Professional Project : Evaluation

As we are yet to receive feedback from Matt Desmier, our primary client, it is hard to evaluate the work based on an outside perspective.
Our single feedback so far is from David Burton, head of innovation at Redweb in response to our promotional video we made for their company.
David Burton stated they were “very happy” with the video itself, also adding it was “brilliant”, with which I am ecstatic about as my input towards the project was mostly focused on the planning, filming and construction of the videos.
Upon reflection, there are a few things I could have done better in this professional project but without such, I would not learn. However, my hindrances can only be considered minor in relation to the entire work result, as the major delays were ultimately out of our control.

Our group (Cat Abbott, George Darrell & I), began the project with the planning stages. We initially met with Matt Desmier (The founder of Meetdraw) and he posed the question: How do we get digital media companies known in Bournemouth? Matt then mentioned a publication he was working on which holds most of the digital media companies in and around Bournemouth and Poole. We then decided it was best to create a virtual version of said book, therefore building a website which held the geo-location and a representational video for each media based company.
We then set out arranging meetings with 5 companies, with the possibility of more to be added. We were only able to schedule four of the five meetings, with Thinking Juice not replying to our emails. We were content to produce a video for each of those companies but unfortunately out of those four, only two replied efficiently to our follow up emails, sending us the relevant work (showreels, fonts & existing designs) which was vital to completing each video.
Therefore, we prioritised the companies who had good communication, providing the previously mentioned essential content. These two companies were Redweb and Bright Blue Day, with Salad also in mind as their communication was still strong at that point.
Our idea for Redweb was to create a “Day in the Life” type video, in which we would film around the office, interview various employees and then ask “what does innovation mean to you?”
We began pre-production as soon as David Burton (Head of innovation) gave us the go ahead.
We filmed over the space of two days, taking various shots with the z5, Nikon and Hd Hero for time lapses. We soon learnt we were missing something we had previously tried to book out but failed; the fostek audio recorder with boom mic. After capturing the video from both cameras, I wasn’t overly happy with the outcome, especially with the poor sound. The z5 itself was fine, but the attachable mic’s range was limited, so did not record great interview sound. The Nikon was also set to the wrong refresh rate so we noticed a “strobe” light appear on the footage which was unusable. We therefore came to the decision to reshoot, this time with the required equipment. We fixed the Nikon problem, the fostek recorder worked perfectly, I used my 600d instead of the Z5 for filming, and we also took the Hero camera for good measure, taking further time lapses around the office.
Editing this time around went smoothly, and I completed the editing within three days, after normalising sound, matching contrasts and picture quality between all three cameras. We then proceeded to send the completed video to Redweb who said they loved it but we needed to change the titles to their official typography, which they sent over in a font pack. I edited it on the same day and David replied with many thanks.
Whilst I was editing, Cat was working on the website which we had developed together but constructed solely by Cat. We came up with the name “Digital Media Collective”, and we set about designing a suitable format and colourisation. Originally, we had planned to design our own map to integrate into the website. However, this would have taken far too much time as neither of us have experience creating maps. We decided it was best to simply integrate a Google map instead, then add suitable colourisation fitting with the rest of the website.
Cat took charge of getting the website up and running whilst I designed the contact details and logo on photoshop. From that point, Cat coded the website and I began to plan the other companies videos.
We began working on a concept idea for Clockworx & Salad and was due to start but they failed to send the relevant show reel and font packs. I then decided to turn my attention to Bright Blue day, for which I planned a time lapse tilt shift with added typography entailing what the company is “about”.
Based on the theme of their website, Bright Blue Day were eager to convey a sense of fun and ambition, but not wholly around the seaside. We therefore set about location hunting for perfect time lapses in and around Bournemouth and Poole.
We filmed on six separate days, whenever the weather would permit. The filming itself was relatively easy as both George and I own SLRs so we only needed to rent out a tripod.
We took around 15 shots, but unfortunately ⅘ were unusable, as we soon discovered the vital secret to a great tilt shift is of course height. The shots that were lacking height were not used as it would have looked out of place.
We then proceeded to edit and add the typography. Bright Blue Day were good in communication and they sent me the relevant font pack to use the same text, therefore up keeping consistency in their image.
I wanted the typography to be subtle in every shot and also gently moving. I began by gridding the entire shot, allowing a constant plane for the typography to stick to. Relevant lighting would hit said plane and cast shadows from the type onto the shot, so that it would look as authentic as possible. In some shots, tracking to scale and position was required (ferry shot), which admittedly took quite a while to figure out. It was also essential that the typography never left the main focal point, and did not travel in the tilt shift blur. Doing this, I learnt more than I have ever done using after effects, truly enabling me to get to grips with the software and understanding how it works. I am pleased with the final video as it is exactly how I imagined it when I first drew it out on a mood board.

I am very proud of the videos that were completed, and would, for the first time allow this work to be portrayed as part of my portfolio. It is not only the final product but also the planning, pre and post production stages of this professional level project which taught me valuable digital and even social skills; including camera, organisation, after effects and personal meetings with clients. Although I can honestly say that more work could have been done if clients had permitted, I am still very happy with the videos combined with Cat’s finished website.

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