0:01
In the first second, we see a young woman lounging on a sofa, on a laptop. She is wearing what appears to be modern era clothing: a sweatshirt and sweatpants. The camera angle is wide, and provides the perspective as though we were looking at her from the opposite side of the room. From the perspective of the camera, we are able to see the majority of the living room that she is sitting in, as well as the entrance to the adjacent room, which appears to be a dining room. The living room is neat and tidy, but also looks as though it has been occupied by a family. It is nicely decorated, and the photos in the background give the implication that the girl we see at the forefront of the clip lives with her family.
0:02
In the next two seconds, the camera angle flips to what is assumed to be the opposite side of the living room, from the young woman on the sofa’s perspective. Four teenagers rush into the frame/room, with slightly frazzled expressions on their faces. The first to enter is a short cheerleader, indicated by her cheerleading uniform, and she is closely followed by two boys and one girl. The four of them are dressed and accessorized in a way reminiscent of the 80s, from the brightly colored outfits, to the eccentric hair and accessories, to the outdated cheer uniform. They face the camera, but their line of vision goes past it, implying that they are looking at and engaging with the young woman that was seated on the sofa. On the screen, the words “A Very Special Episode” appear, reminiscent of a sitcom.
0:03
The camera pans back to the girl on the sofa, who looks slightly surprised by the sudden appearance of the people in the living room. Her reaction gives the impression that she does not recognize these people, nor was she expecting to see them.
0:04
One of the teenagers, the tallest of the group, dramatically takes off his sunglasses and says something to the young woman on the sofa, a negative expression on his face.
0:05
The camera returns to the young woman on the sofa, and she frowns. Whatever the tall young man said to her has clearly upset her, as she furrows her brow and continues to look at the group in her living room.
0:06
The camera pans back to the teenagers, with the cheerleader saying something next, her physical demeanor pleading. She speaks to the girl on the couch with a frown.
0:07
The camera pans out to the entire living room, so that both the girl on the sofa and the four teenagers are visible. The shorter teenage boy does a thumbs down to the girl on the sofa, clearly in a mode of discouraging her from whatever they had just told her about.
0:08-0:17
The four teenagers speak back and forth with the girl on the sofa, as though they are lecturing her. Each of the four has a turn to seemingly reprimand her, as depicted by their body language. It is evident that they are giving her advice about something, but it is unclear what. They stand out against her modern living space, and yet, they don’t seem phased. It is almost as though they are not actually there, and they are moreso a hallucination or imaginary idea. Their intervention quickly ends.
0:18-0:19
The scene pauses, and implies that the skit is over. On the screen in large white text, it says “Wacky sitcom teens aren’t the best people to talk to your kid about vaping.”
0:20-0:22
The scene restarts, but the camera is directly on the young woman on the couch’s face this time. However, instead of the four teenagers rushing into the living room, an older gentleman does, who is implied to be the father of the girl on the sofa, as he goes to approach her. As he enters the frame, the words “You are” are displayed.
0:23-END
The clip ends with the man sitting next to the girl on the couch, and it looks to be the start of a conversation. On the screen, the website that is promoting this advertisement is displayed on the screen.
Overall:
This ad was confusing without audio, to say the least. While the choice to use silly characters to highlight the main message was interesting, I do not think that it conveys the same strength in message when it is silenced. I am sure that with audio the point is stronger, but silent, it just seems like the girl on the sofa is hallucinating these people. On a rewatch, I briefly considered that she may be hallucinating; a dramatized side effect of vaping. Their presence seems random to me. If the ad company sought to create this message using fictional characters, I think they would have been better suited to use commonly known characters, so that a common viewer would be more inclined to pay attention to the details, and the audio would not be as important.
This is not to say that the ad is completely horrible, however. In fact, I do think that it has its unique strengths. The use of on screen words helps to aid the overall message, and I think that the contrast between reality and fiction was interesting and conveyed the message well. It could have been better, but overall, I do believe that they were successful in conveying their message. When I watched it with audio, after completing the first portion of the assignment, I did find myself easily able to follow along, and I believe that this was largely in part to the on screen prompts.
Counterintuitive Fall 2024 
Yours is the second description I’ve read so far of this particular video, LoverOfCatsAndMatcha. You might benefit from reading the Feedback I left for Mongoose earlier today. (I too will benefit if it saves me from having to repeat everything.)
In the first second, we see a young woman lounging on a sofa, on a laptop. She is wearing what appears to be modern era clothing: a sweatshirt and sweatpants.
—Color is not always notable, but when pale solid colors match the pale solid colors of the entire room (walls, furniture, curtains, etc.), it might be worth mentioning.
The camera angle is wide, and provides the perspective as though we were looking at her from the opposite side of the room.
—As the “blind tourist” taking your tour I appreciate the mention of the wide angle view of the room, which really helped orient me. It might not be important, but the windows behind the girl face the front yard. The radiators in the foyer indicate the age of the house, and their placement indicates where the front door is (you didn’t mention the passage through the entrance hall before entering the dining room).
From the perspective of the camera, we are able to see the majority of the living room that she is sitting in, as well as the entrance to the adjacent room, which appears to be a dining room.
—Fine.
The living room is neat and tidy, but also looks as though it has been occupied by a family.
—The living room is SOO neat and tidy, it’s hard to imagine anyone living there. It looks artificially set up to fit the dictionary description of “neat and tidy.”
It is nicely decorated, and the photos in the background give the implication that the girl we see at the forefront of the clip lives with her family.
—I don’t know what photo could possibly suggest family to you.
In the next two seconds, the camera angle flips to what is assumed to be the opposite side of the living room, from the young woman on the sofa’s perspective.
—What you mean is that, based on the new camera angle, we are seeing the girl’s perspective of the passage to the hallway. It’s important to you as the viewer, and to your reader as the tourist on your tour, that we know WHOSE perspective we’re in. If intruders enter a room, we need to know if WE’RE the intruders or the INTRUDED UPON. The camera angle communicates that immediately.
Four teenagers rush into the frame/room, with slightly frazzled expressions on their faces. The first to enter is a short cheerleader, indicated by her cheerleading uniform, and she is closely followed by two boys and one girl. The four of them are dressed and accessorized in a way reminiscent of the 80s, from the brightly colored outfits, to the eccentric hair and accessories, to the outdated cheer uniform.
—Is it just that, or might they be dressed as stereotypes or caricatures of 80s teens?
They face the camera, but their line of vision goes past it, implying that they are looking at and engaging with the young woman that was seated on the sofa.
—Well said. WE (from the girl’s perspective) are now being considered and addressed by the invaders. Are they real? Did they spring from the girl’s imagination? Is the girl part of a production in which both she and the invaders are participating. In other words, WHAT ARE WE WATCHING?
—Three seconds in, every viewer has concluded, or begun to conclude, what sort of what they’re watching. Ad? Announcement? Back to the show? Etc?
On the screen, the words “A Very Special Episode” appear, reminiscent of a sitcom.
—Does this help answer those questions?
Please don’t wait to revise these and the rest of your paragraphs if this Feedback has been helpful. Concentrate more on what you BELIEVE and FEEL in response to the images you’re viewing; in other words, what you’re being persuaded to think.
Put the post back into Feedback Please and/or Regrade Please following any significant improvements.
I didn’t know what you meant about “onscreen prompts” until I actually watched the video (something I delay as long as I can). Now I see that the screen text actually calls out vaping as the subject matter. Otherwise, there’d have been NO CLUE AT ALL that they were having anything resembling a serious conversation.