In many ways, political commercials are like miniature movies. As in movies, great care is taken to make certain each detail of production--lighting, editing, music--work together to convey a particular mood.

At the movies, we want to enter the world the filmmakers have created, to suspend our disbelief and be caught up in the story. But political ads need to approached more cautiously. They are not fictional stories but expressions of political opinion.

Political commercials express their opinion not simply through words. Just as music and editing help convey mood in movies, in ads they reinforce the impression the makers want you to have.

If your computer is able to play back moving pictures, watch this tape of a fictional candidate created by KERA-TV, Dallas.

play RealVideo file or Quicktime movie

the video files require the use of the free
RealVideo plug-in or
Quicktime

In the next section you can add different effects to manipulate the tape into an ad for or against the candidate.

Now decide if you want to create an ad FOR or AGAINST this candidate.