Winner!

Well i've just had the really good news that my Pepsi Max football video has been chosen as the second best and I have won £300. Unfortunatly I was sooo close to winning the creative placement yet soo far but still £300 wont go a miss and obviously the knowledge that such a good agency thinks my idea is good enough to win makes me feel much better!

Apparently there is going to be another competition in a few weeks time to do with music and film, and i was told to enter that as the agency thinks i will have a good chance of winning and getting another chance at a placement.

So theres a little bit of good news this week :)

weird film

I just saw the most bazaar film today called Antichrist.

The film is directed by the renowned Lars Von Trier, and although the storyline was pretty rubbish every single shot was beautifully shot in a very interesting, ambitious way and the music used just fit every scene amazingly.

The lighting in every shot enhances the scene immensely. The technique Lars uses is called Dogme 95,

which he was a co-creator of. I think this style of film is very interesting as it gives the film a more pure and

natural feel and is a lot cheaper to produce.

The goal of the Dogme collective is to purify filmmaking by refusing expensive and spectacular special effects, postproduction modifications and other gimmicks. The emphasis on purity forces the filmmakers to focus on the actual story and on the actors' performances. The audience may also be more engaged as they do not have overproduction to alienate them from the narrative, themes, and mood. To this end, Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg produced ten rules to which any Dogme film must conform. These rules, referred to as the "Vow of Chastity," are as follows: ^[1]

1. Filming must be done on location. Props and sets must not be brought in. If a particular prop is necessary for the story, a location must be chosen where this prop is to be found.
2. The sound must never be produced apart from the images or vice versa. Music must not be used unless it occurs within the scene being filmed, i.e., diegetic.
3. The camera must be a hand-held camera. Any movement or immobility attainable in the hand is permitted. The film must not take place where the camera is standing; filming must take place where the action takes place.
4. The film must be in colour. Special lighting is not acceptable (if there is too little light for exposure the scene must be cut or a single lamp be attached to the camera).
5. Optical work and filters are forbidden.
6. The film must not contain superficial action (murders, weapons, etc. must not occur.)
7. Temporal and geographical alienation are forbidden (that is to say that the film takes place here and now).
8. Genre movies are not acceptable.
9. The final picture must be transferred to the Academy 35mm film, with an aspect ratio of 4:3, that is, not widescreen. Originally, the requirement was that the film had to be filmed on Academy 35mm film, but the rule was relaxed to allow low-budget productions.
10. The director must not be credited.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogme95

The Concrete Jungle!

Sooo, this week we hit the big apple!

Well lets just say it didn't all go to plan. Firstly the travel agent didn't put us all together on the plane so i was sat by myself for 7 hours : /, and then when we arrived at New York we discovered that we weren't staying at the four star hotel we thought, but a regular old Holiday Inn. Non the less we moved past this with the excitement of being in the city.

The first day we awoke to torrential rain poring from the heavens which put somewhat of a stint in our days activities. Never the less we enjoyed a great amount of shopping in midtown and downtown Manhattan. That evening we enjoyed a hilarious visit to Ripley's Believe It Or Not, followed by a Delicious meal at he Hard Rock Cafe.

Our second day was a lot dryer, therefore, we were able to enjoy some of the amazing sights of the city on a sight seeing tour bus before going to McCain Erickson New York. I was very pleased to be visiting this agency as i really like the London agency. We were spoken to by a top creative director who showed us a collection of his work, one of which i had seen before. The Moto advert with Madonna in i found very hilarious, unlike the other ads on the reel ( possibly down to our English dry sense of humour). it was very interesting to see the differences between American advertising and British. We also had the opportunity to talk to the agency's recruitment manager who informed us of what we would need in order to obtain a job in the New York industry. i was quite surprised to find out you need to have a CV and everything needs to be mac'd up if its in your portfolio. This is very different to London, where art directors visuals are very acceptable.

That evening we went to the top of the Rockefeller Centre at sunset which astounded me with the beautiful views of the whole city. We then decided to go to a comedy show near the hotel to take in the New York sense of humour. some of the acts were quite funny but other jokes we just didn't understand.

Surprise surprise our last day in the city was roasting hot! we got up quite early to make the most of the day and took a long stroll through central park taking in the long awaited rays. we then met up at the amazing agency that is DDB. The sheer size of this agency was intimidating at first, however, once inside i was just so amazed at everything housed inside the agency from the printing department to the computer and 3D suites. We then got to talk to three junior creatives, all very nice and interesting, and who seemed very shocked at how hard it is in London and how long it can take to get a job. They were very informative and helpful in explaining what its like working and living in New York and what it takes to obtain a job.

Unfortunately we had to return home after this visit but overall we had an amazing week and were very fortunate to see the differences between American and British advertising and the environment differences in the different agencies. To me, American advertising is very in your face and obvious compared to a more complicated British approach, but i guess it all comes down to the target audience and the type of advertising that will appeal to them.

so thats all for now tata x