The video I have selected is a powerful and emotional one, that could raise some ethical issues.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhBX32wID28
The video begins with a man lying on the floor. We cannot see his face but his clothes are torn and rugged and stained with alcohol or sick.
It states how much alcohol he's consumed. This would have a big effect on the audience as they would then begin to see how little alcohol it takes to become in this state of mind. The bold text and different color scheme around the 'five pints' writing further emphasises the point of the alcohol consumption and its effects.
The rest of the advert continues with the alcohol consumption listed, and the anonymous faces. The cutting out of faces isn't for emphasis but rather to make you think that it could be you lying there, unconscious. This girl has a mobile phone in her hands and is receiving texts from worried friends- to which she cannot reply due to her paralysed state. The mobile also suggests that this advert is aimed at teenagers- as they are the biggest target group for alcohol binging too.
This video gets more effective as it goes on. This shot is gruesome and distressing for viewers. It shows someone lying in their own pool of sick, due to drinking. This advert could easily reach its target audience as it's shots feature hard-hitting but realistic scenes from a typical night out. It's target audience are probably mainly teenagers but obviously adults too. Not so much younger kids as they cannot drink and therefore do not need to be aware of this.
This advert is more effective than a traditional print based campaigns because it focuses on realistic effects of alcohol. As it's a video it can fit different visual elements of the effects of alcohol in, whereas traditional print can only fit one still image- therefore not addressing all of the effects of alcohol. It is better to have a video as it can be more emotionally intense and encourage the viewers further more to get help or information.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAmI1MJECZ4
The video begins with a woman dressing. Her hair is messy, her makeup smudged. She is stepping into tights with holes in. Her house is dark and messy, with a menacing atmosphere.
The woman then advances to the bathroom, where she continues to throw up in her sink. She then purposely drags it through her hair, ensuring it is everywhere. The moral of the video is still not entirely clear, however the effects of the steps she is taking when dressing herself are interesting and could be seen as weird to the target audience.
She then walks through the house, smudging her makeup down her face on purpose. Still smiling, as throughout the whole video. The viewer might not understand these unjustified acts just yet, but they will soon learn the point of the video. She is 'getting ready' by ruining her appearance and making herself look just as you would at the end of a night out.
The end of the video comes. A bold, white text appears with the rhetorical question of 'You wouldn't start a night like this, so why end it that way?'
This question is very powerful. It has the potential to make the audience really think about what they are doing. It is one of the most powerful videos I have seen. I think it's really good at addressing the audience and making them think and wonder about their behaviours. The entire video was spent with the girl undressing, destroying her outfits, putting sick in her hair, smudging her make up, pouring wine down herself and house.. it all links up to the fact that this is what usually happens after a night out. The video is making you think about what happens towards the end of the night. It's telling you that you wouldn't go out looking, smelling or feeling like that- so why come home like it? It's making you visually see the different aspects of alcohol consumption and the effects on you as a person- especially how you look. It's more hard hitting than factual, as it makes you think more than telling you information. It's subtle but effective, and a powerful way to address the audience- whom I think are mainly teenagers and young adults, as perceived by the age of the girl in this.
My conclusion after watching both videos:
I feel that videos are much more powerful than a still image. Videos have various different visual elements and contain many more realistic scenes. Videos can mainly be less factual but because they are so powerful, it doesn't matter. Videos effectively communicate to the audience because there are a wide range of different devices you can use. You can submit unconscious messages, you can change the sound effects to make them more emotional, you can position people and the subjects differently. Videos generally contain many more things, seeing as they are moving images they usually have a moral or story line, and because they are long you can fit different things in. By this I mean that in a still image you can only really fit one type of alcoholic effect or visual element in, but in a video you can fit a range of different things in. Still images usually contain lots of facts and figures, whereas videos don't contain a vast amount- not enough to bore you but enough to help you. I feel that videos are generally more powerful and helpful in submitting not only unconscious messages but important and helpful messages to the target audiences- which can range from very young to very old.
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