0:00-0:03. Right off the bat we are greeted with a crowded bar, there are two men socializing, both with drinks in their hands. We can assume they are intoxicated, given the large smiles and the authors choice of setting. It seems like the main focus is the man at the bar, who looks like he is grabbing a drink. From the darker lighting we can also assume it is later at night. The man at the bar looks down at his new drink as if he is questioning his decision.
0:04-0:06. We see another scene, this one a crowded party during the day outside. There is a younger man having a conversation with a red solo cup in his hand. It is safe to assume there is alcohol in this cup. There are also many others around him with plenty of red solo cups having a good time socializing. The man looks down at his drink and hesitates, similar to what was done in the first scene mentioned above.
0:07- 0:08. A third scene. Yet another party, this one looks like a tailgate. There 5 people socializing, with once again solo cups. We can assume there is alcohol in them as well due to the bottles of wine and beer on the table. In this scene the main character that is being focused on does not look at their drink and hesitate.
0:09-0:11. Cuts back to the original scene. You can see the man reaching in to his pocket with a confused look on his face. I would assume he is looking for a phone, to either check the time or text a friend. I made this assumption because the bartender appears to be cleaning up in the background. This indicates that it is late and the bar is closing soon.
0:12-0:13. Cuts back to the second scene at the outdoor party/BBQ. Here we see a similar situation with the character looking in his pockets for an item. This contradicts my precious statement but this scene doesn’t necessarily give any hints towards the fact that he reaching for a phone. Because I know the title of the video, i have made a new assumption that both characters from this scene and the one before are reaching for their car keys.
0:14-0:15. Cuts to the third scene. The main focused character in this scene catches car keys that are thrown to him. This could be the authors way of saying this character i being pressured in to driving while intoxicated by someone else, because he is given his keys, instead of finding them himself in his own pockets. He looks at the keys in hesitation similar to how the first two looked at their drinks in hesitation.
0:16-0:18. Back to the first scene. The main focused character is now the only one on screen. He pulls keys out of his pocket. He looks at them in hesitation, then looks up towards the camera in confusion. This is the filmmakers way of showing the hesitation in the characters next decision.
0:18-0:19. Cuts back to the second scene. Now only the main character in focus. There are no keys shown, however the character seems to have a hesitant gaze, then smirks. This is could be the filmmakers way of indicating that they are making a rash decision.
0:20-0:22. Quick cuts from all three scene happen in these two seconds. From each scene you can see each character either place their key back in their pocket or, in the case of the third scene, toss his keys back to where they came from. This contradicts my previous claims that led me to believe that a poor decision may have been made to drive while intoxicated.
0:23-0:30. This is the last scene in the short film. We can see the character of the third scene entering the backseat a vehicle. They also buckle up to ensure yet another measure of safety. They smile as if they are happy with the good decision they made. A banner appear on the screen reading “Plan Ahead. Catch a Sober Ride”. This is part of the filmmakers message. After a second another banner appears. This one reads, “Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving”. This is the main claim the filmmaker is trying to get across.
I am willing to spend 30 minutes of revisions from your feedback.
The Gamer 2.0
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Counterintuitive Spring 2024 
Thank you for setting a time limit, ExcellentStudent. I will limit my own time to 30 minutes as well.
Speaking broadly first about your overall approach to the assignment, I credit you with trying to analyze the PURPOSE of the images you watched. You’ve spent very little time describing the details of the scenes you saw. I may return to that observation in a few minutes.
Before I forget, you mentioned that you knew the title of the piece and drew conclusions from knowing what the ad was “called,” which would be difficult to ignore but which makes your job harder, actually. The ads are not produced for YouTube; they appear on broadcast TV, without titles, so the Rhetoric deployed by the creators should not include the title. Knowing about cars and drivers in advance prejudices your first impressions.
I admire that you recorded those impressions in the order you watched and DIDN’T RETRACT THEM when it turned out they were incorrect. What I’d like to know about that experience is whether, after you saw the end of the spot, you felt you had been misled deliberately and for a good reason, or whether you concluded that the ad was not very effective in sending you a clear message.
I haven’t watched the video today, but I do remember it from last semester, when several students chose it for their subject matter. I remember clearly debating with myself and my students whether 30 seconds was enough time to tell three stories effectively, whether it seemed to be saying something ONLY to male drinkers, whether their situations were similar enough, or dissimilar enough, to make a broad point that would justify using three scenarios.
All of that could and should be part of your analysis of the effectiveness of the spot, plus anything I neglected to wonder but which made you question why you were being shown certain details.
Let’s examine closely your description of the first few seconds in the time I have left. I’ll watch just the beginning “with” you.
—Agreed. It’s a bar, and there are enough people in the frame to indicate it’s busy. What I see is a man’s back (in a plaid shirt). He’s bellied up to the bar directly in the center of the frame and completely surrounded by the bottles behind the bar. He’s in focus and brighter than the surroundings.
—Despite the presence of the men to the left and right who are in darkness and dressed in dark solid colors, the guy in the middle is clearly the focus of the filmmakers’ attention. “The star of the film,” you could say.
—I also notice, before the video starts moving, that I don’t see any women. Is that important, deliberate? Answer for the purposes of this assignment: EVERYTHING is deliberate. That could mean gay bar. Or it could mean sports bar. Or it could be a mistake you should note when you analyze whether you were well guided or led astray by what you were shown.
—Those other guys are drinking from beer glasses. We don’t know what our Star is doing.
Speaking of the setting, is this a hotel bar, a bar attached to a local restaurant, a bar at an airport, a neighborhood gathering spot. Are these guys just off work, or are they “breakfast drinking” after an all-night shift on a construction site? Just . . . first impressions. They will help us judge whatever is to come.
Agreed. You can tell he’s “grabbing a drink” because he’s not sitting on a stool? Or because he starts to turn toward the camera just as the video begins, or for some other reason? Remember, the reader sees nothing but what you tell her.
That’s reasonable. So, does that make it 1) more likely that this is a reasonable time and place to be drinking (and therefore not an ad about dangerous daytime solo abuse?), or 2) suggest that we might be seeing a wee-hours climax to a very long drinking session, or 3) something else, or 4) none of the above? First impressions. In a 30-second spot, those impressions matter.
—Couple things I can’t ignore and you can’t either, in fairness to the assignment. He’s black and the only clearly black person in the scene so far. The director auditioned perhaps several dozen actors for this part and chose this guy. Is it relevant? We won’t know for sure for awhile, but it registers with us, so it was part of the decision-making process for the creators.
—He’s not drinking from a beer glass. His is a dark mixed drink, of a healthy size, not a cola with ice, but a glass of booze with a little straw.
—When he turns to the other guys, they’re not paying attention to him. There’s at least an implication that he’s here alone. You don’t have to feel like a jerk who judges people at first glance. This is an artificial situation devised by film professionals to send you messages. What messages does this 3-second segment send?
Later, you can add to your analysis of the spot whether your impressions turn out to match what the authors apparently intended.
30 minutes.
I’ve dropped a provisional grade at Canvas. Regrades are always available and encouraged following significant improvements.
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