The Aussie M&M Election Debate: Austin Powers Mauve And Mediocrity

Online, July 26, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Visual communications expert and experienced television producer, George Kolovos, has described the election debate between Prime Minister Julia Gillard and opposition leader Tony Abbott as "The M&M debate: Austin Powers mauve and mediocrity".

He says camera angles, backdrop colour, and excessive lighting at the Press Club in Canberra conspired to deliver a thoroughly bland election debate.

"The conservative framing of each candidate against the mauve background, served to blunt their authority and personality," Kolovos explains. "Both protagonists were positioned within two shafts of light, like Hollywood klieg lights, and in the wide shots they both looked like stars, but in the medium close ups they looked like attendants at a political information booth handing out how-to-vote cards."

Underpinning the event's blandness were the seemingly matching, black and white outfits of PM Julia Gillard and opposition leader Tony Abbott, complemented with a necklace and tie respectively.

As founder of Red Rock Global Media - http://www.redrockmedia.com.au - George's successful career in television production has been largely based on his ability to communicate key messages on behalf of brands and community organisations in 15 and 30 second TVCs.

Working with the time constraint of television commercials, Kolovos is acutely aware of the need to make every frame count and analysed every second of the debate in excruciating detail.

"The framing seemed to be tighter on Abbott than on Gillard, allowing her to make use of effusive hand gestures," Kolovos said.

"The Prime Minster was noticeably smiling a lot more than her opponent, which coloured the tone of her message with what I would call 'emotionally accessible authority' or 'warmth'.

"Abbott appeared quite serious and I'd go as far to say he was dour in appearance and delivery, which is no surprise because the content of his argument was necessarily negative to counter the assertions of the PM."

The ability to analyse and interpret moving pictures comes with many years of industry experience for Kolovos, who enthusiastically offers his thoughts on the visual aspects of a debate that could influence voting intentions at the August 2010 federal election.

More info on George Kolovos:

George Kolovos has always shown a commitment to fashion even during his infant years. As Principal Producer, George's responsibility is to continue developing Red Rock Global Media's creative and service disciplines. George founded Red Rock 13 years ago after his mother finally persuaded him to put his two university degrees to use.

Word association: Patient listener, creative thinker, coffee lover.

George's success in the television production industry has been recognised with awards for campaigns such as the Sunbeam Cafe Series but also by the frequency which both free-to-air and pay television platforms have aired his work on community service campaigns such as prostate cancer awareness. These examples of George's work can be found at the links below:

http://www.redrockmedia.com.au/Redrock_Portfolio.html
http://www.redrockmedia.com.au/Redrock_Portfolio_Sunbeam_Cafe.html

To arrange to speak to George Kolovos, please contact Power PR on (02) 9550 1300 or via email: [email protected] and check out our website for fresh news and views: www.powerpr.com.au