing and filming):

• shot reverse shot - used in conversations, shows facial expressions
• close up - e.g. head of character
• extreme close up - very close to object e.g. shot of an eye
• medium shot - e.g. half of body
• long shot - shows full length object and background
• extreme long shot - used to show scenery, location
• low angle - to make object look superior, powerful
• high angle - to make object look inferior
• pan
• tracking
• pivot
• zoom in/out
• continuity editing
• cheat cut
• cut
• fade
• soft focus                   

Logo Research

This is the NSPCC logo that they are identified by. 

This is the ChildLine logo :

This is the Barnardos logo :

This is the Unicef logo :

The similarities between these logos is that they are all very simple and have the companies name big, bold and clear making the main focus of the viewer on the logo. They also feature a call-line number in which people can call up. I feel I would have to incorporate this into my logo. They also use bright colours to catch the eye of their audience. Another common similarity that the logos have is that somme of them have slogans written in smaller text underneath them. This is common in the Barnardo's logo as their slogan is 'Believe in Children'. The NSPCC also have a slogan being 'Cruelty to children must stop. FULL STOP.'
I am contemplating on whether to feature a slogan in my logo or whether putting the call-line number underneath the companies name.


The name of my campaign is SaveAChild. I have decided to not have any spaces between the words. I would like to feature the call-line number at the bottom of the logo as this is also common in child abuse logos and I feel it is essential to include this into my logo as the main purpose of my advert is to raise awareness of child abuse and for the public to offer donations.


The common theme in the logos of child abuse campaigns is that the name of the campaign is in a larger font, as compared to the rest of the text, if ay, and is the main focus of the logo. I have found from my research that it is usually coloured in bright colours. The common font that is used in the name of the campaign is plain and bold, highlighting the fact that these are serious issues being raised and they need to be resolved, the simpler the text, the better. 


(COPY IMAGE OF LOGO)


I plan to make my logo look like this; it is simple ad follows the common theme of child abuse logos.
I am not too sure whether I am going to place and image next to the logo. I will have to research images that i could incorporate into my logo. Ideas of images that I could use are images of children, or even an image of a sun attached to the logo. This has connotations of happiness and brighter days which fits in with the campaigns name of saving a child. Another idea that i could use is of arms reaching out to save a child. The reason as to why I chose to use images of arms reaching out and of a sun is that they are simple and they will not take the main focus away from the text which is what I want the viewer to be focussed on.