WHAT MAKES THE IT CROWD FUNNY

When I was watching 'The IT Crowd' (I watched the episode called 'FriendFace') I found several things that made the programme appealing. These included:

- the running joke of Moss and Roy being desperate for girlfriend (this is why they were so suddenly, comically eager to join FriendFace as there was a possibility of meeting women)
- the running joke of Jen wanting to get a boyfriend and prove she has done something with her life to other people like in this episode when she has to make up lies to feel worthy of her old friends from school creates ridiculous and comic situations such as the fake fight between Roy and Moss
- slapstick humour: characters making silly faces or noises
- Jen's complete incompetence in IT is comically ridiculous given her position as head of the department and also continues to create funny, silly situations such as her not being able to use the internet or the computer
- Ludicrous situations the characters get themselves into such as when they all end up talking to each other by computer in the same room
- Sarcasm and hypocritical lines by the characters like the 'less is more' line by Jen while she applies loads of lipstick also adds humour to the episode
- the stereotypical geekiness of Roy and Moss makes the show funny because of their ideas, the things they say and what they do, such as trying to become 'real men'
- Moss' awkward nature that leads him to say inappropriate things like telling people too much information about his and Jen's fictional relationship and making up the lie that Jen is dead. The awkward and embarrassing nature of these situations makes the programme funny
- Finally, the process of events, often including a lot of misunderstandings and ridiculous lies digs the characters deeper into their mess and often makes it even funnier as the situation gets worse

These are all the techniques I identified while watching 'The IT Crowd'
 

CHANNEL 4 RESEARCH

 

Channel 4’s guiding light is its remit, as laid out in legislation by Parliament. At its heart the remit requires us to be innovative, experimental, distinctive and diverse. It is multi-faceted, with different components, such as supporting and stimulating well-informed debate and inspiring people to make changes in their lives. The remit also suggests how we can deliver outcomes – for example by investing in high-quality media content and nurturing creative talent. It applies across the full spread of our genres – from comedy and film to news and education.

Audiences lie at the heart of everything we do at Channel 4. Our unique model means that we aim to have as wide an appeal as possible while also reaching out to specific demographics under-served by other broadcasters. We worked harder than ever in 2012 to engage with our viewers, harnessing new technologies to allow us to better understand their likes and dislikes and develop a more personal relationship with audiences that we expect to deepen further over time.

 

Channel 4 Comedy Programmes

-          2 Broke Girls

-          Man Down

-          8 out of 10 cats

-          How I Met Your Mother

-          Rules of Engagement

-          The Big Bang Theory

-          Father Ted

-          The Inbetweeners

-          Laughing at the…

-    Sean Lock: Lockipedia

-    Lee Mack Live

-    Black Books

-    Rude Tube

-    The Simpsons

-    Peter Kay - The Tour that Didn't Tour - Tour

-    Ugly Betty

-    Frasier

-    Fresh Meat

-    Desperate Housewives

-    Bill Bailey - Dandelion Mind

-    Whatever Happened to Harry Hill?

-    School of Comedy

-    8 out of 10 cats does Countdown

-   Charlie's Angels

-   Fresh Meat

-   Hit the Road Jack

-    Alan Carr: Tooth Fairy Live

-  Lee Evans: Roadrunner

-   Rhod Gilbert: The Cat that looked Like 

The comedy programmes seem to be mainly aimed at younger people - I think Channel 4 wants to appeal to a younger audience and does this by using slightly quirkier programmes you don't see on other channels

 

TEST SHOTS - BOLD AND OUTGOING THEME

I did some test shots for how I might want my perfume advert to look. I knew I wanted the model to be doing something active, not too posed, to fit the outgoing theme. It was raining and really windy on the day I took them, so I thought I'd take advantage of this and do some fun ones with an umbrella! I asked Eden (my model) to try and be spontaneous and do whatever she wanted. Here are the ones I liked the best:

 

PERFUME CAMPAIGN INITIAL IDEAS

The first thing I did when trying to work out how to start work on my perfume campaign was to create a brainstorm of ideas that I had, including themes, colours and bottle shape. I put in lots of very different themes to give myself a chance to compare and choose the one I liked the best. I knew already who I wanted my target market to be: teenage-young adult females. I chose this target market as I felt I could relate to them best.

My first brainstorm

 

While I was brainstorming, I came up with an idea I liked. This was the 'adventurous' theme you can see in the picture. I liked this idea as I felt it was different - not quite the like the other, more common ideas like 'girly and very feminine' or 'classy and sophisticated'. I also felt that the sophisticated, timeless theme fitted with an older target audience than the one I was aiming for.

I also thought I could have fun with the theme - there are lots of different ways it could be done for an advertisement - it is quite open and adaptable. The general idea behind the theme is that the perfume sells confidence - it inspires the wearer to be bold and outgoing, as well as suiting a person who already possess those qualities.

I decided to take this theme further and brainstorm more ideas as to how this would work. I looked at the themes of 'confidence' and 'adventurous spirit' in more detail here:

I decided to look at other perfumes similar to my idea, to see what other people had done and how well it had sold.

1.  

This is 'Boss Nuit pour femme' by Hugo Boss. It has a lot of the same qualities as my idea - it promotes confidence and a bold personality. The difference is the target market - this fragrance is certainly supposed to appeal to a more mature audience, and shows itself as a sophisticated, classic fragrance. The classical nature is reinforced by the fact that the model (Gwyneth Paltrow) is wearing a little black dress, a classic piece of dress that is considered timeless.The city in the background makes the ad more modern, with sky scrapers and modern constructions. I found a quote about the messages and values of the ad, saying: "To me, the Boss woman is driven, ambitious and goes after what she wants, but she balances being strong and very feminine at the same time"

I like these values and a lot of it fits with my own ideas and themes. Reviews described it as 'elegant' and 'fresh', although some people did not find it strong or unique enough, especially for a night fragrance. I would aim to make my perfume scent very distinctive and original, if I went with a theme like this


2.  
This is Adventurous by Estee Lauder. It is like my theme because it is specifically targeted at people seeking adventure - who are outgoing. In fact, it was sold as a 'travel exclusive' - you could only buy it at travel retailers, like when you're going on holiday at the airport. This limits the target audience and amont of people who can buy it to those going abroad or travelling somewhere, however it does give it a unique edge and certainly means that the perfume really does reach its intended demographic. I like the interesting, very different way of marketing this perfume and it could be something I'd consider to make my fragrance more original. 

Another thing I like about this perfume is that the target audience is similar to mine - it is for young women who are travelling, and therefore hopefully adventuruous and out going. The advert is also quite subtle - the only clue to the fact that it is for women who are travelling and going on an adventure as it were, is the tropical flower in her hair and her exotic gold hooped earrings and tanned olive skin. This clearly gets the messages and values of the product across but in a subtle way, which I like a lot, and would take into account when designing my own fragrance.

In conclusion, evaluating these two perfumes has given me a better idea of what other similar products are out there and shows me the positives and negaties of each, so I can learn from their mistakes and not make the same ones, but also I can use their good points as well.

PERFUME ADVERTS

These are the three perfume adverts I might like to analyse for own assignment, showing representation of women in perfume ads from across the ages:


Mavis 1915 ad

This advert sells glamour and wealth - the woman is sophisticated and aloof.

5 things I could say about this advert are:1. art nouveau 2. glamorous, sophisticated woman 3. woman's posture 4. perfume name font 5. perfume slogan - irresistible

1. Glamorous, sophisticated woman: The woman is dressed in lavish clothes in rich, dark, using a lot of material and therefore probably quite expensive; she embodies a woman of wealth and sophistication

2. Woman's posture: The woman has her head up and her eyes closed, making her look aloof; she is also leaning into a mirror, obsessed with herself and her appearance which makes her come across as confident to the point of arrogant (narcissistic). She is practically making love to herself in the mirror, and she is posed provocatively. It is quite an erotic advert.
3. Art nouveau: The advert is done in a typical style of the time, art nouveau, with rich colours (like black and red) and bold, organic style.

4. Perfume name font: The perfume name font  'Mavis', is I think, art nouveau - it is flowing and curvaceous - it is organic, which mirrors the elegance and extravagance of the woman

5. Perfume slogan: The perfume slogan is 'Irresistible', which shows the perfume makes you irresistible to everyone, even yourself, and that they/you become obsessed, as the woman is.

Imprevu by Coty

Imprevu uses the feminist ideas from the 1960s feminist movement that started in America about freedom and being independent, unlike my 1920s ad which focuses on glamour and sophistication...

5 points I could make about this perfume are: 1. feminism 2. strong, independent woman 3. appearance of model - no clothes, heavy eye makeup and short hair. New appearance - androgynous 4. fragrance name font - bold and big 5. fragrance slogan - feeling of freedom (NEW)

Feminism: see introductory sentence
Strong, independent woman: The woman looks empowered and free - she is standing alone and does not need anyone else to be happy. 
Appearance: The fact the woman is naked reinforces the sense of a strong woman - she does not care about not wearing any clothes or what people think of her because of it.
Fragrance name font: The font ties in with the messages and values of the product, so it too is big, bold, and stands out.
Fragrance slogan: The slogan talks about a new feeling, like a new feeling of confidence and women being able to get by on their own, and and also says a new perfume, so the perfume fits with a strong confident woman.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBc-TXS59sw < this is a link to the 'Valentina' advert from Valentino, produced in 2011

This advert is very different from my other two, and portrays women as mischievous, daring and bold - still confident but with a flirty, almost minx-ish edge.

  

5 things I could say about this advert are: 1. modern 2. method/style 3. young, mischievous woman 4. woman's clothes 5. name of fragrance 

 1. Modern: The advert is a lot more modern than my other two, as although it features an old-style dance it also features a lot of more modern clothes and fashion as well as a night club style party

2. Method/style: This ad represents a woman's need to be free - to be able to do what she wants and go where she pleases and not be confined.
3. Mischievous young woman: The target market is young women who are confident and flirtatious, like Valentina in the advert

4. Clothes: Valentina's clothes are modern and elegant, with a shorter style of dress different to those around her - she stands out as modern yet sophisticated

5. Fragrance name: the name of the fragrance 'Valentina', means 'brave' and this mirrors the messages and values of the fragrance - Valentina is brave and bold, and escapes from the dance to do what she wants, to make new friends and socialise.

POSSIBLE FIRST FEW WORDS

This advert is by Mavis, and was published in the 1920s. It shows a glamorous, sophisticated woman. She has her hair up, make up on, and is wearing lavish clothes. She looks wealthy because she can afford huge, incredible gowns that would have cost a lot of money because of all the material they use. She is also wearing and surrounded by rich, dark colours like deep red and black, which were very stylish at the time. She has short, dark hair, a pale face and pronounced red lips, which again was very fashionable in the 1920s, and was a look many women were striving for. The woman in the advert represents the aspirations of women at the time: they wanted to be glamorous, wealthy and elegant, and this perfume is selling those qualities.

The woman’s posture is very noticeable too; she has her head up and her eyes closed, which makes her appear aloof and confident. She is also leaning into a mirror, obsessed with herself and how she looks, which makes her seem narcissistic and arrogant. She is almost making love to herself in the mirror, and she is posed provocatively, making it seem quite an erotic advert. It is veiled eroticism, masked by the glamour and sophistication you immediately see in the advert but when you look properly it is also quite clear how suggestive the advert is. It sells sexual fulfilment to a woman rather than a man, which was quite significant at the time, as women became the dominant consumers. However, the perfume is selling the fact that it makes you so desirable and incredible that you (and anyone else) cannot help but become infatuated with you. The advert taps into women’s insecurities – women generally want to look beautiful and be desirable to others. This perfume not only seems to make you good looking, but also so desirable that even you cannot resist gazing at yourself in the mirror. Women want to be the woman in the advert – rich, attractive, confident – and so it will make them want to buy the perfume.

The advert is done is art nouveau style, with deep colours and pretty, detailed images. It is bold and eye catching, which mirrors the advert’s messages and values. These are of being good-looking and confident. The detailed and appealing image of the woman shows the beauty side of the advert, while the bold, eye catching colours and pose of the woman show the self-assured, independent qualities the perfume is selling.

This leads into the perfume name font. It is rounded, smooth and organic – again in art nouveau style. It could be compared to the woman’s dress and pose – she is not standing straight and still, she is moving and even her dress seems to flow fluidly. It all ties in together to not only make the advert look more alive and appealing but also is a subtle continuation of the messages and values of the perfume – the boldness and the prettiness of the font reflects the style of the picture and the woman in it.

Finally, the perfume slogan, ‘Irresistible’ suggests that the perfume makes you so elegant, sophisticated and glamorous that you no one can resist you. The slogan identifies with a woman’s need to be loved and admired – it recognises it and promises instant transformation – just buy the perfume and you too will become stunning and classy and incredibly desirable to all. The slogan links with the woman’s posture and how she is completely infatuated with herself, showing how powerful the effects of the perfume are. The slogan also links with the insecurities of women involving looks and how attractive they are, which makes women want to buy the fragrance to solve their insecurities.

Overall, the perfume sells desirability, attractiveness, wealth, confidence and a generally glamorous lifestyle by tapping into women’s insecurities and their need to loved and admired.

Bibliography:

http://www.vam.ac.uk/page/a/art-nouveau/

http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/a/art-nouveau-and-the-erotic/
 

 

ACTION HEROES

This is Agent Jay from Men In Black. He is the chief because he is the main character and is quite strong and powerful

This is Gale from The Hunger Games. I think he is the best friend because he is a loyal best friend to Katniss

This is Paul from Chorus Line. He is the lost soul because he has no confidence and is quite uncertain about who he really is as a person

I chose James Bond as the charmer because he is often chatting up women and using pick up lines on them, and normally he succeeds. He is good at charming the girls.

For the professor I chose Prof. Sherman Klump from The Nutty Professor as he really is a professor as well as being smart and good at science

This is Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean. I chose him as the swashbuckler as he is a very stereotypical pirate i.e. is captain of a pirate ship goes on quests for gold, etc.

I chose Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games as the warrior as she is a very strong character who fights for her life and for her beliefs

For the bad boy I chose Ren from Footloose as he isn't afraid to go against the rules and try to 'shake things up a bit', even when it means going against old traditions and causing a lot of trouble

SCOOP IT FRAGRANCE ADVERTS LINK

Here is a link to my Scoop.it page on Fragrance ads from across the ages: http://www.scoop.it/t/fragrance-adverts

SKYFALL EXTRACT ANALYSIS

For my action and adventure extract I chose the 'Skyfall' train scene at the beginning of the film. It is a classic action and adventure film and I can tell because it contains lots of typical action and adventure features, such as speed, jeopardy, suspense and combat.

The events show many of these qualities, for example the fast movement of the train and car creates speed. The jeopardy comes from the fact that Bond and the villain are fighting on top of a moving train about to go over a very narrow bridge with a huge drop. They could fall off or plunge into the water or onto the train tracks, but you don't know, which creates suspense. Suspense also comes from when the girl is about to shoot. Will she shoot? Will she lose them? Who will she hit? The combat and conflict comes from the two men fighting on the train. This is the typical 'battle between good and evil' seen in many films of this genre.

The action that happens in the extract is typical adventure with high risk involved: two men fighting on top of a moving train, and a girl who has to try and shoot the bad guy without hitting Bond. She also follows the train on a road on a cliff with no barrier to the edge, which is another example of jeopardy but also shows risk and danger, as in most adventure films. The action is again typical of the genre: there is a lot of emphasis on physical feats, like the fight on the train, which takes a lot of skill and balance to stay on and keep fighting. The story is emphasised in a way too, as it is easy and simple to follow; not too many stories or too much dialogue at one time. In fact, there is very little dialogue, which is another common feature of AA films.

The action in the extract impacts the audience by making them anticipate the ending. It grips them and keeps them watching by introducing consistent jeopardy throughout the extract so people keep watching as they want to know how it ends They also start to empathise with the characters, because they seem real and the elements of danger seem real too. They are in such difficult positions that it makes you imagine how hard it be if it were you there instead, and through this the audience feels empathy with the characters and the events they are going through.

Another aspect that makes this a typical AA film is that there is a hero, in this case Bond. Bond is a hero many people know well, so is normally instantly recognisable as good. However, in this extract it would be quite hard to tell the good guy from the bad, although the villain's suit isn't as smart, and he is quite thickset and frowning a lot, so I think you would know this way.
Bond is not a typical hero. He is good, and you can tell because he's fighting evil, and I think for an AA film you would probably expect the hero to have to fight at least once purely because of the nature of the genre (combat, conflict are common) so in this way he is  typical hero. However I would place him more under the category of anti-villain, because of the way he's fighting back and clearly has the potential to be dangerous and violent. He doesn't come across as a typical caring and peaceful person many think of when they think of a hero.

Overall, the characters and events in this extract show many typical features of an action and adventure film.

'READING LYNX' MEDIA ANALYSIS LESSON

Today in class we looked at an article called 'Reading Lynx' in Media Magazine all about how to analyse adverts, and I learned a lot of new terms and words I hadn't heard before.

Firstly, I learnt about signs, relating to textual analysis. Signs tell you things about the place your in, a person, or in this case the advert. A choice has been made and this tells you something about the text. For example, you notice in the advert that the kitchen is not a modern one, but more 1950s retro with an old fashioned radio as opposed to an iPod. This instantly links you to a time when women were their husband's property and would do anything men wanted.

Next, we looked at substitution analysis. This is where you look at the signs around you and then replace them with other things, e.g. replacing hard, Formica classroom desks with carved mahogany wood. This latter example creates a luxurious feel, which the other reminds you of a school classroom. It is a good way to tell more about the place you are analysing.

We also talked about codes, two types of them. First, we looked at cultural codes. Codes are a way of communicating through adverts that rely on a certain knowledge or ideology, for instance this advert assumes the decoding will be doe by someone with a typically western ideology, who should find the advert sexy, glamorous and edgy. This is called the 'preferred decoding'. To any other group or culture this advert could appear as blasphemous, rude or inappropriate. This is known as the 'oppositional decoding'. The people creating the advert will have played on the preferred decoding to get their message across.

Technical codes were the next thing we learnt about. They include things such as lighting and camera angles, for example in a glamour shot like this back lighting is used to create a glowing effect on the skin and erase blemishes, so she looks flawless. Also a long or medium shot is used so that the whole body can be fitted into the shot.

I also learnt about Textual Analysis grids, which are a good way to start analysing the text. They work by picking out key art (main images) and key wording (main words), and then explaining the connotations associated with them. For instance if you took key art like the girl's parted red lips, the red connotes love and passion, and the parted lips suggests sexual availability or desire, which is what the Lynx team would have wanted to achieve.    

Finally, we looked at the rule of thirds, which allows us to analyse the framing of a shot by metaphorically cutting the picture into three equal parts horizontally or vertically. If we did this to the Lynx advert on the second page of the article, we would see that most of the shot (the middle, centre third) contains all the sexualised parts of her body like her bottom and breasts. Since these are right in the middle of the shot, you cannot miss them and your attention is drawn to them because of the way the shot has been framed. The right third is taken up with the product name, brand and slogan, so again a large part of the ad is filled with the brand name to make sure people's attention is drawn to it and it is memorable. However, you notice that her face only takes up the upper corner of the left third, so not so much attention is focused on it. The rule of thirds helps to analyse the framing of a shot and helps to utilise restricted space. You can also tell what the ad's (and company's) messages and values are by what takes up most of the shot and what your attention is immediately drawn to.

Overall I learnt a lot this lesson about media analysis and I think these key terms will be very helpful in the future.

LUCOZADE AND LARA CROFT

Around 13 years ago, Lucozade created and advert featuring popular Tomb Raider heroine Lara Croft. But why did they choose her as their icon?

Firstly, Lara was popular and current. Video games were still quite a new thing when this advert was created, and Tomb Raider was a very popular game that a lot of people could identify with and relate to. Many knew the game and liked it. This made it a good choice for an advert. One of the people on the team to make this advert said that the key to good advertising was capturing something current to the time, and Lara Croft did this.

Secondly, Lara was seen by some people as an icon or role model. Although the advert was mainly supposed to appeal to men, it did appeal to some women too because a strong, powerful woman who could fight and succeed (even in virtual form) was a good advert for 'girl power', a popular issue of the time. Again, this made the ad relatable and current.
However, this advert was really supposed to appeal to men, as I mentioned earlier, and I think it does this very well. The game Tomb Raider was quite a masculine game (lots of guns, killing, fighting, which all stereotypically appeal to men) and so mostly it would be men that could understand and relate to the ad. Lara was also pretty, something that again would mainly attract the attention of a male audience.

The messages and values of Lucozade also come through in the ad very clearly, because of choosing Lara Croft. Lucozade is a drink that gives you energy, boosts you and keeps you healthy, and at the top of your game. Lara is a symbol of energy and being fit, healthy and strong. She is an obvious representation of everything Lucozade can supposedly do for you, and this is clear in the ad. It creates what one of the team creating the ad called 'mental shorthand' where the brain automatically links one thing (Lucozade) with another (Lara Croft, a strong, healthy individual at the peak of her fitness).

This leads on to synergy, whereby one company 'piggy backs' off the other i.e. they use each other's success to promote their own products. This advert used popular, established game Tomb Raider to promote Lucozade in a new and interesting way. There are lots of less interesting ways to present a product like this, e.g. someone in an office gets tired, has Lucozade, and suddenly does well at work, but these types of ideas have already been done and aren't as interesting as something like a video game, which will appeal to a younger target audience.

The final benefit to choosing Lara Croft to promote Lucozade is that she is an icon who behaves. She is fictional, and entirely controlled by the company who make her, therefore she cannot embarrass or disgrace herself in public as real life celebrities can. She does not have that metaphorical 'shelf life', and will never get old, tired, change in anyway or do anything bad to discredit the ad.

Overall, there are several very justifiable reasons for choosing Lara Croft as Lucozade's icon for their campaign.

Click here for the advert

HILLTOP COCA COLA ADVERT

The 'Hilltop' Coca Cola advert was produced in 1971, and was shot on a hilltop in Rome. The creative director Bill Backer had the idea for the advert one day when, sitting in the waiting room for a flight, he saw people chatting and talking over Coca Cola. He felt then that 'let's share a Coke' had a different meaning, about keeping people company and bringing the world together. He used this inspiration to create new lyrics ('I'd like to buy the world a Coke and keep it company') to the song  'I'd like to teach the world to sing' by Roger Greenaway and Cook.

Teenagers that made up the chorus in the ad

The messages in the advert are very strong and clear. There is a group of people singing together on a hilltop about Coca Cola. They sing about peace and harmony, which is a play on words because 'harmony' could refer to their melodic singing and world peace. It shows people coming together and enjoying themselves because of Coke. The main line is 'I'd like to buy the world a Coke and keep it company'. This projects the image of Coca Cola bringing the world closer, people making friends and living peacefully because of it. It also features teenagers and a full grown woman (the main singer), which I think appeals to a target audience of people of all ages, to show that everyone can make friends and keep each other company over a Coke.
Additionally, this advert was made at the time of the Vietnam War, and this was when American people were very upset at American troops being lost because of this war. They thought it was nothing to do with them and they should take their troops out. This advert showed unity and togetherness - that America wasn't pro-war and conflict, but instead that they wanted world peace and that was what they were trying to achieve. This message also tied in nicely with the new slogan 'It's the real thing', which showed the sincerity of the advert, and that Coca Cola really was the 'real thing' - that it truly could help bring around peace and harmony.

The bottle and brand are featured constantly throughout

The brand name, slogan and bottle are all very prominent throughout the advert, with everyone holding a bottle and occasional close ups of people holding the bottle and smiling. This is a good marketing technique because it means people can't forget what is being advertised - it shows Coca Cola's brand identity throughout.
The song was extremely popular, and over 100,000 letters were sent to Coca Cola demanding it be played on the radio, and it was eventually made into a single which was very popular.
Overall, the advert shows messages and values of peace, harmony, and bringing the world together. These messages had a big impact on America especially (but also other parts of the world) at  a time when people needed confidence and something to believe in and I think the advert fully achieved its aims and purposes.
CLICK HERE FOR HILLTOP ADVERT

SHOT TYPES

Establishing shot

Extreme close up

Close up

Two shot

Point of view shot

Over the shoulder shot



 

 

MY FIRST LESSON

Today was my first media studies lesson. We looked at two adverts in the textbook and analysed them, talking about the scenery, the clothes, the type of shot, the text and the character's position i.e. standing, sitting, kneeling etc. We then watched an advert for Coca Cola Zero that was called 'Coke Zero meets James Bond'. It was an advert that promoted both James Bond films and Coca Cola. I learned that when companies work together to promote themselves like this it is called synergy. We talked about who the target audience was (young men) and how and why the colours, themes and shot types appealed to the target demographic. Overall, I really enjoyed my first lesson and found it interesting.