We Can Talk About It :30 | Seize the Awkward | Ad Council-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ig6jqru1a
0:0-0:1- for this first one second what I see is a teenage girl in her room with the lights off and is sitting on her bed she has curtains covering her windows, and it looks like it is mid day out. The curtains are cracked open a little bit in the corner of the room. She has a desk with a mirror and around the mirror is a light string with lightbulbs there is a book bag on her bed and it looks like she’s doing homework, and is also on her phone.
0:1-0:2-she’s on her phone sitting on her bed. She looks like she is not in a good mood, or is unhappy. It might be because of suffering going on or because stressed out from doing schoolwork but she is texting someone and said something to that person.
0:2-0:3-the person this teenager texted responded with it all in your head and just think happy thoughts so this makes me think the teenager is depressed or is not in a good mental state and is down right now and the person she’s contacting is probably one of her friends due to the response or a family member and they seem concerned.
0:3-0:4-she is having a conversation with the person on her phone. She’s still in her room on the bed and the conversation is someone trying to cheer her up or help her through a dark time.
0:4-0:5-throughout this, it cuts from her phone and the response text from the person saying just think happy thoughts to her face, while her facial expression is unhappy or sad. She does not look happy or well in the background and seems she has pictures on her wall.
0:5-0:6-It goes from a image on her face of her being on pleased to it looks like a family dinner, where the mother and daughter, and presumably other members of the family like a father all eating looks like a family of a ethical race.
0:6-0:7-the family was eating dinner and the daughter looks over at the mother and gives the mother a side I look or a look of discuss as if something was wrong or off.
0:7-0:8-the daughter continues to stare at her. Otherwise she continues to eat. The daughter holds a fierce of anger or discuss towards her mother, or this older woman at the table.
0:8-0:9-Then it cuts over to a different family having dinner that looks like it’s at a diner due to the salt and pepper shakers on the table and the plastic cups and the red booth style reminds me of a diner, and it looks like as a mother and another figure, and then a son, with a sad or depressed feeling
0:9-0:10-the sun looks up at his mother and looks pleased and is staring his drink with his straw maybe to distract his mind.
0:10-0:11-then it cuts to a kid laying in his bed do not know, male or female, but is on their phone on some app.
0:11-0:12-the phone screen is lighting up and shining on the teenage girls face and looks like she is being absorbed into the phone or sucked into the technology
0:12-0:13-then it cuts to a digital board like she is transported into a digital world of technology, like Twitter Instagram, or like Facebook style because you see a lot of heart comments and other symbols that you see on these websites.
0:13-0:14-then it cuts more technology stuff like ads and pop-ups follow buttons and different headlines are approaching.
0:14-0:15-Different words and different advertisements, pop up and flashy things to make people appeal to it like you would see on all different platforms of social media in today’s world.
0:15-0:16-then it cut back to a different girl laying on her couch looking like it is mid day out or early morning and she throws her phone down and leans back.
0:16-0:17-she’s leaning back on the couch with her eyes closed, and she is taking deep breaths into her nose and out through her mouth, and she is off her phone, which makes me seem what she read, or saw on her phone made her unhappy.
0:17-0:18-there is another person in the room looks like a guy, and he is leaning against a chair and sitting on the floor in the living room. There is another chair off to the left of him and a table behind them with a vase and flowers in it.
0:18-0:19-he asked the girl laying on the couch if she wanted to talk about it because he is under the assumption that she is not in a good mood, or is upset because of the way she is acting.
0:19-0:21-the girl on the couch, shakes her head, and he says yeah and she says yeah in a soft tone
0:21-0:22-then it cuts to someone laying in their bed, holding hands looks like a girl and another person holding hands has a lot of rings on and jewelry. There are covers on the bed.
0:22-0:23-and they are talking about being in the bed and it’s OK to be sad from what it looks like because they are having a conversation and the facial expressions presumed to make them seem unhappy.
0:23-0:24-then it cuts to the first teenage girl was sitting on her bed outside sitting in the car with the person she was presumably texting and they were talking outside of the car both with facial expressions of concern or unhappy.
0:24-0:27-the friend reinsures the girl that he is there for her, emphasizing the importance of being supportive friend the text on the screen reinforces the idea that in the time of distress having someone to lean on, can make a significant difference in the way the person may feel.
0:27-0:30-the final importance of being a supportive friend, recognizing the signs of distress and offering a listening year to those who may feel isolated unheard.
I’ve seen this video described a few times, Propel, and I always respond with my impressions of the first couple of seconds:
The girl is centered in the frame.
The camera moves toward her for two seconds (an eternity in commercial time) to connect us to her more intimately. Builds rapport.
We see her clear silhouette against the bright light coming through the window between the partly opened drapes.
We get a clear sense of her identity from her silhouette.
The darkness and closed room indicate isolation.
Also perhaps self-absorption.
Notice also the self-reflection (maybe narcissism) suggested by her reflection in the mirror (and the presence of a second mirror), (and the self-reflection referenced in the text “It’s all in your head.”), (and the very faint suggestion that gazing into her phone is like another mirror) (maybe that’s just me).
The girl has BIG STYLE.
The bantu knots. The extensions? The torn-leg jeans. The nose ring. The starlet lights around the mirror. Is she highly theatrical? Or just a little personally dramatic?
What mood are the creators going for here? How well do they manage it? What does it lead us to expect? What judgments does it encourage us to make?
Consider those questions (and make similar observations) for every timed segment, Propel. We don’t have to KNOW what’s going on all the time (especially without sound). But we do MAKE JUDGMENTS every second or so, and those are all triggered by what we’re seeing. Since the creators are responsible for everything we see . . . we have to judge that they WANTED US to draw conclusions from what we’re shown. They are PERSUADING US of something.
How well do they accomplish the job?
If you REALLY want to shine, after you’ve completed your NO SOUND analysis, listen to the soundtrack and add a “Post-Audio” section to share your analysis of how well, or how poorly, the audio track enhanced the persuasiveness of the message. Remember, these little videos are sophisticated Persuasive Arguments. What did this one persuade you to do or think?
Helpful? or just demanding?
Provisionally graded. Revisions are strenuously encouraged (required, actually, for arguments that go into your Portfolio), and Regrades are always available following significant improvements.