ADVERTISING AND MARKETING:
Our task was to find a solution (marketing wise), for the tampering of baby formula being imported from china. But our advertising was aimed at a New Zealand market. So here was what my team (WANA) came up with:
The problem was that the New Zealand market didn't trust the company importing baby formula anymore because of the potential havoc this companies problem could have caused to kiwi children.So the trust issue thing was the first thing we needed to work on. Although after conducting some market research/ insights we found that the whole situation was blown hugely out of proportion and the actually was no tampering done to ANY baby formula - so already this company has lost big bucks from having recall all products that they had already paid for packaging, advertising shelf space, as well as the cost of making this. Obviously if this was real; the marketing would need to be extremely effective, yet cheap as the company will always have a budget to follow. Their budget would have been lowered significantly because of the amount of money they have missed out on. So this was the first thing we needed to work on. For us the only way to do this was to re-invent the product. However through reinventing a product the audience/buyers we once had will no longer know of our existence. We are a brand new product on the market with fierce competition - how will we break through and come out on top? Our first thought was - what mediums do mothers pay attention to? We thought womans magazines, daytime AND nighttime TV, radio and possibly news papers were the best mediums to advertise through because of the attention and time woman give to them. We settled on planning mainly for a TV commercial.
We decided our demographic/target audience for our baby formula was generally young mothers aged between 18-25. Our first priority was to conduct some more market research/ insights and see what our target audience wanted from baby formula? Estimating what the reception would have been like from kiwi mothers because we didn't have the time or resources to actually conduct surveys; we concluded that some important things would be:
 CONVENIENCE. NATURAL. HEALTH. from this we came up with some ideas:
- Packaging:
>Baby formula being able to be tampered with is a problem and in order to solve it, packaging needs to be changed. Lids, need to be tighter or harder to get into, yet easy enough for mothers.
>Every container of baby formula has a cup inside with measurements as at each weight or age. We could make exact sized cups or a universal amount suitable for all ages and weights with our new health standards.
> New packaging is a must when re-inventing a product. Otherwise it will always be identified as the old product - no matter how many changes you make with what is inside the packaging, people wont notice unless it has changed visually.
 -Natural 
> 100% natural ingredients is something that is important to most Kiwis. Mother or not. A problem with this company is that it is made in china - this isn't something most New Zealanders are happy about and is mainly done by companies because of how cheap it is to produce there. If this was changed to ingredients sourced from New Zealand yet made in china (still produced there because of price), the trust will be greater. if we emphasis that it is all natural they don't need to know that it is made in china - unless they dig deeper of course. what they don't know wont hurt them.
-Health
> By including better minerals and vitamins in our baby formula we can up sales. Children's health is extremely important to mothers and families. We think that calcium is a starting point but with more market research we can figure out what nutrients are easiest to source and the importance of having them in a child's diet.

So from this we developed a rough idea as to what our advertisement would look like. Heres some insight:
SCENE ONE
We thought we would start off with a compilation of woman saying one word as to what they wanted from baby formula - the most dominant being convenience, natural, health. This could be a wordle if we couldn't obtain the actors needed. This shows that we cater to our markets wants and needs and gives audiences the idea that we actually care for them.
SCENE TWO
From this we cut to a quick compilation of babies laughing - breaking into a voice over. The voice over talks about the new vitamins and minerals your baby gets after consuming our baby formula. this scene highlights the idea that your baby will be happy when our product is in their life.
SCENE THREE
Cuts to a father (rather attractive) playing with the child. Voice over continues. The father is placed there purposely because sex sells, and when a woman sees an attractive on our add she is subconsciously presented with the idea of an American dream kind of illustration, a perfect family, a nice home etc. This will help up the sales of our products because it depicts to woman that with our baby formula - they could live the American dream.
SCENE FOUR
A compilation of the child doing intelligent things - like arranging the alphabet, writing or even being active and running around. This promotes the idea that the ingredients in our baby formula will enhance their child's education and even their life. All parents want this for their children. While this plays a voice over continues to summarise the positivities of our product.

NOTE: the words NEW AND IMPROVED are very important when it comes to re-inventing a product. WHO DOESNT WANT NEW AND IMPROVED SHIT?!

I actually love what we are learning at the moment. I feel like advertising and marketing could be something that I could actually pursue once I leave this course, especially being in Tauranga and doing the radio course. Hopefully while Im up there I can explore my options a wee bit more while not being trapped in little old shitty Invercargill. Pretty excited actually, but also really scared. Just don't want to go all that way alone.
I never expected to like the advertising and marketing side of anything really, after taking it at school I actually hated the idea of any business at all. My teacher was a total dick, it was group work and no one put any work in, none of anyones efforts were recognised and starting a business in high school is so unrealistic that everyone just thought it was a joke. It was my most hated class last year! Thats why its so weird that I'm actually enjoying it now.
However some things still confuse me, like insights for example. Why can't his just be referred to as market research? Isn't that basically what it is? I don't know why in business language everyone has to use these big words that make them sound all poncy. They're poncy without all the big words because of their big pay checks as Patrick is constantly going on about. (is he jealous?)
Anyway, these last two weeks have been pretty good, I've actually enjoyed them and haven't dreaded every class (only some). So thanks Patrick!!

ROLL CALL:
Jesus. I found this exercise to be super tedious and annoying but it defiantly helped me to better prepare myself for when I do go out and shoot. Still though - SUPER ANNOYING AND TEDIOUS OK.
It did have me thinking though! As you probably seen from my last blog post I haven't exactly been enjoying my time here and  I don't really see myself working as a camera man, lighting or anything practical really. However after doing this exercise I realised that a first AD (or something alike) may actually suit my strengths, because I'm not going to lie, I do enjoy bossing people around and being in charge.
So thanks Patrick! I actually feel like I'm back on track (a little bit) and maybe I'm not in the wrong place like I constantly think I am.

SOME PERSONAL INSIGHT:


Just a side note - this is what blogs are for, right?


To be very honest, within the first term of this year I knew this course wasn't for me. Right throughout my time enrolled here I have wavered as to whether to stay or go, because of the constant feeling of stupidity and my inability to live up to not only my tutors but also my classmates expectations - as in I feel as though I am constantly letting people down (which I'm fairly sure is all in my head - but even so it is still an extremely heavy mindset to carry around with ones self). Some days I come in here with high hopes and a good attitude. Other days I struggle to shake the feeling of uselessness and inadequacy off and quite honestly just feel like a pain in the ass. I'm not sure why I'm so down on myself, or why I feel like this so often (because lets be honest, everyone does every now and then, right?) but I'm not going to lie, this year has been really, really tough for me.

I originally came to this institution to study performing arts - the only reason being that the idea of escapism and acting as something/someone else day in day out is an overwhelmingly attractive lifestyle for anyone, I assume? I thought it would be something I actually enjoyed doing, because school really wasn't the thing for me, it felt as though I was wasting my life away in a high school full of people who were constantly in and out of my life - just the typical high school journey for anyone really. I couldn't wait to get out of there. So I left school, I honestly thought this was the right thing to do. 4 days before my performing arts course was due to start - I got a phone call telling me that the course was cancelled. At this point, I had already gotten a student loan, I had already left school, and I had already disappointed my parents. As you can imagine it was a pretty rough feeling, I couldn't go back to school, I couldn't (and wouldn't) just work full time at my job as a checkout chick. It felt as though my life had been tipped upside down. So the very next day (when I managed to stop crying and actually leave my bed) I went down to SIT to try and get into another course, that hopefully I'd actually enjoy. I applied for the Bachelor in Digital Media but my hopes weren't very high as I was only 17, I didn't have university entry and to be honest I had no interest in film at all. I was desperate. To my surprise I got in.

I didn't know anything about Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator or Maya. I didn't know anything about Premier pro, Compressor or even Macs for that matter. I didn't understand aperture or shutter speed. Nor did I know the difference between Sony and Canon. This was like a new world and I was surrounded by people older than me who I had this uncontrollable urge to impress. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing - at all. Everyone around me was so happy to be where they were, they knew why they were here, they knew where they wanted to go with this. Most of them had a fair idea of what things were, I wouldn't say their knowledge was in-depth, but they could understand  it, and it made me feel super shit when I couldn't.

Obviously this year has induced some pretty shitty feelings in me, and I keep thinking that maybe the people around me don't quite understand me, just as I don't understand anything they do in/with film. I don't think of myself as a lazy or attitudinal person. I don't think of myself as immature or intelligent. As I've said time and time again, I don't see myself working in film, i don't enjoy making films. I am not like you, and you are not like me. I am embarrassed when I fail, or when you do better than me, which may seem petty. However I believe I am a person that, when I enjoy something I strive to do well, and when I don't - I simply don't very much try at all. And for me this is something I am learning to stop. I have a shitty attention span, if something doesn't interest me straight away - Ash is out. This has been a disadvantage to me and again I am working on myself as my own project.

So clearly I have been struggling, and as with almost all assignments I have attempted this year, I have misinterpreted what I need to produce and what I need to do. Two assignments that stand out to me are the self evaluations required in Video Editing and Video Craft during semester one. To me - a self evaluation is evaluating oneself. So, a bit like I am doing in this blog post, I wrote about my strengths, and my weaknesses. The challenges I faced while studying these papers and what I felt had hindered my marks from being the outcome I had wished for. But yet, both times with these self evaluations I was knocked down? My opening line for both these papers was "I have really struggled with this paper" - and that was the blatant truth. I had more than struggled with these papers, I had spent endless hours of beating myself up over my stupidity and my inability  to understand or keep up to the standards my class mates continued to deliver at. I had cried time and time again because of my feelings of worthlessness and the constant thoughts of not being good enough and going no where in life consequently. I had harassed Adam to spend endless hours slaving over a computer explaining things over and over and still, months onwards - I still do not understand. I've not come to class several times simply because I didn't want to waste my tutors time, because them even trying to teach me was doing just that - wasting their own time. But among all these emotions - was a enormous sense of embarrassment. Embarrassment for even enrolling myself in this course and for ever thinking I could do it - because it turns out I couldn't do it, and I still can't. It turns out though - self evaluations aren't even really about yourself. They're not about your feelings or thought processes. Their not about the obstacles you felt like you had been overcoming everyday. They are about what you have learnt, and what the things you learnt are there for, how will you use them? They're actually about things you know, but things that are not about you. I didn't think there was a right and wrong for a self evaluation, but there is. Everything is very black and white. Up and down.

I've been here 7 months now. I think I've learnt a lot, even though I'm still not as good as my class mates (understatement of the century), and I am very aware that I never will be. This year has been a massive learning cur for me, a huge eye opening experience. I never knew there was so much to the film industry and to be honest I never even thought about what went into making a movie. I've met so many awesome people (including my amazing boyfriend). I'm glad that I've turned up here, and that next year when I'm studying in Tauranga, or years from now when I'm hopefully living somewhere sunny; I'll be able to look back and appreciate a year of hell (that wasn't really all that hell-ish for other people) that taught me so many valuable lessons. As I've said, I'm shit at basically everything in this course- but despite that, I actually have learnt where my strengths lie. I'm good at talking to people, gathering information, standing my ground, and being fiercely feisty when I need to be. And if radio school doesn't work out for me, maybe I'll find something i enjoy doing that maybe includes some of my strengths. This course has actually helped me find myself, which I believe is important for everyone to do. I'm not going to get a bachelors degree in digital media. In fact, I probably won't even leave with a certificate because of the abnormal amount of failures I have caught myself. But I don't even mind that much... because I have learnt so much anyway.

I've only got a couple more months enrolled at SIT. Although these next few months will be just as difficult as the last 7 have been, I am actually looking forward to the many more challenges I can overcome. As well as dreading every challenge I will need to overcome. Because it is torture but I know it will all worth it, and maybe then - I can cross it off my list.

PITCHING:
So the pitches went well and Sophie gave me the ok for the song I wanted. I was pretty stoked to get my number one choice. I've been planning my directors manifesto hard out, and I'm actually really enjoying doing it. I think as a person I enjoy being organised (although i am very rarely organised - ironic, right?) and feeling like i have achieved things (for example I'm always writing lists just for the sake of crossing things off of it, to give myself a feeling of accomplishment.) I think that my concept is going to be very hard to actually portray successfully, but i can only pray it works out. I am pleased with my concept - i think its a pretty good idea. Anyway - thats about all i can report back on for this week.

SOME OF MY CREATIONS:

Below are some of the digital paintings I have created to help illustrate what i want some of my shots to look like. 

I intend to use close up shots of woman crying throughout the duration of my film. 

I want to use scrabble pieces on a mirror during intervals to show progression. For example, "1 year later" or maybe even some lyrics.  

The dreamcatcher represents Sophie's dreams and ambitions. I have the perfect one in Adams car on his revision mirror. 

This is a still from the video "What Kind of Man" by Florence and the machine that I have painted. This video is one that I have drawn a lot of inspiration from. It shows the teen looking out the window of a car on a gloomy day thinking about how she can make her dreams attainable. 

The piano is something I want to include as contrast. 

Obviously when Sophie sees her mum hurting she is broken hearted. I wanted a image of a broken heart, such as the one above to be the ending image of my film played under credits.

A MILLION THINGS TO DO:





So this week has been a bit like the last - insane! It's only been a week and I feel like deadlines are creeping! I've been working on my pitches HARD OUT this week, we're set to pitch on Tuesday.  I'm so nervous! My number one song is Hold On, written by Sophie. My concept for this is show the evolution of a child and its reliance on its mother until the roles reverse and it is the child's turn to look after the mother. I want to start out with a small child and its mother holding hands, the child facing usual childhood issues like falling over and scraping a knee, and then slowly progress through ages until we reach teenage years where the child will face the usual teenage issues, like the first heartbreak. Each time the mother is there to console her child and make the child feel at ease about the situation going on around it. Once we reach the middle of the film i want to show Sophie performing, or even just a "jam session" - as she puts it. To me this illustrates to the audience that she held on and reached her dreams - or even just her reflecting back on memories. Then we see her mother - not in a good way - old and suffering. Now Sophie is the one consoling her mother and attempting to make her mother feel at ease about the situation going on around her.
I think a problem I might run into is casting issues - obviously progressing through different ages i will need actors of a variety of age groups. I have one sorted already.
Child - Tamsyn (my little sister - haven't actually asked her but yano - she'll do it)
I've done some digital paintings that depict some of the shots I want to use in my film - I'll put them in a separate blog post for you.

WEEK ONE - SAY WHAT?!?!
Wow this weeks been a bit of a doozey!! I'm a bit lost. In Kevin's class we have 2000 things (locations, planning, storyboards, etc)to do but we can't start any of these things until we get our music which we haven't pitched yet, although I am planning my pitch and I think I've been doing quite well ideas wise.
 I havent been able to attend Patrick's class because I have work - dammit new world ;) which for me is a bit gutting - working on sorting this out!!
In the mean time I've been searching for some inspo! I've found this bit really fun, and it actually has helped me expand on my ideas so much! Especially in the sense that I have learnt to think practically about them. For example - I can admire shots and how well the set is laid out, but I've also started thinking about lighting, and the attainability of shots I wish to use in my own film - as in i ether want to do them really well or not at all. I think I will ask Adam to film for me. He has a lot more confidence with cameras than me, he knows a lot more than me and I think I can learn a lot from even just watching him as I direct. Plus, since he is my boyfriend he is easy to communicate with which means that it will be easier for me to portray to him exactly how I want things to look.
The film below is called Perfect Couple by Fozzey and Vanc, this video shows a story incredibly well as each shot seems to match to the lyrics that are being sung at the time.
The reoccurring light bulbs are something that has really stood out to me, maybe something I'll want to recreate? I dont imagine it would be easy though..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WqFayheQUY
This film is called Breezeblocks by Alt J. This film also portrays a story really well - despite being in reverse. The colours of this film are also something I wish to include in my own film. Every aspect of this film interests me and I plan on drawing a lot of inspiration from this film to hopefully help me shape my own.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVeMiVU77wo