The headphone brand I will be using is called WESC, it is a very youthful and overall stylish company. The NYC public service campaign, basically talks hearing loss and how it affects a lot more of us than most people would think. Especially the younger generation who seem to think their ears “invincible” and just blast away their music, permanently damaging their ear drums. My target audience for the headphone ad will be teens and adults that are into fashion and style.  While my target for hearing loss will be for adults, who understand the dangers of constantly blasting music. One of my images i hope to convey that the headphones are stylish and fashionable, while my other image I hope to show the seriousness of hearing loss. In terms of lighting I want the headphones ad to be well lit, to convey a sense of vibrancy and energy, while the hearing loss image I want some nice shadows to illustrate the seriousness of the matter.

1. Brand Identity :
Our group is using a pair of Turtle Beach headphones as the brand for our photos. Turtle Beach is a headphones brand that caters to mainly gaming and also music as well. It’s one of the fan favorite gaming headset brands for game console like the Xbox One and PS4. Turtle Beach headsets are the popular to use for video game tournaments and online gaming. While also using them, their more advanced headphones give the feature of “superhuman hearing”, enhancing your hearing of the game while playing it.

The hearing loss campaign in New York City helps provides the ads like “Hear Today. Gone Tomorrow”, as well as cater the campaign to the ages of 18 to 44 demographic that mainly uses headphones for music. They also give the message of knowing the signs of hearing loss, being careful with the volume on your device, take breaks, turn down the volume when needed and if anything asking your doctors about hearing loss and how to prevent it.

2. Communication Problems :
For this brand, there isn’t really no main campaigns for this brand of headphones at all. I feel like their should be a easygoing and glowing campaign for headphones of this style, especially if it caters to gamers and mainly the younger demographic of gamers (ages 13-25)(Ad 1, Ad 2). For both the headphone ad and hearing loss campaign, It should communicate a bright and solid lighting and modeling to bring to life the message.

3. Image Ideas:

As an idea, the headphone ad should show the headphones as a big stage in headphone technology. for the hearing loss campaign, we can pitch the idea of taking pics to give the campaign a message to keep your ears healthy to turn down the volume on your headphones to benefit your hearing.

1. The headphones I will be using are JVC gummy headphones. JVC offers professional electronics products.  JVC is a leading developer of sophisticated audio and video products. JVC uses superior technologies to deliver high quality sound and images. For this project my target audience will be young adults. The public service campaign for hearing loss, “Hear Today, Gone Tomorrow. Turn down your music before you can’t hear it anymore,” is trying to aware people of the use of headphones and loud sounds. It is trying to tell you to reduce the volume of your headphones and never listen to the maximum volume, this is what a lot of young adults do. Young adults try to drown out external noise by using music and headphones not really considering the outcome later on in life. This campaign is just trying to spread awareness on it.
2.  Headphone ad: Try to be in a good/happy mood. Zoned out by the music, “in the zone.” for Hearing Loss ad: In a much more serious mood, with no smile.
3. Headphone ad: Lighting will be bright and clear, happy expression, casual wardrobe (listening to music on the train.) Hearing Loss ad: black and white or dark photo (use of shadows). depressing, straight face.

Results Headphone JVS: I feel like this image was successful. It showed a sense of unity and happiness which was what i was aiming for originally.

Results Hearing Loss: I also think the image was successful for this one. I feel like the sense of motion worked well with this ad. It was dark and unhappy which was what I wanted for this shoot.

Description of the brand:  Bose is a one of the biggest companies specializing in audio equipment. The company was established in 1964 and it is well know for its speakers, home audio systems, noise cancelling and wireless headphones, professional audio systems and car sound systems. The target audience: everyone who can afford it. Regular headphones price is around 150$, audio systems price can get to 5000$ and up. For this project I am going to advertise wireless headphones and include the tagline “Wireless music deserves Bose”.

PSC Hearing Loss:  “Hear Today, Gone Tomorrow. Turn down your music before you can’t hear it anymore.” According to WebMD hearing loss is the third most common health problem in the U.S. Now this is problem not only senior people but young as well. Age range of people struggling  with hearing problem is from 18 to 45 years. Listening loud music constantly can bring the hearing loss.

Intention: Bose. Show the wireless feature, clean and minimalist design of headphones. PSC. Show the consequences from listening loud music, hearing loss.

Image ideas: For Bose using a lot of lights, positive images. Wireless = comfort = happiness. For PSC using less lights, using shadows and darkness for negative expressions. Headphones or a wire like a symbol and cause of the problem

Result: In spit of the technical challenges with the camera I am pretty satisfied with the result. It took some time to find right settings for the camera and to set up the light. For first part of the project I used positive attitude and I think the dancing pose complements my concept. I decided to use Bose logo in unusual place  and I think it caches the attention well. Also, the Bose ad looks clean and it fits the general style for all company’s campaigns. For the second part of the project we set up dramatic light and I really like how  headphones were used in negative way. The loop from the wire on the ear was an allegory for possible bad outcome of overusing headphones. For the body copy I used transparency tool which made it blend with the background. With the low contrast between body copy and background the image speaks first.

Brand Summary: I’ve chosen to use Skullcandy headphones for this particular project. Since the beginning of Skullcandy, they’ve always marketed their colorful, street-art inspired headphones to people who are physically active. This includes skateboarders, snowboarders, skaters, etc. With every product release, they release a plethora of colors which appeal to their demographic. Skullcandy makes both over-ear headphones and inner-ear headphones. Lastly, I’ve chosen their brand because I’ve been a Skullcandy user for nearly a decade now.

PSA Summary: Essentially, young adults are listening to music using headphones three times as much as older individuals. Also, young adults who report heavy headphone use also report more hearing problems.

Image Ideas: To promote Skullcandy, my idea is to have a partner posing with the headphones and enjoying them. The subject must be “in the zone” and visibly smiling. Skullcandy’s ads are always vibrant and energetic, so my photography must reflect that.

Result: The lighting setup was tricky to perfect. My group had to use a large black board to block the light seeping from the ceiling lights above the computers. In addition, the camera settings were also a challenge to get right. I don’t have much experience using the light meter but I’m learning more and more about it with every class.

In terms of shooting the photography, I loved that we had the option to shoot in either a white or black background. I decided to use the black background for my hearing lose ad and the white background for the Skullcandy ad. This is simply because the different backgrounds convey different moods, tones, and attitudes.

Brand Summary: Skullcandy is a brand that has a distinctive name that stands out on its own, but that’s not all it has going for it. Being specialized for Bluetooth, Skullcandy headphones allow one to  listen to music while having full functionality of their smartphone, all in one convenient unit. The audio quality is also a “treat” for the ears, hence the name of the company.

PSA Summary: People who use headphones regularly are experiencing hearing loss due to excessive volume, aging as young as 18 to 44, and the article urges regulation of use to preserve one’s hearing.

Intention: Provide emphasis on Skullcandy’s compact design and convenient features, in addition to its quality of sound. For the PSA, stress the importance of moderation in use so as to not cause irreparable damage to one’s hearing.

Image Ideas: For Skullcandy, photographs of my subject multitasking while “listening” to their music come to mind. For the PSA, images of the headphones half-on a person still struggling to hear a conversation manifest.

Results: Despite some troublesome technical difficulties, I think the shoot went well. The exercise in lighting ratios was juxtaposed very well with a practice in mood lighting. 1:1 ratio lighting was very flattering for an ad, and it would have complimented many products, not just headphones. The moodiness that more uneven ratios created, in addition to a dark background, definitely works well with a foreboding and cautioning PSA.