talk

The next time you hear a voice over on a commercial be it radio or television here’s something to think about- it was not spoken into a mic as the ad was shot. More importantly it isn’t the actor’s voice you are hearing either. I found this out just recently, when I was given the opportunity to assist Broadcast Producer from the VOX Collective Mr. Jose Gallegos for a large department store’s Christmas theme advertisement.The casting for the voice over began, even as the sound engineers and Mr. Gallegos went about readying the studio for the soon to arrive kids. I was left to coordinate them in order, gather their information and portfolios and have them ready to walk into the studio as soon as the recording team was ready. And then it began! Batches of four stepped into the studio and behind closed doors and finely tuned sound systems began recording- voices, laughter, screams of joy and the script came to life.

The fun part for me during this entire process was watching these kids and the way they conducted themselves. Some of them first timers were nervous, practicing their lines over and over with equally anxious parents while others, veteran voice over experts so it seemed walked up to me with a smile, jotted down their information for me, took a seat, recorded in a jiffy and skipped out of the studio. At about the five hour mark, we had gone through 28 kids’ ages four to thirteen, recorded umpteen takes and were ready to make revisions.

Ah yes! Revisions! That simple word doesn’t do justice to the manner in which these voices were handled. The two sound engineers assisting Mr. Gallegos were adept at what they did. Cutting and pasting sound bites into seven samples even as Jose instructed, “Not that sample…” or “Okay let’s cut that one voice from the first sample and paste it over here…” I have to mention though, Mr. Gallegos’ work with kids was amazing to watch, he was quick and efficient yet took the time to warm the kids up to the script and give their best the minute they stepped in front of the mic. The entire process of revising and creating edits from the voiceovers took an hour. During which time I was able to see how detail oriented a sound engineer had to be in placing gaps between voices. I feel this can best be described as “a conversation”, in that an out of place laughter, uncalled for comment or low voices take away from the beauty and meaning of that snippet of conversation. Similarly, the accentuations and pitches you and I hear on radio or television ads add effect to the branding and imagery advertisers attempt to showcase. I found this process very intriguing and the attention to detail mind blowing.

Finally, we were done. Seven samples were compiled in a span of one hour, the kids names matched up to the samples for future reference based on the list I had compiled. The samples were then forwarded to the creative team at the VOX for review, surgical and methodical to pick out the best voices that would emote and capture the audience’s (you dear reader’s) attention and do justice to the brand it would stand for. On the whole, this experience while short; gave me a glimpse of the amount of work that goes into harnessing talented voices and putting them to the best use- reaching customers with a brand message in a memorable voice!

I am hoping, though, that many of them have kids, who, when they have a moment to take a break from their iPods, Internet, or Google, will explain to their parents running the country just how the world is being flattened.

-Thomas Friedman

Anyone who has graduated with some sort of business degree in the past decade or even further back beyond that, can testify to having had at least a brief introductory education in Globalization. Whether or not you remember the specifics of what you learned, the effects of globalization impact you in some way everyday. As technology advances the gaps between our wants, needs, desires, our emotions are shortened. These gaps, voids, spaces are becoming exceedingly short-lived and are causing us to stimulate our senses more regularly. These itches that we never used to be able to scratch have now presented themselves just within our reach. How did this come to be? How is it that our three wishes from a genie have been substituted by a random unsecured wireless connection? People have adapted to suit their lifestyles by using technology to give themselves the things they desire. Where there wasn’t desire before, there is now. A seemingly endless amount of new mediums being made available for advertisements has made reaching new consumers easier, but persuading them to buy into a product or service has become adversely difficult.

Dawn the age of the Internet Cosmopolitan. The Internet Cosmopolitan is someone who is internet savvy, consumer wise, trend intelligent, hard to persuade, and easy to convince. The combination of characteristics that make up the Internet Cosmopolitan are making the jobs of admen and adwomen more difficult. Selling anything to this crowd isn’t easy if your product is flawed. The Internet Cosmopolitan is a researcher that does his/her homework and does it diligently. Their needs are specific and are satisfied to an expected level of utility or enjoyment. So long are the days of the unconscious consumer. A large amount of disposable incomes left around the same time pre-iPod mp3 players became obsolete. Internet Cosmopolitans are Tom’s wearing, organic eating, BP protesting, Mac using, politically opinionated, uncertified experts out-of-the-field and have every right to be (in some cases). They want to know everything about anything and why. If it doesn’t meet their standards it instantly gets a bad review on Google and or at least a plea for a “dislike button” on Facebook.

Internet Cosmopolitans are children of advanced information technology and economic belt-tightening. As mentioned before, the Internet Cosmopolitan is Internet savvy and consumer wise. Their use of the Internet is profound and the skills they possess far exceed those of the Baby Boomers. They know how to use any mobile device to get to Internet and can order concert tickets off a cell phone. They are consumer wise in the sense that they won’t buy anything that isn’t produced justly (i.e. Wal-Mart products, sweat-shop goods, toys that might have cadmium in it). They like to support local business when possible, support companies that give back to a community or organization they like, and prefer to purchase products that best suit their lifestyle rather than buying something that simply fulfills only one need. For ad people this means extensive corporate responsibility campaigns that expose how their client’s companies are having a positive impact on quality of life, whether it be for workers, the environment, or community.

Internet Cosmopolitans are also trend intelligent, which makes expecting the next big fad more difficult. The Internet has made available a wide freedom of choice when it comes to consumerism now. My personal favorite trends to watch now are in the food and drink industries because people have very distinct preferences when it comes to their palette. A rapidly growing trend in the US has been extensive beer lists in bars and restaurants and the growing popularity of microbrews has caused people to ditch their Bud Lights for some real flavor. Microbrews are the perfect Internet Cosmopolitan delight because they are good, they’re a cheap indulgence, made by small (local) breweries, and often give back to their communities in some way. Also since there are so many of these breweries now there has been an individual connection to people’s local beers, almost like a preferred sports teams. When an Internet Cosmopolitan sees something like microbrews growing in popularity they’ll go home and Google the crap out of it until they’re convinced that they’ll like the product. In many respects I feel “try before you buy” has been replaced by “research and read consumer ratings before you buy.”

What do I mean by hard to persuade and easy to convince? What I mean is that ad people aren’t going to be able to say, “it’s toasted” for cigarettes anymore when RJ Reynolds comes under Surgeon General scrutiny again. Simple slogans aren’t going to make it all better. People are too conscientious now a day to buy into a jingle. Take for example the new 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee TV ad (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mi0SbrrGaiw). It is a manifesto, a call to arms for Americans to restore our recently defunct automotive industry to its former glory. Chevrolet’s “Like a rock” no longer will construct our skyscrapers or farm our land. Jeep is a great example of convincing an audience because everything that it talks about in the commercial is relatable to an American demographic. The economic crisis in America was attributed to several key industries collapsing due to social and ethical inconsistencies.

The American public has become more aware about making right decisions now so much, so that it effects how we act as consumers and from where we choose to purchase our goods. People now know to dig deeper and not to just take things at face value. The Internet is an easy place for people to get educated quickly on almost any topic. Unifying global information in one easy to access place has made the world flatter for consumers. This flat world makes for an easily obtainable education in poisonous Chinese goods, ethically sound alternative fuel sources, and issues that pertain to an individual personally.

A picture can say a thousand words….! Needless to say, I LOVE THIS CAMPAIGN, and I don’t even smoke.  Mario Testino, thank God we have you out there. V Magazine, you get what i love. I’m buying whatever your selling…!

Written By: Gabrielle Smedes

Mainstream television continues to be one of the largest driving forces of our culture today. What we watch affects decisions about what we wear, what we eat, where we go. Even further, television can control the way we spend our time: how often have we cut plans short so we can be home for our favorite shows? Television networks recognize this dependent relationship, and as a result are choosing to take fewer and fewer risks.

One example is the spin-off: a show developed with characters already proven popular from an earlier show, placed in new situations, yet capitalizing on audience familiarity and loyalty. Spin-offs have been around since the 1960s—The Andy Griffith Show is one of the earliest and most successful examples—however, as television programming shifts to favor reality rather than traditional, studio-produced shows, the concept of the spin-off is going in an entirely new direction. continue reading “Putting a New Spin on Spin-offs”

By: Catherine Marie Cuello

If equality benefits everyone, even those in the upper class, then why do we not work towards improving basic living standards? Today’s media has a responsibility to promote consciousness about this issue in an increasingly-interconnected world. Reality television, the gossip trade and other similarly low-brow forms of entertainment have sabotaged attention spans and created meaningless issues to distract public concern. But what if this trend could be turned around, and used for the greater good? For example, why not use the power of celebrity to inspire, motivate and encourage people to get involved?

This is where we come in - holding almost quasi ‘consciousness advocate’ degrees. Our goal should be to constantly reach out and entertain with inspiring messages, challenging change in people’s daily lives.

More than 10% of the U.S. population today is Hispanic, the largest ethnic minority in the United States. In many cases these immigrants have come here to escape poverty and oppression in their home countries, and have been forced to find better living standards elsewhere. Thus, it is our responsibility—as educated citizens, as Hispanics and simply as human beings—to represent our people wherever we are, however we can. continue reading “Basic Standards”

To begin with, the UPA (United Progressive Alliance- formed by the Indian National Congress and its allies) had rallied to win resoundingly in 2009 because of two important factors. First, the BJP (Bharatiya Jantha Party) had made a mess of things with shady management if not propagation of the Gujarat riots (2006) coupled with blatant corruption during its tenure. Second, India’s people were tired of a government that preached an extremist Hindu stance excluding minorities’ like- Muslims and Christians, chastising them for practicing and preaching their beliefs.

In 2009, relief came in the form of the UPA. Headed by a cast of veteran leaders and fresh young faces the UPA’s campaign promised change for the better. Least to say, they won and took over office. So, post 2009 where does India stand? Touted to be the next political and financial superpower has the UPA been able to stick to its guns, implement reforms and turn India into a well oiled machine? continue reading “India and the UPA’s promise of Utopia by Alexander Mathew”

Anyone who has been near a television the past two months has some idea of what is happening when the words “BP” and “oil spill” are in the same sentence. The recent oil spill, considered the worst in US history, is agreed to be a travesty in terms of environmental safety and regulation, government policy, and corporate responsibility. What appears to be most controversial among people close to the subject is what the British energy company should be doing about the predicament they are now in. With the world watching closely, BP has been trying and failing via different means to stop the oil from spreading and to remove as much as possible from the Gulf coast.

The oil spill’s long term effects on marine life habitats are long-ranging problems that will take several years to rectify. Damage on Eastern coast coral reefs is expected and effects on the ocean floor are currently unknown. If the contaminated sea currents go into the Atlantic Ocean, the spill will harm animals even if BP manages to contain the oil away from shorelines. With these issues in mind, I am by no means arguing or expecting that oil companies should or would ever plan on putting the environment’s intrinsic value over their own economic and fiscal gain- that would be naïve and unrealistic! continue reading “BP Oil, Friend or Foe? by Stephanie Yu”

With New York Fashion Week fading away in the rear view mirror, the new fall must-haves are sure to spice things up this season. From sequin tops to fur skirts, this fall is certain to be a great one – at least in the fashion world! Designers like Burberry Prorsum, Michael Kors, and Marc Jacobs showed the fall’s new trends in a chic, integrated way. Marc Jacobs created his own version of the classic schoolgirl with a black sequin cardigan, a long gray skirt, and tall gray socks – all hit items for the fall! (Image above)

Another new trend, gray! Lots and lots of gray pieces layered with black and khaki.
The mixture of different neutrals gives it a new twist – continue reading “My Gray Space by Meagan Phillips”

native from filmatika on Vimeo.

Shot in Colombia at the Guajira peninsula in the northernmost part of South America.

Enjoy full screen with headphones. -ac.

How and when did brands get so small? It seems that despite the greater availability of tools and engaging media to connect brands with consumers, the impact of brands on society has greatly diminished. Why are the trillions of dollars currently spent on marketing only getting us “Paris Hilton” brands instead of timeless “Liz Taylors?” It seems that this past decade’s media revolution has empowered consumers while making brands more insecure.

Brands that want to be leaders must learn how to lead. They must facilitate what we call “branded movements” – or powerful collaborative statements with non-traditional groups such as grassroots organizations and influencers resulting in powerful brand communities. How do branded movements begin?

Brands should first adopt a more assertive attitude with regards to the roles they can play in society. They should not be afraid to ask themselves how they can change the world. This type of weighty question will naturally guide your brand to true values and give clarity, edge and purpose to your branding strategy. Plus, doing so will also bring you closer with a stronger base of consumers that are already asking themselves that very question of the brands they embrace.

A growing number of examples of branded movements is feeding consumers’ appetite for brand meaning, including General Electric’s “Eco-magination,” Lance Armstrong’s “Live Strong,” Dove’s “Real Beauty”, and Bono’s Red Campaign. At the core of these initiatives is a brand becoming human, inspiring through values, and then building communities through stories and interactions through imaginative use of creative and media.

“Branded movements,” work because they give everyone involved a sense of purpose around the brand and its values. They are also powerful because they allow to brand to touch upon society’s big shifts as well as the themes impacting the day-to-day decisions of individuals and families. The brand becomes both symbolic and relatable, inspirational and accessible. It is then, by being truly a part of consumers’ lives that our shrinking brands can become big again.