Overall, my fmp stayed consistent to my proposal, except for a few discrepancies such as the decision to focus on the ad campaign and not make a website to accompany it. I did create a simple site to use as the link in my ads (rentry.co/webpreservationsociety) and for footage in my video, but it’s nothing like what I would’ve made if it was for the actual project itself. I also shifted my focus slightly from the 1990s/2000s internet to the 2000s/2010’s, since this is the era my target audience of gen z will remember the best and most fondly. I did not find sticking to a schedule easy, though this is not an issue I have exclusively with my fmp.

 

I completed research in multiple areas, including analysis of print and video advertisements in the genre I was trying to emulate, the technical skills needed to emulate them, the birth and popularisation of the internet, its expansion in the 2010s and why an organisation like TWPS might exist in the first place.

The research I conducted impacted my production, since I had to look at content that was popular from ~2005 to ~2018 and consider which image was the most recognisable to that generation of people. This is so that I could print it on a piece of paper and shred it for one of my print ads. I think the analysis of other ads and looking into different eras of the internet really helped shape my project, technical skills not so much - I found that tedious and unnecessary.

In conducting my research, I found out some facts and statistics that I later incorporated into one of my print ads, since I found this is a common trope of non-profit advertisements in my research.

 

The most challenging aspect of the planning stage was probably storyboarding and deciding what to do for my video advertisement. I already had a solid idea for print ads, but I had to change my first storyboard due to people’s availability and issues with the location. The idea I ended up doing features less people in a less interesting location with a less interesting camera angle, needless to say I was a little disappointed. That’s not to say I’m not happy with the final product, it’s just less interesting and ambitious than I was hoping for.

Quite a few things changed between planning and production. I wish I had created more mock ups for the portrait print ad specifically. I had two for the landscape, one of which I made in photoshop, yet I only had a sketch I did on Ms paint to base my portrait ad off. This is most likely why my planned version looks very different to the final version. Another thing I changed was the colour scheme. The logo and highlighted text went from blue to grey and red. Though I think blue is a more fitting colour, the grey and red were more visually appealing and eye catching.

 

I filmed and took photos using a Canon camera that belongs to a friend of mine. Most of the footage I got was done with the camera mounted on a tripod, since I have shaky hands and I was filming on a camera that isn’t optimised for video. I used premier pro to edit my video ad and primarily used photoshop to edit my print ads, though I used adobe illustrator to create the logo and lightroom to edit the images themselves. The only one of these I ran into any issues with as adobe illustrator, simply because I’m less experienced with it. This is reflected in the logo, which is very simple and – much like the video ad – less ambitious than I wanted.  After initial filming I realised I was missing a few close ups of the computer screen. The subject of my adverts, Carole, was not available to film this footage for when I needed it, therefore I had to film it without her. This meant I had limited footage of Carole that I had to use wisely.  

I ran into a few issues recording the missing footage, small things like the lighting being visibly different and the quality of the image. This is most prevalent when coloured lines are present on the screen, I’m not sure if this was due to the camera quality or lighting but either way it didn’t look good. I tried to correct this using lumetri colour controls in premier and I think I did the best I could’ve, however I do think it looks blown out. 

The video ad is quite similar to how I described it in the project concept and the landscape print ad looks very similar to the mock ups I create. The portrait print ad changed significantly, from being of a printer to a portrait of Carole. I made this decision since the lighting around the printer was poor and I felt a picture of Carole more closely resembled something in a non-profit ad campaign.

I enjoyed the production stage, though it wasn’t very long because of the nature of my adverts. Non-profit advertisements are often incredibly simple, with minimal text and time spent editing.

During this stage I received feedback from peers that helped me decide what colours to use and whether they think the adverts were effective.

 

I am moderately happy with what I’ve created for my final project. The advert I’m the fondest of is the landscape print ad, since it has the best text placement, the best main image and includes facts and figures that make it believable. The main image of the trollface going into the shredder is particularly effective in my opinion since it holds more symbolism than the other ads and is instantly recognisable to my target demographic.  If I could go back and improve anything its most likely just the amount of footage I got, I wish I had recorded more/taken more pictures so I had a more to work with.

I do think my product appeals to my target audience of gen Z, since I directly reference at least 5 things that were popular on the internet from when they were growing up, things that I know people my age reference to this day. I also made my ad a little sillier and less serious than other non-profits because I felt that it would appeal to the younger generation more. When receiving feedback on my video ad, almost everyone from the ages 17-20 said they found it funny.

 

You could argue I haven’t reached my target audience, but pushed them away, by using an older woman as the subject of my advertisements. While I can understand this perspective, I think it fails to consider that she is supposed to represent people who are 17 – 22 years old currently in the far future, when locating online content will be harder than it currently is due to technological advancements. The aim of TWPS is to preserve this content now, before it gets to the situation experienced by the woman in the advert.

 

I found working independently on this project a little difficult, especially since I, as a person, am very easily distracted and forgetful. I have a hard time staying on task, and without a teacher to tell me what to do, I frequently let my mind wander and fell behind on work. I encountered a few problems, like not being able to find people to play the grandkids in my original idea for a video ad. To get around this I just changed my idea to a less interesting one, which I guess isn’t that creative of a solution, but it worked out pretty good in the end.  Another problem I encountered was the footage I filmed of the computer screen looking weird and having coloured lines on it. I tried to correct this by using lumetri colour controls on premier pro, which mostly fixed it although personally I don’t think it looks great. any other issues i ran into were caused primarily by myself and a lack of motivation to complete work. 

 

From working on this project, I have learned not to leave things to the last minute. Procrastination is a big issue for me and it’s something that significantly impacted my project. In later projects, ill try to stay more focused and get work done in a more orderly, efficient manner. I’ve also learnt to always take more footage than you think you’ll need, its better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.