Promo Video Client Feedback

Promotional Video - Legal Forms

Below are a number of forms we had our interviewees sign to show that we had their permission to be involved in the video.

Promo Video - Health and Safety

The recording for this project will only be in and around college, therefore there will be minimal risks:

Recording around college: We need to be wary of students walking around college while recording, this is because recording equipment can be a trip hazard. We need to concentrate especially during peak times in college, such as lunch, as there will be more students moving around.

Be aware of surroundings: When using equipment, ensure you are aware of any obstacles and avoid them, to avoid injury or damaging equipment.

Promo Video Editing

When editing the promo video, I placed all the clips I would use in to bins in order to organise them and put them into categories where they were easy to find; I also overlaid clips with transitions in order to make the clips transition more smoothly. With the audio, I lowered the volume of the backing music during the interviews so the audience can hear the dialogue more. 

HNC Promo Video Evaluation

During this unit, I decided that I would not be able to meet the deadline in the unit with the client's availability, this was due to his busy working schedule; and after discussion, we came to a mutual agreement that it would be best to discontinue the process. In order to accommodate for this, I decided to work with Aj, who was in the same situation. We decided to create a promotional video for the HNC course at KEC, with our client being Chris - the head of the Creative Arts department. In our research we analysed various existing promotional videos, and decided to create an informative video, with student and teacher interviews talking about the HNC.

When planning the promotional video, we watched existing college promotional videos for inspiration, and to understand the conventions of these videos, in order to be able to implement them into our promotional video. We drew up a basic plan and layout for our video, and organised an initial meeting with our client to discuss our plan. This meeting was beneficial for us as we prepared a clear powerpoint presentation containing our ideas, and the client also provided us with some insight as to how he would like the video to turn out, by giving us ideas of shots and interviews. After this, we contacted those who we would have liked to be in the video, mainly students and teachers, however this didn't go as smoothly as we would have liked, as some students were not able to spare any time on such short notice. In the future, to improve on this, we would ideally have more time to shoot, and therefore be more flexible with our availability to shoot.

During the production of our video, we managed to record most of the content we needed, we decided to capture footage in locations related to creative arts, in order to showcase what the department has to offer for students; though we did not manage to record  everything our client suggested, due to the reliability and availability of ex-students. We accommodated for this by asking the same questions to the students we did interview, in order to still get the information we needed. We also had some issues with how some of the clips turned out, particularly with the interviews. We had issues with the sound of the footage recorded in the studio, the sound is echoey and because the interviewees were sitting quite far from the camera, the speech was quiet. In order to correct this in the future, I would use a separate microphone to record the audio. Another issue we came across is the lighting in the HNC room, after scanning over the footage, we found that the lighting was underexposed and quite dim. To improve on this is the future, I would reshoot this footage perhaps in a different room, with more natural light, or even use some portable LED lights to create some artificial light. In the final cut of the video, we decided to only use one interview, involving Emily and Connie, this is because I believe their answers contained the right information about the HNC that we intended to capture and therefore didn't need to include any unnecessary footage. Additionally, the quality of some of the other interviews wasn't acceptable for the video and could not be used.

Regarding our target audience, when distributing our video, it would have been best to consider the most effective methods to appeal to our intended audience of students aged 17-19. this could have been achieved by creating a shorter version of our video, that would have been an acceptable length for publishing to social media sites such as Facebook or Instagram. This would have been beneficial for us as it would cater for our particular demographic, and therefore potentially receive a better response.

Overall, I am pleased with the final cut of our promotional video; I believe that we captured the essence of what HNC life is like within the college. This was achieved by maintaining an informal mode of address within the interviews, therefore keeping the responses natural. This was emphasised by the ‘unpolished’ feel of some of clips I used, as it added personality to the interviewees and represented the relationships and friendships formed in the HNC. An issue I came across in the post-production of the video is that the music for the video is quite loud in comparison to the audio of the interviews, despite altering the audio levels for the clips; it is quite difficult to hear at some points. In the future we could perhaps find some backing music that is quieter, or again use an external microphone to record the audio from the interview.

Shoots 5-6

Shoot 5: Students working

For this shoot, we have decided to film students of the HNC doing work. We will achieve this through a number of over-the-shoulder shots, displaying students editing and filming. These shots are going to be used as filler material over the audio of the interviews.

Shoot 6: HNC Life

For this segment of recording, we will place the camera at different points in the room  and left it to record the HNC room during a normal day. This will allow us to capture shots of the HNC environment in a natural manner, in order to limit the 'staged' feel of the video.

Shoots 1-4

Shoots 1-4

Shoot 1: Current Student - Joe Casey
We decided to shoot this interview in the studio, as we will be able to create a interview-style lighting setup, making the interview look more professional. Unfortunately, the lighting did not turn out the way we planned, and as a result we had to alter the camera settings to get a correctly exposed image; the higher ISO resulted in the video containing more 'noise'.

Shoot 2: Current students - Connie Bytheway and Emily Bliss
For this interview we decided to do a location shoot in the HNC room, using a shallow focus to focus on the interviewees; though this could have turned out better with a different lens. We had to shoot this interview twice, due to a problem with the audio recording. Feedback from our client also revealed that we could have altered the background in the interview to make the shot seem more appealing.

Shoot 3: Technician - Kayleigh Kendall
We decided to shoot this interview in the technician's office, as this allowed us to record the equipment in the office at the same time, in order to showcase what equipment KEC has to offer for students.

Shoot 4: Teacher - Yvonne Weatherstone
Similar to the previous shoot, we shot this interview in the media office, and this time took into account the background of the interview, and cleared the desk of clutter in ordee to make the setting look neat.

Promo Video Planning

Roles

Aj:

• Recording

• Health and safety vigilant 

• Personal releases forms 

• Gantt chart

• Shot log

• Communication with client 

• Client presentation

Ben:

• Recording 

• Editing 

• Storyboard 

• Gantt chart

• Shot log 

• Overlooked communication 

Shot log

• Establishing shots; college entrance / front staff/visitor car park  

• Talking head style interviews (waist up)  

• Over the shoulder shot – students doing work  

• Wide shot – HNC Room – 

• Media dept room - Lesson being taught 

• Quad 'Ben or Aj taking videos or photographs' 

• HNC Aj 'taking photographs' 

• Art foundation 

• People in college 

Equipment List

• Camera (DSLR)

•  Spare camera battery 

• Microphone 

• AA batteries (and spares) 

• Micro SD card 

• SD card 

• Tripod 

• Dolly

• Steadicam (if possible)

Locations 

• College entrance

• HNC room 

• Classroom within the media department 

• Technician office 

• College courtyard
• College quad
• Photography Studio

HNC Promotional Video

Analysing College Promotional Videos (Primary Research)

This is a commentary analysis, done by AJ and I, in which we analyse five promotional videos produced by other colleges. We have done this to conduct more focused research for the particular type of video we would like to produce.

Weather Forecast - Promo Video

When filming for our promotional video, we have to take into account the weather forecast. This mainly affects our outside filming, and particularly our opening shot of the college, as dull weather will alter the appearance of the shot - making it seem less appealing.

Fortunately for us, we have had a spell of sun for the past couple of days, allowing us to record some establishing shots of the college with clear blue skies in the background. Allowing us to avoid any shots with dull overcast.

Contacting Current Students

We have asked some of our classmates within the HNC if they will be our interviewees to be included in the promotional video:

Responses so far:

Contacting Staff

We have contacted the members of staff involved in the HNC, asking if they would like to be involved with the promotional video, mainly with interviews and vox pops:

Meetings with the client

Client Meeting 1 - Planning

Our PowerPoint Presentation:

Client Meeting 2 - Initial Feedback

Analysis of Promotional Videos (Primary Research)

Apple - iPhone X

• Video begins with a white background and the name of the product - 'iPhone X', in vibrant colour. Announces the product in a bold fashion.
• White theme throughout the video highlights cleanliness and minimalist design.
• Brief showcase of the device, including camera and size.
• No diegetic within the video, just non-diegetic backing music
• "What home button?", question displays innovation and advancement from previous model.
• Features such as 'durable glass' and 'wireless charging' target audience with new features.
• 'A11 Bionic Chip' appeals to those who are tech-savvy; then describes what the chip does to the general audience.
• Announces new technology 'Face ID' and emphasises with variety of different people - also emphasises the company's consideration to ethics.
• Animoji announcement contains scene with a model of a head and stats on the side of the screen - displaying the tech behind the new feature.
• Goes into detail of the specs of the camera - people who do not know the specifics believe it will be more powerful; then shows examples of pictures taken by the camera.
• "You've never seen anything like it" - emphasises the new and innovative technology.

Beagle Street - Life Insurance

• Opens with a shot of family with baby - appeals to families (target audience), included in the mise-en-scene is the Dad reading to the baby.
• High-key lighting is used throughout the video to connote themes of purity and happiness
• Begins with soft non-diegetic music and narration - giving information
• Advert has a narrative reflective of a real-life situation, a father looking for insurance to cover for his family. At one point a Beagle is in the mise-en-scene which is the mascot and logo for the company.
• Facts and statistics written on screen to give clear information
• Reviews and ratings from trustworthy sources on screen to emphasise the validity of the company.
• Formal, yet seemingly familiar and friendly mode of address 

Smyths Toy Superstores

• Animated advertisement, all computer generated graphics
• Appeals to both boys and girls with iconography such as rockets/space, and princesses/tiaras.
• References to popular kids movies such as Toy Story and Star Wars.
• Shows a boy in a Smyths store, children will relate to the boy.

Health and Safety at Work

• Non-diegetic narration
• Informative video with a target audience of an internal workforce
• Formal mode of address, designed to be informative
• Uses clear demonstration and instruction to keep the video simple

Communicating with New Client

This is our initial communication with our new client, discussing an appropriate time to meet in order to discuss a plan for the promotional video:

Finding a New Client

After discussion with my initial client, I have come to the conclusion that with their working hours - it will be difficult to obtain footage for the promotional video; moreover, I was not able to film at all over half term due to the client being away. In light of this, I have decided to work with a client within the college to make filming easier for myself. I am also collaborating with AJ on this project to be able to distribute roles and make the process faster.

Bristol Residential Plan

Bristol Planning 

Bristol Residential Brief:

As a group you will create a 3-minute promotional video to entice students, young people, and young professionals (16-35) to visit Bristol instead of the attractions of other big cities such as: Manchester, Birmingham, and Liverpool. The film will be fresh, vibrant, and highlight all Bristol has to offer be it culture, retail, or social. The video must not contain any copyright material and must be shot in full HD (1080p). (A final edit will be submitted by all students by Friday 27th October)

Itinerary for the journey: 

For transport to and from Bristol, we as a group, have chosen to take a megabus. This is because it is by far the cheapest option against driving or getting the train. On Monday 16th October, we will meet at Nuneaton train station and catch the 10:10am train to Birmingham New St. station - arriving at approximately 10:38. We will then get on the megabus to Bristol at 10:55am (approx. a 4min walk from station to bus stop) - arriving in Bristol at around 13:05pm - our hotel is a 10min walk away from our bus stop. In regards toggling back from Bristol, on Wednesday 18th October, we will get the 12:15pm megabus back to Birmingham, arriving back at around 14:35pm. Finally, we will catch the 14:52pm train back to Nuneaton, arriving back at 15:22pm. The price for the megaus there and back £12.80.

We will be staying in the Rock & Bowl Motel for our stay during the residential
(Link to website: http://www.thelanesbristol.co.uk/hostel/)

Filming Locations:

Locations near the hotel

The stars on the map indicate some of the locations where we will be getting footage. The group has been divided into four separate groups in order to be able to film footage at different landmarks across the city. We have done this because we only have the Tuesday to film, and therefore wouldn't be able to cover every site in a single group. The three locations my group is getting footage from are the: Docks (+ Thekla Venue); Arnolfini Art Gallery; and the Millennium Square. We chose these sites because they are close to our hotel, the closest is the docks, approximately a 13 minute walk away. Also, the sites are within walking distance of each other. 

Equipment List:

Cameras (x3 borrowed from college / x5 of our own)

Tripods (x3 borrowed from college / x2 of our own)

SD Card for each camera