Radio Advert Research

In looking at various radio adverts for our secondary production I found various themes and conventions used in them and a certain style for each one.

Most radio adverts are between 15 and 60 seconds in length feature 2-3 people often playing different roles. Radio adverts usually contain certain situations which involve the product or company involved for example a advert I looked at for a taxi company in Newcastle featured a situation in which a man was cold and wished he had a way to get places without walking, and decided on using a taxi company. These situations had background sounds that fit the situation for example one I looked at was taking place in a busy city had noises that would fit that situation.

Another voice not used in the situation is used to describe details about the product or company such as contact details or what they are selling or providing, usually backed by light hearted, bouncy, fun music.

Most radio adverts contain a joke or pun to keep them light hearted and entertaining for example an advert for a carpet company I looked at had a man falling through the floor because he didn't have a carpet to stand on. These jokes are often at the start of the advert and return at the end for a final laugh.

The slogan or company name is also said in a different way, I found a lot of the time it was sang most likely used so you remember it better and make it more interesting.

Newspaper Poster

We have looked at various newspaper posters and posters in general to see what conventions and themes are used. Some of these include having the masthead of the newspaper on the poster, usually at the top or bottom. Other conventions include having the masthead at the bottom, using a simple easy on the eyes style and colour scheme including blues and greens.
Other convention is bold text that stands out really well against the background they all contain an image or picture.

For my poster I have decided to follow the colour scheme of my newspaper with sea blue colours, I have a bar at the bottom of the poster where information such as the website and name of the newspaper goes which I noticed was used quite often when researching.

I have decided to either use one photo showing community such as a policeman helping a person or local shops, or a collage of 3 or 4 photos supporting some aspect of the newspaper.

Photoshoots

I have done several photoshoots for my newspaper articles:

Cycling accident story.
For this photo I wanted a very emotive feel as it is quite a tragic story. The subject has a very sad look upon his face and I stood on a tree to get a high angle shot as they are often assosiated with being vulnerable or sad.

This took place in the woods where the story talks about and I used two props which included flowers which I bought some flowers and placed them on the side of the tree to show where the boy died, and a bicycle as the caption below the shot shows that it was the boy who was killeds bicycle.




Woman whos cat was saved in a fire.
This photo is a medium closeup shot of the woman featured in the story with her cat. I intially planned to have this shot outdoors but the cat didnt like and it kept trying to get back in the house and wouldnt look at the camera, after changing setting to somewhere it found more comfortable I got a good shot.

I had to edit this picture on photoshop as the lighting in the room was not very bright and the ISO on my camera was too low.




Sand Castle Competition
This photo is from a real event I attended in the summer holidays when looking for stories I could include in my magazine and is an anual event that would be often found in local newspapers. My photo is of the dolphin sculpture which I thought was one of the best there and really defined the event with its water theme and a lot of effort put into it.



Litter problem.
For this small picture on the front page I asked one of the care takers to pose next to a bin with his litter picking equipment. I also got some litter and put it on the floor around the bin to emphasise the problem the article was talking about as there wasnt much litter around already.



Properties



This was for a small part of the newspaper which had a section about properties, I went out and tried to find the most attractive looking house and came out with this picture which I thought was good.

Sandcastle sculptures article

If you visited Weston-super-Mare last week you might have been lucky enough to spot some of the magnificent sand sculptures.

Sand sculpture artists from all over the globe came together to hold the annual event on Weston’s beach. The theme for this year was deep sea. Many different sculptures were to be seen including dolphins, divers and even Nemo from the Disney film. Visitors were impressed with the variety and scale of the sculptures and the attention to fine detail.

“This fantastic annual event together with the new pier attractions, is acting to drive up visitor numbers in this once popular tourist resort” said the Major of Weston, Charles Dean.

Many of the sculptures were created by members of the World Sand Sculpting Academy (WSSA), which held lessons for artistic sand sculpting on the Weston-super-Mare beach for the duration of the event.

As you enter the beach you get a full view of Weston-super-mares seafront which includes the spectacular new big wheel attraction.

The local mayor who attended the event said: “It’s a wonderful occasion that brings talented artists from around together in our humble town and we are proud to be able to host this event year after year.”

After last years event where one of the sculptures was destroyed by the weather, this years sculptures have been coated with an extra hard substance to prevent damage.

A full collection of pictures of the sculptures can be accessed on our website: www.n-somersetnews.com

Cat saved in kitchen fire article

In the early hours of this Wednesday morning a kitchen fire broke out in local woman, Barbara Davies’ house in Portbury, endangering her life and trapping her pet cat, Cleo behind the flames, the cat was saved by local boy Billy Rogers.

Mrs Davies, a pensioner who lives alone, had been cooking and when the fire started. She threw the pan into running water in the sink, Chief Daniel Chambers of the Avon fire brigade stated.

The contents of the pan then spilled over the dry towels near by causing one side of the kitchen to be set ablaze and blocking the way to the door to the rest of the house.

The woman then retreated to the garage when passing local paper boy, Billy Rogers, 12, saw her in distress and phoned the Avon fire brigade on his mobile phone while trying to calm the elderly lady down. Rogers then stated he heard cries from Barbara Davies’ cat, Cleo, from inside the kitchen and knew he had to act before it was too late. Rogers then ventured alone into the burning kitchen and managed to rescue the cat, Cleo who had jumped onto the fridge and was trapped by encroaching flames.

A fire crew lead by Chambers arrived swiftly at the scene minutes later and subdued the flames; Mrs Davies applauded the response time and quick action when on the scene once the crew had arrived.

Barbara Davies was sent to Frenchay hospital where she was treated for shock and minor smoke inhalation, but made a quick recovery and was discharged after a few hours.

“Cleo was my cherished friend and I don’t know what I would have done if Billy didn’t come along and save her.” A relieved Mrs Davies said once she had recovered.

Mrs Davies lives alone and loves the company of the black

feline. She later commented on Billy’s actions saying: “the common perception of teenagers these days in the media gives them a bad image, often called “hoodies”, and associated with ASBOs and antisocial behaviour but if young Billy here shows us anything its that our upcoming generation is as considerate and willing to help as any. “

Chief Chambers , awarded young Billy the Community Action Award for rescuing the pet cat and confirms that Kitchen fires are serious events and should be made sure they never happen to you whilst knowing how to act if the situation arises. Please review our key kitchen safety guidelines to help secure you and your family’s safety in the event of a fire.

Boy involved in cycling accident artcle

This Saturday whilst cycling through a local wood in Portishead, Johnny Brandon, aged just 16, tragically died when he collided with a tree at high speeds.

He was cycling home after a ride with his brother Hayden when the tragic accident happened. Johnny lost control of his bike whilst cycling through the woods and went over the handlebars and into a tree. Usually a careful and aware cyclist, “he always wore his cycle helmet” stated mother, Joanne Brandon. However on the day in question Johnny had taken his helmet off and stowed it away in his rucksack due to the heat. This fatal mistake cost a young boy his life.

Brandon was a valued member of his local community in the small town of Portishead, always keen to help out his neighbours in their day to day lives, or assist in productions and activities at school. “He was a very active pupil that put one hundred and one percent into whatever he tried at and enjoyed all aspects of life to the

fullest.” said his teacher, Mrs Budgie “His death was a great loss to everyone who knew him.

An active child, he enjoyed his days out cycling with his younger brother as much as all his hobbies including extreme sports such as surfing, windsurfing and kayaking.

He had aspired to pursue his love of water sports in the future when he left school the next year and had made plans to live in Cornwall with an aunt to train to become a lifeguard.

Inspector Plod of the Portishead police service reminds us that: “being safe while on your bicycle is a must even when you think you are safe on trivial things such as a cycle ride with your brother. Always wearing your helmet is vital. Make sure you have a helmet certified by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and always wear it even if you are just going on a short ride; you never know when you will be involved in an accident."