Finished Beats Commercial

 

This is the final version of our Beats commercial. I've learned a lot during the filming and creation process and had a lot of fun doing so. I sincerely hope you enjoy the viewing experience and consider purchasing some Beats.

Editing Blog

When our group discussed the editing the commercial, Victoria said it was more difficult than she thought it would be. My group was determined to produce a commercial that would be creative and would show how hard we worked on it.  We also wanted to make sure we had a high quality project.

We started off by choosing the shots we would use.  The perfect shot was hard to come by because we had so many options. After deciding which takes would be included in the final cut, Victoria trimmed each take to ensure our commercial would be within the 30-second time limit. We agreed to remove some needless still or the start of actions. This allowed the commercial to have a more seamless flow. Once this was done, Victoria merged the shots into one video. It was then easier to add the auditorial and visual elements.

Next up for our group was to work on the sound in the commercial. We had a lot of background noise was captured in our takes while filming. We kept the noise in the shots where I was not wearing my Beats headphones. Victoria muted all the other scenes in order to simulate the noise cancellation feature.  When I turn the Beats on in the second scene, we decided to use a connecting noise to show that they were on. For Victoria to produce this noise she used a small microphone to record the noise from our prop. She recorded the noise as a video first.  Next, she separated the audio from the video using editing software. Once this was done, she was then able to add the sound to the commercial. We believe this helped to give our commercial a more professional outcome. After the sound is played, the song then begins to play. For the song, she used a similar procedure to that used for the noise. She used a screen recording of the audio instead. We chose to have the song play for the remainder of the commercial. The song ties the transitions from scene to scene very well. The song was edited just a bit for a better flow with each scene.  Victoria used both the instrumental version and the clean version of the song to create a clip that was within the time requirement.

Once the audio portion was completed to our satisfaction, Victoria then add the Beats logo and slogan to our commercial. She said this step was less complicated. She found a png of the Beats logo and the text to include the line "up to 48 hours of battery life".  This was to highlight what aspect of the Beats our group were seeking to advertise. This was then converted to a video to overlay over the commercial. The video was then given a fade-in effect so the logo would not have a sudden or harsh introduction. 

Victoria said she had to figure out how to use different editing software and what effects would make the commercial exactly what we needed it to be. Since she did not have much experience with this, it was a matter of playing around with it until she landed on something that would work. I am very pleased with the final outcome of our team’s commercial.

Final Day of Filming

We carried on our success from day one of filming onto day two. We filmed two different scenes today that illustrated the passage of time. Because it was simpler to obtain the props we needed at my place without having to deal with other people who may have interfered with the movie, that is where we did the shooting. I was the sole actor in these scenes. I was directed by Aidan and Victoria, who took turns filming. Today, getting a tilt shot was crucial, so we attempted a variety of methods to make it happen.

 I had to wear two separate outfits for the two scenes that we shot. Since the majority of Beats advertisements feature the subjects engaging in daily activities, all of the outfits we selected were casual attire. My main hobby is basketball, so that's the route we decided on.  I found it quite challenging to be filmed in a natural way. We recorded a lot of takes of me shooting and dribbling, but many of them weren't very good. We eventually managed to create a take that was deserving of being included in the finished product.

The next scene we filmed was of me getting in a truck. I changed costumes for the scene to clearly show the passage of time. We waited until it was dark out to film the scene. This shot had its challenges as well. Because it was dark out, we had to use the flash from our phones and keep the car's headlights on to get enough lighting. Holding up a phone with one hand while filming horizontally with the other was no easy task, but the takes that resulted were perfect for what we were trying to do. Despite all the work behind the scenes, the shot ended up being very natural - exactly as it was intended. This was not an accident, we took maybe a dozen takes of me just getting into the car. Though it caused frustration, the end result was well worth it. 

    At the end of the day, we had all the shots we needed to begin the editing process.

Filming

    On October 11
th, my group began filming our commercial. First, Victoria made a mock-up of the commercial to clarify what shots we needed and the camera angles we wanted to use. This made the process of filming easier and more uncomplicated. Because each picture required a separate set of settings and attire, we divided the shooting over two days. 

    For the first day of filming, we chose to change locations because the coffee shop we were planning on using was too busy and didn't really have good enough lighting to get many sufficient takes. we settled on Tijuana Flats,which had an outdoor seating area perfect for our purpose, and was also next door to the coffee shop.

Once we arrived, we set up our props and began working. We folmed 3 shots, the beginning, and the end. Me and Aidan acted in the shots at tijauna flats. Victoria filmed all the takes. We all contributed to the production and direction of the takes. The purpose of these clips were to establish the setting and the present universe of the commercial. The other clips were flashbacks of me using the headphones throughout the week. The flashbacks had me in different locations, times of day, and clothes. The only constant was the Beats headphones on my head.

While on paper the filming process should've been straight forward, the environment had other plans. The sun was cooking us whille we were filming during the day. As a result, we grew agitated and annoyed with the whole process. Despite our discomfort, we managed to not only finish filming but also have fun doing it. Overall the experience wasn't too bad and the hardest part was definitely narrowing down the useable takes. 

Planning Blog

Props

Because the product that we chose to advertise is beats headphones, the main prop in our commercial will be the Solo 3 Beats headphones. Other props in the commercial include a computer, possibly a cup of coffee, a car, a basketball, and the surrounding elements in each setting.

Costumes

The subject of this commercial will just be Joshua, our lone actor, In this commercial, he will be seen wearing casual clothes, something similar to a t-shirt and some sweatpants. As we move along with the film he will be seen wearing more athletic wear as he begins doing activities such as basketball and running. An idea later on is to include the use of some of our friends as extras just to help wrap up the commercial in a smoother fashion. Their attire will also be seen as casual wear, as there is no need for them to wear any special costumes

Schedule

10/4/22-Finish the researching, planning, and the storyboard for the commercial

10/5/-10/6/22-Begin the first day of production and establish how well the props, location, and storyboard work

10/9-10/11/22- Begin the second day of production and finalize all decisions and clean up al costumes and

rough drafts

from the first day

10/12/22-Start the editing process of the film and add all effects and non-diegetic sounds to the

commercial

Location List

Our starting location or main location will begin at a coffee shop. Our goal of the commercial is to show the activities of the day where one might be inclined to use their headphones. Creating numerous scenes where the use of headphones seems natural adds to the advertisement of the commercial.

After we are finished with the scenes in the shop, we will then travel by car to a park. The main setting of the park will be the basketball court, which we will use to highlight the more athletic side of beats commercials.

Backup. Plan

If the coffee shop is unavailable to use we have a couple of other options. If necessary we could possibly go to a Barnes and Noble or one of our houses to shoot the beginning sequence. If we cannot go to the park due to weather or other uncontrollable circumstances we will just have to shoot other daily aspects of lives where beats could be of use. One possible location is going to the mall, doing homework in a library, going to the gym, etc. If by chance one of us cannot direct we will simply use the other member in our group of three to finish the project.

Story Board

 

First Scene -

The leading actor Joshua, sits down and begins to do some homework at a coffee shop. This establishes the setting and main character of the commercial. The medium shot in this scene will showcase the number of people in the background and the general noisy atmosphere.

Second Scene -

This will be a medium close-up shot of Joshua's side profile as he reaches into his bag to grab the pair of Beats and put them on his head. In this shot, after Joshua puts the Beats on, the scene will become silent and the device's connecting noise will play. Then, a song will begin to play. This use of non-diegetic sound will drown out the atmospheric noise.

Third Scene -

The song that began in the second shot will continue for the rest of the commercial. This scene will showcase a low-angle shot of Joshua getting into a car with the Beats on. Here he will have a different costume on, to signify time has passed. 

Fourth Scene - 

This will be a tilt shot starting from a low angle. The shot will showcase Joshua playing basketball, emphasizing his use of the product while doing so. In this shot, he is wearing a different costume than the other two, emphasizing the product's long battery life. The on-the-go feel of the ad is a reference to many Beats ads that showcase famous Beats users doing hobbies or things

they are most famous for.

Fifth Scene - 

In this scene, we cut back to Joshua at the coffee shop. It starts off as a medium shot as he greets some friends that meet up with him. He then takes off the Beats and they continue to talk, all while the camera zooms out. Once the zoom finishes, the Beats logo will fade in, along with text stating "Up to 40 hours of endless play". The commercial ends shortly after.

This storyboard is a rough draft and is subject to change. 

Research Blog

 Together my group and I have decided to do a Beats commercial. The audience will see the battery life and sound quality of Beats headphones used in everyday life. It will feature the headphones being used as part of an everyday routine to showcase the capabilities of the headphone. 

-Clothes depending on the scene are usually casual and depending on the occasion can be athletic wear as the headphones were designed for people of various lifestyles.

-Props in Beats commercials are usually minimal to really show the headphones.  A lot of them are just the athlete or one person going through a workout or their routines with their headphones. Props include but aren't limited to various beats products, laptops, sports equipment, and vehicles.

- The audio for the commercial is going to include diegetic sound, non-diegetic sound, and music. The different types of sound are going to demonstrate the noise cancellation ability of the headphones. It will also show transitions from public spaces to more isolated ones.

-The logo for the brand will be displayed at the end of the commercial and will be seen on the headphones throughout the commercial.

-During the commercial, the Beats Solo 3 headphones will be visible somewhere in every shot whether it's being used or hanging around the actor's neck.

-Commercials often show what you can do with the product and how you can use it to show its convenience and bring in more customers

-While conducting research for this commercial, Beats used a lot of tracking and panning shots to follow people using their headphones. Close-ups and cutting between scenes were also used. Low angles were also used to show the power that athlete has. They used various athletes from different sports to show people that their favorite player was using that product.

-Some commercials used just the sounds in a gym or locker room while others used crowds and belligerent fans. The actors were sometimes shown using headphones to block out the "haters" and people against them. 

-The lighting in the commercials varied as well. For the more outdoors commercials, natural lighting was used and for the ones inside they used more artificial light like ring lights and overhead lights.