In the initial planning stages I began by analysing 4 promotional videos, focusing on product launch/marketing, promoting key messages and values, internet coverage and event coverage. I then researched local companies and found a local wildlife and retail park. I contacted them and whilst waiting for a response did some minor research on the genre. I received an e-mail from the site, who explained that they already had an existing promotional video and did not want to participate in another one. I found this frustrating as I had already begun to research the genre and techniques I wanted to use.
This then led me to research local independent businesses, where I found Mr B's sweet shop, a local family run business. I contacted my client, Ben Bennett, and sent him some suggestions of what the finished video could look like, but when I received a response the client made no specific requests, which gave me unlimited creative control. Although this was a great opportunity to make the video my own and use my own visions, I felt that I had little direction from my client, and was made to research and plan on my own accord which involved further research of the catering promotional video genre, to gather an insight of what the most appropriate style would be to film in.
During this process I created blog posts of analysis of existing catering promotional videos, editing techniques, filming techniques, editing techniques, colour palette and themes, location scouting and health and safety.
The preparation for my 1st shoot was well planned due to my initial research. I arranged a day for filming at the shop, however I was unable to hire out the equipment that I had planned to use, so rearranged the shoot, as I did not want to compromise the films quality and techniques. This was due to my lateness in hiring out the equipment, which has encouraged me to be more organised and ensure that I am confident in attaining the necessary equipment for when I have planned. I rearranged to shoot on 3/3/2015. I went to the shop with all of the correct equipment and filmed the interior of the shop, as the weather outside was overcast and wouldn't have enabled for good footage. I did not complete a shoot log beforehand, which in hindsight would have been useful when shooting, however I already knew what type of shots that I wanted to capture. In future projects I will aim to do this, as I feel that it could give me more structure, and make the editing process easier, as I edited freely without a specific plan or sequence in mind, giving it a lack of structure, which led to re-editing certain shots, which wasted time although I managed to work round the issue, and am very happy with my final outcome.
After completing filming, I then reviewed my footage and began to think of storyboards. I was content with my footage and could envisage the finished piece. I felt that the lighting and camera movements turned out well, which I was skeptical of before reviewing my footage back on a computer. I varied my shooting style using a wide aperture to capture focus on specific products and different camera movements e.g. handheld and tripod pans. Although I used different techniques I feel that I could have filmed more varied shots, to ensure the final product didn't look to alike. I wanted the products to be the main focus of the video as they are the key selling point, so mainly used a wide aperture as I felt this technique would achieve an attractive focus. Before filming I researched other videos based around the catering genre e.g. sweet shops and coffee shops, which gave me ideas of techniques to use and personalise where I noticed that the main theme was the overuse of shallow depth of field. I found this research very helpful when filming and it proved to be very effective.
When setting up the equipment I had a general idea of how I wanted to frame the products within the shop. The shop floor was smaller than anticipated and I found that the tripod legs when spread out were a slight inconvenience, as I retracted them when a a couple of customers were in the shop. Filming behind the counter also required some careful manoeuvres. I followed my health and safety risk assessment, which was helpful and would have been useful in the event of an accident.
I made my own legal documents (hard copies available). I took these along to the shoot where they were signed by the business owner and people who were included in the video, which allows me to release the footage.
Lighting was my main concern before shooting as I was unsure how strong the lighting inside was, due to lack of natural lighting. Upon arriving at the shop the lighting was dark, therefore I was forced to use a higher ISO than initially intended. Luckily once reviewing the footage on a computer there was no noise and grain, which I was very pleased about. Shooting the exterior of the shop was not an issue with lighting, as I returned and shot on a fairly bright day. On my 1st shoot the weather was overcast and dark, I then checked the weather forecast and went back 2 days later when the weather was better.
As I began to edit my footage together I realised I probably should have shot more in hindsight, to prevent my shots becoming too repetitive. I initially wanted a short and snappy video which I feel that I have achieved. I have increased in confidence with my editing skills, which means the post-production process is now much faster than when first starting the course. I already had a feel for what I wanted the video to look like from analysing other videos of the genre, which sped up the editing, as I knew what I wanted visually. The whole editing process took a little less than 1 week (including other written work). I filmed with enough time to reach the deadline, and did not have to worry about finishing on time, which I have had previously. I had little outside guidance with the editing, but did some brief online research on techniques to use. I watched a YouTube tutorial to find out how do add text transitions and backgrounds from Illustrator to Premiere Pro. This was useful in showing me new techniques to use, which I can also use for future projects/videos.
For the sound of my promotional video, I used an orchestral version of Pure Imagination by Kelly Hall-Tompkins. This is an original song from the film, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. This song is instantly recognisable from the film, and immediately associated with confectionary. This proved effective and kept in keeping with the theme, however threw up some legal issues. If the sweet shop were to publish this video publicly (e.g. Facebook or their website), permission would be required from the artist(s). I had recorded sound via the camera whilst shooting from the internal mic to give the video an authentic natural feel, however when reviewing my footage the sound wasn't clear and appeared unprofessional. In hindsight I am glad I did not use any diegetic sound as the final product works well combined with non-diegetic instrumental.
Overall, I am very pleased with my final outcome and I feel that the research process was well conducted and planned with my biggest downfall being my lack of footage. I feel that my lack of direction from my client was a major issue to overcome, and I had to plan on my own accord not knowing what my client wanted the final product to look like, therefore finding it difficult to structure. If I were to conduct the project again then I would ensure that I filmed more footage with a wider variety of technical aspects. However, with a few minor set backs which weren't originally anticipated, I feel that I got around these issues and created a successful promotional video.
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