Client Liaison

Client liaison

Initial Client Questionnaire
To better understand the needs of my client and create a suitable promotional video, I gave her a promotional video questionnaire of which resulted in the following information:

Contact details:

Client Name: Jaskirt Boora
Job Title: Teacher of Film, Media and Photography
Email: jaskirt.boora@kecnuneaton.ac.uk
Contact Number: +442476328231
Company Name: King Edward VI College

Purpose:
A promotional video that should highlight the creative arts faculty and the student engagement in the trip. Should also show students endorsing the trip.

Target audience:
Potentially interested and currently eligible students (16-19yrs)
Future students.
Parents/guardians of both.

Pre-production:
The clients' needs prior to the production:

• Desired shot list showing a variety of shots to convey the message.

Production process:
The following areas of production were essential content requirements of the client:

• Student interviews about the trip (at least 2 interviews) with good quality sound showing there unique experiences on the trip.
• 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.

Style:
Relaxed, fun, interesting, educational and informative.

Budget:
Expenses of trip such as travel and accommodation pre-paid for by myself.

Post-production (editing):
The following is required by the client for the project:

• Editing
• Royalty Free Music (Preferably one that best suits the desired style and uniqueness of the experience)
• Titles (interviewed students' names and the activities of the trip e.g Museum name etc.).

Delivery:
Web File Format (preferably .avi) to be given to the marketing team.

Deadline:
First edit to be completed and viewed for Wednesday 24th February 2016.

Video duration:
The video should be between 90seconds and 3minutes long.

Audience needs:
It should demonstrate how enriching and rewarding trips abroad are for students and the multiple activities that take place.
Details about upcoming trips.

After making an initial draft video I discussed it with my client and received the following comments:

• Interviews needs to come along sooner in the video.
• Flamenco sequence should be shorter and less abrupt.
• College logo and font should be incorporated throughout.
• Some shots are of lower quality than others and should be replaced where possible.
• More activities of the trip should be included.
• More variety of students portrayed engaging in activities.
• Some shots need to be shortened in length.
• The music should be quieter during the student interviews and perhaps should be included during the flamenco show sequence.

 

Health & Safety

Health & Safety:

Prior to shooting in Madrid I had to ensure that I had considered all of the potential risks to my own and others health & safety during production. When it came to shooting in privately owned places such as the museums or flamenco show, I had to ask if I had the permission to record on their premises and to use my footage of their staff for promotional purposes. The following risks to our health & safety were considered:

1. Equipment: When setting up our interview with Amber and Louise, we ensured that the wires to our camera and microphone equipment were positioned out of anyone's way as to not cause a trip hazard and damage to the equipment.
2. Weather: Fortunately the weather caused no damage to our equipment while filming. However, we had to stop filming a couple of times due to rain. In retrospect it would have been a good idea to perhaps invest in some waterproof protection for our equipment as this did take away some of our time. The weather while recording our interview was unexpectedly delightful and even helped improve its value.
3. Location aspects: The streets of Madrid were of a maze-like layout and it can be easy to loose your bearings when unfamiliar to the place. To combat this potential nightmare I carried a map of Madrid with pinpointed positions of our hotel. We were also given the work phone numbers of our teachers on the trip if we ever needed their assistance. The iconic cobbled streets of Madrid posed a trip hazard while filming so it was essential for us to keep our equipment zipped up in our travel bags to prevent damage.
4. Members of the public: My fellow HNC students and I were carrying around very expensive equipment for the majority of the trip, this posed an obvious potential theft risk that could've even resulted in possible physical altercations. We were reminded of pickpockets as we landed and thus took precaution. While we were not using the equipment such as a camera for example, we would keep it closed away in our bags and have them strapped over our chest for added security. I also tried to avoid filming any members of the public in particular without their explicit consent to do so.

Shooting Plan

Potential Shooting Locations:
On the trip we are currently scheduled to visit the following potential shooting locations:

• Centro Centro
• The Beuen Retiro Park
• Casa Patas (Flamenco show)
• Mercado de San Miguel
• Museo Reina Sofía - Camera access is restricted to only certain areas of this museum, none-the-less I should be able to capture some useful footage of its stunning architecture.
• Cibeles Palace (Madrid City Hall)

Equipment
I have decided to take the following equipment with me to shoot in Madrid:

• Canon 650D
• Camera battery charger
• Zoom lens
• Shotgun microphone
• SanDisk card and backup
• Tripod

'Apple 1984 Super Bowl Commercial' Analysis

The Apple Super Bowl commercial for the introduction of the Macintosh computer is widely regarded as one of the most effective and iconic commercials of all time. In this post I will be analysing the videos components in order to ascertain as to why exactly the commercial has been so successful.

First of all we must consider the apparent higher than usual production value of the advert. In 2005 writer Ted Friedman said the commercial had a then-"unheard-of production budget of $900,000." The commercial was also directed by now legendary film director Ridley Scott. Scott's involvement in the production is evident in the commercials cinematic quality that made it unique at the time.

The anti-establishment and big brother society message of the commercial significantly helps to engage the audiences attention. Its the classic narrative of the underdog rising up to fight the power. Apple here is portraying itself as the underdog to the then computer giant IBM. The commercial also has a mysteries quality to it by never actually showcasing the product it is advertising but instead implying how it will change the game. By building up this narrative of taking on the perceived evil superpower of IBM and playing on the audiences fear of loss of competition to the computer market, Apple successfully made itself the computer company to root for. All of this is summarised in the iconic and rememberable closing narration of "On January 24th, Apple Computer will introduce Macintosh. And you'll see why 1984 wont be like "1984"". The "1984" here is in reference to George Orwell's classic dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. 

The commercial is relatively short in length and does not feature much information on the product besides the fact that it will be some sort of 'revolutionary' from Apple Computer. While the personal computer was not necessarily an original idea, Apple has certainly made the most impact to  I believe these decisions were made as to not bore its audience with too much information and to keep an element of curiosity in the audience. The video and company embraces the ideology of "less is more".

The commercial has a surreal quality to it due to the combination of storytelling techniques that helps to liberate the audiences imagination of the possibility of rising up against 'Big Brother'.

Shot List

Promotional Video Planning: Gantt Chart