Client Requirements & Specified Audiences

For my King Edward VI College promotional video, I was required to produce a film that realises client requirements in relation to pre-specified audiences. My target audience for this production was students in the local area wishing to further their education past GCSEs, and their parents/guardians.
In lease with the client, I was given had brief meetings, I took notes on the type of production they were looking for and I was given post-production feedback. An screenshot of the written feedback in correlation to the production can be found below:

To cater the promotional video to its target audience, I deliberately encoded various techniques. One of these was using a hip-hop soundtrack for non-diegetic sound, this is also the first thing the audience will take note on. The production was created in this way because I believe that it automatically, subconsciously soothes the audience by exposing them to sounds adolescent teenagers are familiar with.

Camera & Lighting Health & Safety

For Unit 30- Camera & Lighting Techniques, I was required to display an understanding of the Rembrandt, Butterfly and Rim/Edge lighting techniques; showing a instructions on how to achieve these and short demonstrations of each of these techniques.
Obviously health and safety precautions were respected to ensure the safety of all stakeholders of was maintained.
In the photography studio, various health and safety standards had to be abided. One of these ensuring that before moving the lights, that they were off and cool to avoid blinding and/or burning anyone affected by the production.
We also ensured that cables and leads either taped or out of the way to reduce the tripping hazard caused by them.
In addition to this we also made sure that even in a darkened photography studio room, that the exits were clearly visible. This allowed us to stay alert in the of case of a fire breaking out in the college.
The last health and safety precaution we took in the studio was making sure that the actors/actresses in front of the lights and cameras stayed adequately hydrated. Being in front of the lights exposes them to higher, more concentrated heat and thus could have lead to dehydration. To counter this, we had drinks and water readily available for anyone to drink in the studio.

Outside the studio, the public also becomes a stakeholder in the production, and thus their health and safety must also be taken into account. To ensure their safety precautions we took included having to be more aware of the public. For example when we recorded in public as a group, we would have one person who would be the designated 'lookout' for incoming pedestrians, alerting the rest of the group or kindly warning the people that filming is taken place at this location.
Lastly when capturing tracking or handheld shots, the camera-person's view becomes limited. This is not safe as the camera-person will not be able to see where they are going; potentially injuring others or themselves. To counter act this problem, we would delegate the task of being the hypothetical 'eyes' of the camera-person to someone else within the group.

Film Studies Production Evaluation

Now that I have completed Unit 11- Film Studies; looking back I believe that there were three areas that I should have worked on to improve the quality of my work for this unit.
One aspect I should have conducted differently is perhaps working as part of a team of three/four members. However, I decided to work on my production individually as this ensured I would have full creative control. The drawback of this method was that I had to handle the whole workload by myself. This slowed down the process of filming, editing, planning, etc. If I was given re-do this task, I would draft myself into a group, working on the editing aspect of the production as this is where I believe I was strongest.
Another aspect that would be conducted differently is spending more time on my production. Starting on my production late hindered the amount of time I was able to spend on it, and isolating myself by working individually did not help to rectify this shortcoming. The production feels a bit rushed because I was unable to spend as much time on it as I would have hoped.
The last aspect I would improve if given the chance to re-do this assignment is focusing on one  psychoanalysis theory to apply to my film production instead of trying to apply all three. Next time I would focus on Mulvey's 'Male Gaze' theory as I feel I had a better understanding of this theory than the Freudian and Lacanian Psychoanalysis Theories.

KEGS Promotional Video

Practical Skills

Unit 6- Practical Skills aims to develop my moving image production skills. I will be required to deploy moving image and sound technology currently used in the moving image industry in the modern day. By the end of this unit, I hope to have a better understanding of video and audio sequences exert ideas and information. As a learner the intention is that I will be introduced to a diverse range of techniques enabling me to record visuals and audio.
For the purpose of this assignment, I will plan and produce a moving image production for a client; adhering to the client's requirements and the target audience's needs. This assignment will demonstrate that I can produce a moving image production in liaison that meets the approval standards for a client.
A trail of evidence will be uploaded to this blog in future posts, in the form of a step-by-step guide of how I achieve this.

Promotional Video Plan

For my promotional video for King Edward VI College, my intentions are to run with a day in the life of the average student-esque theme. My video will primarily follow a protagonist(s); who will be deployed as sort of a presenter, around the college campus, visiting various classrooms and displaying the type of learning environment that students are presented to study in, initiating short interviews with students and commanding staff of the King Edward VI College hierarchy about their thoughts on their college experience, establishing brand identity by walking around key monuments around the educational institution, etc.
My plan is to open with this protagonist(s) walking into the college through the main entrance; displaying the college sign located just outside the college's reception. Just as the protagonist(s) are about to enter the college building, the video will fade to black with an image of the King Edward VI College logo being revealed. I have chosen to implement this feature to create instant brand identity from the beginning of the promotional video, a feature which has been ever-present in Apple's promotional videos over the years. I believe that this creating brand identity from the beginning is important as it immediately informs the audience on who's video this belongs to, I also believe it is better to create brand identity in this order as the audience may lose interest if it is not established quick enough.
Next the protagonist(s) will proceed to lead the video towards an active classroom, depicting students  hard at work on computers in their lessons, and again in a lesson where a teacher is actively teaching their students. I intend on showing students working on Macs from the Media Studies section of the college as I believe that this is the fanciest area of the college, and thus will illustrate the college in the most positive light. I also hope to get footage of a science teacher; preferably Chemistry, giving a demonstration to a surrounding crowd of their pupils. I think this is a good feature to incorporate into my promotional video as it flaunts a more enjoyable side of the college life, whilst simultaneously flashing diversity in subjects.
Between these two scenes, I plan on implement short interviews with students and key staff around the college to fill space. I have chosen to incorporate this technique into my promotional video as it broadcasts individual's honest opinion on the college. This is especially valuable as it allows current students to communicate on their own evaluation on their college experience, whilst interviews with staff gives a more informative vibe, more advantageous for parents, especially those whom may be skeptic about sending their children to attend the college.
In terms of music score, I will have to abide by Copyright, Design and Patents Act of 1988. This will require to either get presentable permission from the artists themselves, or for me to find copyright-free music to produce this promotional video without the fear of legal prosecution.
This is the plan I have drawn up thus far, however, it is subject to change during the filming process, depending on what I may interpret to work better.
In total, I intend on the duration of my promotional video for King Edward VI College to last roughly 3-4 minutes. I believe this is sufficient time to detail the benefits of this college, without dragging the production too long to the point where the audience's attention begins to shift.

Edge/Rim Lighting Footage

This is my example on Edge/Rim lighting. Edge/Rim Lighting is technique used to draw the subject away from the background, offering a sense of depth and dimension. This edge/rim lighting technique was achieved by having the main light being assisted by two fill lights/reflectors set up in a 'triangle formation. To improve on this work, next time I would use two of the same types of fill light. For this footage, I used a main light, a reflector and a dimmed light because I did not have enough of the same equipment, and I was unable to rectify this mistake because of a time restraint I was attempting to adhere to.

Butterfly Lighting Footage

This is my example on Butterfly lighting. This subject appears to have formed a butterfly-shaped shadow on the underside of his nose; this is where the name 'butterfly originates from. One problem I would rectify given then chance with the footage I had capture is that in this short clip, the subject continuously sways his head throughout the duration of my presentation. This causes the light and shadows positioned on his face to become displaced and difficult to present. However, due to the fact I was working on a time restraint, I was unable to record the perfect footage.

Rembrandt Lighting Footage

This is my example on Rembrandt lighting. I have attempted to comply with the two basic principles associated with this lighting technique; ensuring that lighting is captured on one side of the face, thus producing a chiaroscuro (a triangular area of light; no wider than the eye and no longer than the nose, thats produced through shadows).
I achieved this by positioning the camera directly in front of my subject, with a light source angled at around 45°, with a reflector key light adjacent to the light source, to slightly illuminate some shadowed area.

Experimental Filming- Opening Doors

Today; as part of my task, I was required to make a short film; the theme being opening doors, and turning it into something creative. I instead chose to take a slightly different approach from the ordinary thought of someone opening a door. Instead I opted for using 'opening doors' as more of a metaphor rather than an actually action.

My short film details a few hours in the life of a drug user who relies on his marijuana cigarettes as a 'key' to 'unlock' his mind. Below is my finished production.

In my short film, I have intentionally left several instances in which audiences may pick up the way in which the drug user's mindset is set up. More active audiences should be able to achieve the preferred reading.

The first occasion this occurs at is 11 seconds in, when the first first-person scene is shown; allowing the audience to empathise with the drug user by showing them the world from his perspective. To reiterate this point, the background behind the 'spliff' is not in focus. This was done to draw attention towards the drug user's 'key' and signify his obsession.

The next instance occurs at 34 seconds when the film displays the first in-colour shot. Prior to smoking the 'joint' the video is displayed in black and white, however once the effects of cannabis begin to set in on the drug user, 'his' world becomes colourful.

The last observation to be made is that in the video the only shots displayed in colour are also in first-person. I deliberately did this because it is an experience that is only felt by the drug user and so I felt this had to be transcended in a manner in which could still be experienced by the audience.