GRAPHIC COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES : Final Language Viral Stills

So I have finalised my "language" virals and here are stills from each one. The first is based around the idea of a glamourous photoshoot: big, red lips, fur coat, bouncy, blonde hair - lots of posing and pouting! The song playing over the top is "Rude Boy" by Rihanna, known for it's sexy lyrics and sound. After a few quickly edited snaps of the "shoot", it cuts to the girl reciting William Wordsworth's "Daffodils" poem. The word "Poetry" then fades in, as she blows a kiss. The screen then fades to black, with the statement: "Expect the unexpected" fading in. The juxtaposition of a supposed "bimbo", who had been dancing around and blowing kisses, then reciting verse is meant to show the viewer that poetry can be surprising and appeal to a wider audience then once thought.

The second viral also plays on the idea of "expect the unexpected". This time the girl is a stereotypical "goth": black lipstick, black hair, hooded top and lots of devil horns with her fingers. She begins to scream and headbang at the camera, shaking her hair out and act as a mad woman. All the while the song "BYOB" by System of a Down plays over the top, a rock song, which I chose for it's guitar and fast drum-lead pace (linking to the fact she is playing air guitar and banging her feet). Again, after a set of quickly edited shots it cuts to the girl reciting William Wordsworth's poem (kept the same to show continuity and so the videos can be linked together), she then makes the devil horns to the camera as the word "Poetry" fades in, once again. Screen fades to black and the same statement fades in: "expect the unexpected".

BRANDING IN CONTEXT : Final Images from Viral Video

BRANDING IN CONTEXT : Facilities Viral Video

I have decided to leave the "time lapse" idea, where I wanted to use coloured forms to give the impression of creativity, as I felt it may be too abstract within the time limit of 1 minute. So I'm going ahead with my alternative idea, snippet video clips of each facility used in the Graphics course, that aids the design process. Below are some of the set ups I will hope to film:

Within these sheets I speak about the length of each clip being a few seconds, long enough to get a feel for the use of the facility and then moving onto the next. I want the rapid succession to give the idea of multiple layers going into the course's structure, involving many processes that help create ideas and produce design pieces.

Below I have taken some preliminary shots, to give the idea of how close-up each video clip will be and what sort of angle/subject will be included. Such as:

Using the Macs.

Taking Notes.

Room's facilities (e.g. light switches, tables etc.)

BRANDING IN CONTEXT : Facilities Viral Video Ideas

I have begun the stage of developing my ideas and creating initial storyboard visuals. Below I have showcased some ideas about where I could take the video. These include:

1. A series of video snippets showing the varied facilities used within the course (e.g. lights being switched on, printers, Mac computers etc). It could give an overview of the many areas that help with the design process.

or

2. A time lapse/stop motion animation of a person sitting throughout the piece, while behind them a whole wall is filled with shapes and coloured forms depicting the many facilities that are on offer to Graphics students.

I decided to explore the "time lapse" idea, in the sheet below you can see the beginnings of the coloured shapes I'd want to create and have appearing within the video. I also drew out where the person could be positioned to give the most direct message across that what is forming behind them is meant to be their creativity and thoughts being realised.

In the work sheet just above, I spoke about how I wanted the forms that appeared around the person's head to be inspired by some of Lissitzky's work. Bold shapes and a select colour palette, which will reflect creativity in the course and also freedom of expression allowed for ideas.

BRANDING IN CONTEXT : Initial Brainstorms - Brand Values

So, in this brief we were able to decide whether we wanted our viral video to promote a journey, the students, employability/alumni, the building or the facilities. I decided to brainstorm those areas, to see what interesting areas could be focused on and used creatively.

I found that facilities was something I wanted to focus more in depth on, as I felt it could allow me to film/photograph multiple areas that are associated with the Graphic Communication course and could be used to promote it within a video.

GRAPHIC COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES : Viral Video Examples

Here are some exmaples of viral ads online that have caught my eye. The first is for a new Shaving Brand, which relies heavily on it's simplicity and the humour within the advertisement to really sell the product. This is the kind of humour element I would like to explore within my own viral.

Here's the latest Starbucks advert, advertising their scheme of writing customers' names on their coffee, instead of the order, to give a more personal feel to the service. It uses stop motion (or the computer animated illusion of stop motion) illustrations, where the letters of the names and orders form images, such as birds or rain. It gives a feel of a human quality and is really easy to watch multiple times.

GRAPHIC COMMUNICATION PRINCIPLES / STRATEGIES : Potential Background Images

For my brand palette (and also into my microsite design) I am choosing which vintage-style. black & whit ephotograph images to use. I want them to be loosely linked into the campaign (such as the image of the lake is from yorkshire - a dialect I am using the dialect of), but also to be ambiguous enough that they don't put off some audience members.

GRAPHIC COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES : Viral Video

For one of our new modules we have to consider inclusion of a viral video element, with a connecting theme to the "Graphic Communication Principles" module. I have decided to choose the theme of "Promoting the beauty of language and it's use in everyday life". For me, when I was first told about this theme, I immediately thought of a certain type of viral video becoming ever popular on the video sharing site Youtube. They are called lyric videos, used by record companies to give fans a chance to listen to music and watch a visual linked to the songs theme/content, until an official video can be made and released. These lyric videos can be as simple as having the song's lyrics scrolling up the screen or (like the ones below) use the "type as image" approach, creating a really interesting piece that brings the song to life:

"StooShe - Betty W.O.Z. Gone" - This song is centred on a story about youths on a London housing estate, so the type is inspired by graffiti, text messaging and slang. It is really interesting to see how the designer has tried to represent the singers' ad-libs and voices into the typography.

"Labrinth - Last Time" - A electro pop song based around the idea of dancing in different countries, so when the singer talks about the country the type reflects it, with an over arching electronic feel (such as in colour choice) to reflect the song's sound.

In the past year, the use and popularity of "lyric videos" has grown immensely, with some fans preferring them to some of the eventual "official music videos" featuring the actual music artist, as they don't match up to the vibrancy and uniqueness. In my own viral video work, I would like to use elements of these videos, linking it to the idea of "beauty of language", I feel there could be opportunity to create something very interesting, maybe not using songs, but spoken pieces/monologues.