Susan Gottlieb – CI5472

MODULE 3 FINAL TASK – Storyboard of AppleMusic.com commercial

9/15/03

 

Storyboard of AppleMusic.com online 30-second commercial

Design	Content of shot
☻	Medium one shot of African American teen girl wearing headphones connected to an MP3 player, listening to, singing along and dancing with “Get the Party Started” by Pink
“Everyone Has a Favorite Song”	Cut to words on screen, black on white with music and singing in background.
☻	Close up one shot of teen (still wearing headphones, dancing, and holding MP3 player): 1) off-center on face, 2) cut to off-center on MP3 player, 3) cut back to off-center on face
“Download yours for just 99¢”	Cut to words on screen, black on white with music and singing in background.
☻	Cut to medium one shot of teen continuing song; she messes up words and begins to laugh
“A whole new way to buy music.”	Cut to words on screen, black on white with music and singing in background
“AppleMusic.com”	Cut to words on screen, black on white with talkover by teen – “Why do I always forget the words?” and giggling
☻	Cut to medium one shot of teen, self-conscious and still giggling

 

Film and Editing Techniques Used in AppleMusic.com commercial

 

This simple, yet effective commercial consists of  a back-and-forth edit between an African American teen woman (“Tyra”) singing along and dancing with her MP3 player to Pink’s “Get This Party Started” and messages by AppleMusic.com. This is one in a series of AppleMusic commercials, all of which feature a teenager or person singing along while listening to their favorite song they’ve just downloaded from AppleMusic.com site for 99¢. In 30 seconds, the camera cuts between the subject in full (medium one shot) with plain background and AppleMusic messages – “Everyone has a favorite song,” “Download yours for just 99¢,” “A whole new way to buy music,” and “AppleMusic.com.” Interspersed, the camera zooms in for a closeup of the teen’s face (listening to headphones), then her left hip and hand holding the MP3 player, and back to her face, all while she continues to sing. During the message shots, there is silence. Soon, she stumbles on the words, giggles and says, “Why do I always forget the words?” over a shot of AppleMusic.com.

 

The effect of this commercial is to remind the viewer that downloading music from this site is cheap, fun, and easy. You, too, can have music right at your fingertips, ready to listen and sing along to in the privacy of your bedroom or home. The simple and silent messages interspersed between shots of the subject and music enhance the simplicity of the objective of the commercial – to get viewers to download music from their site. It’s similar to the Volkswagen commercials in its humor and simplicity of message, and may appeal to similar audiences. The silence during the messages serves to enhance the viewers’ attention to the message itself without distraction of the singing teen, while the teen having fun intermittently reminds the viewers that downloading music is highly enjoyable.