Working with a Client
MBC
https://wearembc.com
MBC (Marketing, Branding and Creative) is the worlds smallest design agency.
Their Vision is to have the client at 'hello'.
Their mission is to be more than expected, They want to give their clients something extra than other ordinary ad agencies.
MBC's clients include: Heart Radio, San Miguel, Global, Royal Cabin, Hilton, Capital FM and Carlsberg.
MBC Campaign
Capital FM/Global
Summertime Ball 2017-2019
Since 2014, every year MBC has been involved in the creative marketing to promote Capital FM's biggest summer event, The Summertime Ball.
From 2017-2019, the creative theme was a departure from the previous years and used the trend of ‘inflatables’ as its inspiration for the creative execution. Keeping the theme colourful, fresh and bubbly, it was designed to appeal to music-loving millennials and those who enjoy popular culture. They successfully delivered tickets, VIP passes, posters and a comprehensive programme, featuring an impressive line-up of stars.
Royal Canin
Pet Obesity Awareness Campaign
Royal Canin wanted to raise awareness of pet obesity because it is overlooked by owners as pet owners feel like there are more important issues facing their pet instead of the weight.
Royal Cabin and MBC found the problem with pet owners is that their ‘Love is blind’, they don't realise that their behaviour could potentially be having long-term health implications for their pet. The campaign used the idea of ‘Love is blind’ to communicate to pet owners that we acknowledged the fact they loved their pets, but that the way they were ‘loving’ them might have been doing more harm than good. The digital campaign raised so much awareness and helped equip pet owners with the tools to help them change their behaviour.
They got 32,358 website hits were generated from
the campaign to the website during the length of the campaign.
the campaign to the website during the length of the campaign.
The video received a record number, 415, 964, of completions on YouTube, totalling almost half a million.
Digital display campaign exceeded targets by 200% with Sizmek display, Facebook, Twitter, and Google text ads receiving an impressive 7.4M impressions / views in total.
Advert:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teTg1OGlaZo&feature=emb_title
Hawkridge Distillers
Hawkridge Distillers was started up in 2018 by three friends, James Gurney, Robin Horrex and Phil Howarth. They started off by researching and trying numerous distilling methods and techniques. They released their first bottle of gin in December 2019.
The Blowing Stone Gin
https://blowingstonegin.com
The premise behind the crafted gins is that to create the rich and distinctive flavours using botanicals that could be found growing wild at the time of the battle – many of which would have been foraged and eaten as part of the diet for both the Anglo-Saxons and the invading Danish Vikings alike.
The Blowing Stone has been inspired by the heritage that surrounds the distillery in the village of Compton, West Berkshire and celebrates the profound impact of this early medieval period on the course of England's history. They bring the 9th century Wessex events to life through the bottle and through the flavours of the gin.
The bottle is designed to be reminiscent of a typical middle-ages drinking vessel. embellished with an intricate hand-drawn Anglo Saxon inspired artwork which subtly conveys the date of the Battle of Ashdown. The Blowing Stone gins have been crafted using selected botanicals, they have selected fruits, herbs and some more unusual ingredients which would have been growing wild or readily available at the time of King Alfred the Great’s reign.
The Story of The Blowing Stone
On the 8th January 871, an Anglo-Saxon army, led by King Ethelred and his younger brother, the future King Alfred the Great was about to face the Viking army…a formidable enemy, intent on establishing Danish rule over the whole of England. Having conquered every other kingdom in England, just one more separated the Vikings from total domination – The Kingdom of Wessex.
Known as ‘The Great Heathen Army,’ the Vikings had been camped at Reading. Marching west into the North Wessex Downs, they were to meet the Wessex Army close to the prehistoric Ridgeway path just outside the village of Compton.
To summon his troops into battle that morning, Alfred blew into an ancient perforated sarsen stone which delivered a loud booming sound across the downs. Known as ‘The Blowing Stone’ this marked the beginning of the Battle of Ashdown from which Alfred emerged victorious.
Hawkridge Gin
https://hawkridgegin.com
There are 2 different types of gin and a vodka.
How its made - Three Part Process
They start by creating a tea, with some of the more delicate botanicals being macerated in neutral grain spirit for 48 hours. This process extracts natural oils and compounds and avoids the botanicals being affected by heat in the still, preserving their delicate flavours and viscosity.
They strain these botanicals and add the resulting liquid to the still where our juniper, coriander and
citrus are also soaking before the distillation starts.
citrus are also soaking before the distillation starts.
During the distillation, they add some of the fresh botanicals such as mint and lemon verbena to the infusion basket.
Their Competitors
Silent Pool Gin
After looking at Silent Pool Gin's advertising and website, they tend to stick around the theme of water to correlate around the word 'Pool'. Some of the photos I found (Image 1 and 2 below) are shot on their very on distillery which is next to a lake and a lot of greenery. From what I have found, it seems like the advertising for Silent Pool Gin is heavily based on the name of the gin.
The main piece of advertising I found (Image 3) is made to look like the models are underwater/in a pool and the tree on the left is decorated in the same patterning as the bottle. The colours in the photo match the colour scheme of the bottle including what the models are wearing.
AU Vodka
All of AU Vodkas images are all in very similar locations, poolside/by water. This creates the relation between being on holiday and drinking the vodka. Image 1 and 2 have objects in it that matches the bottle top of the vodkas e.g the purple matches the colour of the stone in the fire pit and the green pillows match the watermelon vodka. All three of the images show the ingredients/flavoring of the vodka. The blue from the water contrasts well with the gold bottle and makes it stand out more.
I like the idea of showing the ingredients in the vodka as decoration, which I am going to use in my own photos.
Salcombe Gin
Salcombe Gin is the first alcohol brand I found that shows consumption in its advertising. I really like how throughout all the images the colour scheme has stayed the sam, white and pink. I also like how some of the images (Images 2-5) show people in the image without actually showing their faces. I want to use the same technique of just showing peoples hands and arms to portray the consumption of the gin. I also like the idea of showing the preparation of the gin as well as the actual enjoying it.
What the Clients Want
- Photograph that consumption moment.
- Three images 1x1 square images - suitable for Instagram and Facebook
- You can use moving image for Facebook stories. 10 – 15 seconds
- Resolution 1200px x 1200px for Facebook and 1080px x 1080px for Instagram
- Hawridge Victorian Botanical Tea Blend
- Main brand Strapline – “Distinctively Irresistible”
- Should invoke a sense of luxury
- Can’t show faces (unless look over 25 or depth of field) and can’t show them drinking the product – can show a lot with hands, arms, shoulders, backs, profiles, silhouette, hair, accessories etc…
- Research competitors – not just gin, other spirits
- Look into industry regulations
- Images don’t have to link
- Target Audience: 25 – 55/65 more towards females. Maybe keep towards more the younger end but not exclusive.
Rules and Regulations for Photographing Alcohol
https://www.portmangroup.org.uk/rules/
There are 12 rules which apply to alcohol marketing. These rules represent the minimum standards set by the Code. Many producers go further and have their own internal guidelines.
ALCOHOLIC CONTENT Rule 3.1
The alcoholic nature of a drink should be communicated on its packaging with absolute clarity.
STRENGTH Rule Rule 3.2(a)
A drink, its packaging or promotion should not give the higher alcoholic strength, or the intoxicating effect, undue emphasis. A product’s lower alcoholic strength may be emphasised proportionately when it is below the average strength for similar beverages. Factual information about alcoholic strength may be given.
ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR Rule 3.2(b)
A drink, its packaging or promotion should not suggest any association with bravado, or with violent, aggressive, dangerous, anti-social or illegal behaviour (though sponsorship of activities which may be dangerous after alcohol consumption, such as motor racing, or yachting are not in themselves in breach of this clause).
ILLICIT DRUGS Rule 3.2(c)
A drink, its packaging or promotion should not suggest any association with, acceptance of, or allusion to, illegal drugs.
SEXUAL SUCCESS Rule 3.2(d)
A drink, its packaging or promotion should not suggest any association with sexual activity or sexual success; Strong sexual images will breach the Code even if nothing directly suggests that the drink enhances the drinker’s sexual capabilities.
POPULARITY Rule 3.2(e)
A drink, its packaging or promotion should not suggest that consumption of the drink can lead to social success or popularity.
IRRESPONSIBLE DRINKING Rule 3.2(f)
A drink, its packaging or promotion should not encourage illegal, irresponsible or immoderate consumption, such as binge drinking, drunkenness or drink-driving.
RAPID DRINKING Rule 3.2(g)
A drink, its packaging or promotion should not urge the consumer to drink rapidly or to ‘down’ a product in one.
APPEAL TO UNDER 18S Rule 3.2(h)
A drink, its packaging or promotion should not have a particular appeal to under-18s (in the case of sponsorship, those under 18 years of age should not comprise more than 25% of the participants, audience or spectators).
UNDER 25S Rule 3.2(i)
A drink, its packaging or promotional material should not, in any direct or indirect way… incorporate images of people who are, or look as if they are, under twenty-five years of age, where there is any suggestion that they are drinking alcohol or they are featured in a significant role. Images may be shown where people appear only in an incidental context.
THERAPEUTIC QUALITIES Rule 3.2(j)
A drink, its packaging or promotion should not suggest that the product has therapeutic qualities, can enhance mental or physical capabilities, or change mood or behaviour.
SERIOUS OR WIDESPREAD OFFENCE Rule 3.3
A drink’s name, its packaging and any promotional material or activity should not cause serious or widespread offence.
Ideas
Moving Image:
Create a cinemagraph: Cocktail Shaker being shook or Pouring of a drink
Still Image Ideas:
- Pouring of a drink
- Garnishing a drink
- Measuring out the alcohol for a cocktail
- People Cheersing
I was thinking either a garden setting or in a bar, all will include people (at least their hands) as well as each image showing the Hawkridge bottle.
I want to have the bottle in every shot as I think it is part of the selling point for the gin, it is such a unique bottle design that could encourage the buyer to keep the bottle after the gin has finished.
After looking at Salcombe Gin, I think they are my main inspiration for my ideas. I want my images to have the same summer feel that they give. I think using lemon and strawberries help enhance the feel of summer. therefore I want to use a red berries drink in my photos. I also want to use AU Vodkas technique in using the flavours on the side to decorate their images.
Moodboard for inspiration
Inspiration
Rob Lawson
https://roblawson.com/project/roeandcowhiskey/
Looking at Rob Lawsons website, I have seen that he has done multiple campaigns for a variety of alcohol brands, majority of the campaigns focus on the consumption of the drink. A lot of his images show people enjoying the drinks as well as them being made and being drunk at bars/restaurants and at gatherings.
Composition: In all three images, I have chosen they all show ready made drinks as well as the alcohol used to make them. All the drinks are garnished and are all centred in the front centre of the image. In the third image shown the main focus is the people cheersing their glasses together but the alcohol that is being advertised is still in the image but just subtly at the bottom still showing the table clearly. In contrast with the first two images where the bottle is clearly shown in the middle of the image next to the ready made drink.
Subject: All three of the images are in different locations and all have people in them. The first image is in a bar, second seems like a restaurant and the third is a garden. All these locations are relatable to the audience and are all realistic events.
Colours: The first two images follow the colour scheme of blue and greens which contrast the orange/gold liquid in the bottle which helps it stand out more. The third images colour scheme is yellows and browns which contrasts with the blue on the bottle which makes it stand out.
Lighting: All of the images look like they have natural lighting or made to look like they have natural lighting. The are all also back lit which helps show the liquid in the drink and make it look brighter. In the first two images the main source of light is the back light, which is made to look like sunlight, which creates the shadows in the foreground. In the third image, the lighting is quite equal, and the colours they have used are vibrant. There is some backlight is the drink furthest to the back is brighter than the others.
What I can take away: I want to use Rob Lawsons use of depth of field. I think having that shallow depth of field puts more focus on the drink and the bottle in the foreground and the audience can still see what is happening in the background but it doesn't over power the drink.
Amy Traynor
https://www.moodymixologist.com/
Amy Traynor is also known as the moody mixologist, her website and instagram is dedicated to teaching people how to make cocktails at home as well as photographing them.
Composition: In all three images, The glass is centred in the middle of the image. I think that Amy Traynor photographs her photos using the rule of thirds. In the middle vertical section in the glass, then either side of that section is decorations usually foods or flowers. In the middle horizontal third is the pouring of the drink and the top of the glass. The top horizontal third is the cocktail shakers and the bottom horizontal third is the bottom of the glass and some decorations.
Subject: All Amy Traynor's photos are cocktails, sometimes ready made some times being poured. They are usually some garnish on the side of the glass and sometimes decoration around it, usually food or flowers or broken ice.
Colours: All the colours are chosen to match each other, the background is always black and the garnish tend to make the colour of the drink. however in the first images the yellow flowers match the lemon on the other side of glass which makes the red stand out.
Lighting: All the images seem to be lit the same way. They all are lit from the side but behind the glass so the shadows created are in front, at an angle of the glass. Back lighting the images make the colour of the beverage stand out more to catch the eye of the viewer.
What I can take away: Amy Traynor is the main inspiration for my moving image, I am going to use her lighting technique to back light my image to make the colour of the drink stand out more. I think also like how she decorates around the glass, I like the crushed ice and the fruit she uses, I am going to try that to bring my image together.
Cinemagraph Examples
Finding a Bar Location
I have contact with someone who is part of the management at Gourmet Burger Kitchen in Bromley. She has allowed me to use the bar in the restaurant after close. There is not a lot behind the bar but with not a lot of time I am going to use the bar with what is already there.
Hawkridge Idea Pitch Presentation
Visualisation
Photoshoot One
For my first shoot, I wanted to create picnic scene, I used a stereotypical picnic blanket design on the grass as well as a picnic basket. I used grape for decoration as well as rosemary, I used rosemary as it is one of the many botanical ingredients used to create the gin.I had two people cheering, I had two female models to put two glasses together, I used a pink liquid in the glass which is difficult to see against the hands as well as an orange to garnish the glass. I used the natural light as the source of light and it help make the colours in the image bright and create no harsh shadows. I think the green in the background goes nicely with the blue bottle while everything else around it contrasts with it.
Editing Photoshoot One
To edit these photos I started off by cropping the image into a 1x1 square (as per clients request), then I wanted to make the background a little more blurred but because I already had it slightly blurred I only wanted to alter it a bit. So I used lens blur and moved the radius up to 13.
Photoshoot 2
My second photoshoot was shot at Gourmet Burger Kitchen. The thought of the composition before going in to the restaurant. However, I do not like these photos, I used to high off an ISO and the images are grainy. I also wanted to have the lighting from the bar to create the ambience you would get going to the restaurant but the photos came out super yellow due to the florescent lighting which I really don't like. As this was my only chance to shoot at Gourmet Burger Kitchen, I am going to rethink of what I can do as alternative images. I am going to take a lot of inspiration from Salcombe Gins advertising techniques to use in my own images.
I was also going to shoot the moving image in the restaurant but my CF card in my camera crashed so I had to reshoot another day.
Shoot 3
I wanted to try shoot the cinemagraph in this location, I thought using a kitchen will give the video/images a homely feel that everyone can relate to. For the video, the models hand was very shaky and it was very difficult to try and capture the stillness I needed for the bottle. I wanted to also take photos of the garnishing and stirring of the photo.
However, the main focus was capturing the 'cocktails at home' theme but I didn't think the kitchen scene was the right location I was looking for. Therefore I don't think I am going to use these images and I am going to try reshoot the video for the cinemagraph.
Shoot 4
For these shots, I wanted to capture the garnishing of the cocktail. I used rosemary as that is one of the ingredients used to make the cocktail. I also think I shouldn't have set up the shot directly infront of the sun. As it made the bottle label too bright and the sun reflected too much off of the glass. Also because both the glass and the bottle are next too each other I think they both should have been in focus where I only made the bottle in focus to make it the same subject, therefore I am not going to use any of these images as I don't think they are very strong.
For the video, I think that it worked very well, I don't think the light is too bright and the pouring was how I wanted it. I think it will work much better as a cinemagraph. However, I did shoot the video on my DSLR and the quality didn't come out great.
Shoot 5
I think these were some of the strongest images I have taken out of all the shoots. I think I captured the 'making of a cocktail' very well but showing the preparing steps of one. I think the sun reflects well showing the blue of the bottle and the pink in the drink. I think the white reflects a bit took much in the images but was a good underlay for the images. I think the blue jean in the images match well to the bottle and the black top helps the colours to stand out more when against it.
Editing the Images from Shoot 5
For these two images I edited them in the same way I edited the image from photoshoot 1. I started off by cropping the images into a 1x1 square as per the clients request. I then used the pen tool to select the background and used lens blur to add a bit more depth of field to the image. I then also played around with the vibrancy and the brightness and contrast of the images to try and make the blue from the bottle stand out a bit more.
Original to Final Images
Editing the Cinemagraph
For the cinemagraph, uploaded the video onto photoshop. I then selected the position of the image I wanted to be my still and selected all, copy merged and pasted it on top of the video. I masked the still image and used the brush tool in black to select the part of the image I wanted to move. I selected the pouring liquid and the liquid in the glass to move. I also added vibrancy and brightness to brighten up the colours and make them stand out more in the sun.
Images in the Instagram Template
Client Presenation
Clients Feedback
They said all my images achieve the summer feel I was going for. The picnic scene is like a British thing to do. However image three could be cropped in a different way to try not to have so much white space at the bottom because it could be distracting.
Responding to the Client Feedback
I agree with what they said about cropping the third image in a different way. I cropped the image in tighter.
Evaluation
What Went Well
I think I answered the client brief well, I think I captured the consumption moment in all three images like they asked for. I also think I managed my time well, managing to shoot and reshoot my images within the small time we had. I also think I managed to capture the summer feel I wanted well using the pink and yellow bright colours to bring out the bright colours, I also think shooting in the sun light helped light the images well.
Even better If
I think that if I had more time I would reshoot my moving image. I think I would try something a bit more complex instead of a cinemagraph. I think that my moving image was the weakest think I produced in this unit as the quality of the video was bad even though I used my DSLR. I think maybe next time I would try using my phone as well to see if it produces better quality. I think for this I was more focused on getting the still images perfect rather than the moving image as well.
