D2- Meeting the Client Brief

The brief:

For this brief, I was asked to create a cross media campaign in at least 3 different areas, which I fulfilled by creating radio and video trailers, a poster and a series of social media posts. Each of these sections had to acknowledge the conventions of the media type, and for a drama show. This also had to include an appropriate logo and house style which needed to be created in house.

Tv Trailer.

Technical Settings:

I made sure to follow all of the technical requirements of the brief, keeping the video at 25 frames per second which is the broadcast standard and keeping the video in HD, with a resolution of 1280x720. The audio of this video also reached broadcasting standards, having a bit depth of 16 and having a stereo 48kHz frequency, which is the standard for all broadcast media.

Aesthetic Properties:

In terms of creating the aesthetic for my show I focused on capturing the feeling of old detective stories, using the common codes and symbols of this genre. I did this through choices of props (magnifying glasses and revolvers which focus on more classical forms of crime and detective work), costumes (which focus on obscured figures, large coats and prominent moustaches, all of which were meant to be reminiscent of other popular detective characters) and music (which is in an older and more orchestral style, purposely being reminiscent of old detective plays and radio serials). Using all of these, I fulfilled the client briefs requirement to create a show in a specific sub-genre, as well as to appeal to a younger audience who are more likely to find these broad and iconic ideas interesting, especially with the modern resurgence of the popularity of the detective genre. When it came to the time of day I would film at, I made sure to film all of my outdoor scenes earlier in the day and my indoor scenes later, thereby keeping a similar level of light throughout the scene and making sure that my entire trailer would be legible. Finally, I used the ending of my trailer in order to provide a call to action and ensure that the viewer knows exactly when and where the show can be watched, thereby fulfilling the videos role as an advertisement.

How successful was this component:

When creating this component, I feel that I was definitely able to mostly fulfil my initial plans, with most of my storyboarded and scripted scenes being filmed. Through this the mood I wanted to create was established, and all of the information I wanted to reveal to the audience was revealed. However, due to constraints in budget and scope some small moments of the trailer had to be cut, such as the cabinet opening during the heist scene, and I feel some elements of the trailer, such as Dawson stealing clues, could have been clearer. Despite this, I still find this component to be successful and entertaining, as well as being able to fulfil its purpose of  introducing people to the world and story of my show, thereby adhering to all goals and limitations set out by the brief.

Radio Trailer/ Ident.

Technical Settings:

I also ensured that I closely followed the brief during the technical creation of my radio trailer, making sure to continue using a frequency of 48kHz. I also followed the brief by creating multiple versions of this trailer. For the radio I created a WAV audio file, which can be played by radio stations. I then created audio video trailers which use the high quality H264 and smaller and easier to upload MP3 video format. For these I added the visual element of the BBC3 logo, which helps keep the trailer visually interesting when posted online.

Aesthetic Properties:

When I was recording for my radio trailer, I ensured that my voice over would be usable by recording in an isolated room, ensuring that no background noise made its way in to the final recording. I also chose to record using my phone, ensuring that I could quickly and easily reshoot and edit my files, as well as letting me easily access and share them. When putting my trailer together, I focused on fulfilling the requirements of an emotional drama, using emotional lines with unknown context, intriguing the listener into the plot of the show, as well as using dark and dramatic music, accompanied by sudden and unexpected sound effects, each of which market thee show to its young adult target audience, who may search for these more dark and brooding shows.

How successful was this component:

I feel that this component was probably my least successful, although I did ensure that it met all of the requirements of the brief. Most of its components fit with my initial plan, with the sound effects, music and script fitting in exactly with my vision. However, the rushed production of voice over caused me to record all of it myself, which I feel made the distinction between characters clear and the story sound more silly than dramatic. However, this does not mean that this component was a failure, as I still believe this component to be suitable for its purpose of informing audiences about the show, meaning that it ultimately met the briefs expectations.

Print Advertising.

Technical Settings:

I also created multiple versions of my print advert, creating both a PDF version for print, and a higher quality JPEG for online use. I used a resolution of 300dpi, which is seen as the minimum required for something to be appropriate for print. I used a large A3 size of 3508x4961 pixels, which I felt was appropriate as it is an industry standard size whilst also being large enough to fit in a lot of detail. The software I used was affinity photo, which is seen as industry standard for the creation of physical and print media.

Aesthetic Properties:

When creating the print media requested in the brief, I made sure that I would focus on elements of my image which both would mark my work as a member of the detective subgenre as well as aspects which appeal to a younger target audience. As the focal point of my image I decided to use an image of the protagonist character, hoping to endear and establish a bold and memorable character, which is what many young people latch on to when watching a show. However, I also made sure to show the shows plot focus using the common symbolism of the magnifying glass and fingerprint, which helps to establish the distinct sub-genre the show falls in to. When editing my final poster, I decided to darken the photo, a technique often used in dramas which quickly establishes a sense of dread and danger, again firmly establishing the dark tone required for a show to be a part of the drama and to continue the darker aesthetic of my TV trailer. This was contrasted by the brightness of the light emitted from the magnifying glass, which was meant to draw the viewers eye and focus again on the focus on mystery solving in the show. Finally I created my logo, using the font Victorian Decade Demo, as I felt this was both appropriate for the victorian time period, and unique enough to provide a unique house style for the show. I chose to have the logo be bright text on a black background, as this allowed the text to pop without using any more vibrant colours which would disrupt the aesthetic through the whole campaign.

How successful was this component:

This is probably the piece of media which I find to be the most successful, as it creates a striking image which I feel fits the requests of the brief. This is also the component which is most similar to my original vision, with almost all elements established in my original plan still being present. The only differences were a few minor costume and background changes, as the character lost his ascot and the location was changed from a colourful street to a dark wall, as neither this costume piece or a suitable location was able to be found. Despite this, I still think that the mood established in that original idea was preserved, and that my poster fully fulfilled the requirements set by the client brief.

Social Media posts.

Technical Settings:

When creating these aspects of my campaign I followed the brief by focusing all of my posts on different social media platforms and therefore fulfilling the technical requirements for these roles. When creating my twitter (X) and instagram posts, I used picture elements, making sure to also input amounts of likes which are required in real posts. When creating my GIF I instead created a short video of less than 5 seconds, which I then repeated over and over, which is what is required for an online asset to be considered a GIF.

Aesthetic Properties:

I chose to appeal to a wide variety of social media platforms for this section of my campaign, as this is what the brief instructed would be the best way to reach a wide audience. For this component I chose to reuse some of my material from other components, as I felt that this is similar to other social media campaigns, which often base themselves around "sneak peaks" or sharing other campaign elements to a wider audience. For the campaigns original elements I continued to use  the victorian decade demo font, establishing continuity between the disparate elements of my campaign. However I then purposely disrupted my campaign aesthetic through a pseudo video game layout and the use of bright colours, as social media is more suited for bright and quick content rather than more minimalist or understated design ideas. The use of hashtags and taglines also help to spread the show to a more commercial audience, as well as to fit the common design of social media posts.

How successful was this component:

I also believe that this campaign module  was mostly successful, as it allowed me to market to different audiences with different aspects of my show, as well as doing its job established in the brief of spreading show awareness and building hype before the premiere. However, due to technological limitations, this is probably the component least similar to my initial ideas. Although the which "side are you on" looks similar to my initial idea, the website I was using to create my components did not allow for creating TikTok posts, forcing me to pivot this idea to a twitter/X post. Similarly I could not find any software which allowed for the creation of GIFs, which meant I had to instead create a long video of a short looping clip which appears similar to a gif. However, despite these drawbacks, I am still happy with how this component turned out, as it had the visual design which I intended and it fulfils all requirements set out by the brief.

M3- Codes and Conventions

 How I met my media products codes and conventions:

TV Trailer

In my TV trailer, I made sure to  follow the main conventions of the dramatic trailer, giving glimpses of the main plot through narration, whilst not giving away too much. I added in a cut to black at the end in order to build tension and add in a sense of threat and peril.  I also Ended the Trailer with a call to action, including information about where to find the show, fulfilling the design conventions of the trailer in order to maximise the amount of people who watch the show at its premiere, and to increase the shows overall ratings. I based my trailer off of other modern TV trailers I have seen, which often use fast editing (montage editing) and the showing of Dramatic scenes in order to endear the show to a broad audience. Another convention which I chose to follow was that Trailers are used to establish the shows key characters, and to reveal their place in the narrative. Drama series also often use fast paced and orchestral music and trailers for this genre often use the shows most fast paced and action-packed scenes to build tension and suspense. I met these conventions in my own trailer, trying to maximise the possible drama whilst also making sure not every detail of the show is given away. I took most of these conventions from similar trailers, such as Sherlock, which use similar editing in order to make an interesting trailer without spoiling the central mystery. I believe that my video trailer was mostly successful, as it was able to show the core themes and identity of my show without revealing too much. I feel that the only limitation to my trailer is that I accidentally left in some continuity errors, such as if the main character wears glasses or not.

Radio Trailer

In my radio trailer, I also tried to follow the conventions of the medium by using dramatic music in order to show the tone of the drama as a whole, and sound effects in order to tell the story and show the environment in which the story is set. However I purposely subverted the common conventions by focusing on this auditory soundscape over using too many voice clips from the show. I instead used compelling narration and sound design to focus on building up the shows atmosphere over showing too many clips from the show itself. I also included more character dialogue than the video trailer, so that the main plot can still be conveyed without the visual element. I also continued to use narration in order to explicitly say the main story beats, as well as to say when and where the show can be watched, in order to increase the number of people who tune in to the premiere. I also feel that this campaign was mostly successful, being able to build a strong and captivating atmosphere in a very small amount of time. My only limitation here was that I created this before I hired any other actors and so I did all of the voice over myself, which I fear may be noticeable.

Poster

For my Poster, I made sure to focus the attention on to a central image, In my instance the main character, in order to not clutter the frame too much and make the poster seem iconic and recognisable, as well as instantly showing the genre which the show falls into.  I also fulfilled some conventions of the posters for TV dramas, which often focus entirely on an image of the main character, accompanied by the shows title in large,, bold lettering. This is similar to other famous BBC trailers, which often only features the main character in order to attach an actor to a project in the public eye, so that you think of the show whenever you see the actor. I fulfilled the mediums convention of using font design to create a house style by using the Victorian Decade Demo font, which I feel sold both the time period which I chose to set the show in, as well as the genre which I wanted to adhere to. I fulfilled more of the technical codes of posters when I included the BBC3 logo and another call to action, revealing  information about the full shows release date in order to inform people about where the show can be seen and encourage them to tune in for the premiere. Finally, I followed the conventions of posters in general by including a cheesy and nonsensical tagline, which informs people of the shows themes and associates it with fun and humour in the public consciousness, allowing it to stick out more. I believe that this Poster was the most successful piece of marketing that I created, as it fully captured how I pictured the poster looking in my head, and showed off the planned aesthetic for my show, with the only limitations which I believe there to be being some slight cropping issues.

Social Media

For My social media posts, I followed the technical codes by including various hashtags and acknowledgements of the brand and debut date in order to maximise the likelihood that the posts will spread, and that this will increase brand awareness for the show to come. I changed my type of post depending on the platform I was uploading on, and followed the conventions and styles of post associated with each application by focusing on the more light and easy to share advertising when using Twitter, whilst focusing the more clear advertising with the poster on instagram. I also used these social media posts in order to share small details of the plot, without revealing too much, for example by making GIFs of dramatic moments in the trailer. I decided on this format by looking at other TV shows social media posts, which also focus on showing dramatic moments without giving away much of the plot.  This also increased the likelihood of my social media posts becoming popular by focusing on a variety of outlets, such as both images and video. I do overall think that this part of the campaign was successful, as it covered a wide variety of types of posts, which would make it more likely for the campaign as a whole to become popular. However, I think that this part of the campaigns biggest weakness is that most of it consists of elements reused from other parts of the project, which may make this section stand out less.