Media Coursework- Hovis Advert Analysis

Media Coursework Hovis Advert Analysis In this essay, I will be analysing the 2008, ? 15 million Hovis TV advertisement. Filmed in Liverpool with a cast of over 750 extras, director Ringan Ledwidge portrays a young boy (13 year old Brian Mackie) buying a loaf of bread in 1886, which was when the first Hovis loaf of bread was sold, and then travelling with the bread tucked under him arm, through 12 decades in British History. The concept behind the advert is to show that Hovis has been around for 122 years and is a British Institution. For this reason, the advert lasts 122 seconds; each second depicting each year. The product is shown to be just as good, hence the slogan “As good today as it’s always been”. Throughout this advert, a range of different camera angles are used/ At the beginning, in the course of the ‘Woman’s Rights’ parade, there is a point-of-view camera shot to give a first person opinion of the scene. This makes us feel like we are there in the scene because the camera looks towards the crowd and it makes us feel like we are looking at them as well. The angle of this shot is low and the distance is a long shot. The low angle shot in this scene makes the crowd around the young boy seem more numerous, bigger and powerful compared to him. It also contrasts the height of the boy to the large size of the parade. Even though the occasion is already extremely overpowering, this show emphasizes the volume of the parade even further creating a strong impact on the viewer by showing how important events such as this parade were. The effect of the low angle shot is repeated in the scene with the army of soldiers in World War 1 marching in the street, when the camera is looking up at the soldier. This connotes that the soldier is powerful and the boy looks up to him. When the boy goes through an alley whilst kicking a can, he enters a bombsite during which an emotional camera angle is used. Firstly, a long shot is used to portray the devastating situation but then it extends into an extreme long shot which makes the desolation and damage even more significant as it compares the size of the small boy to the big impact of the mass destruction. It also highlights how the boy would have felt being there alone. As the boy walk on, the camera moves onto a Mid-Shot Angle, showing only the top half of his body. This causes the viewer to focus on one specific thing at a time such as the boy’s face, which emphasizes on his emotions, or the product this advert is marketing, the bread loaf tucked under his arm. Another very expressive and emphatic camera movement is the panning shot. This is demonstrated during the celebratory setting of the year 1966 when England won the football world cup and a few fans are in the car with young Brian running alongside them. A panning show creates a powerful effect because it gives you the impression that you are there as it makes you feel like you’re moving with them. In addition, this camera movement denoted speed and excitement for the viewer. Later on, this shot is repeated in the millennium fireworks scene which makes it a lot more exciting. There are many styles of music used during this advertisement because it sets the mood for the scene and it controls our emotions throughout. The speed of the music depends on the speed the boy is running at and the atmosphere of the setting, e. g. when the soldiers march, a violin is added to the music as it provides a sad feel. As the timeline of the storyline continues to more recent times, the instruments used reflect to newer technologies and more modern musical instruments are included. This represents the fast pace of changes taking place at the time and shows the discoveries and inventions which were being found. Firstly, in the baker show at the beginning of the advert, the music is slightly upbeat evoking a sense of anticipation. During the wartime bombed area, the music bed level drops and it changes to only slow piano chords to signify the depression and misery of the location. Additionally, it creates tension and emotion for the audience. This music also mirrors the boy’s feelings through the tempo and pitch. The music returns again quietly, with violins playing in a solemn and respectful way for the loss of life from the war. It then begins to build up again with Churchill’s speech, bringing a sense of defiance and a feeling of pride. Another illustration of the music in the advert reflecting the mood of the scene is during the world cup setting. The pace of the melody picks up and the dynamics increase to show excitement, joy and energy. It gets louder and even more instruments are added. In the millennium setting, the tune is at a very fast pace with many diverse instruments all playing at the same time, which gives strong emphasis on the environment’s joyful and ecstatic setting. Throughout the advert, there are a variety of non-diegetic and diegetic sounds. The music in this advert is the only non-diegetic sound. A number of diegetic sounds are used, for example, when the car is passing by in the world cup scene, the chants the fans are yelling are diegetic as the young boy can hear them. This reflects the euphoria in England at the time upon winning the world cup. Another example of diegetic sound is the radio shown during the World War 2 scene. The radio, which Brian looks at through a shop window, is playing Winston Churchill’s famous speech which was spoken during the World War 2. This sets the action in a specific time period and creates a sense of natural pride. As well as this, diagetic sounds are used in the wartime bombed location. When Briand is just about to exit the scene and is climbing up a pile of bricks, rubble and wood, a spitfire plane flies above his head. The sound of this plane makes Brian hopeful because these spitfires helped us win the world war. Because there is a suggestion of hope, the music tempo changes and becomes more upbeat. The outfits and costumes of the characters change a lot during the course of this advert. At the start, the young boy wears old-fashioned, dull coloured, Victorian clothes such as a cap and shorts. Then at the soldiers’ march, he’s wearing long trousers. Next her changes into more modern and colourful jumpers, jackets, shirts and trainers as he approaches the millennium stage and finally he wears a hooded top when he arrives home. The change in style of clothing is to reflect the setting in each scene of the advert. For example, the use of dull colours at the start indicates the gloominess of that time. But then as soon as he moves into the stage where it’s the Queen’s Coronation and the atmosphere is bouncy and energetic, compared to the dismal war scene, his jumper underneath his jacket changes from a concrete grey to a sea blue because blue is one of the colours of the British flag. All the clothing becomes more modern and stylish as new styles were being invented and so it keeps up to date with the time period. To conclude, my opinion of this advert is that it is very well structured and the use of the different speeds and tempo of the music was quite effective. This is because the upbeat sounds made me feel enthusiastic an filled me with excitement. The scene with the wartime bombed area, with only the piano chords playing captured my attention because it was a sudden change. Also the colours that developed throughout the advert were really attention grabbing as the screen got brighter and brighter.

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