trakAx

Making a Commercial

A television advertisement or television commercial–often just commercial or TV ad (US), or advert, commercial, advertisement or simply just ad (UK/US), or ad-film (India)–is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization that conveys a message. The vast majority of television advertisements today consist of brief advertising spots, ranging in length from a few seconds to several minutes (as well as program-length infomercials). Advertisements of this sort have been used to sell every product imaginable over the years, from goods and services to political campaigns. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commercials).

In this lesson the students will plan, record, edit and produce their own TV style Commercial (in this example, we have concentrated on a video commercial, but it could also include a radio commercial). Themes could include:

• Product / Brand
• Political Commercial (Class Captain)
• Infomericals
• Promotional Ads
• Sponsorship / Charity

What you’ll need:

• Internet Access to view Commercial examples
• trakAxPC Pro.
• Microphone
• Audio tracks (CD / MP3)
• Video Camera / Camcorder / Webcam

Resources for Teachers & Students

These may vary in suitability depending on age group.

Some helpful tips to begin the brainstorming process
http://adwords.blogspot.com/2006/09/video-ads-tips-and-tricks-part-1-of-3.html

10 essentials to create an effective commercial
http://advertising.about.com/od/televisionandradio/a/commercialmusts.htm

Ideas and techniques when creating effective commercials
http://www.esmalloffice.com/SBR_template.cfm?DocNumber=PL12_0100.htm#whatknow

Here are excellent points when doing a voice-over for Radio commercials (but can be implemented for TV narrations)
http://www.strategicmediainc.com/radio-advertising-articles/the_top_ten_keys_to_creating_great_radio_ads.html

Some excellent filmmaking techniques & tips which will help any video production
http://www.lavideofilmmaker.com/

Directory of Film and Television Production Resources
http://actioncutprint.com/links/

Lesson Structure

Class Activity 1 – Research

Students can view a number of commercials online and analyse what commercials are most effective. They might discuss:

• What video and imagery did the commercial use?
• What is the tone of the message – friendly, humorous, aggressive etc.?
• Who is the target audience?
• How did it grab the audience’s attention?
• What behaviour did the commercial hope to achieve – purchase product, remember the product, vote, give money, etc?
• Was there a call to action (contact information, website) etc.?

Class Activity 2 – Planning

Students can begin researching topics for their own Commercials. Students can begin to brainstorm ideas and decide on their theme. They should define their target audience, the purpose of their commercial and the result(s) they hope to achieve. Then they can begin to:

• Decide on their product, political policies, charity / fund-raising etc.
• Write their script. (Pay particular attention to communication of message)
• Create a storyboard.
• Plan what shots they will need and any additional media such as a voice-overs, images, soundtrack, interviews (customer testimonials) etc.

You may want to set some guidelines for the students – such as a time limit of 60 - 90 seconds per commercial, each commercial must contain a selection of shots, a voice-over and some text to show where further information can be obtained.

Class Activity 3 – Production

Students begin to shoot the footage for their commercials and record in their narration if required. They can also begin collecting any other media they may require (product photos, testimonials etc).

Class Activity 4 – Post-Production

Students edit and produce the project in trakAxPC Pro.

• Video / Audio is edited as required.
• Transitions between scenes.
• Titles and text are added (call to action / contact information).
• Students create a Rough cut of the project which can be reviewed
• Students create the Final Cut

Class Activity 5 – Review

Each group or student presents their commercial and review the various decisions behind the project – theme / Product chosen, imagery used, editing decisions etc.

Peers can give their opinion on the various commercials and discuss what elements worked, what elements could be improved on etc.

Students can submit a short audio piece on what they have learned about the positive and negative effects of commercials in society, how they can effect behaviour and influence decisions, the process of creating a commercial, team work within the group etc.

trakAxPC Tutorials

Text
Adding Titles and Text/Titles to your Commercial.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Or40l0uf3wY&feature=player_embedded

Transitions
Students will want to add transitions between scenes; some scenes may fade into each other, some may use natural transitions and some may simply cut from one to another in a quick chain.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrP5MxTcsyI&feature=player_embedded

Recording Voiceovers
Students can record in voiceovers or testimonials directly into trakAxPC Pro.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tr_TWX8CvsY&feature=player_embedded

Envelopes
Students will need to control volumes, video brightness etc.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpfBbk1x9x0&feature=player_embedded

Saving
Saving the video for future editing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCnCqqCHvec&feature=player_embedded

Export
Export the final cut to popular file formats
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cx1QioSUUQs&feature=player_embedded