Category: A02: Visual Rhetoric

0:00- A well groomed white man wearing a button down shirt and tie is standing in a very nice looking house as determined by the expensive cupboards behind him. Based on his appearance and current location, he seems to be rather well off and successful. He has his eyes fixated on something and is about to put some sort of food in his mouth.

0:01- The man puts the food in his mouth and begins chewing on it.

0:02- The shot changes to show more of the area. The man is standing in a kitchen, and also is holding a plate in his other hand. A woman is reading a newspaper with another plate and a glass of orange juice in front of her. Due to the lighting and nature of the meal, it appears that the two are eating an early breakfast in the morning. Perhaps they are getting ready to go out to work, which means the woman could be the man’s wife.

0:03- This frame focuses in on the man cleaning his plate with the faucet water and a sponge.

0:04- The next shot is of the woman’s face as she is watching the man cleaning the dishes. This makes her smile indicating that she is happy how responsible the man is and maybe also indicating that they have a happy marriage together.

0:05- The scene changes to the man being outside, walking towards his car when he notices an older man on their front yard struggling with a tangled cable. Since his car is right next to the house of the older person, it can safely be assumed this is the man’s neighbor. The man has most of his body in the direction of the older individual clearly showing a lot of concern for them, which could mean they are about to go in that direction and help them out.

0:06- The man is fully turned to face the elderly man and has brought his hand up to get the attention of him. It is now even more obvious that the man is planning to assist his neighbor with the tangled cable.

0:07-0:08- The shot changes to one of the man spraying water on his neighbor’s hedges while the neighbor is watching him. The neighbor is smiling, clearly happy that the man is helping him with his yard work. Considering that it is not his job, and he might even be late for work, this act shows what a selfless person the man is.

0:09- The scene changes to someone taking a coffee container off its hotplate. The color of the background is grey so it is possible this is either a work environment or a diner.

0:10- The next frame has the man and three co-workers in what appears to be a break room. Two of his co-workers are male, and the other female. One of the male co-workers is sitting alone while the other two are sitting together with the main character of the ad standing above them pouring the female co-worker a cup of coffee. This is yet another selfless act from the man which continues to show his great character.

0:11- The next frame is a closer shot showing how happy the female co-worker is that the man is pouring her a cup of coffee. Clearly she appreciates what he is doing.

0:12-0:13- The woman is now drinking her coffee as the male co-worker beside her shows his satisfaction on how well the coffee tastes by having a satisfied look and then pointing at his mug. This is all directed to the man which shows that not only did he pour coffee into everyone’s mugs, but he also made the coffee himself.

0:14- The man is now in a line at a grocery store holding several items in front of the cashier. He has tilted his head while looking at the older man beside him in order to tell him to get in front of him.

0:15- The older man has raised his hand to show he is only holding a pineapple. This means that the man realized that the person beside him would not be very long, and in fact did not want to waste this other customer’s time since he is carrying several items. The older man has also begun to walk in front of the man.

0:16- The man is now driving in the car, but he has his head looking below at the seat next to him. Most likely, his phone went off for some reason which caught his attention.

0:17- The next shot is that of the phone which clearly has a notification on the screen. The notification reveals that the noise was most likely a text message since there is no call screen on the phone at the moment. Within the frame, the man is also reaching for the phone with one of his hands in order to respond to the text.

0:18- The man has brought up the phone to a good level in order to read the text. There is a grin on his face showing that it must have been a funny message. The man is no longer looking at the road however, which is a dangerous thing to do. This action also betrays everything the man has done before which were all responsible and selfless acts.

0:19- The next frame has his car pulling up to a red light from a bird’s eye view. There is a red car beside him, a black woman sitting on the bench to the right of his car. There are two female pedestrians crossing the road and other pedestrians near a building towards the top of the shot.

0:20- The next shot shows us the man who is driving the red car that is beside the lead character’s car. His windows are open showing that he is looking right into the man’s car with his mouth open and a face that expresses subtle surprise. The view even shows the man looking at his phone out of focus. This confirms that the driver of the red car is rather surprised, maybe even disappointed that the man beside him is texting while driving a vehicle.

0:21- The red car driver has changed his facial expression to show more clear disappointment in the man.

0:22- The shot is a close up of the man’s face who is no longer looking at his phone, but has turned his head to look out of his window. Most likely he has noticed that the driver of the red car is staring at what he is doing. However, he has not fully noticed him yet, because he still appears rather happy.

0:23- The man who has now fully noticed that he is being watched has changed his facial expression from happy to concerned indicated by the reversal of his smile.

0:24- The man has now turned his head in the other direction to see the black woman who is sitting at the bench. The woman is looking directly at the man while frowning. Similarly to the man driving the red car, this woman must be disappointed with the man’s decision to text while driving a car.

0:25- The man is now seen looking away from the woman with his phone no longer beside him in the shot. He must have put it away as soon as he realized what he is doing was wrong. His face still clearly shows concern since he is being judged by others around him.

0:26-0:27- The next shot is a close up of the woman frowning at the man further driving home the disappointment she feels with him texting while driving.

0:28-0:30- The man is looking at the woman again with his face and tucked lips showing that he is embarrassed with what he did. Texting while driving is an irresponsible thing to do. Even though the main character has proven to be a selfless person in the eyes of others through noble acts of kindness, this still does not make texting while driving any less wrong.

Deciphering What Happens in Get The Cure

0:01-0:05- The ad seems to be shot in the style of the Cops TV show (handheld camera operated by a cameraman following people in their usual activities). The ad opens up with the audience in the back seat of a car. The interior of the car has little light, which is mainly coming from streetlamps and the camera. The car itself is rolling slowly through a deserted city alleyway during some part of the night. The camera/audience is sitting in the middle seat of the back row. The only other person visible on the screen is an average-looking, somewhat overweight white man in a lab coat sitting in the front passenger seat of the car. He is looking back at us while motioning his hands to the view of the front window, probably talking to the audience about the neighborhood.

0:06-0:09- All of a sudden a man dressed in a pink Hershey Kiss-shaped costume runs in front of the headlights a few feet from where the car is. He briefly stops in shock in the middle of the run, like a deer in caught in the headlights of a truck, before continuing to run across the alley. The driver, seen only by his hands and white lab coat, quickly stops the car. Both the man in the passengers’ seat and the driver jump out of the car. At the same time, the camera man jerks to the right, showing him opening the door and running out to follow the action.

0:10-0:15- The shaky camera (due to the cameraman trying to keep up) shows the two men in the lab coats run furiously in the dim light after the man in the funny pink suit, similar to cops trying to catch a man attempting to evade arrest. Eventually, the two men are able to capture the costumed person as he is trying to climb up a wired fence. They pull him off and tackle him on top of a pile of garbage bags and cardboard boxes.

0:16-0: 23- As the cameraman in walking backwards, the audience watches as the two men drag the costumed man by the arms back to the car. The audience can now see that the man looks like a stereotypical nerd with a slightly chubby face and thick glasses. He is in a giant pink spandex onesie that looks like a cross between a chubby Teletubbie and the aforementioned Hershey Kiss. The costumed vigilante, as he is being dragged back to the car is yelling around, and unsuccessfully trying to escape (In a manner that makes him look like he is a drunk person trying to walk straight).

0:24-0:26- The ad then switches to a white information screen with red words that read, “colon cancer. get the test. get the polyp. get the cure.” Below the words on each bottom corner of the screen, it is shown that the ad is produced by Ad Council, and sponsored by The American Cancer Society (with both accompanied by their respective logos). Finally in the bottom middle of the screen, read words can be seen reading,  “1-800-ACS-2345 or cancer.org”.

0:27-0:28- The ad quickly jumps back to the main action, where the costumed man (probably representing the colon), shouting out to the camera, is seen being pushed into the backseat of the car by the two men in lab coats  (who can be deduced to represent the doctors) with great effort.

0:29-0:31- Finally, the ad returns to the information screen in order to reiterate the point, before fading to black.

Get The Cure | Colon Cancer Prevention | Ad Council

0:01

Fade in from black screen, nighttime, angle of camera is from the left side of a road. It is focused on the taillights of a car (not directly, but from the side) seen on a dimly lit woodsy road. The car appears to be moving fast because the image is blurred.

0:03

Camera angled from the right side of the road, this time in front of the car so the headlights of the car are visible now. The road still very dark, grass is seen in the bottom part of the shot. This angle gives the feeling of something looking up at the car possibly, a person or even an animal.

0:04

With the same angle, a persons legs are now in the scene, with the car in the distance behind. The headlights of the car are still in view, the person is on the side of the road a little bit ahead of the car. The legs are in a stance that leads one to assume they are moving towards the road.

0:05

Camera angle has switched, but this time, the car is not in sight. In fact, the view is from the driver (or passenger) of the car, the pedestrian on the side of the road, is now crossing the headlight lit roadway. A sign is visible on the right side of the road, what is says is unclear, other signs are scattered further down the road but are too far away to have any meaning. The pedestrian is barely on the road so no distinct details can be seen, despite that it is a mannish figure.

0:06

Camera angle is again different, it is from the side of the road the pedestrian is walking towards (left side). The camera is facing them, however they are head is down looking at a phone in their hands. The action is confusing because they are in the middle of crossing and yet did not look for traffic. They are well dressed with thick pants and winter jacket and boots. They are also oblivious to the car that has just stopped 10 feet away from them. It is the only source of light on this desolate road, how do they not notice it?

0:07 

Camera angled now facing the front of the car, with the boy standing in front of it. Camera is close up on the boy as only his hips and above is seen, this creates a feeling of urgency between the car and the pedestrian. The car is next to him still (however in the shot, it is “behind him”) he has yet to look over at it, as his body is still facing towards the other side of the road and he is looking at his phone. The car seems to have come to a short stop, not expecting to have a person cross directly in front of them.

0:08

Angle is back to the driver/passenger’s point of view, the boy has finally looked up and is making direct eye contact. He has a close haircut with a sweatshirt, a leather jacket and jeans on. His face is of utter surprise, the phone still perched in his hands. The hood of the car is in the lower portion of the screen, how close did this car get to this boy before it stopped?

0:09

Angle is the boy is point of view at the car. Headlights are very bright, probably high beams since it is so dark. The driver, as well as the passenger, are deer. Their antlers, protruding out of the sunroof that is open, and hooves on the steering wheel, they stair back with blank expressions.

0:12

Angle is the driver/ passenger once more. The boy has turned his head back to the road, and is in a running stance. His phone is still in his hand.

0:13 

This scene is still in the view of the driver/passenger but now the road is clear, no boy. It is just the yellow street lines, a yellow sign with an arrow pointing to the right, and several smaller signs further down the road. This scene stresses how odd it was to have a boy cross the road out of nowhere. The driver was not expecting to see anyone in a desolate area, and if there was a person, why would they just cross without looking for a very visible car.

0:14

View is now from the window of the driver’s side, into the car, only the interior is shown. The passenger deer has turned to look at the driver.The camera is very close to their faces, if deer had expressions, I would assume the passenger would have a face of concern or shock.

0:16

With the same angle, the passenger deer is still looking at the driver, who appears to be shaking their head disapprovingly.

0:17 

Now the camera has zoomed out, still looking at the driver side of the car (left side), angled from slightly behind (whole car is visible and brake lights are on) so that the road in front of the car is visible. In the glow of the headlights of the car, there is now two people (another boy, followed by a girl) both looking down at their phones. There is nothing distinct about their clothes or appearance. They are crossing the road the same as the other boy was. The bend in the road ahead is  visible, along with the signs dotted upon it.

0:18 

With the same angle, and background, a third person looking at their phone is in front of the car. All three are preoccupied and crossing the street, one after the other in a single file line.

0:19

The trio is now close to crossing the road completely,the car still stopped, and text has appeared on screen saying “Don’t text when on the road”. Which is clever because, normally it is the driver who is texting and not paying attention. Here, the people have become the deer that blindly cross the road and cause many accidents year round. The deer are the vigilant driver that was paying attention and able to stop in time.

0:20 

The trio is basically off the road, definitely out of the way of the car, the brake lights are off, and the car is probably moving again.

0:21

The car is further down the road, it finally passed the menagerie of pedestrians. The light from their cellphones is the only visible aspect of them on the side of the road.

0:22 

The same visual is shown, except the car is again further along the road, and the kids are almost off screen. The text “It’s not safe for deer..” has popped up, replacing the earlier text.

0:23

The screen is now black, the text “It’s not safe for the deer…” remains, with the addition of “or humans.” after the ellipses.

0:25-0:31

The slogan is now gone, still with a black background there are now sponsors for the video including: STOPTEXTSSTOPWRECKS.ORG, Project Yellow Light, Ad Council, National Organization for Youth Safety (NOYS), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The texts remains until the video ends.

 

 

 

 

 

0:00 – 0:03

Video starts. camera is following a middle age black couple through a grocery store. The camera is at a waste shot, only showing their bodies from the waste up. The camera is also positioned to mainly show the couple’s profiles. We also see the wife pushing a shopping cart whilst the husband is following close behind. The husband seems to be holding a jar, he has his head down reading the label on the jar.

0:04 – 0:05

The scene suddenly cuts to an extreme close up of the front left wheel on the shopping cart. there seems to be some sort of a tan mass in front of the wheel, disabling it of movement. camera then cuts to a wide angle view of the entire room. We see the couple as the center of focus. We notice that the couple have stopped moving and are now in wonder as to why the cart has stopped moving.

0:06 – 0:10

Camera then cuts to a close up of the wifes face. One can tell that she is looking down, toward the bottom of the shopping cart. Her facial expressions show confusion in her. In the next second the camera cuts to a wide angle low shot (as if the camera were on the floor) of the couple standing peaking at the front left wheel of the cart. The husband is still standing behind the wife in this shot. Both people have confused expressions. The husband then walks over to the front of the cart and bends down to see what is disabling the cart.

0:11 – 0:15

scene then cuts to a low profile shot of the husband bent down in front of the cart. Here we can slightly see the tan mass blocking the cart. Whilst bent down the husband picks up the tan blob that was originally blocking the cart. The husband holds the blob in his hands and is inspecting it, turning it from side to side.

0:16 – 0:18

The scene then cuts to a close up shot of the husbands face. he is inspecting the tan blob in his hand, and is saying something to his wife. in this close up we see the blob in his hands in the bottom middle of the screen. We also see behind the husband the wife peering over his shoulder. His facial expression mimics that of a doctor inspecting another persons limb.

0:19 – 0:23

The scene then quickly cuts to the husband standing back up to the same stance as his wife. scene cuts again, but this time to a wide angle shot. We can now see most of the surroundings of the room. the couple are at the center of focus in this shot. We see the husband nonchalantly drop the tan blob back on the floor, and the couple start to go on their way leaving the tan blob behind them as if it were never there or ever crossed paths with.

0:24 – 0:30

Video then cuts to an orange screen with text on it reading “small step #81: Snack on fruits and vegetables instead of sweets.”, along with a list of other faded out text like the one highlighted. other non focused text fully fades out leaving the highlighted text the only text on the screen. text transitions into another sentence reading “Take a small step to get healthy.”. More text fades in underneath the focus text reading “Get started at http://www.smallstep.gov”. Underneath that line, in small text, reads “The U.S Department of Health and Human Services.”. Video ends.

 

0:00-0:03

Nicely framed pictures are panned in what seems to be a family home. Two pictures of a smiling little boy are shown. In one, he is wearing something casual, making it seem like a candid that the family treasures. The other is more posed, he is wearing something formal in front of a blue background; the family most likely got it done professionally. A third picture is a wedding photo, most likely belonging to the parents of the little boy. The bride and groom are mid-dance, embracing and smiling. They seem to be a very happy family. Each picture is nicely framed and appear to be on a wooden stand, indicating comfortable financial standing.

 

0:04-0:07

The camera moves to the wall beside stairs in the home, and a shadow is seen. It moves as the camera does, indicating that the person who owns it may be pacing, possibly in anger. The shadow appears male, it is tall and lacks a female figure, so it is most likely the father. Is he talking to the mother? Is he angry at her?

 

0:08-0:11

A little boy, the one from the pictures, is seen sitting on the aforementioned steps. He is maybe four or five years old. He sits with his yellow toy truck, possibly as a security measure. Some kids have blankets, maybe he has a truck. He is wearing a white patterned onesie as pajamas, indicating his young age. He looks up from his truck, a bit startled, and is watching what is transpiring in the room below the stairs. He is not smiling; he seems concerned for what is happening.

 

0:12-0:13

The shadow is seen a second time. The boy’s brown head of hair is seen from behind, and the wall next to him shows the shadow of what is most likely his father. A hand is shown, it looks as if it is pointing in authority to its counterpart, or possibly threatening to strike. The head moves with the hand, indicating an emotion so strong it takes over the body.

 

0:14-0:23

The boy’s face is shown in close-up. He is trying to ignore what is happening, and begins to play with his toy truck, indicated by him looking down and his arms moving back and forth. Then he is startled out of his play, he jumps as he looks at the room below, frightened. His shoulders rise and fall with heavy breathing as his eyebrows rise in surprise. He looks forlornly at what has happened, he does not want it to be this way, but it is.

 

0:24-0:26

White, all capital text reads “Children have to sit by and watch. What’s your excuse?” What was he watching? It is an ad for domestic violence prevention, so the odds point to the fact that his father has hit his mother. Maybe for the first time, due to his surprise, or maybe it happens all the time and this is just the first time he has seen it.

 

0:27-0:30

A multitude of logos appear. A blue and black logo outlined by white has text inside it that reads “There’s NO excuse.” Text below it in italics reads “for Domestic Violence.” Under that, a phone number for victims and bystanders to call reads “1-800-END-ABUSE.” An Ad Council logo is seen in the bottom left corner, and text in the bottom right reads “Family Violence Prevention Fund.” These are probably the producers of the PSA. The logos fade, and one is left with a sense that they have to do something to help this little boy and those like him. The ad has hopefully done its job to inspire action.

0:01

The opening scene starts off with a middle aged man turning the volume louder on his stereo. His facial expression shows that he filled with good, lively energy. Based on his dress shirt, it seems he is trying to impress someone. However, his sleeves are rolled up slightly to indicate that he is comfortable and relaxed. He is in great physical condition. The shirt outlines his build, which resembles that of a body builder. The wall suggests that he is indoors, possibly a house of some sort. The speaker shows that this took place in the past because there is a tape player. The father seems mesmerized by the sound of music. Is the music for his own personal enjoyment or for the enjoyment of others? Regardless, the volume indicates that he is getting ready for something.

0:02-0:03

The man is breaking and putting ice cubes into a bucket, which suggests that he is having company. The amount of ice shows that their might be more than one person. The ice bucket could have multiple purposes such as holding a bottle of wine or keeping a variety of beverages cold. Often times a bucket of that size is used plainly to put ice in a soda or glass of wine. His careful precision with the ice into the bucket shows that he does not want to make a mess and indicates that his company is very important to him.

0:04-0:05

Here, this man is pouring pretzels into a bowl. The combination of ice and pretzels shows that this event is casual. Up to this point, the man has not prepared anything fancy or romantic, which suggests this could be for a friend or a child. Pretzels are not a necessity, but can be used as comfort food when people are talking. The colorful bowl hints to the idea that his guests are children or close family. The bowl is meant to be seen as playful and appealing. Also, the bowl is small to show that there could only be one or two guests.

0:05-0:06

The camera angle shifts a little further back to get a full view of the refrigerator and a few beverages that the man seems to be placing into it. The cans are colorful and resemble a kid’s drink such as tomato juice. Once again, the video suggests that his company are younger based solely on the variety of lively colors. His facial expression seems a little more flushed with fatigue. Setting up for his guests has taken its toll on him, but he still seems anxious for his guests to arrive. The size of his refrigerator suggests that he does not live alone. The refrigerator alone is enough to feed a few people. The amount of drinks that he is putting into the refrigerator suggests that he is more than prepared for his visitors.

0:06-0:08

A delivery man appears at the door with a box and a separate bag of food. He is dressed in all red to solidify his role as a delivery man. Without these matching colors, the audience may have been confused about his role. The man at the door gladly retrieves his food with a big smile. He showed no hesitation when he answered the door, which shows that he was expecting the delivery man. The man is leaning slightly forward in an effort to communicate with the delivery man. This could mean that he is comfortable and orders food a lot.

0:09

A green table is carefully placed in the middle of a living room type setting. The green table shows the repetition of the playful colors placed in this video. The table is small which indicates that there can only be a few people coming. Also, a green table is usually used for some type of card game, which suggests he wants to entertain his guests. His hand placement reveals that he wants everything to be perfect and neat. The painting on the walls shows a mixture of colors, which could be intriguing to an infant. The kitchen in the back has marble counter tops and tiles on the walls to give it more of a modern look. The modern look in his house also portrays wealth. The various kitchen supplies on the kitchen counter show that multiple people live in the house. The kitchen seems massive for just one person.

0:10

A chair is placed beside the table furthest away from the man. This seat implies that he plans to play something with his guest. What game? The audience has yet to find out. However, his efforts to set this whole thing up seem to be strenuous and exhausting. His dedication to make this a perfect night obviously shows that he cares deeply for the people coming over. In the background the audience gets another look at a big piece of furniture. The multiple drawers are meant to show that many people live there. There would not be large pieces of furniture for any other reason than to show he does not live alone.

0:11-0:13

The camera angle shows that there are three seats surrounding the table. The man sits between both, which signifies that he is entertaining two guests. He sits down on his chair to show that he is ready for his guests to arrive. He has prepared everything and now he has to play the waiting game. He has a deck of cards that he stacks on the table. There are no chips or anything that would suggest he is gambling. The cards symbolize the playfulness of the event. His sleeves are rolled up. His shirt is unbuttoned. His mindset is ready for a fun night rather than a serious, romantic dinner.

0:14-0:15

The cards are being dispersed into three piles, including one for the man. This gesture assures the audience that there are most likely two guests. The three piles of cards give us an idea that the game could be gold fish or some child-like game. His hands are moving faster, which suggests his guests are arriving soon. Also, his hand motion shows his energetic attitude towards this event. If the cards were distributed slowly, it could indicate that he is dreading this occasion.

0:16-0:17

The camera angle switches to a close up to the gentleman’s face. His facial expression has gotten very serious. His hand placement is very important because he trying his very best to hide his cards from his opponent. The cards are very close to his face. He is looking out the corner of his eye to possibly see if someone is or was looking at his cards. He is taking this event very seriously and seems eager to win. There are five cards in his hand, which reveals that the game is most likely gold fish or some other fun, kid-like game.

0:18

Here, the camera angle switches so that the entirety of the man is visible. However, the guests are still cut out of the frame. The man lowers his cards. His lip posture suggests that he is about to say something verbal to his opponent on his right. He seems like he is about to say something offensive. His eye brows are pointing downward towards his nose which shows that he is angry about something. Perhaps he is accusing someone of cheating or discussing the rules of the game. Either way the man seems displeased by one of his guests.

0:19

Two young boys enter the screen. This shows that this man is the possible father of these two children because they are very close to one another and seem comfortable. Once again, the kitchen enters in the background with a bundle of kitchen supplies. The background is meant to express the idea of family. The man is looking towards the boy on his right annoyingly.  He seems intrigued with what the boy has to say. The boy on the other side is about to say something. Yet, he also seems fascinated with what the other boy has to say. Everyone at the table is actively participating in the conversation one way or another. The young children both have cards in their hand. The deck of cards is placed directly in the center of the table. This set up advocates that they are playing a playful card game. There are no chips or anything of that nature at the table.

0:20

The boy on the right is making a silly face towards the man. His jaw drops and he seems surprised by what just happened. The man’s facial expression shows that he slightly grinning and it could be inferred that he thinks the scenario is funny. The boy to the man’s left is shouting something across the table. This occasion looks lively and filled with positive energy. The camera angle has moved back a little revealing the children’s drinks. There is a juice box and a cup of what looks to be tomato juice or some other flavorful juice. In addition, the children have a plate of healthy foods such as peanut butter and jelly and oranges. This frame portrays the importance of family and eating healthy. The purpose of the food and drinks could be to encourage people watching the video to eat healthier.

0:21

The mood has drastically changed. The man is now visibly happy and content. All of the preparation for this occasion looks like it has finally paid off. The child on the left is laughing as the other is making a goofy face. This picture portrays a happy atmosphere and perhaps symbolizes what family is all about. This “father figure” has meaning and is shown to stress the importance of spending time with family. Making other people happy can lead to one’s own personal happiness.

0:22

The children are celebrating a victory. The “father figure” places his cards down with a comical expression on his face. His eyes are shot in disbelief that these children have beaten him. Perhaps he let them win to make them happier. Regardless, the man’s smile shows that his happiness does not lay in the game itself. His happiness is found by surrounding himself with people he cares deeply about. The child on his right is doing somewhat of a victory dance as the child on the left is laughing in the man’s face. The setting has not changed, but the people’s attitudes have.

 

 

0:01 The ad opens up with a middle aged man peaking from behind a hand crafted picture frame. The camera is zoomed in close to his head. The shot is of the picture frame and his eyes to the top of his head. His eyes are directed to his left. He seems to be looking at something or expecting something to be in that direction. His eyes are wide open like he is surprised by something.

0:02-0:03 The camera zooms out to show a wide shot of the man and the frame. The frame happens to have a portrait of  woman looking to her left with a white dress on. The frame of the picture is a wood hand carved gold painted frame. The picture is probably a very old expensive piece with an expensive frame to match. The man is holding the picture, but not in a way that he can hang it on the wall behind him. He seems to be holding it up to show someone what it looks like in that spot. The picture is big, almost the size of the man. The room he is in looks to be a office in his house. There are two windows to his right and left with two chairs approximately 8 feet away from the windows. The chair to the left looks to be a older antique chair, while the other chair is a regular brown chair from around the 80’s or 70’s. The man has on blue jeans and he is not wearing shoes. His socks are black with a grey patch at the toes.

0:04 The camera is a wide but focused shot of the man in the room.The man is now in a room that looks like a living room. He is now inside the couch under the pillows of the couch. He is very noticeable because the pillows are uneven and his body is visible from the cameras position. He is looking out from inside the couch as if he is looking to see if anyone is coming.

0:05 The man tucks his head into the couch as if he doesn’t wan’t to be seen.

0:06 The man in now in a different room standing on a shelf that is at the base of a window. The room looks to be his bed room. He is standing straight up with his back against the wall. His full body is shown in this camera shot. He is dressed casually with a dark blue sweater on with a light blue dress shirt under it. He is still shoe-less in this scene.

0:06-0:07 The man is now in a chair seated hiding under a knitted blanket. He seems to be hiding in fairly obvious spots around the house. The chair is a brown leather single chair. The room he is in seems to be the living room. There is a wall behind him with a book shelf built into it. There are a good amount of books and pictures placed on the shelves. There is a flat screen T.V on the wall at the center of the shelves.

0:08-0:10 The man is now hiding behind a curtain with a view of his upper shoulders. He is looking to his left as if he is expecting something to come from that direction. His facial expression is calm, like he is trying to be as quiet as possible. Again he is choosing the most obvious places to hide.

0:11-0:13 The man is now in the hallway near the front door. He seems to be sneaking through the hallway. The front is open but he is not walking toward the door. He is walking to the room directly across from the room he was just in. He is looking up the steps as if he doesn’t want the person he is hiding from to hear him. His shoes are still off and that might be because he don’t want to be heard sneaking around the house. The hallway is floored with hard wood. He is trying to step very lightly through the hallway.

0:14-0:15 The man is now hiding standing in the chimney with the lower half of his body exposed from the cover of the chimney. There are two gold objects to his right and left. There is a chain to his right that is used to put the cover on the chimney.

0:16 The man is now walking down the steps peeking down the steps into a room behind the steps. His body language indicates that he is looking to see if anyone is down there.

0:17-0:18 The man is now peaking from the door way across from the steps.

0:19 The man is in the laundry room crawling out of a white cabinet under the folding counter. The counter has laundry folded on it. The cabinet is big enough to fit a fully grown person in it.

0:19 The man is now closing himself in the cabinet. It is now obvious that he is hiding from someone or something.

0:20 The man is near a door in the corner of the room looking into the room from behind a plant he is holding. He is very noticeable behind the plant. The plant is green with a lot of long leaves hanging out the pot its in.

0:21-0:23 He is now in what looks to be a child’s room. He is behind a shelf full of stuffed animals looking from a open space in the shelf. The room looks to be a girls room. There are a variety of girl toys in the vision of the camera in the room. The man has a smile of joy on his face as he looks in the room.

0:23-0:25 There is a little girl running in the hallway. She seems to be running after someone.She is wearing pink and purple pajamas with no shoes on.

0:26-0:28 The man is hiding under clothes in a closet. He is looking out into the hallway where the little girl was running. The little girl is probably looking for him. They probably are playing hide and seek. The man is smiling from under the clothes in the closet.

 

0:00 – Ad starts with a shot of the lower half of a man on a rocking horse in the park on a sunny day.

That’s a reasonable description, CollegeKid, but not an analysis. How do we react to such an image? It’s a big jarring at first since the horsies are almost exclusively ridden by children, are in fact difficult for adults to mount. Do we register anything? Confusion? Disbelief? Curiosity? Do we think the rider might be unhinged? Bored beyond belief?

The only unacceptable answer is that we register nothing at all—that we simply withhold judgment until more evidence helps us correctly judge the situation. We do not. We jump to conclusions and later alter them if necessary.

0:00-0:04 – The camera moves up to show the man bouncing and rocking back and fourth with a huge smile on his face. The man, who appears to be of hispanic decent, is wearing a navy blue sweat jacket, a grey t-shirt, kaki shorts, white socks, and black sneakers.

Well, yes, but in addition, he changes his motion from an innocent back-and-forth rocking to a slightly demented humping-the-horse motion that, depending on who he’s smiling at, could mean a couple of things. 

What are we to make of that smile? Is he simply enjoying himself, or getting someone’s attention? Does the smile say “Look at me!” or “Come join me” or “Aren’t we having fun”?

What do the clothes suggest? Is he well-off? Working today and on his lunch break? Enjoying the park on a day off? Is the patch on his sleeve significant? Where’s the park? Inner-city? Suburbs?

0:04-0:05 – The camera moves to a white woman who is sitting on the park bench with a baby stroller. She looks at him and smirks but then diverts her attention back to the stroller.

She does indeed. Why? Tell us about her. Does she know him? Does his childish horse-humping amuse her? She doesn’t merely “divert her attention” to the stroller, does she? She pulls it closer in a protective gesture. Is the strange man threatening?

0:05-0:08 – A white man, in a green jacket, makes a weird face and presses it against the glass while looking to the right. When it hits 0:08 seconds, the man removes his face from the glass and has a blank expression.

What glass? Is there glass in the playground, or is this a new scene? What is the significance of his “looking to the right?” Can we tell what or who he’s looking at? He fixes his gaze first on something below and to his left. Then presses his nose against the glass (through which he can be seen, presumably, standing as he is at the service window of a hot dog counter). Then checks to see what reaction he’s getting from someone. Then wipes his expression. It’s a game, right, in which he pretends he hasn’t done anything gross like wipe his nostrils on the window?

What can we conclude from his age, size, clothing, grooming? Is it too early to notice a pattern in just two examples? Middle-aged men in casual clothes in the middle of the day acting foolishly?

A figure passes behind him during his act, indicating (like the female observer in the park) that he’s acting out in public knowing he can be observed by adults.

0:08-0:10 – An African American man looks up and the white man with a puzzled face as if wonder what just occurred. (HUH?)

Where is that AA man? On the other side of the glass? Has he seen the goofy face pressed against the glass? His gaze is at first fixed lower (at a cash register or computer?). Then he looks up. Is he making eye contact with the face-presser? In two seconds, how many shades of curiosity, suspicion, disfavor does he register? He blinks. Does that suggest disbelief? A shaking off of the first image and a chance to look at it again?

What do you make of the odd coincidence that all three men so far have sported facial hair?

0:10-0:12 – Camera is angled upwards where you see the tops of the trees and the sky. An African American man, in a white short sleeved button-down, tan trousers, and a blue with whit polka-dotted tie, is bouncing up and down while smiling and waving to something/someone.

You have yet to conclude that three men now are behaving childishly. If you’re trying to be matter-of-fact and strictly objective for some reason, CollegeKid, you should stop that. We judge at all times when watching little movies like these 30-second spots. Your job is to analyze how you’re being manipulated to draw conclusions from what you’re being shown. If you don’t share your impressions, you’re not analyzing, merely reporting.

0:12-0:15 – The shot shows the back of a neighbors head as they are looking over the fence at the man. He continues to jump in circles while smiling and then he does a ballet spin with his hands above his head.

Once again, the waving indicates that the man knows he’s being observed (so the other cast members are not accidental.) The woman in the park, man behind the glass, and neighbor are all essential to make the men’s actions Public Acts.

0:15-0:21 – The camera goes to a little white girl, wearing a pink jacket and glasses, laughing at the man making faces pressed up to the glass. The white man then sticks his tongue out, puts his hands up to his head (as if making moose antlers), and wiggles side to side. The little girl (assumably his daughter) then proceeded to put her thumb up to her nose and wiggle her fingers at him. The African American man then looks at them both and smiles at them. The white man sales back at him and then continues to make another weird face at the little girl.

From which we conclude what? That his intended audience was the girl, but that he was willing to appear idiotic in front of another adult for the sake of amusing her?

0:21-0:24- The camera shows the African American man jumping on a trampoline with his son. The little boy is wearing a brown, white, and green stripped short sleeved shirt with jeans. The pair are both smiling and jumping over one another.

From which we conclude what? That his actions were intended to amuse the boy, but that he was willing to appear idiotic by striking ballerina poses in mid-air in front of his neighbors for the sake of amusing the child?

0:24-0:27- The shot shows a little Hispanic boy smiling and bouncing on a rocking horse. The camera then pans over to the father doing the exact same thing int the rocking horse in front of him.

From which we conclude what? That we were wrong to assume in the first take that the Hispanic man was trying to get the attention of the woman with the stroller? His attention was always focused on the boy in front of him, and his glee was joy shared with a child, most likely his child?

0:27-0:31- The camera shows the neighbor looking over the fence at the African American man bouncing on the trampoline.

From which we conclude what?

Spend a short paragraph after the time-stamped material to draw any overall conclusions you can after considering the impact of the entire 30-second spot. You may discuss its particular effectiveness or its shortcomings as visual argument.

You may also (following your visual analysis) report on any dialog or soundtrack elements that influence your reactions to the argument when you combine the audio with the video.

Thank you for permitting me to invade your space this way for the sake of all.

—DSH

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3BG0-APlhQ

0:00- Ad starts with a shot of a forest that has just been destroyed by a fire. The ground and barks of trees are black and and still are burning as you see the red tint from the heat.

0:00-0:06- A reverse time lapse shot is showing a burning wooden cabin and a burning four door car. Tall trees are behind the house and there are random patches of tall dry grass in front of the cabin, both are sparked and burning. The car is parked on some of the burning grass patches.

0:06-0:08- Reverse time lapse is still going. Changes camera view and now it shows the side of the house and back of car, both burning. There is a family of 4 walking from the car. An Asian man, wearing a casual button up shirt and shorts, carrying a blue back pack. On his left is his Caucasian wife in a t shirt and khaki shorts carrying a blanket. In front of the wife is their daughter with a huge smile on her face. She is wearing a blue dress with a pattern on it and looks to be about 6 or 7. To the daughter’s right, is her big brother, looks to be about 10 or 11 and he is wearing a striped red and white t shirt with khaki shorts and is carrying a white frisbee. He also has smile on his face.

0:08-0:09- Reverse time lapse continues. Camera changes view again. Now showing the back passenger door of the car and the left side of the front of the house. This view also shows that the house is off a stone path. You can smoke and sparks emerging under the back tires of the car.

0:09-0:12- Reverse time lapse continues. Camera changes view again. This time it is directly behind the driver side rear tire and muffler. The patches of tall dry grass are under the car and the heat from the muffle has ignited the grass and it starts to burn.

0:12-0:13- Reverse time lapse continues. Camera changes view back to a shot of the family walking away from car . They just got out of the car and the father beeps his key and locks the doors.

0:13-0:15- Camera view stays the same and freezes the reverse time lapse. In regular forward time, Smokey The Bear walks in from the right and takes the keys away from the father.

0:15-0:17- Smokey The Bear gets in the car and starts the car.

0:17-0:19- Camera changes view from the sky looking over the boarder of the dirt path and the grass. Smokey puts the car in reverse and turns the steering wheel to the left and drives back a few feet and pulls off the grass. Then puts the car in drive and turns the wheel to the right and pulls up a few feet. The car is all  the way off the grass and on the dirt path.

0:19-0:21- Camera changes view to underneath rear of car again. This time it has Smokey laying on the ground looking at the muffler.

0:21-0:22- Camera view goes back to freeze frame and Smokey gives the keys back to the father.

0:22-0:23- Camera view backs up until can see the whole car, the front of the cabin, Smokey, and the family. The family is now walking away from the car.

0:23-0:30- Camera view stays the same and a wooden sign shows up. It says, “SPARK A CHANGE, NOT A WILD FIRE, ONLY YOU CAN PREVENT FOREST FIRES”. The sign also has a picture of Smokey’s face centered at the bottom. Under the sign there is a website, “SMOKEYBEAR.COM” and under that there is the AdCouncil stamp, and two other stamps that promote forest safety.  The family continues to walk away from the car in the background.