Radio Advertisement Research

Radio Advertisement Research

A radio advertisement is a short auditory clip that is usually broadcasted on various radio stations depending on the subject of the trailer/advertisement. They're very similar to Television Adverts however without picture and more detail is included on the sound.  All Advertisements are played through a particular radio station due to their demographic (assuming the majority). Conventions of a Radio Advertisement Include:

• Voice Over, including sounds and speech in the film.
• Information at the end of the trailer, of viewing and certificate. 
• The Slogan to the film.
• Music in the background, which suits the genre of the film.
• Sound Effects when appropriate.
• The overall purpose of a Radio Trailer is to persuade various audiences to watch the programme/film. 

Music

In a Radio Trailer, the music sets the scene for it, often representing the film with it's tone, lyrics, familiarity and how appropritate it is. For example an action film would typically include Rock Genre music, and Romantic films would typically include slow and romantic songs. In many cases the music is the soundtrack to the film. 

Voice Over  

The Voice over is typically the narrator of the trailer and explains key parts of the film such as a brief storyline, reviews, nominations for awards and the release date, which is usually towards the end of the advertisement. The voice over has to be memorable but also needs to be able to relate to the audience, for example for a Horror / Action film a deep masculine voice would be suited however a romance / comedy would have a person with a softer voice, the majority of the time it is a male. 

Layout of Radio Trailer

Radio Trailers all have a similar layout in the way they are set out and what is included them. The voice over usually begins by setting the scene and sometimes 
including a review about the film. It would then usually include scenes from the actual film between the voice over's commentsl, during the voice over there would be sound effects included and music in background, the majority of the time the voice over would include the release date at the end of the Advert to make sure this is the last thing the audience hears, making it have an effect on them and persuade them to see the film.

Examples of Radio Advertisements: 

The following clip includes three radio advertisements which include Gravity, Pacific Rim, The Conjuring and The Great Gatsby. These films are of different genres, which makes it the perfect to conduct research on. The Radio Advertisements were all found on the website Vimeo, which was very convenient and easy to find.

Film Radio Spots 2013 - Gravity, Pacific Rim, The Conjuring & The Great Gatsby from Angell Sound Studios on Vimeo.

Gravity

The Radio Advertisement for the film Gravity begins with the Narrator reading reviews, which appeals to the audience, while in the background is music from the film and sound effects and scenes from the actual film. The Ad includes sound effects that you would typically hear in space, (the technical sounds of equipment however a silent background) this is to make the audience feel almost as if they are a part of the film itself. The Narrator takes it in turn with the films sound effects to include something the audience would pay attention to, for example "Film of the Year", then action from the film will be included to catch the audiences attention. Towards the end of the Trailer the Narrator includes the main characters film, this is a technique of celebrity endorcement, which attracts the fan base of the celebrity and uses the celebrity's fame to promote the film itself. Throughout the Radio Ad it includes many different types of sound effects and is rather busy with sounds, however towards the end of the Radio Advertisement it thins out to only the Narrator's voice, focusing all the audiences attention on him/her, in order to make sure they're aware of the date of release of the film. The different tones and pitches of music and sound effects in the Advertisement would have attracted people of different audiences. 

Pacific Rim

The Radio Advertisement for the film Pacific Rim is rather similar to the one for Gravity, for example it begins with short clips from the film intertwinding with the Narrator. The clips from the film include quotes such as 'To fight monsters, we had created monsters of our own.' from this quote itself you can gather that the film is of the thriller genre, possibly with horror / action aspects. The clips grab the audiences attention as it makes them want to see the whole film by including short bits of it in the Advertisement. The music behind the Narrators voice is very dramatic and leads up to the film's name, creating tension as it gets louder. The Narrator includes the Conglomerate 'Warner Brothers Pictures' in the Ad, this would grab the attention of particularly adults as they may be more aware of how popular the conglomerate's distributions are, this is also a selling technique as some people may be more eager to see a Warner Bro's film. Like many Radio Advertisements the sound effects and clips stop to reveal the title, and the date it will be released in cinemas. The Ad then includes a separate media marketing technique called Synergy. For example this particular Advertisement uses the Social Media Website Facebook, to advertise the film and persuading listeners to watch the film and participate in the activity mentioned over the radio. After the marketing technique the Narrator repeats the name of the film and the date of the release of the film specifically to remind the audience in hope they will remember and be persuaded to watch the film, as repetition persuades. However before the marketing technique is used another clip from the film is used, which appears to be one of the 'monsters' screaming, this could possibly create fear in the audience and persuade viewers that are favourable of scary movies. 

The Conjuring

The Conjuring has a slightly different Radio Advertisement, it begins by mentioning that it by the director that created 'Saw' and 'Insidious', this attracts the attention of the fan bases of those two films previously released, meaning that the fan bases of those films will want to watch the film in the Radio Advertisement as it was directed by the same person, suggesting it will be equally as good or possibly better. After the narrator first speaks, there is a woman which uses third person language, making the audience feel as if they are included. The Narrator includes reviews from critics and says 'Absolute terror', this insinuates that the film advertised is a horror film, and the review from the critics will catch the attention of people that like horror/scary films. Due to the genre, the Radio Advertisement doesn't include any particular music, however does include constant spooky music in the background designed to create tension and make the audience curious as to what the film is about, as it gets louder every time the Narrator speaks. While there is no music or sound effects the Narrator Says 'Stomach knottingly tense', focusing all the attention on the Narrators voice which is designed to create tension and persuade the audience to watch the film. The Radio Advertisement also includes a clip of the film towards the end, including a girls voice whispering 'Look what she made me do'. This makes the audience ask themselves the following questions: Who is 'she'? and 'What did she do?'. This technique will most likely persuade the audience to see the film. In addition the Narrator says 'Rated 15' at the very end of the Advertisement, this is to warn the audience that children under the age of 15 should not watch the film, this would make people over the age of 15 eager to watch it, as they would also ask themselves why it is rated such an age. The layout of the Radio Ad is very similar to the other Advertisements, however slightly different due to the Genre. 

The Great Gatsby

The Radio Advertisement for The Great Gatsby differs significantly from the other Radio Ad's featured in this research, mainly due to the Genre of the film. The layout is also slightly different. The Ad begins with a clip from the film, mentioning a question for the main character, Mr.Gatsby, this will make the audience feel as if they are him and possibly make them ask themselves questions being curious as to 'Who is Mr.Gatsby?'. The Narrator has a higher toned voice than the other films, suggesting that it has a happier story line than the other films do. The Narrator says the name of the film, then 'Featuring music from Jay Z, Beyonce, Lana Del Ray and Florence & the Machine'. This is featuring celebrity endorsement, using the celebrity's fame to advertise the film. This statement will also attract the fan bases from those particular celebrities, making them want to see the film, creating a bigger audience. After mentioning those celebrities names, in the background of the Narrator talking and the clips of the films, it features music of those celebrities, this could possibly encourage the audience even more, this was also the reason for adding the main character Leonardo DiCaprio into the Radio Advertisement, to gain a bigger demographic. The music included in the background is of a dramatic type, insinuating the film is a drama, possibly with other sub-genres. Shortly after there is another clip from the film, including a quote from 'Mr.Gatsby', this will make the audience want to see the film as they've gotten a taste of a scene that may interest them. The main Technique in this Radio Advertisement is the celebrity inclusion and the music of the artists, possibly meaning that the film is very celebrity-orientated, or suggesting that the characters are famous/rich and live the lifestyles that the celebrities mentioned do.

Comparison

The Radio Advertisement's mentioned are all different in various ways. For example simple things such has having different genres, e.g. The Conjuring is a horror/thriller, and The Great Gatsby is a Drama. This meant that they both had a different style of music in the background, for example The Great Gatsby radio ad included happier music written by famous celebrities, whereas the radio ad for Gravity didn't include music to give the audience the feel that they were in space with the characters. In addition, the Narrators are rather different in terms of the pitch of their voice, for example the Narrator in the radio ad for Pacific Rim has a deeper voice, which creates tension, however in The Great Gatsby the Narrator has a slightly Higher pitched voice, connoting a less serious Advertisement. However, there are some similarities. For example, all the films have a very similar Layout, they all begin with Mixed clips from the film including the Narrator talking and taking turns with the clip for the audience to pay attention to. Also, the Radio Advertisements all finished similarly, either finishing with the title of the film or the release date, which is the last thing that the audience will remember, (marketing technique).