Coca-Cola
Brand Photo Assignment
The brand I chose was Coca-Cola. In the beginning, it was because I had to debate whether to pick between this or Pepsi (which I like more personally, but I digress) but Coke was the only drink I had on hand, and after looking into how Coke frames and sets up its images, making them look as if they capture memorable experiences, and in turn make Coke look like a memorable drink in the process, that’s when it started to appeal to me.
Video Assignment
Moving onto my video assignment, I wanted to do something that was more upbeat and “fourth-wall breaking.” So I made a video about two friends hanging out, not primarily focused on Coke, and rather having the focal point be the experience, with Coke just being a part of it.
Audio Assignment
The audio assignment reuses the footage used in the video assignment. I made a voice-over summary of what happened in the video assignment and recreated it in a YouTube shorts format. When the video ends, I made it lead back to the beginning (almost) seamlessly, as (I noticed) most YouTube shorts do.
Data Visualization
The data visualization I did was on whether people prefer Coke or Pepsi, and it’s nice to see the stark division between each preference, most people would rather both or neither and just have no preference, or there were some who would rather Coke than Pepsi, because it’s a “go-to” drink.
Reflection
Looking back on your skillset at the beginning of the semester, which skills do you feel you improved the most during this class?
Honestly, I’m not too proud of the work I submitted, as most of it was overblown ideas that, while in hindsight seemed good, were not entirely something amazing in the end. And I improved on utilizing Premiere Pro for vertical videos, I would say I learned more about Premiere altogether, compared to how I was using it in the past.
What was your favorite and least favorite part of the process? Why?
My favorite part was filming or shooting photos and videos or recording audio because I had some freedom in choosing who or what to have in each. But my least favorite part was tackling how to piece it in a way that did not seem nonsensical and was at least coherent because my ideas can be too grandiose sometimes.
What was the most significant thing you learned throughout the process?
Whenever recording, be it audio or video, timing is key, and I learned it (more or less) the hard way. For the brand photo assignment, I ended up shooting at night and had to adapt to it, creating new ideas almost immediately, which ended up affecting the project badly. But if I had planned and shot at the time I had prepped and did not spend too much time mulling it over, I would have had a better outcome on the assignment.
What did you learn about yourself as a creator through this process?
I learned that I needed to dedicate more time to perfecting the crafts I make, and while it can be hard with other things scattered around my life, I could plan it more efficiently and make some “quality content,” if that makes sense.
What was the most challenging part of creating your media content?
The most challenging part was tied to my least favorite part, it was more or less just trying to create ideas that were not overly crazy or nonsensical. And if I went through with any of them, I worry that it could have been too much to take in as a viewer of the media presented.
Which project or piece are you most proud of, and why?
I was proud of a good few of my brand photos, Coca-Cola gives off an almost relatable “vibe” within their photos, and for some of my photos, I apply to almost everything I viewed the Coke brand photos to be, a simple cozy feeling, or something sophisticated even. While I’m not completely proud of the project, I’m still proud of some of the pieces in the project.
How do you plan to apply the skills you’ve learned in this class to future projects or in your career?
Hopefully, I use these skills in some form of advertisement or something relative to that, because being able to learn more about these programs, even when in a work environment could prove to be something very beneficial. If I learned all there is to know about any of the programs, I would produce good results in any form of content that has to do with using Premiere, Photoshop, Audacity, or WordPress.
What areas of media production do you want to explore further based on your experience in this class?
I want to delve into audio and WordPress a little more, it was fun to play around with and make the portfolio page and would like to use it more. I feel like audio is extremely underlooked, and I want to see how we can utilize audio or sound effects to provide context or support the possible visual components behind it.