Post production processes for an audio/visual product
Review of recorded footage and audio based on the suitability of use for the intended production i.e. strengths, improvements
This shot is suitable for my promotional video because it is the shot I wanted. In my story board I wanted a shot of two girls walking through the market, laughing and talking. this shot makes it seems that Cambridge is a fun place to be in, promoting it. This is because the girls look like they are generally enjoying themselves. I feel that a strength in this shot was the fact that the camera man shot what I wanted, it's a clear view of the girls walking in the market having fun. However one weakness is that the camera isn't zooming all the way out to show the entire market, I think next time I should be a bit more clear and specific to my camera man on what I want.
This shot is suitable for my promotional video because it show cases the shops and activities Cambridge has to offer, promoting it. Because it tells people what they can do. It also shows how busy and lively Cambridge is, which is my main goal of my promotional video; Cambridge is full of life. However, one weakness is the lighting, the lighting looks a bit too yellow and it doesn't look aesthetically pleasing. I think next time I should sort out the lighting before shooting.
This clip is suitable for my promotional video because it shows the different alleyways and “secretive” passageways Cambridge has. This draws explorers in because there are so many routes explorers can explore in.One strength in this shot was the fact that it wasn't shaky, even though we were tracking the girls
This clip is suitable for my video because it shows a clear shot of what cambridge is dominantly known for; it’s universities. It shows a clear view of one of the universities, showing off its beauty and the many students it attracts. One weakness however it stops halfway through the tracking shot, it doesn't complete it
This clip is suitable for my promotional video because it is what I wanted and planned. I wanted an over the shoulder shot of the river Cam. You can clearly see the river Cam and its wildlife it has surrounding it. One strength is that everything is in focus, nothing is blurred
This clip is suitable for my promotional video because it shows what I planned/wanted in my storyboard. I wanted someone walking over a famous bridge Cambridge has, the Mathematical bridge. However, one weakness is the fact that my actor didn't start from where she was supposed to start.
Producing edit decision lists
Offline Edit:
Audience Feedback
Offline Edit 2:
Client Feedback after second offline edit: At 0:21 can we please use Cuts and not the fancy effects and cut to the beat of the music and throw in more shots please but don’t make it longer Are there any more vox pops we loved them – more! The font at the start we don’t like the word CAMBRIDGE can we change the font of that word and remove that pink glow around the text?
Online screen recording:
Time Code: Which file format did you export to? 1:02 Why was this? 1:10 What implications does it has for delivery client? (Think file sizes) 1:32 How does this file format meet the clients brief? 2:05 Where could the client digitally distribute the product using this file format? 3:15
How does this file format meet the clients brief? Where could the client digitally distribute the product using this file format? The file format meets the client brief mainly because it can be easily distributed through all mediums, meaning that that the client (the council) can choose where they would like to place the media platform and that it is easy to do so. Because the file size is small it means that the video can be uploaded on all social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and Vimeo, aslo if the client wanted they could upload the video onto their website. Because social media is a starting to be come big it would mean that a lot of people would be able to see the video, especially since YouTube and Facebook has such big global platform and therefore meaning there would be an increase in tourism in Cambridge.This follows the brief as the brief did state that it wanted an increase in tourism in the city and would like the promotional material to have a global audience.
I chose to have my video distributed on a digital medium rather than a traditional one such as DVDS ect,mainly because I believe that it is easier to distribute and get a wider audience. I also think it is better quality than using a traditional distribution method. On the other hand, if the client did ask for me to export the file onto something traditional I would choose to export it on something like a DVD or a CD mainly because it is easier to distribute than using tapes.
How does the video meet the client brief? This is what the brief asked "You have been asked to produce promotional material for the new regional culture award as a part of 'The Culture Campaign". Cities and towns in your region are all taking part to promote the range of cultures that are part of each city and towns unique identity"
In the brief it asked for me to make any of promotional material for the city of Cambridge to promote Cambridge as a city and its various cultures within it. Out all of the options presented I chose to make an audio-visual product, this is because I feel it would be easier for me to promote Cambridge in this format and its various cultures.I also think that by making an audio visual product it would appeal to my target audience mainly because they would pay more attention to that instead of an audio or a print product. This is because they are more likely to pay attention if they had something to look at and something to listen to as well, in my opinion I feel that if I was to create an audio product instead they wouldn't really pay attention because they don't have something to look at. My promotional video does follow the codes and conventions of a promotional video in that genre, mainly because and upbeat music .I tailored my promotional video to attract and appeal to my target audience so they would pay attention to it when they watched and would be engaged.
My video meets the client brief mainly because it does show the number of cultures in Cambridge through the various races, ages and backgrounds in my video. I have done this by including all types of people in my video, for example when I was interviewing people I made sure they were all different and had different backgrounds. For ages I made sure to shoot multiple students as Cambridge is well known for its schools and I also made sure to shoot some adults just to vary the age difference so it doesn't seem that Cambridge is heavily populated with students.I also made sure to include multiple age ranges mainly because i wanted to show that Cambridge as a city is tailored for everyone, no matter the age. I wanted to portray Cambridge in a way where anyone can feel that they can visit no matter what their age is. Also for the different cultures in Cambridge I made sure to include various iconic buildings within Cambridge just to show what Cambridge has to offer culture wise.
I made sure to carefully choose my music and make sure that it is upbeat. lively and fun. This is mainly because I feel that if the music was upbeat and lively it owl mean that the audience would be more engaged to the video because they like what they are listening to, also the music would add and create the atmosphere for the video. Meaning that if I wanted to create a fun and deals atmosphere for the video it would mean that the music would need to be upbeat and fun. I think that the music affects how the audience will view the video, this is because i think that if I choose a rather mellow song I think that the audience owl be given the impression that Cambridge is rather boring and wouldn't want to come. I also made sure that all the shots in my video matched the tone of the music, this is because I think it looks better and it would make the video look more professional. The brief also asked to show case Cambridges unique identity, I choose to do that through the music, which is that Cambridges unique identity is the fact that it is so friendly and the city is upbeat and alive.
I think that my promotional video does promote Cambridge, mainly through my shots. I made sure that all of my shots were shot on a nice, sunny day mainly because I wanted the atmosphere of the video to be bright, happy and lively. By using sunny shots it promotes Cambridge as it gives off the impression that Cambridge is a beautiful, ideal place to be therefore persuading the audience to come visit. I also made sure to add in various locals into the video and make them smile and seem welcoming, this would promote the city mainly because it would give off the impression that everyone in Cambridge is friendly and nice, meaning that tourists would be treated right. I also made sure to include various tourist hot spots such as the River Cam, the Universities just to show the audience what Cambridge has to offer them.
For codes and conventions I didn't use all of them, an example is a voice over. Many promotional videos use a voice however for mine I didn't. This is because I didn't feel like a voice over was necessary as the shots I shot told the story and narrative itself, I also made sure that my editing portrayed a clear and obvious message in it, which is that Cambridge has a lot of things to offer and that it is a friendly city. I felt that by having a voice over would distract people from the shots and the overall message. I also noticed that many promotional videos were longer than the one I produced, I cut my down to about a minute because that is what the client asked for and i also felt that if it was any longer than my target audience wouldn't be fully engaged into and they wouldn't watch it. This is because my age demographic shows a pattern that they have very short attention sums, so they woudlbt be able to watch a 5 minute promotional video without getting distracted, I feel that by keeping the video short would mean that the target audience would watch all of it and be engaged in it.
In conclusion, The Heart of Cambridge meets the client brief because it shows how diverse Cambridge is, the culture in Cambridge and the life and locals in the city. The promotional video shows a diverse range of people from their race to their age and their background. The video also shows the best bits of Cambridge where tourists would want to go and see, showcasing historic and iconic buildings within the city such as the open market, the universities, the river Cam act.The video shows cases the spirit and life that Cambridge has, and promoting it in a way where the city looks and feels welcome and idealistic.
Online Edit
Analyse how post-production techniques and processes enhance meaning in the final product One post production technique I used was graphics/titles. I used them in the beginning and the end of my promotional video, to tie everything in.This enhanced the promotional video because it gives a clear opening and ending and it also reveals the type of atmosphere the video is going have. I feel that the this meets the clients brief because it shows that it is about Cambridge, the region which the client wants.
I also used some filters on some shots, to make it look brighter and happier. Because some of the original shots I have did look quite gloomy and depressing, so I had to add in a filter to brighten it, to make it look more happy and aesthetically pleasing. I also needed to use a filter on them because majority of my shots were quite sunny and bright, therefore to tie everything in I needed to make sure that the entire video looked sunny and happy.This enhanced the video because it gives off a happier, cheerful atmosphere and it looks more aesthetically pleasing. I feel that this meets the client brief because it does promote Cambridge as it makes the region look nice and pleasing to be.
I used the transition dissolve. I used this transition when I was filming the top of the buildings and the shot of filming the tress and then panning down and doing a 360 around my actors. I feel that the dissolve ties in the two shots well together because they both start with the camera panned upwards, towards the sky. By doing a dissolve it enhanced the shots as it made the shots look more interesting and engaging. I feel that this follows the clients brief as it makes the promotional video look entertaining and engaging for the audience.
I also used a lot of establishing shots in my promotional video. This enhanced the video as it gave a clear shot of all of Cambridges best places/buildings, and the audience can clearly see them. This follows the clients brief as it does show the different cultures of Cambridge and it does show its identity, as majority of my shots were of the famous buildings Cambridge has.
The soundtrack that I used was quite upbeat and lively. This enhanced the video as it gives off the vibe that Cambridge is a fun and lively place to be. Also by using upbeat music it means that the audience are more likely to be engaged in the video as they would like the music and it isn't boring and sad sounding. This follows the clients brief as it gives off a happy atmosphere and it does give away the fact that the identity of Cambridge is fun.
The colours I used were quiet bright, sunny colours. This enhanced the video because it makes the video look more lively and happy, meaning that the audience would be engaged in it as it it makes them feel happy and it looks aesthetically pleasing. I feel that this met the clients brief as it does showcase and promote my city as it makes Cambridge look like a a good tourist destination.
I used the colours red and white in my text mainly because it looks very sophisticated. The colour white represents brilliance, perfection whilst the colour red represents strength and power. I feel that by using these colours it enhances the video as it subliminally sends off these messages to the viewers and making them want to go to Cambridge. I feel that this follows the clients brief as the colours do represents Cambridge, where power and brilliance are at the core of the city.
You need to video / record client/focus group feedback at this stage of the final product and compare it to the feedback from P5. Discuss how the product improved to meet the feedback in detail and make sure you evidence the feedback.
I feel that this audience feedback and the audience feedback during production are generally the same. I feel that the audience feedback I have received from my offline edit has more corrections and more ways to improve the video than this one. From this recent audience feedback the only thing that they didn't like was the transitions during the box pops, stating that it didn't flow well. However, this was the only improvements I have received from the online edit. For my offline edits on the other hand, I received a lot of things that I should change, such as
wobbly shots
Too long
Inconsistant
Change text
Include Cambridge councils logo
However, both feedbacks I have received that are the same are the transitions. Both audience feedbacks said something about ,y transitions, whether that it didn't go well with the videos or that I should change it. From this I have realised that I may have trouble in choosing the right transitions and I didn't really know how to make my promotional video to flow well.
My offline edit and my finished product are both very different, as the offline edit has improved drastically. This is mainly because all of the feedback I have received, whether thats from the client, my focus group or my teacher. I feel that the feedback I received from my offline edit made me realise I should change a lot of things. For example, the client commented on how they didn't like the text I used, saying " Can we also improve the graphics? Maybe use the same font as the councils website" I feel that by improving the text it makes my video look more professional and eye catching. Mainly because the font I did end up using looks more sophisticated and that it was made by a professional. Another feedback that helped me improve was cutting down the time length of the video, the client saying "it feels too long and requires reduction in timing" This helps improve the video as it makes it more engaging, I feel that if the video was too long then the audience watching would get bored of it and wouldn't consume the product. By reducing the time length I feel that the audience will be fully engaged it. Another feedback I got that I think was useful was from my focus group, where the group said that "there is no sense of having actors in if there is no storyline" This helped improve the video a lot mainly because the offline edit was all over the place, it didn't have any continue flow. By having a storyline hen I feel that it made the video flow more. It also means that that the video has a bit of context in it and it makes the audience be fully more engaged in it as they would want to figure out the story line. Another way that the product improved a lot was when the client and my teacher commented on how some shots were wobbly and unstable, both stating " there are some lovely shots in this sequence however some shots are wobbly and we would prefer not to see this" This feedback helped improve the final product as by stabling the shots or re filming the shots made the video look more professional and it could be something that can be show buy he council. The is because it doesn't look like an amateur made the video and to looks high quality enough that it can be distributed by the council.
I feel that my finished product meets the client brief because it does show case the different cultures and the towns unique identity. For example, I show cased the different types of cultures by having different types of people on the promotional video and have them commenting on their favourite parts of Cambridge. They commented on how they meet different types of people and how they learn about new cultures. I have also showed how unique Cambridge is by showing different types of buildings and locations in Cambridge. The shots of the buildings show how historic Cambridge is and how much history has been made in Cambridge. It also shows how unique Cambridge is by showing what Cambridge is dominantly famous of, its univeristies. By having shots of Univerities and its students it shows what Cambridge has to offer. Also by having shots where the sun is out and people going through their day it does highlight on how beautiful and how much life is in Cambridge; where you can meet new people, learn about the history and the places you can go. By having this in my promotional video I feel that people would want to come to Cambridge because they want to see Cambridge.
Describe how you have met the needs of the original brief and how it has changed over time. I feel that i have met the original brief by really promoting the city and by making sure that I made a promotional video. However, my final product has changed over time during production. This is because in my storyboard and script my original idea was to have it mainly focus on students and I didn't consider the main iconic aspects of Cambridge such as the Universities and the park. During production however I did need to go back and reshoot some shots such as establishing shots of the iconic places of Cambridges and I also thought it would be a good idea to have vox pops in the video. I feel that my final edit and my original are very different as I didn't stick to the storyboard during the final stages of production.
Describe the strengths and weaknesses of the product and your role within it. One weakness i think I had was production, mainly because some of my actors were late, despite me reminding them what time and where we would be meeting and putting all of the information in the production schedule. Also, because they were late meant that we were behind in filming meaning we had to do some more extra days just to film everything we needed.I feel that I should've contacted all of my actors the day before shoot and reminded them where and when I needed them so that they wouldn't forget and be late. I feel that my role as director was that I should've producer I should've organised everything better.
Another weakness is that I didn't consider the small details such as the camera position and how it could make it harder or easier for me to edit. I found that during editing that the camera wasn't straight and was tilted in a certain angle, making it look unprofessional and hard to edit so therefore I had to reshoot the shots and wasting time.I feel that next time I now know that I should always make sure the camera is positioned straight and not in an awkward angle. I also learnt that the camera should always be steady, that the shouldn’t be wobbly. I feel like next time I should have a dolly or just review the shots so they don’t look wobbly. By reviewing the shots after shooting meant that it will be easy for me to re-film them again there on set instead of finding out that I didn’t like it during post.
Another weakness I feel that I had was editing. I found it hard to choose which transitions look good and make the video flow together.For example, I don’t particularly like the transition between the montage and the vox pops, I feel that the slide up transition doesn’t go with the flow of the video. I feel that if I had more time I would’ve used a different transition that flowed well with the video. I would also like to add in some shots of showcasing the different cultures in Cambridge, because I had limited time I only filmed a couple of cultural shots. I feel that with more time I could’ve filmed some shots that showed off the different types of cuisines offered in Cambridge.
However I did have some strengths. For example one strength I has was in directing. During production I feel that I directed my actors well as I dint have to do a lot takes during shooting so therefore saving time.my actors knew what they were doing as they listened to what I wanted and did it effectively, meaning that I didn’t need to do multiple takes for their shots. Also the locational and establishing shots of some places looked professional and beautiful. This is mainly because of my crew, my crew arrived on time on set and they worked professionally and efficiently.
Another strength was my planning before shooting. i feel that because i organised everything quite well I was ahead of schedule and I could film early leaving me a lot of time to re shoot a couple of shoots if I had to. I feel that because I had good organisation skills in pre-production that it allowed me a lot of room during production and post production. Meaning I dint have to rush anything and make the video look unprofessional, it also allowed me to focus a lot of time on the clients feedback and allow me to tailer my video to my client.
How is this media product going to be distributed to audiences? Include at least 1 media theory in your analysis This media will be distributed in multiple platforms such as social media (i.e Facebook, twitter) also omg Youtube and the clients website. Also the client has a tourist information office where the video can be played there whilst tourists are coming. Also the video can be distributed on TV channels such as Cambridge TV or tourist channels. I feel that by having my product be distributed in multiple media platforms mean that a mass audience may be able to consume it and see it. Because I have used vox pops I feel that the two step theory could come into play, as it is making the audience listen to the opinion of others. I feel that because the opinions of Cambridge are quite positive then I feel that the audience watching may be influenced to come and visit Cambridge. However, because I didn't get anyone influential such as a famous Youtube or anyone of a public figure that people can recognise then I feel that the two step theory may be occur. Another theory is the cultivation theory. Because I feel that my product can be distributed in all different formats then I feel that the audience will see it so much that it will gradually cultivate them. Meaning that because they are seeing it so much that they are going to want to come to Cambridge.
Discuss the denotation and connotation of the product I feel that there were a lot of denotation and connotation throughout the video. For example, the denotation of having sunny bright shots connotes the fact that Cambridge is a happy, lively place. By using this denotation and connotation it makes the audience think that Cambridge is beautiful and fun and would want to and visit Cambridge. Another denotation in the video is the denotation of the colours being used in the text connotes the fact that Cambridge is a perfect and brilliant place to be. By using this denotation it will make the audience feel something because colours do make audience feel and think certain things. For example, if I used the colour blue it connotes the fact that Cambridge is a calm place. I feel that by using denotation and connotation throughout the video it can leave suitable hints for the audience to see and work out and unintentionally want to go to Cambridge. I feel that denotation and connotation create a lot more meaning and depth and by using them it gives a clear view of the product and the thought going into it.