Evaluation of Promotional Video

I feel as though my promotional video was definitely lacking. Out of all the short films I made this year, this was definitely my least favourite and due to that, ended up being my worst. It isn't really a valid excuse but as I had no personal interest in the topic, I struggled to produce a piece of work that was really a reflection of my creative abilities. Not only this, but being hospitalised forced me to put off working for my client that I was passionate about (record shop).  Excuses aside, here is my evaluation of my promotional video. Had I remained able to capture footage of the record store, and present the footage in the form of a short commercial like I initially planned, my final piece would have been a lot better.
Organisation during this topic was tough. I was initially planning quite far ahead, giving myself a good amount of time to prepare my footage and editing if in case something went wrong. But, the one time I manage to go out of my way to organise myself, I fall ill during the time I was spending organising and the time I was ill managed to also fall into the time I was meant to be meeting with my client and filming.
My client was happy with the video. I'm unsure to what extent exactly, or why, but he said it was to his needs. According to him, the music was good, the cuts were good but the shaky camera was bad. I could've improved this by actually being physically there when the filming took place. I would have been able to get lots more footage to choose from, rather than stick to the footage that my work partner was able to get. I was able to stabilize the footage, but it isn't really the same as having a steady camera hand. It would be unfair for me to criticise my partner for his unsteady hands, but it did hinder the quality of my video a bit. If I had the time, and was physically able to, I would have gone to the club myself with a tripod to get some shots.
I was happy with my song choice. It took me a while to find something that I thought would be appropriate for the age range targeted, but I found some royalty free music in the end. I wanted to go for the classic rock sound, and I think I was able to do exactly that. Speaking of music, my editing to the beat was quite good also, specifically the close up shot of the pool table.

Proof of Communication with Client - 3

Above is a screenshot from my phone from when I called my client to discuss what they thought about my promotional video. The client made a few brief points, of which were mainly positive, but the points he made for possible improvement were:

• Some shaky footage
• Not enough specific information
• Footage could be better quality; eg 1080p

The client also had positive feedback to give me:

• Good music choice - very appropriate for the age demographic targeted
• Friendly mode of address, endearing
• Nice transitions, simple and not too intense. Ideal for older target audience
• Nice emphasis on what the club is about: pool

Final Promotional Video

Editing my Promotional Video

Evidence of labelling footage and work appropriately

 

I began editing my promotional video a week later than planned, as I got out of hospital on the 8th of May and I intended to start editing on the 5th of May and be finished by the 12th. I wanted to give myself a whole week before deadline to edit my footage as my editing skills aren't the greatest and I wanted to give myself the chance to enhance these editing skills at a pace in which I wouldn't feel strapped for time.

I uploaded all of the footage onto my Premiere Pro and sifted through the parts I thought would look best in my final video.

Above is a screenshot from when I was adding a title screen to the start of the video. I did this so that the audience would know the name and what the outside of the bar looked like.

This screenshot is from when I was stabilizing the footage as it was slightly shaky upon filming. Stabilising the footage could allow it to become more professional looking. Also, choosing to stabilise the footage is far more of a sustainable and easier option for me to do than to get up and re-take the shot. Due to how strapped I was for time, I improvised and chose to stabilise.

Notes from Telephone interview

As I was unable to attend the initial meeting, I called the client and discussed the promotional video with him.

Proof of Communication with Client - 2

As I fell ill during the time in which I would have attended a meeting to record footage in the club, I apologised to the client and thankfully they were understanding as Will was still able to attend to capture footage. The client also decided on the specific audience they wanted to cater to in this conversation.
Falling ill did hinder my plans of filming, however as Will and I were working as a pair anyway, it was easy to work around and re-organise a new plan.

Codes & Conventions of Promotional Videos

There are many different types of Promotional Videos. Here are the codes and conventions of the different types:

Corporate Videos
Corporate videos are designed for a specific event/function based on what the company has commissioned the production company to produce. The purpose of the video varies depending on what the client is asking for. The target audiences of these videos are usually for company members, such as stakeholders or senior members etc.

Product Launch/Marketing
Product launches sell a product through the use of a video package. A good example are the Apple advertisements. These types of videos usually consist of interviews with the product developers, explanations of the product being sold with lots of technological language used and lots of detailed visuals of the products.

Above is an example of a product launch. This promotional video is specifically for the new iPad pro.

Promotion of Ideology and Values
These promotional videos usually centre charities or causes. Political party broadcasts also fall under this category. These promotional videos will have a set purpose and that purpose is to communicate the ideologies and beliefs of who is behind the promotional video. Direct modes of address are used in these promotional videos to acquire the audience's attention, and, often in the case to make them feel bad.

The promotional video above is a Labour party political broadcast, promoting the party's key beliefs and values.

Event Coverage
These types of promotional videos advertise events like conventions, concerts and festivals. Target audiences like this vary as it is literally just whoever is a fan of what is being advertised. These types of promotional videos may have vox pops or short interviews as a part of it, showing the attendees of the events enjoying themselves. Or, another example would be an interview with an artist being part of the PV for a music festival.

This is a trailer for Depeche Mode's 2009 Tour of the Universe world tour. The trailer consists of footage of the band's performances on the tour alongside a backing track of their latest hits.

Show-reels
Show-reels are used for various different reasons, specifically being to promote a person or company. This type of promotional video consists of a series of clips. These are put together to showcase the skills and capability of a person or company. Much like a portfolio, the show-reel will display work the company/person has completed for clients, showing the calibre of clients they have worked for.