Over the past year I have accumulated a deeper knowledge and understanding through the use of editing softwares such as premiere pro and iMovie which I have become a lot more fond of during the past year.
I have also widened my knowledge in all aspects of editing and now understand a whole lot more which will impact my future and also helped me develop transferable skills.
At the start of the academic year we were given multiple challenges to create short films up to 2-3 minutes with a 4 hour time limit, in the 4 hours essentially as a group / on our own (some we're mixed) we were told to plan, film and edit a short film. You can see these on one of my blogposts labelled 4 hour film challenges with evaluations of each one critically. these challenges really helped get to know the editing software we would be using and was a great building block for me certainly and i'm sure for the whole group too as I had never really editing or filmed much before so getting to know all of the little elements that help to produce film really excited me. These film challenges we're very useful for me and our teachers we're great with explaining and helping along the course too.
We definitely played around with a lot of different techniques as you can see from my previous tagged blog posts all the different films we created together. Some I found a lot harder than others but all helped me to create different forms of video.
Also the topics we were given to produce our short films on also especially helped us to familiarise ourselves with the genre and that particular element of film.
Gantt Chart Firstly I have made this gantt chart to help me stick to guidelines when producing the promotional video, the gantt chart includes the shoot plans, and the second shoot plans to get all the left over bits we might have missed from the first shoot, or if the weather is bad possibly we could rectify this on the second shoot.
I have decided to give my client 2 separate ideas which they can personally flick between and change as they want as overall it is a video for their brand so they get some say in how it will be edited and the main sort of narrative to go with it. They might possibly want to use both, one for a different platform of social media and I have tailored the second plan to be more relative to instagram and quick youtube adverts - for fast viewing purposes rather than a full video with a bigger narrative which would more likely be used for facebook / tv adverts / put on youtube rather than an advertisement on youtube The Plan 1 would be more suited to defy the brand and the brand identity rather than Plan 2. Plan 1 As I said above that plan 1 would be the slightly longer advert which will be distinguishing the brand and the main meanings that go with it, it will be a narrative based advert more so than a fact based and will engage the audience in an emotional way and really connect with them through strong nostalgic motifs. The main idea would be to use a mother shopping in waitrose / m&s which first off creates a very affluent feel to it as they are the higher end food shops which are used mainly by the richer more affluent people which targets the specific audience of ABC1 that we were after. Another women who looks very similar to her(or identical twins)they both go to pick up the last item on the shelf, and after talking realise they are connected in some part of their family tree. Visually I would initially like to start it with mid shots of the woman shopping, maybe pushing around a child in a full trolly with lots of close ups, then in particular a close up of two hands going on the same item, a close up the item dropping on the floor perhaps an apple which is very cliche, creating a slight enigma with gasping sounds from the two women. A dolly zoom of both their faces, then a mid shot of them both standing next to each other looking obviously very similar them then connecting and then the app will then be explained to the people through a voiceover. I would like to use ambient shopping sounds and the natural sounds you get from a supermarket, the faint beeps of the tills etc, then the classical music will begin after the bombshell. I would like to carry on the advert with them connecting from a mid shot (pan across the supermarket), them both getting each others contact details and then a close up of one of the phone screens with the woman opening the app on her phone, and them then connecting on it and arranging to meet up in the future. (There is no actual speaking from each of the actors). They then are pictured 15 years later The idea then moves to a young teenage girl being called down for dinner, the camera follows her down and she opens up the door to the kitchen where the family are shown having a massive party/get together with a loads of different people all different cultures creating the interconnectedness message the app is trying to convey. For the music that I'm going to use depends on what the budget will be, for example if the client is willing to pay a bit extra I would love to use the pice named I Giorni by Ludiovico Einaudi, however if it comes to be too pricey then we might have to think of paying a composer to write up some similar music alike to this piece for a much cheaper price. For the house used I will rent a show home out from new build houses, I'm not too sure on what pricing would be for this. The camera pans round the room of the party and then goes out of the door into the massive garden where the party is still commencing, pans up to the night sky where loads of stars will be slowly flashing which will make up a world map slower and then they all come together, the app logo in the bottom corner and then the subtle slogans that the brief conveyed were the important messages that the audience need to understand. Them being 'Staying in touch is Vital', 'Connecting to the past is as important as facing the future', 'family is as important as friends'. These messages in particular were asked by the brief that we need to get across to the audience, and what better way to do that than to use them as texts. The last thing I want the app to show in some form that that it is free, this could be through using text next to the logo to show that there is no sign up fee or any fee at all. That it is purely to get families to reconnect with their past and their heritage. I will be planning to film over a week schedule so that we are able to get the best weather suited for the video as we wouldn't want to use bad weather as it can create sad mementos and a pathetic fallacy type feeling for the audience, we want the vibe to be happy and enjoyable, make people happy and want to be intrigued into getting the app. (Pricing for everything is shown in a different blog post). Story Board
This is my storyboard I have used for my main plan, I tried to encapsulate the main moments of my plan using stock photos (not my own) obviously but tried my best to explain briefly the main points of my plan and how I will try capture these and edit etc.
Plan 2 The second plan I have which could be more compatible with a short video on instagram or a more quick advert briefly shown to grab attention of the viewer which conveys a type of screen recording of them both texting. This one is of course not as emotional and connects with the audience as much as it is very facts based and more of an explanation of the actual app itself rather than a narrative point of view. The main synopsis will be a brief conversation between 2 people friends/family talking about the DNA app and how they've connected with people over it. For this it will be filmed on editing software rather than filming actual people. The video will contain the whoosh text sounds we are all familiar with and the typical texting sounds. The conversation will outline the following; that it is completely free, the main promotional points the app entails, and lots of non colloquial language used to appeal to the higher audience demographic. So it would be just like a typical conversation you'd have and see on the iMessage app. The ending would use the shots already filmed from the previous video and here we would make the most out of what we have already filmed and by editing this on premiere pro/iMovie which are apps I already have installed it would cost nothing but also be more compatible for instagram and for quick shown adverts where the might not have time to watch and listen to the whole narrative going on. Then showing how they all get along very well and have laughs at the table establishing this homely connected feel not only with family but friends too. This also connects both of the promotional videos, but one will be basically for free as it's editing of stuff we have already filmed and will not cost anything more to do this second video but will be more compatible for certain apps and mainly for the younger part of the target audience we are ranging the app at.
At that point I'll have the slogan appear on a sky coloured background which will also be at the end of all the videos to connect them. Instagram is to target the younger audience out of the 24-60s category so around 24-35 ish, the narrative would be more appealing to this age too.
Contingency Plan Whilst planning my promotional videos I have thought about possible mishaps on the day of filming and possibilities of thing not going according to plan as certain things may get in the way of production. To counteract possibilities of things not going exactly to plan I have decided to come up with a scheme to have a backup plan if things go wrong. The main possible mishaps could be crew members not feeling well and the weather (raining etc). Whilst encountering these problems, to overcome them I might use under studies for the main parts and to also have the cast clear a whole weekend of their schedule to help battle the weather problem, whilst filming in summer it i normally quite warm in the UK despite some random off and rainy days. Having the whole weekend to shoot could be very helpful and also the next weekend free for any reshoots etc. As the actors will be getting paid I believe it would be in their own interest to save these dates free. Also according to my second plan I have decided to film that mainly on special effects and not using actual cameras more a screen record of a conversation so weather wouldn't even need to be an issue at all.
Overall I would just like to say that personally I believe this topic has not been one of my easier tasks during my HNC, I really struggled in focusing and understanding a lot of the topic and a lot of the course as due to the corona virus we were working essentially from home which I found extremely hard as we weren't allowed in college and contacting teachers online for me was challenging.
I think everything in my promotional video could be improved, from research, idea's, a lot of the analysis of it all. i felt a bit out of my comfort zone with not having teachers around to ask when I would be stuck on little things, I would refrain from messaging and asking simple questions which I would not be hesitant in asking in a teaching environment. I feel like I went extremely off task through the past few months and almost lost myself so I found that it was really hard for me to work normally when everything around me wasn't i suppose normal. I would normally thrive in these sort of creative tasks as from a lot of the other topics, e.g music video, film studies, contextual studies etc, a lot of the other elements of the course I have exceptionally excelled at. I don't particularly like any work i have produced from this topic and if i was to do it again I would change near enough everything. I believe my analysis is strong for general videos and probably my strongest point in the whole promotional video topic.
The main unit I was given the task of planning a main promotional video from a startup company 'Fruit Bowl-Tech', they gave me the task of creating a promotional video for their company which was based around an ancestry type connecting app which gained money and profit due to the amount of sign ups the app had as it was completely free and would have no 'in-app purchases'. The audience targeted was 24-60 which I feel is a slight too big range as I feel an app regarding 30+ may have been a bit better. The company gave me a main brief and had basically asked me to plan the whole thing from location to actors to visuals and editing. I feel the task was very overwhelming.
The first element i was given from the brief was to include 4 promotional videos and get deeper meanings from seeing what general promotional videos are like, for this task I specifically chose a wide range of videos so that i could understand them a lot better. For my first video I chose The ' J'adore Dior' which depicted a classic perfume advert which gave me basics into brand identity and star image by using Charlize Theron, a very well known actress whom created a big star icon and massive hype for Dior. In this sense I couldn't in fact incorporate this type of brand identity as the brand I was given were unknown and I was basically given the purpose to 'make them big' with a relatively small budget and just one promotional video, unfortunately it would've been impossible for me to get an actor or actress on them sorts of levels to work for me, however it was good to analyse to understand that brands get to that level where they don't even need to try they can just stick a big name to the brand and be done with it, the sort of no branding in a sense becomes the brand because every women will be very aware of what the brand Dior is. Next video I analysed was the Audrey Hepburn Galaxy Advert which used mainly editing to depict a well and alive Audrey Hepburn, one of the most famous actress's in British history which again have that same branding as Dior, they don't need to show the product off a lot because they know whatever video they produce they will ALWAYS have fans of their products. They give a kind of nostalgic sense and by using Audrey creates massive brand identity and star image just there too. The third advert I analysed was The John Lewis advert, here I found that they create a sentimental meaning and less brand identity, rather get you emotional and hyped up for christmas which ultimately makes you think of John lewis and the adverts that are every year so different and well made to make you in your feelings. The last advert/promo video I analysed was the animal crossing advert, here I found they used a lot of gameplay rather than using any voiceover as it created a big interaction with the fans and a massive enigma into what the game will be like, in the advert you saw little snippets of the game to come which creates big hype in the animal crossing community fans. The next step into my Promotional video was getting research, researching into the category of consumer and target audience I was trying to appeal to, I used a focus group to try get as much information as I could regarding other people's thoughts on my own already devised plan so that I could get some general feedback before going through with it completely. This really helped me into my research findings for the end product and helped me to get a lot of my basic ideas for the video and the video's main points eg colour scheme, music, brand identity etc. My main idea was for there to be a nostalgic video where two women are in a high end supermarket and cross paths and realise they are somehow related across a long timeline and decide to connect and earn about each others family history so are depicted having a party after and the camera is just panning it's way through. A lot of my idea's were based around having a sentimental video rather than an explaining video that no-one would really remember or care about, the john lewis and galaxy adverts had their slight input here by using a narrative and creating emotion within the audience, the final part of the video would pan up to the sky and the stars would be out as constellations and all be connecting with a sort of 10 second low down into the main points of the app and what it does. I think I did a good job in trying to encapsulate this with my story board. I feel as though I could improve a lot of elements of my promotional video topic or some just tweaked slightly to be up to my normal standard of work I believe in this particular topic I have not really risen the bar for anything.
The cost list for my promotional video will entrail as follows
show home
cameras
lights
Research into kit costing and whole production management
What do you need to make a movie?
You canshoot video with almost any camera. You can even film and edit on your iPhone. But if you’re serious about filmmaking, you’ll probably need
a mirrorlesscamera, DSLR or camcorder
microphones, headphones and maybe an audio recorder
a tripod to keep your shots steady
lights or reflectors
a computer with a good editing app
Choosing a camera
Your choice of camera will depend on how much you can afford, and what kind of movies you want to make. For most people, a mirrorless camera or DSLR, where you can change lenses, is the best choice. The Panasonic G85/G80 is a good camera to start with. But if you’re shooting events, news or documentaries, camcorders are more convenient.
The new stabilised Osmo Pocket is an affordable, very compact alternative to basic camcorders and phones.
For really high-quality images, cinema cameras like the Canon C100 combine the best features of camcorders and DSLRs, though they’re expensive.
Lenses
If you’re buying a interchangeable lens camera, you can buy it with a kit zoom lens, or buy the body alone and choose lenses separately. For an APS-C camera with kit lens, I recommend adding an affordable 50mm lens for low light shots and creative shallow focus.
Sound equipment
Sound is as important as pictures, and you won’t get great audio with the microphone in your camera. Using a separate microphone will make a big difference. Lavalier (‘lav’) microphones, which clip onto clothes, are the most affordable way to get good sound. Wireless lavs are great if you can afford them. You can also use a directional microphone on a boom pole.
You really need to be listening to the sound on headphones as you shoot. But some cameras have limited audio recording options – and no headphone sockets – so you may need a separate audio recorder.
Tripods and camera support
It’s important to keep your camera steady. Some cameras have very effective built-in stabilisation, but most filmmakers use a tripod or monopod at least some of the time. If you want to be able to pan and tilt your camera smoothly, you’ll need a fluid head tripod. You can also get sliders (for smooth tracking shots), electronic gimbal stabilisers (for continuous flowing shots), and jibs (for vertical camera movements).
Lights and reflectors
Once you start to get serious about filmmaking, you’ll want to control the lighting. You can use inexpensive five in one reflectors to enhance natural light. Basic work lamps are a good starting point for learning about creative lighting. For filming on the go, LED panels are the most convenient option, though good ones are expensive. For a budget studio setup, CFL soft box lights could be a good choice.
Editing
You can edit on Macs, PCs, phones or tablets.
Computers
I use Macs. They’re designed for video editing and widely used in the film and media industry.
You’ll get more for your money with a PC, but they aren’t as user-friendly and you’ll need to check that the spec is good enough to run your editing software. Video editing – especially 4K – takes up a lot of space and needs a powerful computer.
If you don’t need to be portable, a desktop computer will be better value for money than a laptop.
Storage
If you’re just doing small projects, you can keep all your video on your main system drive, but for large and more ambitious projects you’ll probably need external drives. Solid state drives (SSDs) are faster but more expensive than hard drives.
You’ll also need external drives for backing up and archiving projects.
On a Mac, you could use the free iMovie. I use Apple’s pro Final Cut Pro X myself.
Adobe Premiere Pro CC runs on PCs and Macs: it’s only available on subscription, as is the simpler Premiere Rush (which also runs on iPads and iPhones).
DaVinci Resolve is a free, though complex, pro program for Mac and PC: you’ll need the paid Studio version to edit 4K or 10-bit footage.
On iPhone or iPad, iMovie is adequate, though LumaFusion is more professional.
On Android, you could use PowerDirector or Kinemaster.
Hire if you can
You don’t need to buy everything. Hiring is a good choice for equipment you won’t use regularly, and it’s also a way to try out equipment before you buy.
PRODUCTION CREW RATES:
(The following rates do not necessarily reflect what our company charges, please call for specific pricing)
Director of Photography Day Rate: $1,500 to $2,500
Camera Operator Day Rate: $850 to $1250
Digital Image Technician Day Rate: $500 to $750
Gaffer/Key Grip Day Rate: $500 to $600
Grip/Electric Day Rate: $400 to $500
Swing Day Rate: $350 to $500
Sound Recordist Day Rate: $900-$1200
HOURLY RATES FOR A CAMERA CREW
In the end, what you pay is going to depend on what your project entails. Generally, hourly rates for a camera crew range anywhere between $25/hour to $300/hour depending on the service. In order to complete your project, you’ll need to budget everything from crew members, to equipment type, to additional technicians. Your project might require one cameraman and half a day’s work, but it could also require two cameramen and varying types of equipment.
Whatever your camera crew uses will change with whatever is needed to make your video. With how many people are in a camera crew, there’s a lot to take into account. This is an understandably intimidating task. Not to worry ¾ We’re here to do the hard work for you! We’re so excited to discuss the details of your project and contribute to a video your business deserves. It his article didnt fully answer your question how much does a camera crew cost? contact Beverly Boy to hire a camera crew and we will be happy to consult you on your project.
So the short answer to your question is an independent "film" crew can cost anywhere from free to $10,000 per day depending on size and experience. A standard corporate shoot crew might contain an experienced Cinematographer, Sound Recordist and Grip. With decent camera gear, a small lighting package, audio equipment they would typically go out between $2,000-$3,000 per day. Rates are all over the map depending where you live and what you want
Price Kit List - Canon 850D DSLR Camera (£900, with 18-55mm Lens) OR Hire cameras/microphones and tripod from college - £20 deposit (refundable). - Stabiliser DJI Osmo Pocket (£249.99) - Tripod (24.98) - Shotgun Mic (£130) - Lavalier mic - Ring Light(£29.99)X3 = £89.97 OR Using own ring lights and also borrowing friends if more are needed - £0 - Softboxes (£42.99, Comes with multiple) - Reflectors (£17.99) - Premiere Pro (£20 a month) iMovie (free) Editing myself using my own software on my macbook downloaded for free by my college (free)
References
-Tom Barrance (2013, re-edited in 2018) Equipment for low budget filmmaking, learn about film (online) - https://learnaboutfilm.com/making-a-film/equipment-for-low-budget-filmmaking/
- Tavares Beverly (5th may 2019) How much does a camera crew cost (online) - https://beverlyboy.com/camera-crews/how-much-does-a-camera-crew-cost/ - Gary Elmer, Cinematographer/DP/Producer (12 April 2016) Quora :
How much does it cost to hire a film crew for an independent film? (online) -
For my promotional video I will be hiring some actors, therefore I legally have to have them signed release forms for everyone who will be appearing in the video for the basic consent of them.
An actor release form is the legal agreement between you and the actor. It transfers to you the rights to use any performance that was made in conjunction with your film.
When an actor is hired for an acting job, they are generally required to sign a contract with their employer. Regardless of whether the job is for a film, TV show, commercial, or live performance, there are a number of components common to all acting contracts with which actors should become familiar Below are some release forms of some examples I will use during my promotional video.
When thinking about mood boards and colours, the main thing that stood out about the brief that it wanted to connote happiness and a sense of communication we should all be allowed for FREE when trying to connect to our long lost family members. Which is why I really do not agree with the ancestry sites which charge you for wanting to find out where you come from. The fact that the app is free makes it a lot nicer to work with because you know you're trying to do the right thing and connect people together who else would've never knew about family members they could possibly be connected with.
The whole point of the app is to connect people, to create happiness and curiosity, so when constructing a mood board I thought of the things that make me happy, meaning colours and pictures that make me think happy thoughts.
i also included lots of family pictures hugging to show the affectionate and innocent meanings the app contains which is to only connect people from around the world together to create this whole interconnectedness with the world.
You can see a trend throughout my mood boards, of happy feelings and clear skies, things that personally make me and a lot of people happy, the natural feelings which just make the average person happy, thinking of colours as well, from looking at other ancestry websites, greens are used in order to show this family tree meaning, however the app DNA is not like every other ancestry app its different and more like a facebook for connecting people. So I think the app colour should be.
I also took it upon myself to of that design a logo or brand identity name by using different fonts which could relate to the meaning of 'DNA'. This could also be used on the app's face coloured in green or yellow to stand out and make people remember. For on an app face you are very limited to what you can have on there as the most successful apps, Facebook, Paypal, Snapchat have that of one bold thing to stand out. A singular Letter or an object representing the app, DNA could have the three letters standing out in green with a plain background or maybe the letters in plain with a green background. The fonts I have chosen to draw are either very bold or distorted in a way to represent this connectedness we should be having with lost members.
Synopsis Ideas
For my promotional video, from lots of research into promotional videos and the different types of promotional video's you can get. As the brief states I have to have multiple video's but similar and all interlinked I have decided to make three separate synopsis's.
KEY ITEM TO SAY ITS FREE IN EVERY ADVERT. (in capitals to remember as from researching into ancestry websites it's always a fee you have to pay and it's unfair this is the way because we are technically paying to know who our own family is.)
USING CHILDREN, using children is a good device to the age range as they will most likely be having children or have had children to create emotional nostalgic vibes.
Idea 1
A brief version of the synopsis for the instagram video is to have a conversation on a phone, using the whoosh texting sounds everyone is familiar with.
A conversation between 2 people friends/family talking about the DNA app and how they've connected with people who are in their family's who they've never seen before, basically promoting the app to her friend, explaining how it's free and all the promotional point's you would need to get the app.
Just like a typical conversation you'd have and see on iMessage, the ending would end with the girl coming off the phone and being called for dinner in that she would go downstairs and we the audience would see her family sat down at the table with her - all connected within the different promotional videos (like the mum is used in a different one and her dad or brother in a different one) Then showing how they all get along very well and have laughs at the table establishing this homely connected feel not only with family but friends too.
At that point I'll have the slogan appear on a sky coloured background which will also be at the end of all the videos to connect them. Instagram is to target the younger audience out of the 24-60s category so around 24-35 ish, the narrative would be more appealing to this age too.
(another idea into the future into the future when she opens the door)
on the app, people join in the conversation, networking within the video.
Idea 2
Facebook is normally used by the older generation now as there are apps which are more inclined to tickle your fancy for the younger generations such as snapchat and tiktok.
My idea would be that a Mum is shopping in waitrose or m&s (higher class) and another woman (identical) picks up same item as her, they look at each other in shock and then connect and find out they are related somehow. They decide to connect over this app and then find out about all the other people they've connected with through use of the app we will sow this and pop ups of messages of people connecting from all over the world. More narrative based and cringe but gets the message out. The ending will be that they are all bonding together over food, you see the identical pair at the end laughing and getting to now their heritage and appreciating it more. Then the app logo will appear and the blue sky will show with the slogans of the app 'Staying in touch is Vital', 'Connecting to the past is as important as facing the future', 'Family is as important as friends'.
Idea 3
A very well known vlogger promoting the video and talking about how he's connected with family and how they're throwing a party with all the people they've connected with. Subsequently he's vlogging the whole thing and with doing some research on youtube and what type of videos attract which type of people. I found out that in 2015 20,000 over 65s were watching youtube videos of some kind. So by knowing this information from 5 years ago I'm sure the audience has now risen if not by double so the youtube will be for all ages. However the ending of the advert will finish with panning to the sky then the app logo will appear and the blue sky will show with the slogans of the app 'Staying in touch is Vital', 'Connecting to the past is as important as facing the future', 'Family is as important as friends'.
National Geographic is typically used by the older generation and for older men/women who are history inclined and interested in heritage and the environment. They won't especially be bothered with a narrative as they're more used to straight hard facts. So by having a similar voiceover to that of David Attenborough(similar powerful interesting voice) to promote the app rather than a basic narrative. So a voiceover of people connecting using the app telling you the fact, I will use older people using the app and connecting. Like a split screen of them talking both of them on their phones with the voiceover saying how easy it is to use and how many people they can connect. The advert ending with a blue sky and the logo with the slogans, 'Staying in touch is Vital', 'Connecting to the past is as important as facing the future', 'Family is as important as friends'.
Music
For music in the background I will use a classical piece, one of my favourites because I feel as though whenever I hear it played I will stop and listen and it will also gain an older audience as classical music is aimed predominately at them.
The piece is: I giorni - Ludoovico Einaudi
Equipment list
-camera
-lights
-mics
-tripods
-hire a room
-hire actors
-camera stabiliser
-phones
-vans to transport people and items
(find out prices and cost to hire)
Location Scouting
- For the dinner hall area, possibly rent a show home in a new build of houses to show the affluence and beautiful houses,
- rent out a big manor dining hall or something alike for the day.
- Lake district for national geographic, family hiking together.
