Revisiting Ciroc

After revisiting this Ciroc commercial with Diddy, I definitely still agree with my original analysis. I still feel that the song is a really important aspect of the commercial and that the song, combined with the use of black and white really conveys the sense of glamour. Some other things that I noticed looking at it again is the way the video is designed so that almost every other shot has the Ciroc bottle as the focal point. The shots in between always have another intriguing focal point that I think is meant to be associated with the main focus – the vodka – in a positive way. I mentioned in my first post the back of the woman in a low cut dress. Then, right after that, they cut to the woman walking with Diddy and he has the bottle in his hand. Then there is a close up shot after that where the label and full bottle is clear. I think it is really smart that they show the full bottle with the label multiple times throughout the commercial. There is never any doubt what the commercial is about , or what brand of vodka is being advertised. I have always been a little confused by commercials that do not make the product a focal point of the ad. There are also shots where Diddy is the focal point and then the vodka is either next to him or in his hands. They use a mixture of close ups, where the Ciroc bottle takes up almost the entire screen and is a very clear focal point, and wider shots where there is more action, but still the drink, either in the glass or in the bottle, is eventually what your eye is drawn to. A particularly good example of this is when they all toast around the table. The movement of the scene always draws your eye up to the glasses and the drink.

I also think that the choice of black and white does more than just evoke the glamour of the Sinatra years. It also creates a really clear contrast in the scenes that allow a glass bottle of clear liquid to stand out. The logo of the vodka is also very clean and simple. Highlighting it a lot makes it easy to remember, the name of the vodka with that black circle at the top. I also noticed that there is a sunburst on the wall that is highlighted a few times and I think that simple decoration in the home echoes the simplicity of the black circle on the vodka label. In line with this simple clean design, I think it is also noteworthy that there is no text throughout the entire commercial except for the text on the label. There is the minimal voiceover by Diddy and then the last shot is again the name of the vodka as the focal point with the words “The Art of Celebration” under it. Smaller at the bottom are the words Diddy ends with, “Celebrate Life Responsibly”. I think this choice also echoes the clean and simple glamorous feel of the commercial and keeps the commercial from being too busy. The eye is guided through the commercial by the movement of the actors and the choice of shot with the camera. The result is a commercial that evokes a sense of sensual pleasure and pairs that with the name and logo of Ciroc vodka.

Student Side of the Learning Element

Here is the second half of my Learning Element. Thanks!

http://www.thedecolas.com/Learning%20Element%20STUDENT%20VERSION.htm

CITEd Toolkit

Hi Everyone,

Well, I broadcast my troubles withe getting this learning element done on the site, so that's old news. Thanks for those of you that tried to help. So, I just wrote it up in Word and made it into a web page. The lesson is one lesson I would do with my students to help me utlize my MMP wiki.

Thanks!

http://68.36.208.216/Learning%20Element.htm

Hi Everyone,

I am sorry that this part is a little late. For both this post and my movie that is posted right before this, I used iMovie. It was my first time using iMovie and really using a Mac, but I really loved the program. I only used it for this video for the title, but for my 60 second movie I used a lot of different tools and features.

Mini Art School #4

Here's my 60 second video:




I am revising my post add this part. Sorry that it is a little late. For both this post and my movie that is posted right before this, I used iMovie. It was my first time using iMovie and really using a Mac, but I really loved the program. I only used it for this video for the title, but for my 60 second movie I used a lot of different tools and features.

Mini-Art School - Working With Digital Images

Hi Everyone,

Here is my video for the first assignment on cropping:





The next exercise I chose was the Border Variation Exercise.




I chose to crop a picture of apples from a recent apple picking excursion. I pasted it into a Publisher document and then tried to play around with the borders. I liked the first two, which created the white frame and the black border. They both have a certain organic feel because the border is not solid and I think that matches the picture and my aesthetic the best. I think that the black works because it picks up on the shadow in the picture. The third one was just a very thin black line that keeps the focus on the picture and sharpens the border a bit. Then, I tried to pick up some colors in the picture. The fourth picture uses a red and I liked the double line because it didn’t seem as harsh and looked a little more natural. The fifth picture went back to black but used a bigger border. It is a bit more severe, but also a bit more formal if that was the look that you were going for. Finally, I used a green and a dotted border in order to try and blur the edges a bit and keep the natural feel that echoes the natural theme of the apples.

Finally, I did the Conveyance Exercise. This was challenging and while I feel like I understand the concept, I am not sure I can explain it well. The photographs in the video are some I took when I was away recently and tried to find scenes or objects that were examples of conveyance. The focus was on nature.