charity adverts: water aid, rain for good

charity adverts, water aid

General conventions                                                                                                                                                   The campaign title is called Water aid, rain for good. Water aid is a charity who works to get clean water for people who may not have it. The purpose of this certain campaign video, means that more people would find about water aid and can use what they have to donate and help. The video is also made with the purpose to spread awareness about what is happening in different countries other than our own. In this advert we can infer that the uk is our key audience. We can infer this by the short clip at the beginning. This short clip at the start shows the camera looking directly out the window, for which the weather outside is raining. Firstly, this tells us as an audience the location is the uk. The uk is usually stereotyped as a rainy, miserable like country, which in this clip definitely shows us this. The use of water at the start is also very convenient as it is in fact a water aid advert. The use of water could make us as an audience feel guilty in the next stages of the video when we see that children have to travel miles just to get water. This also shows that us as uk citizens may take our water for granted, when there is people out there who does not have access to water.

Use of camera and editing                                                                                                                                         During this advert we see a variety of shot types being shown. One of the most shown shot type and most effective is the close up shot. At the beginning, we are shown a close up of what looks to be a kitchen side/surface. This shot contains a plant pot, radio and rain which all show significance of a uk, middle class household. This relates to the video as it contrasts with the rest of the video which is a less luxurious, dry area/place. Another use of close up is the girls face. During these closeups, we can see the girls emotions while she is singing. Her expression is usually a serious expression. While singing a song we can also she her body language and the things she is doing such as carrying water or going to get water alone. Her doing this alone shows a sense of empathy for kids just like this young girl, who has to walk alone to get water for their family and friends. A majority of the filming is following her and her life as it documents what she does to get water. The length of the clips range in time but are usually between 2-5 seconds. However, at the start the length of the uk clip is about 1 second then quickly jumps to another scene which contrasts the previous one.

Props, costume and mise-en-scene                                                                                                                         During the advert, we are shown many different significant props. One example of this, is in the very beginning. At the very start, we are shown a medium shot showing two different props, the flower point and the digital radio. The digital radio is the main key focus. The audio codes of the announcer coming from the radio is English, meaning we are located in an English setting. We can also tell we are set in England by the rain falling behind through the window. Aswell as the radio telling us where we are located, it could also suggest which type of household we are in, which is a middle class household probably owned by somebody in the age range late 30s or up. These different elements fixed around this radio, could suggest which target audience Water Aid is trying to get their message across too. The plant that is in the shot could also suggest that Water Aid wants us to feel a sense of guilt. It may have deliberately been placed there so the person watching could realise how much we use up a lot of our water to do small things, such as watering plants. Other countries, like Africa which is the key focus of this advert, don't get this opportunity to keep their plants alive and well which is shown in the upcoming shots for which we can see dried out plants and trees. The advert cuts abruptly from a rainy scene in England, to a dry scene in Africa which is a juxtaposition for how much rain we take for granted in England. The first props we are introduced to, is the colourful buckets. The buckets are colourful and bold colours which emphasise a positive attitude towards life. We are also shown a lot of harvesting and building in the background, which shows that they can still have a positive life. There is a use of lots of primitive props which show a contrast between 1st world and 3rd world technology and materials. The use of water is also portrayed quite a lot, which is significant to what the advert is about. Aswell as props being significant, he dress code for Claudia and the rest of the other people shown in the advert is also important.  The dress code for the adverts main female character is stereotypically female outfit which is a knee-length skirt and pink colour palette in both her top and shoes. The pink colours could suggest that this character has happiness and positivity, through the dark days she lives through.

Lighting and colour                                                                                                                                                During this text there is a lot of uses of colour. The main colour codes of this text consists of yellows and pinks however the colour is still very subtle apart from on the buckets and on clothing. The colour consists of ways to bring the attention to the girl swell as to the message of the video. The colour and lighting at the start is a very dark and low lit image which is then contrasted with more lit images of Africa. This is very unlike adverts seeing as they would usually portray the things we want to make us feel guilty in a darker image than lighter.

Sound                                                                                                                                                                         At the very beginning of the advert, the first audio we hear is from the radio and the rain. The audio then fades into the next shot which is the sound effects of crickets. This contrasts with the first piece of audio. As we progress through the video, we are introduced to a character who begins to sing and then continues to sing throughout the rest of the advert. Her singing is very persuasive and the lyrics mention things such as 'no clean water' which suggests that maybe her and her family are living without clean water. There is also other sound effects going on while she is singing. For example, the sound of the tap opening and people washing their clothes add to the idea of water and need for water. The music that the girl is singing is an old, familiar song which those around the ages 40 upwards may recognise, meaning they will relate to the text.

Language                                                                                                                                                                     In the advert, the only written text we see is at the end. The context of this text consists of a water aid charity advert helping to saves the life of people, who are in a position similar to those in the advert. The main contextual element is that these people don't have as freely access to water as we do, meaning by including this text it would make us watching who has easy access to water feel a sense of guilt. The text is persuading people to help others. This persuasive technique is done by promoting a form of communication such as 'text this number.' The text has also included the girls name, 'Claudia', making this video feel a bit more personal and so therefore is another form of guilt the viewers may feel.