Weekly Progress + Plan

This is the weekly progress + plan for my tourism ad project.

Week	Start Date		Task		Blogpost Title	Content	Deadline
W1	22 July
W2	29 July	Pre Production	Research	1	Brief	Description of the brief, embed powerpoint	W2
				2	Plan & Weekly Progress	Plan for the whole project, Weekly diary	W2
				3	Team	Your team + Links ot their blogs	W2
				4	Research	Research into documentary openings of the same genre	W4
W3	5 August		Plan	5	Statement of Intent	Plan for the product	W4
				6	Storyboard	Scene by scene storyboard	W5
				7	Location Scout & Risk Assessment	Possible shooting locations, risk assessment table	W5
W4	12 August
W5	19 August	Production	Produce	8	Behind the Scenes	Images of the shoot	W8
W6	26 August
W7	2 September	Post Production	Edit/Reflection	10	Editing Process	How did you edit? Challenges, solutions	W9
				11	Self Reflection	Self Reflection Presentation	W9
W8	9 September		Edit
W9	16 September		Submission	12	Final	Final ad	W9

Week 2

In media class, we learned about how demographics, psychographics, and genre play key roles in shaping media texts. Demographics, which include factors like age, gender, and income, help identify the characteristics of a target audience, while psychographics go deeper by focusing on their interests, values, and lifestyles. We learnt about genre codes and conventions BLABLABLA +++++

Week 3

This week, we learned about different camera shots and angles. Understanding how to use various shots and angles will help us capture the destination in the most engaging and dynamic way will be crucial for our tourism advert. For example, wide shots can showcase the overall beauty and scale of a location, while close-ups can highlight specific details or attractions. Different angles can also create unique perspectives and emphasize particular features of the destination, making the advert more visually interesting and effective at drawing in viewers. By applying these techniques, we can enhance the visual storytelling and make our tourism advert more appealing and impactful.

I need to focus on researching the target audience for my tourism ad, as well as studying existing tourism advertisements to understand what strategies work best. Identifying the niche target audience is crucial because it will help shape the message and style of the ad to meet their preferences and needs. Additionally, reviewing successful tourism ads will provide insight into the techniques, visuals, and narratives that resonate with viewers. Lastly, I will work on drafting a statement of intent, which will outline the purpose, goals, and creative direction of the ad, ensuring we can effectively communicate the message behind our ad and easily track the changes we might make along the way.

Week 4

This week, we focused and worked on our storyboards, script, location scouting and risk assessment. With these tasks done, we now have a clearer vision of how our tourism advert will turn out. We are getting ready to move forward and begin filming soon after starting our filming schedule.

We learned how different types of sounds influence our emotions within a scene. By understanding the roles of diegetic, non-diegetic, and trans-diegetic sound, we can apply this knowledge to create a tourism advert that feels more immersive and realistic, while also amplifying the emotional impact and core message. We also learned about the importance of camera movement and how mastering specific techniques can elevate the visual storytelling. By carefully choosing and executing these movements, we can enhance particular scenes, making them feel more cinematic or suspenseful, capturing the viewer’s attention and deepening their connection to the content.

Week 5

This week, we started working on our filming schedule and quickly realized how challenging it can be to find a day when everyone is available. Putting together the schedule helped us see who is available and who isn’t, which made planning a bit easier going forward.

We also explored how mise-en-scène and editing can significantly enhance storytelling and the meanings they convey. Mise-en-scène is composed of 12 distinct features, and I plan to implement each of these elements to visually elevate my tourism ad project. These 12 features work together to create a visually appealing atmosphere that uses certain visual cues to make us feel specific emotions, depending on the goal. By combining elements like lighting, color, and props, we can shape how the audience feels and responds to what they see, making the overall message stronger and more engaging. Additionally, we looked into various editing techniques and types of cuts to ensure smooth transitions between scenes, achieving the desired effects. This knowledge will help us build suspense, convey certain emotions, highlight key parts, keep the viewer’s attention, etc. Today, we also began planning our filming schedule, carefully considering the props needed, the costume to use, the best times to shoot, the equipment to use, and other essential details to ensure a successful production. 

Week 6

This week, I learned about genre theory and key figures like Steve Neale and David Buckingham. Genre theory looks at how media like movies or ads are organized into categories based on common features. Neale's work shows that genres are not fixed but change over time, balancing familiar elements with new ideas. Buckingham’s research highlights how understanding genres helps us see media in its cultural and social context, making us more aware of how we engage with it. Even though I missed the lesson in school, my own research gave me a good grasp of these ideas. This knowledge will help with my tourism ad project by guiding me to use genre conventions effectively. I can create an ad that fits the expectations of university students looking for affordable trips, making it more appealing and effective.

I started answering the CCR questions by reflecting on the tourism ad I created for my project. These questions pushed me to think about why I made certain creative choices, like focusing on budget-friendly experiences and using vibrant visuals to appeal to young travelers. I had to explain how I designed the ad to engage my target audience and how it fit within the genre of tourism advertising. By really diving into these reflections, I’m gaining a deeper understanding of how my work can resonate with viewers, and this will definitely help improve my score by showing a clear connection between my creative decisions and the ad’s impact.

Week 7

This week, we focused on narrative theory in media class, particularly the work of Roland Barthes and Levi Strauss. Barthes' theory looks at how stories are built using different codes, such as action or mystery, which guide how audiences interpret a narrative. Levi Strauss introduced the idea of binary opposites (like good versus evil) where opposing forces create tension and drive the plot forward. These concepts are important in understanding how stories are structured and how meaning is created.

Understanding narrative theory will greatly help in the development of my tourism advertisement project. By applying Barthes' concept of codes, I have an opportunity to structure and compose the ad so that the audience will get interested, by instilling adventure or curiosity through visual and story cues into the ad. This, in turn, means that Levi Strauss's theory of binary opposites can help me make a more effective ad message. Because if one treats one thing in opposition to another (for instance, the busy, frenetic city versus the calm and more budget-friendly experience of Bali), I am able to make a story that will be quite attractive and therefore much more memorable for the advertisement.

Week 8

This week, we merely were chipping away at the unfinished tasks for our project. As usual, students like to do things last minute, so I had a lot of things to work on. All the blog posts had to be done soon, and the video itself was still in the editing process. However, I think we will be done with everything soon. Next time around, I’d rather finish my tasks and blogs as soon as they’re given if possible. While many of the blog posts are easy to make, it’s still quite a hassle to work on them when I still have many other tasks to do such as editing the final ad, and answering the creative critical reflection (CCR).

Self Reflection:

This little ‘dairy’ was helpful to keep up with all the lessons and it served as my notes for when I needed to look back on certain topics. After weeks of learning new topics, you tend to forget the material in first few lessons. However, this kept me well informed and it was sort of satisfying to write reflections every week. Unfortunately, sometimes I’d forget to write these entries at the end of every week, and that caused some confusion. Next time, I’ll remember to write it every Friday after class during my 10 minute break.