2. Evaluation – review of project At the start of this unit we had to look at how other creatives have responded and contributed a perspective to issues/events of concern. Some of the issues I looked at were poverty, child abuse, bullying, drug abuse and road safety. For this I analysed print campaigns, television adverts, web pages, and how the media portray these issues. From this I did more in depth research about one issue that was of my interest, for this I chose drug abuse. I looked at the Talk To Frank (UK) campaign, the Not Even Once (US) meth campaign, Pablo The Drugs Mule (UK), newspaper articles, news web pages, and I created a survey about peoples experiences with drug. I generated ideas for a final outcome and chose one of the ideas to take forward to further development. I then planned this outcome, thinking about who my target audience were and what they needed. Using Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Premier Pro I created a campaign that consisted of a television advert and a poster.
3. Evaluation – target audience The original intentions for my piece of work were to create a campaign that would shock the audience, and rather than to scare them away from drug use, I wanted it to make the audience think about the effects and risks of drug use. The target audience for my products is teenagers, and maybe parents of teenagers. In my opinion teenagers are the age group that are likely to be more open to drug use. Most teenagers are willing to try drugs, or take drugs because their friends do. Also parents warn their children not to take drugs, but when most children reach their teenage years they start to become more rebellious. I think this is the main factor that drives teenagers towards the use of drugs, they start to think drugs are cool. I think that my campaign shocks the audience, but not to a point where they feel uncomfortable. The use of facts relating to drug related deaths makes the audience think about how big an issue drug abuse is. Also I think that the statement that looks like it is being said by the character on the page effects the audience emotionally. The character on the page is supposed to look devastated and upset, and the text makes the audience realise what he is upset about. The text says ‘I wish she would have listened to me’ which implies that something has happened to somebody he cares about, which is why the campaign is also targeted at the parents of teenagers.
4. Evaluation - feedback To gather feedback for my final outcome I created a short questionnaire asking what the audience thought of my work. I asked two questions and then left the 3rd for people to write any other comments they wanted add about my products. I posted a link on my facebook page and also sent a link through a message to approximately 40 people. When I checked to see how much feedback I had received there was a lot less then I had expected. This shows that my method for gathering feedback was not very successful. However from the feedback I did receive all participants agreed that teenagers, or maybe parents of teenagers are an appropriate target audience for these media products. Also the majority agreed that my campaign TV advert successfully shocks the audience, but not to the point where they feel uncomfortable.
5. Evaluation – feedback I am pleased with these results as I got the outcome I was hoping for. As I said I left space for people to write any other comments about my work, in this section most people agreed that one thing that needed to change on the TV ad was the length of time the text was visible for, which I agree with. Another point made was ‘It's a good advert but sometimes I think that the "shock-value" of any Anti-drugs campaign has to be just that little bit more shocking in order for (specifically young) people too take note’. I am grateful for this comment as it has made me think that my advert needs to be more shocking for people to pay attention to the message I am trying to get across.
6. Evaluation – audience response During the planning process I had to change my original idea because of the response I got from the audience. My original idea was to have the television advert seem like a police interrogation scene, which I why my first drafts of my posters are related to criminal records etc. the response I got for my idea was to think about it in more depth. My idea had no connection with the research I had done, there are not existing products (from what I could find) that relate drug use to criminal records. Now I look back I can see that a criminal record is a very good scare factor and I don’t think it would have any effect on the audience. This is why I changed my idea, I still wanted to show that drug abuse is a big concern and I wanted to effect the audience emotionally. This is where the Krank campaign came from.
7. Evaluation – research effectiveness The research part of the unit was the most important to me. The research I did helped me to decide on what my final product would be like. My final outcome was inspired by the (US)Not Even Once - Meth campaign, and the (UK)Talk To Frank Campaign. I chose the meth campaign because of the shock value. I can honestly say this is the most shocking campaign I have seen, and I don’t think any one could look at these posters and not be effected. I chose the Frank campaign because this campaign focuses on educating people about drugs, rather than shocking people. I wanted my campaign to have elements from both of these campaigns, the shock/emotional impact on the audience, and the education side. This is why I chose the tagline and the fact.
8. Evaluation – self evaluation During this unit I personally think I have managed my time well. I worked to strict deadlines but still completed the work. I method I used to help with my time management was my reflective journal. Each week I wrote in the journal, talking about my progress and the targets I need to reach. Now at the end of the unit, after looking through feedback and thinking of the target audience, I feel my final outcome was successful. People agree that my product was suitable for the target audience and that it has an effect on the mentally and emotionally, which I am pleased with. I also think that not experiencing any technical constraints helped me reach my target.
