Regional Identity is what you know about a region from different aspects of the scene.
Initial thoughts:
I am aware that the advert is on yogurt due to the explanation at the end.I understood
the link between the advert and the product, the cow is the way they make the yogurt and the boy is trying to get his mum to make him the yogurt by making it seem that the cow has run away and he saves it. I thought it was quite a clever way to present an advert and I thought it was interesting to watch.
Camera shots:
The first shot used is a medium close up shot of the young boy and I believe this is done to establish who is the main character of this advert and he is who we need to take notice of most. This is almost a recognition of his importance and is an establishment of who he is. This also adds to the regional identity as in this shot we see that the boy is olive skin colored and therefore stereo typically not from England.
The second shot used is a close up shot of the cow which highlights the fact that this is an odd thing to see and we can quickly assume that the region in which this takes place is not England, or anywhere near a city because you do not get wild animals wandering around the streets, for starters a cow is typically a farm animal associated with the country. We can assume that even though this is set in another country this is most likely also set in the countryside making it more rural. Within just a few seconds we already have some idea about the regional identity.
There is then a close up shot of the boys face which shows his reaction to the cow, and we can assume that the cow is almost like a friend to the boy as it is almost as if the cow had replied and the boys answer is being filmed, we can guess that the cow is most likely pet, which again adds to the regional identity of us knowing this is not set in England as the typical pet in England is a dog or cat, definitely not a cow. This also adds to the regional identity as now we think of the cow as a friend we can assume that this area is quite deserted with not a lot to do, if the boy has to make friends with a cow it must be lacking technology and other children his age.
An establishing shot is then used which sets the scene more profoundly for us because within the establishing shot we can see the sort of place the boy is living in, the area is deserted and the area is surrounded by foliage (in relation to mise en scene), this establishment also lets us get to know the character better because we now know that he is not from the region of England as it seems he is from a laid back area as he is permitted to walk around, alone, carelessly.
Seconds after another establishing shot is used when the boy is running back to what we can presume is his home, this gives us a wider view of the setting and we are reassured once again that the region is clearly abroad due to how rural the area looks, we also are lead to think that this is set back a good few years ago because of the way it looks so olden, we are only reassured it is our time period towards the end of the advert when the phone rings. This shot is used to just show more of the area in which the advert takes place.
An over the shoulder shot is then used when the boy is addressing someone, due to the fact that the person is positioned higher than the boy we can assume it is someone older than him and more respected within society, it is most likely a parent as he has ran to see them in urgency. The shot is a clear indication of a conversation which is starting, we can assume also that the boy is going to inform the person we suspect to be his mother about the cow he has let loose, or possibly he is going to lie about it as he is a child and doesn't want to get in trouble.
A master shot is used when we see the boy, the butcher and the cow. This is used to fit everybody in the shot and to show that this is where the action is going to happen, however this is contradicted when the butcher just lets the boy take the cow back, this emphasizes how laid back the area is. By also showing the butcher we can tell again that the region is old fashioned as the butches is going to slaughter a live cow rather than use machinery like more developed countries would.
Lastly, and extreme close up shot is used when the yogurt is shown which highlights the product of sale and the actual point of the advert overall. This is to make it very obvious for the audience, all adverts do this.
Sound Types:
One sound type is the use of non diegetic music played throughout, this music helps set the scene even more as we are now led to believe that the advert is set in Greece because of the use of typical Grecian music, we are also backed up on this suspicion because the yogurt is Greek and it makes sense to have the advert set in Greece. Which is the regional identity made clear to us, we are now aware of where this advert is set.
The dialogue used could be seen as diegetic and synchronous as it is naturally used in the scene and we also see it happen. The dialogue is also helpful in the way it sets the scene and contributes to regional identity because the dialogue used is foreign speech and as English viewers we obviously don't understand, which reassures us it is not set in England and in fact, Greece.
The phone ringing at the is synchronous as the woman (who we now know is a mother) picks it up and we see her, the phone is vital to this scene because it tells us that it is set in today's time, which contradicts what we are led to believe, but this is the advertisers way of saying times have changed but the simple things are the same, which warms an audience. This is the correct way to make an advert as it makes the audience have a certain emotion.
Mise-en-scene
The people within the clip have olive skin which suggests again that they are not from England, and in fact are Mediterranean. The characters are also wearing simple working clothes, there is a lack of business wear or designer clothes which tells us as viewers that the region in which they live are not materialistic, it emphasizes how simplistic their life is. This is a very big difference from England because in England it is obvious that we are always in a rush and are always living life in a fast and busy pace. Also, looking at the clothes you can tell that the region is hot because there is a lack of major clothing and this advert is showing a typical day in what we can guess is Greece, if they were to be showing a typical day in England it is more likely they would show rain as it is stereotypical English weather and it is almost always represented as that.
We can also guess that the region is quite old fashioned due to their way of life. Firstly the mother is shown inside at the window and we assume she is alone as her husband has gone off to work, we also see later that she brings her son food. This is a mother taking on the expressive leader role and working as a homemaker, which is considered to be an old fashioned way of life now due to women being in the working world just like men in today's world. We are also reassured that the region is old fashioned because there is a washing line hanging from one house to another casually and an old woman is seen beating her washing, this is old fashioned because in today's world we would just use a tumble dryer as we believe it is quicker, this also links back to the fact that the region lives a laid back and simple life. Lastly we see the butcher sharpening knives, rather than being in England where we would use machinery.
We know again that the region is laid back when the boy retrieves his cow from the butcher, the butcher just lets the boy take him where as if you were in a place like England the butcher would have claimed his possession and not have cared for the boy at all. A man is seen travelling through the street on a donkey, very slowly and the rest of the street is deserted, this adds to the point of how laid back the region is, no one is ever in a rush. Lastly, throughout the majority of the clip the boy is seen wandering on his own, evidently in England it would be absurd to let a child walk around on their own, therefore we know in this region that there is no need to have a care in the world and that everyone is very laid back and unworried.
Conclusion
Overall, the clip represents throughout the clip that the region in which the advert is set in is clearly Greece due to the help of camera shots, sound types and mise-en-scene.
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