LO 1. Be able to create a proposal with sample materials for an original media product to a client brief.
WORKING TITLE: CAMBRIDGE & Culture
P1: Produce a proposal for the original media product to meet the client brief
CULTURE - "The arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively." -- "The ideas, customs, and social behaviour of a particular people or society."
For this unit I am required to produce a piece of media that advertises multiculturalism in the city of Cambridge, to do this I have decided to produce an audio visual presentation that will include shots of Cambridge mixed with an upbeat musical track and a voiceover that really hits home the message of multiculturalism in the city. For this piece of work I first chose to research precisely what is meant by culture. If you only look at human culture, as opposed to bacterial, we see that there are two definitions… “The arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively.” “The ideas, customs, and social behaviour of a particular people or society.” I decided that due to Cambridge’s interesting and visible history, mainly through architecture, the first definition could provide me with an interesting basis to work a short film around.
|
It should last around 3 minutes this is so that audiences who are not usually interested in the culture of cities can watch and not grow tired of the video and town. As this is for an award, keeping the moderators happy and interested is a vital part to providing an effective product so a shorter run time will also be beneficial. The brief also mentions the fact that the film will be shown at film festivals to display and highlight the city to potential tourists, therefore keeping the film short will keep film festival goers interested and therefore more likely to go to Cambridge.
|
As before stated it shall have background royalty free music and a narrated voice over. This music will be lively and upbeat without any offensive rhythms, this is very important for keeping audiences enjoying the media, especially if it to be used as an advert, where people don’t necessarily want to watch the video in the first place. This will help the audience to feel at peace whilst deriving enjoyment from the media. To create the desired effect I intend to provide a voice over for the first part of the video. I will switch to just music and images halfway through however to leave the audience to formulate their own opinions about the city. I am going to focus on 4 cultural aspects of the city, these can be split into two groups, which are natural and human. I am going to delve into the River Cam, the natural structure of the city including the well preserved parkland. I will focus on the history of the city in particular the rich historic background as well as the contrast of new and old, and the city as a developing environment. I will portray this graphically through architecture. Finally I will also focus on Cambridge in its most famous role as a centre of learning an innovation through the multiple colleges. I shall make it consist of mostly architectural shots with some scenic shots overlaid to push home the feeling of beauty that you feel in the city. This is also important when focusing on culture as most of the architecture that you see in Cambridge is very old and says definite points about the people who built it.
|
It shall appeal to tourists who are perhaps doing a long trip to England and are wondering which cities to visit. It will highlight how there is an appeal for everyone I think it will mostly appeal to middle aged tourists, as the shots that I include will highlight beautiful buildings and museums which statistically are more enjoyed by the older members of society. There will be lots of pans and slow zooms as often seen in other promotional videos for cities or other places of interest, as well as cuts that follow with the beat of the music. For the award ceremony it is important to follow the codes and conventions of the promotional video genre. This is because this has been done many times and is proven to work. And if it works I feel that it is a very good idea to do it.
|
|
This video is a prime example of a promotional video. It is for a similar brief and is professionally produced. I like the way that the presenters are very positive about the area however are not afraid to mention its shortcomings. This gives it a very real feeling as you do not feel as though they are sugarcoating the city.
I feel that the video could be improved upon however, because it doesn't focus on anything for very long, which unfortunately means that as an audience we are unsure of what makes the best qualities of Hull so good. Furthermore they rarely talk about the cultural significances of Hull, which bearing in mind that the video is about the city winning City of Culture it seems like they have missed a vital aspect. I also noticed that legally and ethically. Alexei Sayle likens an aquarium to "Fish Auschwitz" this comment may offend some people as it may seem as though the holocaust is being trivialised. On the other hand however, Alexei is of Jewish decent so that might make it more allowable. However i would still avoid any potential issues if I were to make mine. |
P2: Create sample materials to support the proposal
The first page of my storyboard.
Here is the first page of my script.
Later I found out that filming in the Grand Arcade was not possible, therefore I need to alter this and my storyboard. Furthermore due to it being winter many shots that I hoped for were not possible however I have altered my storyboard and script to suit the more difficult conditions. |
Here is a large page of a selection of Final Cut Pro font lists. These shall be the ones I shall consider. The one that I think I shall use in the end is the ninth one down "Herculaneum" I feel that it is suitable and also the name is the name of a Roman city, and as I am filming a city it is a great coincidence. Further to this, due to the historical focus of my video, it is very fitting. The font is also very curvy and pleasing to the eye, this means that any audience member will not be offended by it and are therefore much more likely to take notice to the media.
|
M1 - Justify content, distribution and marketing methods.
My client is Cambridge Council. As my product will bring in tourists and win an award they should be more than happy to fund what I think will be a successful piece of media, furthermore the cost of my piece, that will be quite low, shall make them interested in what I have to offer. This is because whilst a small commission would be pleasant, I am willing to work for far cheaper than most competitors, yet I believe that I can produce similar quality in results.
In terms of content there are no problems. I have chosen to put a narrators voice that advertises the charms of Cambridge over numerous shots of the city that should create a visual spectacle that really astonishes the judges for the culture award so that they are sure to choose Cambridge. Whilst this outcome suits the client perfectly it is also well within my ability to produce, as the music I use shall be royalty free I have no impending legal problems, furthermore I can use my own camera to reduce costs in terms of equipment. This is further helpful as I have the relevant skill using my Canon 700d and therefore I don’t need to learn anymore before I start to film.
My length of film which shall be 2 to 3 minutes is an acceptable length of time to portray the virtues of the city without going on too much or loosing out on important details. As the piece is a promotional video and therefore a positive piece of media whilst being made as a school project, securing permission for areas like the Grafton Centre or Grand Arcade should be easy enough.
Distribution and Marketing is also an easy thing to work with the council on, they can provide money for website adverts, perhaps pre youtube advertisement videos, as well as the ties with the government could be useful if another “Holidays at Home are Great directive” comes around, which after Brexit there could end up being an increase in at home holidays. And if they weren't to do this and I had to market this off of my own back. I would post it to via Youtube and Vimeo and spread it through social media. In particular through the cambridge city councils Facebook and Twitter page. This form of advertising is very good for someone with a low budget as it is essentially free but it gets shared to a great number of people who all, by following the page, have displayed an interest in Cambridge city. As this promotional video is for the City of Culture Award we can assume that the main form of distribution and marketing for the video will be its distribution through the Regional Culture Awards by the Cambridge City Council. This video could also be published on the website for the Cambridge City Council (https://www.cambridge.gov.uk) which would also be a form of publicity.
In terms of content there are no problems. I have chosen to put a narrators voice that advertises the charms of Cambridge over numerous shots of the city that should create a visual spectacle that really astonishes the judges for the culture award so that they are sure to choose Cambridge. Whilst this outcome suits the client perfectly it is also well within my ability to produce, as the music I use shall be royalty free I have no impending legal problems, furthermore I can use my own camera to reduce costs in terms of equipment. This is further helpful as I have the relevant skill using my Canon 700d and therefore I don’t need to learn anymore before I start to film.
My length of film which shall be 2 to 3 minutes is an acceptable length of time to portray the virtues of the city without going on too much or loosing out on important details. As the piece is a promotional video and therefore a positive piece of media whilst being made as a school project, securing permission for areas like the Grafton Centre or Grand Arcade should be easy enough.
Distribution and Marketing is also an easy thing to work with the council on, they can provide money for website adverts, perhaps pre youtube advertisement videos, as well as the ties with the government could be useful if another “Holidays at Home are Great directive” comes around, which after Brexit there could end up being an increase in at home holidays. And if they weren't to do this and I had to market this off of my own back. I would post it to via Youtube and Vimeo and spread it through social media. In particular through the cambridge city councils Facebook and Twitter page. This form of advertising is very good for someone with a low budget as it is essentially free but it gets shared to a great number of people who all, by following the page, have displayed an interest in Cambridge city. As this promotional video is for the City of Culture Award we can assume that the main form of distribution and marketing for the video will be its distribution through the Regional Culture Awards by the Cambridge City Council. This video could also be published on the website for the Cambridge City Council (https://www.cambridge.gov.uk) which would also be a form of publicity.