Brand in their Brains

Branding is the connection that consumers create by recognizing a service or product through their logo, slogan, image, popularity, influence, or employees.  Branding has come so far, that we can instantly recognize a company, product or item by a colour that is displayed.  Companies take over and create a place for their Brand in consumers brains. When you hear "Have a break," you think "Have a Kit Kat." When you hear "Always Fresh," you think "Always Tim Hortons." When you hear "Pa, da, pa, pa, pa," you know they're referring to McDonald's. When you see a 6 inch sandwich, even without the wrap - you know it's Subway.

So let me play the game with you.

It's orange, it's a triangle, it's a snack, and it comes in many different flavors with one ingredient remaining consistent. What is it? I bet you already knew what I was talking about at "it's a triangle." You guessed right, it's cheese! No, I'm just kidding - it's Doritos.

Under Frito-Lay, Doritos was first introduced as a tortilla chip nationally in 1966. A look at this website provides a layout for every single Doritos logo with the year and description.

http://logos.wikia.com/wiki/Doritos

The need to be Bond.

The sleek suits, fancy cars, tiny yet destructive gadgets, and beautiful women - that's what James Bond is all about. This successful series has come along way, and so has product placement. But what makes James Bond a target (no pun intended) for branding, is the lifestyle that is incorporated with MI6. Usually I watch new movies on Netflix, but I went to a theater for this movie because I knew it was going to be big - it was going to be Bond. When I watched it, all I could think about was how awesome Bond was. He looked so crisp, clean and deadly. When I was assigned the March Break project for a movie treatment, Skyfall was ultimately the first choice.

Characters:

James Bond: A professional killing machine, James Bond is a cold hearted man with a passion for the finer things in life. This fictional Commander is the main character of the series. He is the agent M turns to for every large operation.

M: The head of the Secret Intelligence Service, referred to as MI6. In Skyfall, M lost an electronic drive consisting of the identities of the MI6 agents embedded in terrorist organization all across the globe. The antagonist exposed the agents on YouTube, which challenged M's ability. When told her time was soon to be up, indirect references to her age are made which extremely upsets her.

Q: Q, referring to Quarter Master is the head of the branch of Research and Development at MI6. He is basically provides Bond with the fancy electronic gadgets, knows a whole lot about the city's infrastructure, and about computers. One of the gadgets Bond receives from Q is a gun in which only recognizes his fingerprint.

Raoul Silva or Tiago Rodriguez: The antagonist, is a previous MI6 agent who is out to seek revenge against M. Back when Raoul was in the MI6, he was caught hacking the Chinese so M traded him in exchange for prisoners held by the Chinese government. Silva was tortured so badly, he made a fail attempt to take his life with a cyanide implant.  This left him mentally and physically damaged. The area most damaged is his mouth; therefore, he wears a prosthesis to hide it.

Moneypenny: Secretary to M.

For a 149 minute movie, it went by pretty fast. It was so thrilling, it was over the second time I blinked my eyes. That's what happens with such a good plot!

In Skyfall, M turns to 007 when the drive containing the identifications of MI6 agents is lost. In a failed attempt to retrieve the drive, the agency is forced to relocate. As a result of this event, M's position as head of MI6 is challenged by Gareth Mallory, the chairman of the Intelligence and Security committee. With her faith in Bond still intact, MI6 fights against the man behind the theft of the drive, Raoul Silva. Raoul Silva comes back for revenge against M because she traded him in for prisoners long ago.   

Many people watched the movie, many of my friends, coworkers, and family. From all of the negative feedback I received, I came to the conclusion that people are being too political about everything. Some of the many comments I heard were:

-  "I don't think Moneypenny should have been black. She was always white, she should stay white. Soon enough James Bond will be black too."

-  "Q looks too nerdy."

-  "Why is Raoul/Silva a gay guy? That whole caressing of Bond's knee was disturbing.

-  "James bond is too sentimental in this movie. What happened to sleeping with a girl and moving on."

-  "Why is Raoul/Silva blond?"

-  "Why did M die?"

Personally, I didn't mind any of the changes. After absorbing the movie, I realized the theme. Throughout the film, everybody is criticizing M and Bond for their poor performance. They fail in their first attempt to retrieve the drive, and Bond is shot. M is told she will soon be retiring, and she believes it is because of her inabilities. When Bond returns, he is sent back to intensive training, where he surprisingly struggles. Basically, both significant characters seem to be slipping.  When James gets back on his feet, and heads towards Skyfall, he looks for artillery within the home to use against Silva. However, the keeper of the house hands him a very old knife. James is curious to know how something so old could help him. The keeper explains that old things are the best things. Unexpectedly, Silva dies with the very same knife. The message is complete then and there. Regardless of whether James was slipping or not - he completed the mission. He had been in the game for a very long time, and because of that he began to slip. Realizing that fault, he bettered himself once again. He proved that old truly is gold.

I think this movies caters to a wide audience - ranging from teenagers to elderly people. This video isn't suitable for younger children as there is too much gun play along with a few sexual scenes. The older youth and elderly come into mind because they are the aspiring Bond's or Bond girls. The boys want the clean cut shaves, the tip top suits, women, and great cars. The girls wish to be the pretty, slim, eye catching bond girl who unfortunately always dies. However, that is not the point. After people leave the theater or turn that computer off, all they are left with is the memory of the movie. Raveled in those memories is the want to look like an MI6 member, whether it be Moneypenny, M, Q, Bond, or even Raoul Silva!

Started from the Bottom

The media ISU music video that Sam and I decided to pursue, was a very interesting experience. With a zero dollar budget, and no singing, acting, or dancing background - at all, I think we did a pretty good job.

The first step we took was to create a concept. We came up with the idea of shooting a music video inspired by Drake's "Started from the bottom." This video would show how both me and Sam's lows were Cedarbrae collegiate and that our successful present is spent at ASE 1. We then decided to do our research and recreate the lyrics so they would work with our concept.  Our Lyrics only took ten minutes to create, I guess it was because we were having so much fun!

[Chorus]
Started from the bottom now we're here
Started from the bottom now my whole team really here
Started from the bottom now we're here
Started from the bottom now the whole team here
Started from the bottom now we're here
Started from the bottom now my whole team here
Started from the bottom now we're here
Started from the bottom now the whole team really here

[Verse 1]
I done kept it real from the jump
Eating in the cruise room, new discussion every month
But I was trying to get it on my own
Working all week, but on Wednesday I’m at home
And my teacher calling me like "Where ya at?
I gave you the book, but I know you will give it back
But really I just think that you should know
for future success ASE is the place to go
And we...

[Chorus]

[Verse 2]
Let me tell you a little about ASE
It’s a great school,  with teachers that are ACE
This school will turn you into a man
Ready for post-secondary, Yes We Can!
Hand your assignments in when they’re due
don’t do your homework and you’re through
Just as a reminder to myself
I check moodle even when I’m in the house
Cause I...

[Chorus]

[Bridge]
Always new people, but yeah we can feel that
Making new friends is where it’s all at
Now we don't like to do too much explaining
If you have any more questions, book a consultation
Always new people, but yeah we can feel that
Making new friends is where it’s all at
Now we don't like to do too much explaining
If you have any questions, book a consultation!
Cause we...

[Chorus]

Once the lyrics had been created, we began the shooting process.

The shooting process was very exciting, and surprisingly very easy.  Within two days, we had our entire footage down. However, due to busy schedules, it was a frustrating process. Our voices were recorded onto a Sony recorder and the footage was taken with a 16.1 megapixel camera. The audio and instrumental were put together with an Audio program called Audacity which allows you to sync and edit sounds together.  The song and video were put together by Windows Movie Maker.  

At the very end, once we had finished everything - we realized we made some errors. The voices at some parts are off, the lips don't sync in, we could have used more shots, and we could have shortened the lyrics.  However, you only learn from mistakes.  Overall, for a first time, I think Sam and I did the best that we could.

Photojournalism

What is more exciting than traveling the world in order to capture breathtaking, life changing, and mind boggling images? What is more amazing than to take a picture of a boy smiling amongst all the calamities occurring in his third world country? What is more fulfilling than to leave people amazed, to teach people, to show people the other side? Photojournalism, where pictures are used to illustrate an event instead of, or with text, is a fascinating job.

Photojournalists choose interesting or significant settings to photograph. The task is not as easy as it seems considering they must achieve a desirable effect. In order to do so, journalists must use high quality cameras and adjust the settings according to the scenario. They also use background lighting and work with a crew to make sure the photo comes out as best as possible. Usually, the pictures which go viral are universally understandable. Pictures which are subjected to one area may have difficulty being understood by people from different areas.

Photojournalists can either work freelance or for a company.  If they are freelance, they must submit their photos to publishers, magazine companies or any client in order to make money. The photo can come with full text, it can be alone, or it might accompany a title.

The job does not require an education; however, clients and companies prefer to hire photojournalists with at least some educational background.  Suggested high school courses are communications, media, math, science, history, world issues, art, and business. It is also possible to obtain a degree or diploma specifically in photojournalism. Jobs that are somewhat similar to Photojournalism include print journalism, and photographer.

Statistics do not list how many people in Canada have this job; however, the number of photographers is slightly decreasing. There are few job opportunities as people with more experience are usually hired.  Moreover, people with a vocational diploma are more likely to get a job. Most of these jobs are located in Quebec and Vancouver. The average range is from 18,000 to 60,000; however, newcomers usually earn 12,000 or less.

Money or no money, Photojournalism is definitely a job or hobby I would love to look into.