Voices and Signs - The Piano
Analysing a Television Commercial

The aim of this lesson is to equip you with the strategies to analyse the ways the makers of TV advertisements construct advertisements to create a particular feeling toward their product using a variety of techniques. 

Form groups of 2-3. Each group will be allocated one of the following areas to focus on very closely and report results back to the class. 

1.	Watch the advert once. As a group decide on 
a.	The target audience 
b.	The feeling or mood of the advert. 

2.	Now watch the advert, again concentrating on your allocated aspect. Whatever features you report back to the class must be explained in terms of the mood the feature helps create and/or how it helps target the audience.  In other words you must be prepared to discuss the effect of the features you mention. 

GROUP 1 - SHOTS AND ANGLES

·	What kinds of shot are most common (eg. close-ups of faces, mid-shots from waist up, long shots from head-to-toe, long long shots of distant things or people?) Why?

·	Is there any use of high angles (looking down on the subject) or low angles (looking up to the subject)? Why?

·	Is zoom used? When and why?

GROUP 2 - SOUND AND MUSIC

·	How would you describe the music? How does it work to create a mood/target an audience? What is the pace of the music? Does the pace change? Why?

·	What about the words of the song - what effect do they have on the audience?

GROUP 3 - EDITING (how it is put together)

·	Count the number of cuts in the advert (changes of shot). How many cuts per second? What is the effect of this?

·	Does the pace of the cuts change? When and why?

·	Look for contrast (different people or things placed close together in the advert) for effect. 

GROUP 4 - SPECIAL EFFECTS, SYMBOLS, LOGO AND COLOUR

·	Are any special effects used? When and why?

·	What colour(s) dominate the advert? Why this colour?

·	Is there a logo? How is it presented?

GROUP 5 - PEOPLE AND ACTIONS

·	List all of the different  types of people in the advert. (young, old, formal, casual, Maori, pakeha etc.) Is there a greater representation of one group? Why?

·	What sorts of things are people doing? Why these actions?

GROUP 6 - GENERAL

·	Is this a narrative advert (telling a story) or is it meant to simply give us an impression of the product?

·	Can you tell where the advert has been made? How?

© Ministry of Education, Wellington, New Zealand (First published 1998)