Thursday, December 12, 2013

HTC Interview Project

Interview
Each student will use their HTC Flyer to film an interview in English. On the last day of class, we will watch all the interviews.

Requirements:
1) The interview must be in English
2) You must interview someone who is NOT
                   a) an English teacher at Sheng Kung
                   b) a classmate (no S1 students)
3) You must appear on camera, asking the questions
4) The interview should be 1-3 minutes long
5) Ask open-ended questions, not Yes/No questions
6) When you're finished, email it to: skghs.s1@gmail.com

Tips:
You can be sitting or standing or mobile
You can edit and change the video if you know how
Look on youtube for some ideas how to film the interview

Theme:
"Change"
Within this theme, you can ask questions about any topic you like.

Helpful Links:
Landscape mode using iPhone, tablet, etc

Rule of Thirds - Setting up the shot

Example of an interview

All interview videos must be received by January 1st (1/1) !!!

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Oral Test Choices

Your oral tests will be NEXT WEEK - 11/21 - 22
You have two choices:

1) Perform the commercial live in front of the class

2) Film the commercial with your HTC Flyer (on your own time), upload it to the Sheng Kung youtube account (ask Bruce or Peter for the account info), and then show it to us next week during class.

Oral Test Grading

Oral Test Grading Parameters:

Volume - 6 points

Intonation - 6 points

Expression and Body Language - 6 points

Script - 6 points

Effectiveness - 6 points

TOTAL - 30 points

So ... be loud, speak as naturally as possible, have lots of actions/singing/dancing, write a good script, and make us all want to buy your product!

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Oral Test Parameters

1) Make a group of 3-4 girls

2) Decide on a product to advertise (could be real or made-up)

3) Write script for commercial. Include lots of action, movement, singing, slogans, etc.

4) Be interesting!! Funny!! Not boring!!

5) Make sure your commercial answers the 5 questions listed earlier

6) The commercial should be 30 seconds to 1 minute long

7) This will be your oral test grade and 30% of your midterm grade

Oral test will be the week of 11/18 - 11/22 (Week 12)

Answer these questions:
* What are you selling?
* Why do we need it?
* Why should we buy yours?
* What is good about it? What are the benefits? How is it better than others?
* Where can we buy it?

Make sure to include a slogan or jingle and lots of movement, speaking, and actions


Links and Useful Phrases

Commonly Used Words:
Absolutely. Amazing. Approved. Attractive. Authentic Bargain. Beautiful. Better. Big. Colorful. Colossal. Complete. Confidential. Crammed. Delivered. Direct. Discount. Easily. Endorsed. Enormous. Excellent. Exciting.Exclusive. Expert. Famous. Fascinating. Fortune. Full. Genuine. Gift. Gigantic. Greatest. Guaranteed. Helpful. Highest. Huge. Immediately. Improved..Informative.Instructive. Interesting. Largest. Latest.. Lavishly. Liberal.. Lifetime.. Limited.. Lowest.. Magic.. Mammoth. Miracle.. Noted.. Odd.. Outstanding.. Personalized.. Popular. Powerful.. Practical.. Professional.. Profitable.. Profusely.Proven.. Quality.. Quickly.. Rare.. Reduced.. Refundable. Remarkable.. Reliable.. Revealing.. Revolutionary.. Scarce. Secrets.. Security.. Selected.. Sensational.. Simplified..
Sizable.. Special.. Startling.. Strange.. Strong.. Sturdy.Successful.. Superior.. Surprise.. Terrific.. Tested. Tremendous.. Unconditional.. Unique.. Unlimited.. Unparalleled. Unsurpassed.. Unusual.. Useful.. Valuable.. Wealth.. Weird..

Phrases:
Act now!  Buy one get one free!  What a deal! Very cutting edge. Friendly staff and service! Huge savings! Making your dreams a reality! Satisfaction guaranteed! Lifetime guarantee! 


The Language of Advertising *

Language has a powerful influence over people and their behavior. This is especially true in the fields of marketing and advertising. The choice of language to convey specific messages with the intention of influencing people is vitally important.

A study of vocabulary used in advertising listed the most common adjectives and verbs in order of frequency. They are:

Adjectives
Verbs

1.
new
1.
make

2.
good/better/best
2.
get

3.
free
3.
give

4.
fresh
4.
have

5.
delicious
5.
see

6.
full
6.
buy

7.
sure
7.
come

8.
clean
8.
go

9.
wonderful
9.
know

10.
special
10.
keep

11.
crisp
11.
look

12.
fine
12.
need

13.
big
13.
love

14.
great
14.
use

15.
real
15.
feel

16.
easy
16.
like

17.
bright
17.
choose

18.
extra
18.
take

19.
safe
19.
start

20.
rich
20.
Taste


Good and new were over twice as popular as any other adjective.




*(from Marcus Evans “Linguarama”)

There are many elements that help make a good commercial/advertisement. These are just a few. Some common elements in advertisements might include:

  1. The product and the name of the product
i.e. A computer, but is it an Apple or ASUS?
  1. Benefits or special features
i.e. Better, stronger, faster, new and improved
  1. Special prices or deals
i.e. 50% off, 50% discount, buy one get one free, cheaper than the other brand
  1. A Jingle
i.e. McDonalds theme, “da da da da da….”
  1. A Slogan
“Feel the power!”, “I’m lovin’ it.”, “Just do it!”
  1. Where to buy it

i.e. “Available at drugstores everywhere. “, “At your nearest Toyota dealer.”


Thursday, October 31, 2013

Questions to Answer for your Commercial

* What will you sell?

* How will you sell it?

* Who wants to buy it?

* Why do people need it?

* Why will people remember it?
10 Types of TV Commercials
(With explanations and examples)

1. Testimonial
This type of TV ad is basically an expert or customer making a testimony on how amazing and incredible your products are and why they never ever would buy from someone else than you.

2. Be Mainstream
If your product is for “normal people” it’s clever to tell your potential customers that it’s normal to buy your product and that everyone does it. Group pressure at its’ best.

3. Celebrity Endorsement
There are two reasons to use celebrities in TV ads. The first one is trust, because if your company is big enough to use someone famous you must be doing something right. The second reason is most people want to live in an illusion, an illusion of having the perfect life. Nothing reflects a perfect life better than the idols you see on TV and hence everyone will want to own/use the same things as them.

4. Demonstration (Demo)
If your product does something unique, show it to the audience. It really doesn’t matter if your product really have a unique formula; your goal is to make your product almost synonym with a specific problem or use. You commonly see this in commercials for makeup, toothpaste or cleaning detergents.

5. Symbolize the Problem or Solutions
This kind of commercial shows either the problem or solution with a metaphor, either because the topic is sensitive or it’s funnier that way.

6. Comparison
Especially in the realm of cars and electronic products, it’s hard to establish a separate identity when most phones, TV’s, computers, and cars look the same. These kind of commercials, which usually use split-screen comparisons, help consumers differentiate the products.

7. Associations
Perfume is one of the hardest products to advertise via TV; the medium unable to deliver smells. Instead the experience of the perfume gets visualised instead.

8. Show the Benefits
Pretty straightforward here. These commercials exhibit the qualities of the product either directly or through a metaphor. Recently, the purported benefits are often jokingly over-exaggerated.

9. Unique Personality
Sometimes a product will rely on the interesting, unique, or even crazy personality of its founder. This is especially true if the founder has a kooky accent, like the Dyson Vacuum. For other companies, like Apple, it helps to establish a “character” who appears in numerous advertisements to create a brand identity.

10. Parody or comedy
Anything that gets people laughing will be noticed and remembered.




Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Movie Animation Clips



1. UP
Old man: We have your dog!
Boy: Whoa!
Old man: I wonder who he belongs to?
Boy: Sit, boy! (dog sits) Hey, look, he’s trained! Shake! Uh-huh. Speak!
Dog: Hi there!
Old man: Did that dog just say, “Hi there!”?
Dog: Oh yes!
Old man: Ahhh!
Dog: My name is Doug and I have just met you and I love you! My master made me this collar. He is a good and smart master. And he made me this collar so that I may talk. SQUIRREL!!



2. Monsters University
Mike: (snoring)
Sully: (snoring)
Mike: (alarm rings) Eeee-yah! (Sully falls)
Sully: Mom!?! What are you doing?
Mike: Your grubby paw was in my bed!
Sully: Were you kissing my hand?
Mike: Hahaha, NO! And what about you with all your shedding?
Sully: I don’t shed.
Mike: Really? (hits bed) Excuse me!
Sully: I just want to get my stuff
Mike: Would you just ..let me get my stuff!
BOTH:  Waaaa – ohhhhh! (fall out door)



3. A Bug’s Life
Flea: We’re losing the audience, you clowns gotta get out there NOW!
Heimlich: I hate performing on an empty stomach!
Stick: Tra-la-la-la-la, spring is in the air, and I’m a flower with nothing interesting to say. Ah! A bee!
Heimlich: I am a cute little bumblebee!! Here I come! Slow down you flowers! Oh! Candy corn! Here! Let me help you to finish it!





4. The Incredibles
Edna: (talking about new costume) It will be bold! Dramatic!
Mr: Yeah!
Edna: Heroic!
Mr: Yeah, something classic, like, uh, Dyna Guy! Oh, he had a great look! The cape and the boots!
Edna: No cape!
Mr: Isn’t that my decision?
Edna: Do you remember Thunder Head? Strong, storm powers, nice man, good with kids.
Mr: Listen …
Edna: November 15th of ‘58, all was well, another day saved, when he cape snagged on a missile.
Mr: Thunder Head was not the brightest …
Edna: Strato-Girl, April 23rd , ‘57… cape caught in a jet turbine
Mr: You can’t generalize about …
Edna: Melto-Man, express elevator … Dyna-Guy, cape snagged on take-off … Splash Down, sucked into a vortex …NO CAPES!



5. Despicable Me
Gru: As you can see, I have provided everything a child might need. (puts stuff down) Alright, clearly we need to set some rules. Rule #1, you will not touch anything.
Girl: Uhhh, what about the floor?
Gru: Yes, you may touch the floor.
Girl: What about the air?
Gru: Yes, you may touch the air.
Little girl: What about this?
Gru: Ahh! Where did you get that?
Little girl: I found it.
Gru: Okay, rule #2, you will not bother me while I’m working. Rule #3, you will not cry or whine or laugh or giggle or sneeze or burp or fart. So no, no, no annoying sounds. Alright?
Little girl: Does this count as annoying? (hits chubby cheeks)



6. Toy Story – Woody and Buzz argue
Woody: What? What are you talking about?
Buzz:     Right now, poised at the edge of the galaxy, Emperor Zurg has been secretly
              Building a weapon, with the destructive capacity to annihilate an entire planet! I
              alone have information that reveals this weapon’s only weakness.
              And you, my friend, are responsible for delaying my
              rendezvous with Star Command!
Woody: You are a toy! You aren’t  the real Buzz Lightyear, you’re an
              action figure. You are a child’s plaything!
Buzz:    You are a sad, strange little man, and you have my pity. Farewell!




7. Toy Story – Woody and Buzz fight scene
Woody: Buzz! Buzz! Ha! You’re alive! This is great!
 Oh! I’m saved! I’m saved!
 Andy will find you here, he’ll take us back to the room and
 then you can tell everyone that this was all just a big mistake.
 Huh? Right? Buddy?
Buzz:   I just want you to know that even though you tried to terminate me, revenge is not  an
            idea we promote  on my planet.
Woody: Oh. Well, that’s good.
Buzz:    But we’re not on my planet, are we?
Woody: No.
Buzz:    Hya!
Woody: Ahhhhh… Ok, come on, you want a piece of me?


8. Shrek Forever – Onions Analogy
Shrek: For your information there’s a lot more to ogres than people think.
Donkey: Example?
Shrek:  Example? Ok, um… Ogres are like onions.
Donkey: (sniff) They stink?
Shrek: Yes!…. No!
Donkey: Oh, they make you cry.
Shrek: No!
Donkey: Oh, you leave them out in the sun and they get all brown,
   and start sproutin’ those little white hairs.
Shrek: No! Layers! Onions have layers!
Ogres have layers, onions have layers.
You get it! We both have layers! Ahhh…
Donkey: Oh, you both have laaayeeers…oh… (sniff, sniff).
   You know, not everybody likes onions.




S1 Script Reading/Dramatic Interpretation                                                                       Criteria/Grading Rubric

STUDENT
Name & Number
Script Name/Title
Volume
3- Very good
2 - Inconsistent
1 – Too low
0 - Inaudible
Intonation
3-Appropriate
2-Good try
1-Needs work
0-Monotone
Body Language

2-Very Good
1-A little
0-None
Memorized/
Smooth Read
2-Very Good
1-Checks
0-Reading Only
TOTAL SCORE (10)