Reflective Analysis

Originally I was planning a short promotional video for a local band but having contacted the band, I felt that they were too relaxed about the concept and as such making a promotional video for them would be far too hard to organise especially to a strict deadline. I decided to then ask one of the trip coordinators for the creative arts trip if they were looking for a promotional video and thankfully they were. I received my brief and discussed in person some of my initial ideas with the client, these ideas were well received and so I started on planning my video. This was probably the weakest part of my promotional video, I didn't organise myself very well and initial planning only really consisted of me location scouting and determining that I needed plenty of shots with students engaging in the activities the trip provided. One of the points raised by my client was that she wanted the video to be from a student perspective, because of this I felt that thorough planning was not needed as what I would normally film or photograph is a student perspective.

When filming I made sure that I shot a variety of items such as location shots, panning shots in galleries, tracking shots of students and plenty of shots of students either interacting with one another, taking pictures of exhibits or discussing artwork they had just seen. The shots produced were a variety and I felt this allowed the audience to get more of a feel of the surroundings, hand held tracking shots were used very effectively in the video as I feel they make the audience feel almost as if they were there in the galleries in Madrid with me. Placing the audience member into my shoes on the trip is the best way to encourage people to go. One thing I did feel I was lacking in were establishing shots, Madrid is absolutely stunning and although I feel I did manage to capture some of it's beauty, a few more location/establishing shots would have really brought the video to life. Due to the fact that I was doing a promotional video for the Creative Arts trip to Madrid, all of my filming, minus interviews, was done whilst in Madrid, and as such meant that they only had one chance to get the footage I needed. This made me more organised whilst I was actually on the trip and after reviewing my footage from the first day I found that I needed more shots of student engagement and could focus less on scenery and artwork. When back in the UK I decided to shoot some interviews with students who had gone on the trip, I contacted both an Art and a Photography to show the different subjects that could lead you to this kind of experience. I originally intended on having 4 interviews, the extra two being with an Art Foundation student and a Creative Media Production student, unfortunately I didn't have time to get these two interviews but in editing I spaced out the interviews I did get so that absence of the other two interviews wasn't noticed as much. The questions I asked in the interview were very simple as I just wanted to know what their favourite part of the trip was and how they've benefited from the experience. These two me were the most important things in determining whether the trip was good in terms of student engagement and if it did actually benefit their work.

When it came to choosing music for my promotional video I had to make sure that I chose something that was royalty free for legal reasons and also suited the production piece, the music I went for was 'Brazilian Samba' by BenSound, which I was legally able to use as long as I credited BenSound in my final production piece. The song was very uplifting and fast paced which gave me something to edit to, the cuts in my video are very quick and precise to match the rhythm of the music, and even though its technically a Brazilian piece of music, the song still suits the lively, happy go lucky atmosphere of Madrid. It was after selecting my music that I felt more comfortable editing, I needed something to edit to and the fast up-beat 'Brazilian Samba' was perfect for this. I feel I did a good job of editing in time with the music and just with editing in general, this was probably due to the fact that editing is where I am most organised, making sure that the relevant footage is in the right folders making it far easier for me to locate footage that I need and that I know I can use.

After completing a first draft of my video, I watched it with my client to gain some initial feedback. One key point raised was that they're wasn't enough student engagement in the video, as I had filmed in Madrid it was practically impossible to reshoot and so instead I spoke with another student who had also been on the trip and she was happy for me to use some of her footage. This made the video a much more student lead video and I think this was key in meeting my client's brief, the main thing they wanted from this video was that it was from a student's persecutive and how the student's engage with the activities on the trip. Using the feedback I altered my video and when it was completed, I again sat and watched it through with my client and she picked up on the alterations that I had made and seemed happy with the finished product.

I think the video produced does a good job of giving the audience a feel for what the Creative Arts trip can be like and I think this is down to the fact that a student produced it, the target audience are students and it was key to get across to them the benefits of such a trip. Watching the video through, I am grateful that I got the opportunity to go on such a trip and as shown from the interviews other students were just as happy to go on the trip. Overall, I am very happy with my promotional video, I just wish I'd been more organised in my planning so that I got more interviews and more student engagement on the trip but I still believe it is effective in 'highlighting the creative arts faculty and the student engagement in the trip' and it also 'demonstrates how rewarding and enriching trips abroad are for students and the multiple activities that take place' which is what my client was looking for, according to their design brief. After completing the video I watched it through with a few fellow students and some of them made comment about how they wish they'd been able to go and others saying that they would definitely try to go on a trip like it in the near future. A few students I watched it with said that they could see the educational benefits on the trip but were worried that they might not get much freedom to explore and as such wouldn't enjoy the social side of the trip much, I could have asked questions about this in the interviews so that students could hear directly from students on the trip that the social side of the trip is just as good as the educational, or also included more footage of students engaging with one another rather than just the activities and artwork. Obviously the only way for sure to know whether this promotional video has succeeded in it's job is to compare numbers from this year's trip to next year' trip, for this data I'd have to wait another 7/8 months to find out, so students already saying they wished they'd gone and that others are hoping to go on the trip next year is the best indicator I can ask for.

Planning

The following equipment will be needed for my promotional video:

•   Canon 700D

•   Tripod

•   SD Card

•   Shotgun microphone 

Before flying out to Madrid, I had a look online at some of the places we would be visiting as a college but also looked at some locations that I felt would be good to film in, I decided to film at Centro Centro, Reina Sofia, Buen Retiro Park, the flamenco show we would be attending and then a few locations like the Plaza Mayor and the Palacio Real de Madrid.

I tried to get a mixture of photography and moving image for each of the locations that I visited and most importantly I got plenty of footage of students interacting with one another, with their camera equipment or with the art that they saw in the galleries. 

Whilst filming in Madrid I was working with another person and so we assigned each other tasks to do, whilst I took on the majority of the filming at locations such as the Reina Sofia or Centro Centro, my partner filmed at the flamenco show and between the two of us we filmed the streets of Madrid. 

At the end of each day I reviewed the footage I had got and after the first day found that I was lacking in a lot of student engagement with the trip and so the second day I focused less on the scenery and artwork and more on how the students reacted to this.

Health & Safety

Health & Safety:

While shooting this for the promotional video we had to make sure that we were shooting in a safe environment so that no harm was caused to our crew or to the people involved.

• When shooting on the streets of Madrid, I had to make sure I was aware of my surroundings so that I didn't knock into anyone or trip over and damage my equipment.

• When shooting with tripods we had to make sure that they weren't in danger of falling over and hurting someone or breaking something.

• When recording interviews I had to make sure that the weather was acceptable so that none of the equipment got water damaged and I had to make sure that wires were placed in safe positions so that people didn't trip over them.

• When shooting in the Reina Sofia and Centro Centro, I had to make sure that I had permission to film on the premises and what kind of filming/photography I could do, I also had to make sure I was aware of my surroundings as I was filming with the general public so there is more of a risk that equipment could be damaged.

Copyright/Legal:

For the music used in the promotional video, I had to make sure that it was copyright free music as my video is essentially trying to sell a product, the music I used met these requirements as I simply credited bensound for the music.

All of the people that featured heavily in my promotional video were students of King Edward VI College and therefore have signed forms at the start of the college year o allow themselves to be filmed or photographed in such a way that I have done, as such no talent release forms were needed for this piece of production.

Feedback

After watching the first draft for the promotional video my clint gave me some short feedback to try and help me improve my video. These were some of the points raised:

• The first shot is too long and as such can seem a little dull at times, something more dynamic that captures an audience's attention.
• The shot before the interviews was not necessary.
• The interviews would be better off being dispersed throughout the video coupled with shots that show location that the students are talking about.
• The music also needs to be quitter whilst students are speaking as at one points it is hard to pick up what they are saying.
• More shots of the students actually engaging in activities such as photography or drawing should be used.
• Titles should also be used to show who students are and the different locations and activities students engaged in whilst on the trip.

After watching the final video, I asked my client to fill out a short questionnaire to gain an understanding of what my client thought of my finished video.

Client Feedback Form

Please answer the following questions using numbers 1-5 (5 being excellent, 3 being average and 1 being poor)

How happy are you with the final product?	4
How happy are you with our response to the brief?	4
Would you agree that communication between you and me, the production team, was prompt, clear and concise?	Yes 5
How close is the final product to your expectations?	4
Any further comments: The final film shows how fun, engaging and most importantly how much of an impact the Creative Arts annual trip abroad has on the students work, to potential new students, as well as a good reflection for those that went, which is it’s main purpose. The interviews add a student voice and reflects on the impact of the trip on the students work, this as a result fulfils part of my original brief. It is also filmed to a high quality; the sound quality particularly is outstanding. You have been resourceful in gathering student work and images to add into the film too which highlights the range of activities we did on the trip, such as the night photography task. Again another big positive. Overall a good promotional video that delivers with quality footage on nearly all aspects of the original video brief. A very pleasing outcome. Well done and thank you for your hard work. Improvements that would have benefitted the final production of the video are as follows: ·      The use of font for the subtitles isn’t in keeping with the college branding. ·      The subtitles for the students interviews could have been better designed, such as those used in the Art show video last year that were shown to you. ·      More footage of a range of students, especially at the galleries engaging in the exhibitions. ·      There could have been footage included of Amber Jesson’s Madrid inspired art work too. ·      The beginning of the video could have been more dynamic if a larger range of footage was filmed overall.

Teddy Tennis Promotional Video

Teddy Tennis is a instructional program that inspires and teaches young children to play tennis and develop a love of the sport. This promotional video introduces the concept of “sport, music and fun for the very young” to parents, sports centres and potential franchisees.

This video includes shots of the children participating in the Teddy Tennis program, all of the children shown look like they ae enjoying themselves and this is important for advertising their company.

The video also starts with some short testimonials from the children who have played tennis with Teddy Tennis, this is the best way to start a video that is aimed at parents or sport centres, this program is aimed at children and the importance here is how the children have reacted to the program.

We are also shown some of the ways that Teddy Tennis teach the children to play tennis through the use of pictures and music.

The video also includes testimonials from the cofounder, a coach and a headmistress who has used the service, all have great things to say about the service, and they all explain a little how Teddy Tennis works and how its helped the children become more active.

The video does a great job of showcasing what Teddy Tennis has to offer and also shows how much the children enjoy the service, it promotes the company itself by giving examples f their previous work and its clear to see that they really do help teach these children play tennis and just be more active in general in a way that the children really relate to, through music and imagery.

Emailcenter Promotional Video

Emailcenter are a company that specialise in making advanced email marketing incredibly simple to use. Using their own unique marketing platform they enable clients to engage with their subscribers via automated, relevant and highly targeted email campaigns. 

The video produced uses the animation style of a retro computer game and this adds a humorous touch the video an allows 'emailcenter' to get across the benefit of using their service in a much more lighthearted way than a lot of other companies would do. They use the levels of the game to show the extent of work which their company can do, including subscriber bars and posting emails to social page at a basic level to using dynamic content on their emails. dynamic content essentially adapts to a viewers preference, this allows companies to advertise specific products at certain types of people based on their internet history.

By the end of the video emailcenter has beaten off the competitors to showcase its place at the top, the end of the video shows the client information needed if people wish to use 'emailcenter'. The video produced is a high impact, humorous presentation that leaves the viewer in no doubt about the benefits of using 'emailcenter' over other competitors. 

Creative Arts Trip Madrid 2016

This is my completed promotional video for the Creative Arts trip at King Edward VI College, this year, the trip took us to Madrid.

Communication With a Client

After having some initial communication with my client, I set to work on producing the promotional video they had in mind, I consulted with them in person after making short drafts for the film and their feedback can be found here: http://kechncjakobmorrison.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/madrid-promotional-video-feedback.html

After I had finished making the promotional video for my client I sent them a link to the video along with a questionnaire to gain some feedback on what they thought of my promotional video, the results of which can also be seen at http://kechncjakobmorrison.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/madrid-promotional-video-feedback.html

Design Brief

The promotional video should highlight the creative arts faculty and the student engagement in the trip. It should demonstrate how enriching and rewarding trips abroad are for students and the multiple activities that take place.

In your filming I would like you to include the following:

* Student interviews about the trip (at least 2 interviews) with good quality sound.
* Film visits to the galleries
* Film other activities the students participate in during the trip
* An honest portrayal of the trip abroad from a student perspective
* Students happy and smiling
* Students filming, taking photographs or drawing in Madrid, to demonstrate them working on location and the impact of the trip to their work.
* Some stock footage of Madrid street scenes and landscapes. Creative shots of the main locations visited in Madrid.


You will be successful in the brief if you can film and edit a final promotional film about the Madrid trip. The video should be between 90seconds and 3minutes long.

If you have any further questions of queries please email me: jaskirt.boora@kecnuneaton.ac.uk

I look forward to seeing some of the footage you attain. I would like the first edit to be completed and viewed for Wednesday 24th February 2016.


Jaskirt Boora

Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ Promotional Video Analysis

The target audience for the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ is very mainstream and tries to sell the point that phones have become central to our way of living and their product has the ability to do everything you need. The video has no voiceover and instead uses titles to display key information as well as a visual representation. 

An image of the phone using a feature is shown on screen to show what the product is like in use. As well as the image, the main text is displayed in a much bolder font with the smaller font displaying more specific details such as which feature of the phone is being shown.

The language between each of the two sentences on screen varies dramatically, the larger text is a key point being conveyed to a mainstream audience and as such uses simple language such as 'Power to keep you in the game' whilst a racing game is being played. Whilst the smaller text backs this point up by giving the technical specifications of the phone, '64-bit Octa-core 4GB LPDDR4 RAM, LTE Cat. 9', that enable Samsung to give you 'power to keep you in the game'. This is because the smaller text is for much more of a niche audience who are interested in the specs and it also gives reassurance to the mainstream audience, seeing the details behind a statement gives more validation. 

When it comes to brand identity, the obvious point is that the screen has the words 'Samsung' on it for at least 90% of the video, they make sure that the top of the phone can be seen the majority of the time as a constant reminder that this is a Samsung product. They are also quick to introduce the products name, giving an opening statement to peak interest before displaying the image below

The phone is the centrepiece of this image, we have a full view of the phone, we can identify the words Samsung on the phone before we even read the name of the product, perfectly to the left of the phone. Samsung believe in repetition when it comes to their brand identity, they use the same imagery for each category of video that they do, for example this promotional video is an official introduction the product, their other official introductions use the same layout and even similar backing music.

Little Brother

As part of an outreach project the HNC group are working with Nuneaton and Bedworth Museum & Art Gallery, and in particular Chris Bradley and Matt Johnson, to produce a stop-motion animated film with the thematic premise of protest. We had a brief introduction to the task and began brainstorming ideas. Mine, Dan and Elliot's idea was to make a film about the big brother society, after we had all presented our ideas to the group we decided that we move forward with a film based on the concept of a big brother society.

During the second session we focused on the narrative for the film and we also discussed characters we wish to use and as smaller groups set about deciding on the miss-en-scene for each of the settings used within the film. After this second meeting, we had decided on taking the big brother society literally and the film would follow a young boy and his older brother, this meant we could get on to working on the script.

In the third session we had our storyline set in stone and as such we could get started on creating characters and set designing. Again we were split into smaller groups amongst ourselves so that we could each be designated a particular setting to design, either the little brother's bedroom, the big brother's bedroom or the park. We chose the big brothers room and started designing it, we settled on a bed, desk, chair and bookcase as being essential to the big brother's room and storyline.

Session four consisted of further prop building, set design and characters. We got to work straight away on this and for the big brother's room not much more needed to be done, so we got to work on the script, this was primarily done by Joseph Weston, with input from myself, Liam Mulholland and Lalita Ajit, after the script had been completed we confirmed with both Matt and Chris that it would be okay and Chris made a few tweaks he felt were necessary. When this had been completed we had to record the voices for the characters, I personally voiced the little brother whilst others in the group voiced the big brother and other characters. 

All of the footage we had compiled and voice recordings were given to Chris who edited the final piece together in time for the premiere at the museum on the 4th December. Overall, this was a brilliant opportunity and working with a professional film maker, Chris, and a client, Matt, allowed me to expand on skills I already had but also challenged me to work to a much more professional level than before. Working with a group also allowed me to bounce ideas off other people and work on presenting my ideas to other people, I was very happy with the film produced and I think the final project is effective in showing how well we worked as a group together, Matt clearly thought the same as can be seen here by his feedback for the outreach project.