Visual Rewrite — Kevinbacon

0:00 – The ad starts out with a cartoon of a man wearing a hat driving a small train. This train looks to be carrying either gold or wood planks. The train is coming out of a tunnel and blowing smoke out as it moves across the TV screen. The cartoon looks very happy, bright, and childish. This cartoon is probably being watched by a child, this signifies who the ad will be emphasizing.

0:01 – Train continues to move across TV screen bouncing up and down. You can tell its on a TV screen because of the distinct lines and colors of the screen. The director most likely includes this cartoon to signify innocence and childhood through the beginning of the ad. The cartoon gives us a sense that there will be a kid in the ad, or at least someone of innocence.

0:02 – Camera zooms out to confirm the train is a cartoon on the TV. We can now see an entire living room which looks quite messy. There are toys on the table and scattered on the floor. There are pillows on the ground and the couch looks disturbed. All of these aspects give a homey type feeling, maybe a Monday morning  perhaps after the weekend. However, the mess in the house might indicate that the people living there are messy and disorganized. This mess may be present all the time, or possibly just for the day/weekend. Laying on the carpet in front of the TV is a little boy wearing pajamas. The boy is laying in an unnatural position almost as if he is shaped like a dead body outline at a crime scene. The director might have done this on purpose to foreshadow some type of danger. This motionless pose the boy holds almost conveys concern to the viewer. The child is so still that he might be dead. The director of the ad might want the audience to think the boy was dead, or injured not sleeping in the living room. Next, an adult man wearing a blue button down long-sleeve shirt, blue jeans, and work boots kneels down to get the boy’s attention. This is most likely his dad or older brother. The cartoon of the train is still displayed on the TV. In the background we can see some art in what looks to be a living/dining room. The director of the video displays the scene like this to show that they are situated in a home. Also they are most likely family. However, where is the mother? At this point we have only seen the boy and the man who could possibly be his father. Perhaps the parents are divorced and without the presence of mom, the house became very cluttered. This scene could be of the boy staying at his dad’s house for the duration of the weekend.

0:03 – The camera begins to zoom into the man kneeling down to the boy, and the man shakes the boy at his sides. He does this to wake him up most likely. At first it seems like the man is concerned about the boy because he is lying in such an awkward position. He kneels down rather quickly to move the boy. The man then begins to tickle the boy. This shows that they have some type of relationship, probably father and son. The boy’s father might want him to wake up for school or breakfast. This clip is interesting because of the initial awkward pose of the boy and how quickly the man kneels down to greet him. This made it seem as if the boy was in danger and the father went over to make sure he was alright. However, it quickly becomes evident that the father is just playing with his son, and this changes the mood from alarming to more safe and secure.

0:04 – The boy gets up after the man shakes him. The camera then shows a close up of the man’s face. He appears to be smiling and happy as he tickles the boy. This further strengthens the fact that this is the boy’s father or close family member. The boy and the man must have some type of bond. There was no concern on the mans face as he moves the boy, even though he kneeled down with concern.

0:07 – The man gets up after a few moments and walks away, as the camera pans down on the boy. The boy is laying on his back facing up looking at his dad as he walks away. The way the boy is looking almost signifies that he is thinking about something. Perhaps he has a question for his dad. This also signifies that the boy looks up to his dad.

0:11 – The camera angle changes to show the man walking into what looks like the kitchen. On the table there are cups and bowls stacked in one another, probably dirty. In the background of the kitchen you can see what look to be like a lot of dirty dishes. The man’s wallet and some silverware are on the table next to the cups and bowls. These dirty dishes are probably from Sunday/weekend dinner and now its the beginning of the week so they will be cleaned. These dishes show the transition from a relaxed weekend to the reality of the work week. This mess could also signify the amount of leniency the dad has towards the boy. Perhaps his dad is not strict and the boy can get away with leaving his toys and dishes out.

0:14 – The man continues to walk further into the kitchen. You can see he is wearing a dark blue grayish long sleeved collard shirt. As he gets further into the kitchen he begins to roll up his sleeves, perhaps to wash his hands. As he rolls up his sleeves the man looks over from the kitchen. He is looking back at the boy who is still in the room where we first saw him. The man looks over as if he is being called or being asked a question. At this point his son is probably asking him a question. His view diverts from the sink to looking in the other room. The man’s clothes indicate he either got back from work or is going to work. These clothes and the attention he gives his son show that he is a family oriented man.

0:15 – The camera angle changes once again to a close up of the boy, now standing up in the same room. The boy’s focus is an upward glance, most likely looking at his dad. The boy almost looks worried as if he is asking his dad a serious question. The look on the boy’s face shows fear and makes it look as if hes concerned with what his dad has to say. Having this sudden camera movement and angled at his face shows the serious inquiry the boy has. Standing up also shows he has a serious question for his dad.

0:16 – The boy mouths a sentence quite quickly and continues to look up at his dad. This reassures us that the question he asked was directed towards the dad. The entire time the boy is asking the question he looks nervous or worried. At the same time there is a sense of curiosity/unknowing coming from the boy. Possibly whatever the boy is asking is very serious. The question is directed at the dad from the boy, so he knows his father has the answer.

0:17 – The ad then transitions to a black screen with white writing. We now learn that the ad is about gun safety. The first message states that 8 kids a day are accidentally killed or injured by family fire. This statistic seems a exaggerated. I would not think 8 children are killed everyday by gun misuse.

0:22 – The next set of words says, Family Fire is a shooting involving an improperly stored gun. This gives us the definition of the ad.

0:30 – The ad ends here with the statement, make your home safer at endfamilyfire.org. The black background with the white writing makes the messages stand out visually. It makes them more bold and easier to read. However, without this writing at the end, the ad would fail to make its point.

The ad did not do a strong enough job conveying the overall message. Besides the written words appearing on the screen at the end, the only clues to what this ad could be about are when the boy is lying on the floor in the same shape as a dead body at a crime scene, and the fact that based on the father’s appearance and situation he might own a gun. The father seems to really care about his son and the ad shows no sign of a mother, so the dad might be very protective of his family. He most likely owns a gun for this protection.

The visuals confused me more than guided me to the message. Listening to the video without sound, makes the ad seem like it could be about anything. No guns or gun safety are shown throughout the ad. While listening to the video with audio it is a little more clear to decipher the message before the writing appears. This is because the kid asks his dad about guns.