ARTS STUDENTS MAKE COMMERCIAL

Grabbing the attention of 17 and 18 year olds with many choices and decisions in front of them can be a difficult task. The College of Fine Arts (COFA) at the University of New South Wales has taken a unique approach to reaching prospective students - it has used its wealth of student talent to produce a cinema commercial to promote the College and its courses to secondary school leavers.

COFA Marketing Manager Jo Bosben said that the College had decided to take a different approach to its previous cinema advertising. "We needed to give more consideration to how we might better reach our target audience of prospective students in the 16 to 18 years age group," she said.

"We conducted a broad survey of first-year COFA students to find out what sort of cinema commercial appeals to them. Catchy music, the use of colour and an element of surprise or shock were considered the most important elements in making a commercial memorable to 17 and 18 year olds," Ms Bosben said.

The survey also helped to determine when and where to screen the commercial. "Our budget was quite small. We allocated $5,000 to make it, which did not include things like kine transfer, print and screening costs," she said.

"An important part of the decision to make a new commercial was the great learning opportunity it offered the students. The practical experience they gain appeals to industry groups when they're looking to hire new recruits," Ms Bosben said.

Ms Bosben gave the brief to make the 30-second commercial to the commercial design unit at COFA, The Fridge, which, with special assistance from Scott Anderson from SBS Television, managed the overall production of the commercial. However, it was student expertise and enthusiasm that gave the commercial life.

The commercial took 20 COFA students, working in several teams, around six weeks to produce. They determined the content the ad would need to best meet its goal of appealing to prospective students.

The students created the story line of the commercial; directed and controlled the filmmaking; and composed the music. Plus, student actors were used in every commercial segment.

Alison Quodling, a design student at COFA, worked in front of and behind the camera. "I helped source props and locations and student works for the showreel section of the commercial, assisted in securing consent from students whose work was represented, touched up some of the images in Photoshop, and filmed an exhibition opening on mini dv," she explained.

"On the 12-hour-plus day when we shot the studio segments I spent most of the time logging what was being recorded. And, I featured in the commercial as 'talent'. I was cast as the art history/ theory student."

The first screening of the commercial was held at COFA and the audience's response was very positive, Ms Bosben said. "Because of the skill level and dedication of our students we were able to produce, on a very small budget, a commercial of the same high standard as a professional company."

The commercial will be screened from October until January in the Village George Street in Sydney and the Village Parramatta.

CONTACT DETAILS: Jo Bosben, UNSW College of Fine Arts, tel. (02) 9385 0744; Amanda Hainsworth, UNSW Public Affairs, tel. (02) 9385 2873.

Date issued: 27 September 2001