Its been a while...

Things have been rather hectic leading up to Christmas. But I am pleased to say, the client/ creative contact is going well. After much hard work my partner and myself came up with two solid ideas ready to present for Tuesday 14th December at 2pm. As much as I feared it would be a nerve wracking experience, it really wasn't. They loved one of our ideas in particular, and after a few minor pointers, requested we come back with the full polished version in January.
This was very encouraging, and whilst I am aware not all clients will be so gracious, this experience gave an amazing insight. I am thoroughly enjoying this brief more than others, as I feel like I am a real creative in industry (cheesy as it sounds), it has only gave me more drive to do this as a career!
On a festive note AKQA has created an online animation named "A Pot Noeldle Christmas". In my opinion, although it does not have the look Pot Noodle usually has, i think it does have the same personality. As something different and rather relevant to our current culture, I think it hits all the right notes. Take a look and see what you think, and have a Merry Christmas!:

The progress and Logorama.

So I have begun the process of writing up a proposal. A proposal is what will be given to a client to explain the thought process, end result and rationale of an idea. The current brief I am working on consists of learning how to deal with a client so it is only natural we create the proposal also and thus far I am really enjoying it. Being a very organised person it is a subject I feel I work well on, keeping up to date with timings and so on. So stay tuned for next weeks thoughts, they could be very different.

Something to leave you with, a short film named Logorama which was directed by French animation collective H5, François Alaux, Hervé de Crécy and Ludovic Houplain. In 2009 it was shown at the Cannes Film Festival. Then was the opening for Sundance Film Festival of 2010, following this it also won a 2010 academy award under the category of animated short. In my opinion it is so mesmerising to watch, studying in advertising, branding is something I am taught so much about, so this seemed very fitting. Enjoy

A new brief. AD206

On Monday my partner and me were given our new brief to work on. Our negotiated brief. This is a new venture for me as previously our briefs have been set and given. For this one we have had to find a live brief on either D&AD or YCN, then once chosen we will be given a fake client from our Tutor. Then for the remainder of the project we will contact and work with the client as we would in industry. Which I personally am very excited about.
I think doing this will allow me to understand fully how the process works, how to adjust ideas to fit with the client and how to maintain a solid relationship within an advertising career.

YCN had the brief my partner and me felt most strongly about. The brief was for Tuborg. The main theme for this brief is to 'develop ideas that will build the awareness and understanding of the Tuborg brand based on the theme, “Live unleashed”'. I am very excited to begin idea generation for this brief as with it being so vast, I can pretty much do anything, as long as it can be explained and has relevance. So over the next few weeks, my blog will hopefully demonstrate an array of ideas that my client will find successful!

My ad of the week. Volkswagen Polo advert Don'TStop by hip hop artist Roc C

The new 2010 Polo Volkswagen advert created by DDB UK. Art Director Richard Denney and Copywriter Dave Henderson created the idea for this advert and I think it is fantastic.The emotions evoked especially for it being a car advert are unreal. The dancing used shows passion, I think designed to evoke the passion drivers have with a new car. The music is on point to match the tagline. Overall, I love this ad, check it out and see what you think.

My ad of the week. AD 204 The Officers Club.

Ok so making this TV commercial was probably one of the most stressful projects yet, due to circumstances e.g. laptop not working! But the end result has been worth it all. I really think I have learned a lot from this project because camera angles, weather, and movements of the actors are aspects I had not had to consider in such detail before. I now can say, I truly appreciate the job of a Director! So to cut to the chase take a look at the TV ad, hope you like it!

My Ad of the week. John Lewis Christmas Advert 2010

While watching TV this week I saw the new John Lewis Christmas advert. Which is something I have really been looking forward to. For me, John Lewis have set a bar for Christmas advertising which cannot be beaten. Their commercials always have so much elegance, class and embody every feeling of Christmas.To my delight I was not let down, and I was able to get that warm feeling that Christmas has arrived. Take a look.

A learning curve.

So the deadline for my current brief is looming and to my astonishment everything has been running smoothly. With the inexperience my partner and myself have within TV commercial filming, I am very pleased with how the footage has progressed. We were able to get all the shots we needed, our cast was perfect, and our timing went very well. The only hiccup we had was using public transport in one scene as it turned out we needed a permit, but we thought on our feet and changed the location to a public park. Luckily this actually turned out very well, although if we were making this professionally I would have preferred to use the public transport scene. All in all I am thoroughly enjoying this brief, and can't wait to begin editing the footage tomorrow.

But my biggest learning curve in this project has actually been to remember to back up my work. After filming last scenes on Wednesday I rushed home, leaving my laptop open on my bedside table whilst I hurried around getting ready for my part-time job. To my horror, In a rush I brushed past a drink on my table and it spilled all over my keyboard on my MacBook. As soon as this happened the power went off, and realisation that all my work, including footage from that day, may be lost along with the concern that my laptop may be completely bust, began to sink in. The whole night at work I bombarded all my work friends with mumbles and comments about my traumatic dilemma, how would I get all this footage back, had I let my partner down, along with how would I tell my parents, without murder articles being splashed over front pages the following day?! As soon as I arrived home, I sheepishly popped my head into the Living room to inform my Mother with the days events, and to my delight she was organised enough to have insurance on the laptop. I really do not know what I would have done without my Mother in that situation!
So the following day I ran into the Mac store and sat nervously for 3 hours while the Mac technician tried his hardest to upload my work. 3 hours later and he cracked it, the work was saved! I have never went through such a dramatic range of emotions within such a short space of time!
So as luckily I am able to get a new laptop without paying and my work has been saved, I have truly had a 'close one'. Due to this I can say, hand on heart, I will back up absolutely anything of importance I do from now on, lesson learned!

My Ad of the week. The T-Mobile Welcome Back - The Boys TV ad

This week I saw the new T-mobile flashmob advert. The flashmob of around 300 greeted an estimated 35,000 passengers from flights at Heathrow Airport, in song and dance. A nice follow on from previous ads such as 'Dance' filmed at Liverpool Street train station or 'Sing-a-long' filmed in Trafalgar Square, Saatchi & Saatchi have produced another brilliant ad. T-mobile now have a strong sense of identity through these adverts, and all I can say is...I can't wait for the next one! Take a look and see what you think.

A creative CV

On Thursday November 4th our class received a talk from Jo Carter within our weekly Personal Professional Development session. Jo is a well known person throughout the Uk and more specifically the Newcastle Creative Industry. She owns the Recruitment Agency Concept Personnel. This company helps creatives, such as myself, get jobs within the North East. The process would involve sending in my CV, if it was strong enough she would then invite me back for an interview, through this she would see my portfolio. She would then look at what agencies I would be best suited to, and if they had postions. If so then I would be set up with the interview and I would be shown interview techniques.
This process is one which really aids a creative throughout the whole recruitment process and with a great CV along with determination almost seems to secure a job. I think Jo coming along to talk to us was a great help, as personally I had never heard of a 'creative recruitment agency'. Although I still think my first route of getting a job will be my partner and me visiting agencies, and hopefully through placements be hired. This is mainly because the agency seems to get jobs for more singular creatives. But if at some stage I were to be split up from my creative partner, this is definitely a route I would consider. All in all this was a very productive talk, thanks Jo!

AD204-The Officers Club

The current brief my partner and me are working on in College at the moment is "The Officers Club'. Which I am enjoying very much. Our job has been to give a new image to the brand. Previously the brand image had been one reflective of discount, and low end clothing. So the aim is to create an TV commercial which gives a new cool, fashion savvy look to the brand to reflect its recent makeover.
At first I found the brief a little frustrating as I wanted to create an advert which was original but I found myself keep producing a standard solution, and I always want to do my best. So my partner and me loosened up with a few creative thinking games, and got working again. This time we produced much better ideas. So now we have an idea which we genuinely love, our job now is to just to begin filming. Which I cannot wait for! Some scenes may be a little difficult to do, and potentially embarrassing, but that shall form our appreciation of the end result, having never filmed a TV commercial before! Hopefully my next update will be that the filming went very well!

My Ad of the week. Yeo Valley Advert - Official Video

This is an ad I recently saw on TV. It was first aired during the first live final of The X Factor at the start of October 2010. BBH were the creators, and I personally think it works very well. We had a discussion in the classroom of Creative advertising about this ad, and it seemed to be a real 'marmite' of ads. Some, like myself, loved it and some hated it. For me, I feel it just gives something a different and has made a brilliant job of making this product very fun, rather than going for the more obvious approach, and I fully applaud them for the rap! Along with the Tractor with hydraulics! Take a look to see what you think.

A Design Event with Different.

On Tuesday 26th Design Event had a 'Studio Conversation' at Different. The Creative Director of the agency, Mark Martin, took a mixed group of us into the Different boardroom to talk to us about how their agency runs. He showed us a mix of their work, and answered any general questions. After this we were kindly invited to look around the agency with him. I found this day very helpful and interesting. Overall the main point I found useful, which Mark Martin told us, was the extent of how important Digital Skills are these days in gaining a job in advertising. He basically said that he would hire no-one who had no skills on at least The Adobe Suites, even if he were hiring a Copywriter! Due, to my age I am very exposed to the digital world and know much about it, but The Adobe Suite is not a strong point of mine. I have always been aware that my skills on The Adobe Suite are limited which is why throughout my course year I have been attending the class computer lessons. But this talk at Different put it into perspective how extensive my skills must be, along with how over the next several years this will most probably only get tougher and tougher.
Overall it was a very enjoyable and helpful talk. One which allowed me to take away points to only better myself as a Creative.

My Ad of the week. Old Spice | The Man Your Man Could Smell Like

Although it isn't recent, this week I viewed the Old Spice TV commercial 'The Man Your Man Could Smell like'. It was created by Wieden+Kennedy and was released in February of this year. When watching this I couldn't believe how fantastically random it was! The Copywriting in this ad was impeccable and the art direction followed matched just perfectly. I think Old Spice has got a stigma attached to it as an old mans, sleaze type product. But this ad brought it completely up to date. The man they casted for this advert was on point and suited the script perfectly. This good casting reminded me of how precise I must be in my current project when casting for who I may include within the TV commercial my partner and me are creating. It can make or break an ad. Also as a woman viewing it, I even wanted to purchase a bottle for my boyfriend just because the ad was so amusing to me. Take a look and see what you think.

The Ice Breaker.

It was inevitable that the first brief back at College was going to be difficult. Difficult to get back into the rhythm of things, what the processes are, how to keep on top of everything and so on. So to make this easier we were presented with the amazing product Jif Lemon Juice for AD203. But this happens in advertising, sometimes I will be presented with a product which is full to the brim with history and which will inspire me. But then sometimes I won't, which brings me back to Jif Lemon. I have to and will make the absolute best of whatever I will advertise, now and in the future to come.

Although the product didn't inspire me, after some research and discussion with my creative partner I began to really get into it. I truly found it enjoyable to be back at college doing what I love. We decided to use the angle of getting the audience involved in a way that made it approachable and intriguing. It was the first time in the course I was able to create our campaign on Photoshop and illustrator. Although my skills are a beginners I was very pleased with the outcome and cannot wait until I learn more of these skills in computer lessons to come to be able to apply them to future projects. The print ads at the very top would be within a magazine, the images would be on the right hand side of the page then on turning the page the information on Jif Lemon would be revealed. Take a look at our campaign and see what you think.

A new beginning

In September I started back in my 2nd year at Newcastle College FD Creative Advertising after a fantastic summer. Coming back from my first year I definatley feel much more clued up on the industry, what and where I want to be. I am part of a creative team, this is with my partner Amy Bowden who is the Copywriter and myself the Art Director. Finding a partner who you work well with is something I definatley appreciate, and I find with Amy we understand that a professional outlook is important in creating good advertising.
Throughout the summer we have looked at what we want to include within our portfolio of work, whilst creating some ideas and what we want to acheive from it, fortunatley we are on completely the same page and are very focused on gaining a career from advertising.
In this blog I will talk about what work I find for inspiration whether it be music, art, or even film. I will also update any work we produce within our course and how we are generally progressing.
Thank you for reading.