Promotional Video Evaluation

Target Audience: The video has quite an open target audience, as it shows a large variety of people at various shops. It even includes shots of different types of different classes of people, such as President Obama, families and students to show that the shops are for everybody.
Mode Of Address: The mode of address is very light hearted, to reflect the happy and laid back atmosphere of the shop. It shows a young child running to her family, and a father and son which shows the customers having a good time and adds to the general positive mood conveyed by the video.
Technical Conventions: One of the most prominent conventions used is the captions/ titles written over the video. They could have had a voiceover, but instead they chose to have it in written format, which allows the music to convey more of a prominent feeling, and also it keeps the themes succinct.
Brand/ Identity: The video starts with an introduction to the history of Starbucks which instantly conveys the brand identity. Also the thumbnail of the video is the Starbucks logo which for people who are familiar with the brand will instantly give them the gratification of familiar iconography.



Target Audience: This video targets a few niche audiences, such as people that are interesting in fundraisers and donating to charities. The video is to spread awareness for 'Movember' and a few different issues such as mental illness, cancer and alcohol abuse, with the focus on men. It also is tailored to an audience that appreciates rugby or sports in general. This is shown simply through the large chunks of footage of the school's rugby matches, which were probably ran to raise money for the cause.
Mode of Address: The video takes a combination of a formal but energetic mode of address. The video is colour graded to be slightly desaturated and looks like the grading you would see in movies rather than a short video which creates a professional and serious tone. However, the footage of the rugby matches show the players having fun and families cheering them on, which shows the participants having a good time while raising money and shows they are committed to the charities.
Technical Conventions: Again, the video takes a serious approach with the music in the video which sounds like it comes from a large scale nature documentary (Planet Earth style). The fact that they used this song amplifies the message and tone of the video greatly and helps to target their specific audience.
Brand Identity: The video opens with a black screen and the school's logo and name, instantly introducing the viewer to it. For friends and families of the school and people involved, it will gratify them the knowledge and familiarity, while acting as an aid for the wider audience that may be watching.



Target Audience: This is another video that targets a mainstream audience and as many people as possible. It includes footage relating to religion, architecture, urban life, culture, gaming and even music. The aim of the video is to attract as many people as possible so this is a suitable approach to the video.
Mode of Address: The video is very professional with a high production quality. The video doesn't follow a strong narrative of sorts but just showcases all of the best parts of Japan. It also has an inspiring uplifting mood which is conveyed by the music paired with the beautiful visuals which portrays the country is a glamorous way.
Technical Conventions: The video makes large use of hyperlapses which are essentially timelapses but shot on a moving trajectory to help cover a large amount of ground and showcase many things all in a short amount of time. This is suitable for the video because it shows how jam packed the country is and how much there is to offer in often small spaces. This helps to show both the beautiful scenic areas and also the busy urban cities.
Brand Identity: In the case of this video the identity doesn't belong to a brand but the country at large. It focuses on regional and cultural iconography and also has a stamp at the end representing the country.



Target Audience: The target audience for this video is potential university students that are considering where to go for their education. The university business is a very competitive one and they need to attract as many students as possible to build their reputation and make as much money for the government and country. This means that the campus' often create high quality promotional videos that showcase the campus and facilities to make the centre appealing.
Mode of Address: There is no dialogue in this video but simply cinematic shots showing life on campus as a relaxing and uplifting time, and this high production value creates a professional and informal mode of address, so students know they will have a laid back and enjoyable time.
Technical Conventions: The video uses a lot of shots with a shallow depth of field and this helps to create a soft looking video. This probably wasn't done to create a meaning but simply to give the video a certain look and feel. It also uses a lot of slow tracking shots which adds to the calm and relaxed feeling of the short.
Brand Identity: The only brand identity in the video is the fact that it shows the campus' buildings and facilities, which I feel is something the video could improve upon simply by having the university's logo at the start or end of the video, or even having a voiceover or testimonials.

Shot Evaluation

Mood Board

Obsessed- A successful asset manager, who has just received a huge promotion, is blissfully happy in his career and in his marriage. But when a temp worker starts stalking him, all the things he's worked so hard for are placed in jeopardy.

Misery- After a famous author is rescued from a car crash by a fan of his novels, he comes to realize that the care he is receiving is only the beginning of a nightmare of captivity and abuse.



We're planning on using these films as influence for our short film focusing on obsession. Both of these films contain conventions and idea's surrounding obsession and will be really useful to our filming and planning.

Film Studies Evaluation

For our film studies unit, we studied three theories (Freud, Lacan and Mulvey) and how they applied to film making. After we analysed films with regards to these theories, we had to create our own piece using one of them. Me and Lewis decided to making a short film focused on Lacan's 'Lack' theory, which is based on the idea that we always lack something in our life, and this lack is what drives us to achieve more and better ourselves. However, we chose to focus more on a negative side of the theory, showing a young girl's obsession with social media and The Kardashians due to her lacking that life style.

We shot in a few locations including: classrooms and study centre in college, streets in Nuneaton and a shopping centre. We chose these locations because we wanted to show the girl amidst other members of the general public to emphasise how obsessed she becomes with her phone and despite all these people being around her, she still is being absorbed by her desires. I chose to use music from the 'Gone Girl' soundtrack because the film is about the media and how it portrays people, which I thought linked well to how the Kardashians relate to the media. The music also gives off a feeling of eeriness and uncertainty, which i thought worked well because there's something unusual about people being consumed by updates on other people's lives.

There is a scene where the girl is in a pitch black room, only illuminated by her phone light and computer, which we originally chose to shoot because we thought it would make for an appealing set of shots, but we realised it also works in the context of the video as it can be seen as her social media being the only thing that matters to her, and the only thing providing her with any illumination on her life. The dark also works in the sense that she is surround by darkness, relating to her 'lack' of being happy and having the life that she is so obsessed and fascinated by.

There are elements of our video that could have gone better, one of which being that the narrative isn't as strong as we first intended. I think we achieved the feeling of obsession and desire very well but the original 'lack' isn't as clear. The film starts with her getting a notification and getting hooked on the Kardashian's social media, but it would have worked better with a few scenes that show her being unhappy which could lead to her resorting to obsessing over social media. Also, the ending could have been stronger. Due to a lack of a strong plan for the ending, the film comes to a climax with the protagonist revealing that she has gotten the same piercing as Kylie Jenner, after posting pictures of the family on her wall and going through photos of them on the internet. We intended for a more intense ending, but I think this one suffices and gets across the same message.

All in all, I think we did well to split our roles and create a piece that reflects the core components of the chosen study, with just a few minor elements of the video that could have been executed in a more clear manner that would convey the message better to an audience that is not initially aware of the theory.

Promotional Video Introduction

A promotional or corporate video is a video that is commissioned by a business or organization, to communicate certain messages to other people.

Corporate videos are usually shown at a specific event or sent to clients. But they can also shown on company websites, and they are sometimes broadcasted, depending on it's purpose.

Corporate videos always have a specific purpose, function and target audience.

Main types of clients:
- Apple
- The Daily Telegraph
- Google
- College

Conventions:
- Interviews
- Brand identity
- Copyright free
- Music score/ motif
- Graphics
- Endorsements
- Cutaways
- Product photography
- Length
- Narrative
- Targeting audience

Types of video:
- Production Launch/ marketing
- Promote key messages and values
- Internal communications
- Internal/ external training
- Show-reels
- Event coverage

Target Audience
Mode of Address
Technical Conventions
Conveyance of brand/ identity
Narrative

Product Launch
Sincere mode of address
Music isn't overpowering, joyous to convey positive feelings
Product photography of iphone, close up view of technology within phone
Interviews with employees endorsing product
Shows the general public using product
Connects to other brand's apps
Finishes with Apple logo

Promoting Key Messages and Values
Informal, speaking to young audience
Hand drawn graphics
Relatable to the audience, talking about drugs, disobeying parents
Slang 'tramps'
Electronic music reminiscent of festivals and night clubs
Undertone changes to very dark part way through

Internal/ External Training
Light hearted tone
Targeting the employees of the company
Very 'correct' language, no slang and follows all the rules in the book
Instructional
Hand drawn timelapse
Links to national campaign
Promotes standing against discrimination

Show Reel
Slow motion
Music driven
High class cinematography
Shows everything in a classy way, everything is done to make the brand look good
No talking to take away from the visuals
Over fantasised

Friday Next Week
Analyse 4 promotional videos for:
Target Audience
Mode of Address
Technical Conventions
Conveyance of brand/ identity
Narrative

Scheduling
When working with clients scheduling becomes vitally important. Plan a schedule with a GANNT chart to stay on track.
The video is usually given in rough edit form a week after the end of the shoot, from which the client then views and suggests changes that need to be made to the video. The final edit is then submitted a week after this for the client to sign off.

Health and Safety
Corporate and promotional video productions need to ensure minimal health risks are apparent.

Copyright
There should be no copyright infringement on your project. This includes songs, books, ideas, photographs, quotes from films and songs etc.

Stages of Production:
Communication
- Initial contact with client
- Production meeting (define message/ audience/ brand)
Planning
- Gather Inspirations/ mood boards
- Storyboard
- Feedback with client
- Scheduling (GANNT)
- Shot list
- Location Scouting
Shooting
- Transportation
- Equipment lists
- Release forms
- Checking against plans
Editing
- Checking dailies
- EDL
- Labels and bins
- Rough Draft (checked by client)
- Final draft
Sign Off

First Meeting
What do you want your video to do?
What does this audience care about and how does your product or service relate to those concerns?
What specific problem am I trying to solve and how do I communicate the solution to that problem?
How are you going to get people to watch your video?
What is the idea for this video?