Promotional Video Analysis

Promotional Video Analysis Video from Frankie Smith on Vimeo.


In this short video, I analysed four different types of promotional video: production launch/marketing, events coverage, showreel and promoting key values and message. I took into consideration the codes and conventions used, the mode of address, the target audience etc.






 

Promotional Video Notes

What is a promotional video?

Promotional videos are tools designed to market and promote a product, introduce a product or educate consumers about a product, cause or organisation. They tend to only last a few minutes (2-15 mins) and are often very precise and snappy, in order to hold the attention of the viewers long enough to get across their key points without the audience losing interest. 


Codes and Conventions of a Promotional Video:

• Interviews/ testimonials
• Vox Pops
• Brand identity - colours, fonts, logos
• Copyright Free (music, images etc)
• Music Score/Motif
• Instructional - how to do something
• Graphics
• Endorsements - Celebrities, well-known figures
• Cutaways
• Presenter
• Product Photography
• Demonstrations
• Length 
• Mode of Address - how you talk to people, formal, informal etc
• Narrative - beginning, middle and end?
• Targeting an Audience

Main Types of Promotional Video:

• Production launch/ marketing
• Promote key messages and values
• Internal communications
• Internal / external training
• Show-reels
• Event coverage

Inspiration and Ideas

After deciding on the content of my video, I came to the conclusion that I needed to carry out some extra research to give me some inspiration when it comes to filming cars, as I have never done so before. I watched various short documentaries to give me some ideas of what kind of shot types, camera movements, angles etc to use and to see what looked effective. Because I want to almost use the male gaze to present the car in my own documentary in a way that makes it look as though Jordan sees it as an object of desire, I thought it was important to focus and look specifically at the way cars are filmed to look attractive.

Below are some of the short documentaries that I found particularly inspirational. 






I really enjoyed this video, particularly because of the different shot types the producer has used. I like the way in which he/she use lingering shots of the car and film from different angles. 

First Shoot Evaluation

Looking back on my first shoot for my psychoanalysis film, I believe that it was relatively successful overall, although I can see that there are definitely some improvements to be made and things that I would do slightly differently if I were to shoot again. I felt as though I had limited time to film, as we started the shoot in the mid-afternoon and with it being winter and therefore it getting dark early, it meant that I had only a few hours to get the clips that I needed. For the limited time that I had, I feel as though I did get a fair amount of footage, although it is not all at the highest quality. I used a Canon 700D camera to film, however, I feel as though if I had used a Canon 5D Mark II, the quality of video would have been at much higher standard as this camera is much more suitable for film than a standard DSLR camera is.


Throughout the filming process, I used a wide variety of shot types and camera movements (pans, close-ups, medium close-ups etc), which I think is effective because it makes the video look more visually interesting, however, I would have liked to have shot an even wider variety, including establishing shots, extreme close ups, extreme long shots etc. Below are some stills from the clips that I have that illustrate the kind of shot types and camera movements that I utilised. 

Medium Close-Up

Close-Up

Medium Close Up

Mid Long-Shot

Shooting Plan Two - Pyschoanalysis

My ideas

Looking back on the footage from my first shoot, I have decided that it is not the standard that I had hoped for and therefore will conduct another shoot on 21/01/15. This shoot will have the same basic idea as the first - I will film both interviews and shots of the car. I hope to include a wider range of camera movements and shot types, whilst also experimenting with composition and apterture (shallow depth of field  I will ask my subject to wear the same clothes as he did in my first shoot, for continuity, as I may still make use of some of the clips from shoot 1. 
I will ask the same or similar questions as in shoot one, and hopefully interview family and/or friends who can talk about Jordan's obsession. I am hoping to film in the early morning so that I have plenty of time to film, however, if I am running later than this on the day I will use additional light sources so that I can film for longer in the evening. 



Lighting

The lighting in my first shoot was not as high-key as I had hoped, so for my second shoot I plan to use two/three LED light sources placed on tripods so that I can correctly expose my film clips. This will improve the overall quality of the clips, making them look a more professional standard.




Audio

Watching my clips back from my first shoot, I have noticed that using the in-camera audio is not ideal as there is some noticeable background noise (almost like a buzz or a hum) which is quite distracting when trying to listen to what my subject is trying to say. For my second shoot, I am going to use a Zoom H1 microphone to record the audio of the interviews, which record the sound at a much higher quality. 

I also plan to use non-diegetic sound in the form of music. This may be introduced within the title sequence and then dip in and out of the main body of footage, depending on where the interviews are.
I have chosen the song 'Where's Your Car Debbie?' by the punk band Slaves for several reasons. The first reason being that it is relevant to the subject matter of the documentary - it mentions the word car, it is about finding a persons car. The second reason is because this particular band is Jordan's favourite band, thus making the documentary more personal to him. The third reason is because in the music video for the song, they use a classic vw beetle, which is the same car make and model as Jordan's car.

Equipment

Although I am relatively happy with the quality of the film that I recorded from my Canon EOS 700D, for my second shoot I want to use the Canon EOS 5D Mark II because I know that this camera is much better suited to moving image than just a standard DLSR camera.

I am hoping to use two lenses along with the 5D - a standard lens for general filming (the interviews, long shots etc) and a 50mm lens for close ups etc (this lens has a lower aperture so allows more light in, allowing for a shallower depth of field), however I will only be able to use this lens whilst indoors because it allows so much light in that if it were to be used outside, all of my footage would be completely overexposed.

I will also use a fluid head tripod so that all of my footage is stable and there is no camera shake unless intentional, and a 64GB SD card with 90 MB/s.


Location


The location I am going to use will be the garage that the car is stored in and my subjects house. I have chosen these places as my two main locations in which to film because my subject feels most comfortable in them (being as they are where he spends most of his time) and because they are relevant to the subject matter of the documentary. In the two places there is a lot of iconography that connotes the idea that my subject is obsessed with VW beetles and cars in general.  

Risk Assessment

The majority of the footage that I will be recording will be filmed whilst in a fairly enclosed space, being as it is a fairly small garage, so I will have little room to manoeuvre my equipment. I will have to make sure that my subject is aware of any wires, tripods etc to avoid anything falling over and breaking either the equipment, or the car that is being filmed, as well as avoiding any trips that may injure myself or my subject. The garage is also full of car parts, tools, actual whole vehicles etc so I will need to make sure that everything has been put away correctly and nothing is left lying on the floor. 

Structure

• Title sequence
• Introduce Jordan
• Shots of the car
• Interview with Jordan
• Cleaning the car
• Interview with Jordan
• 
  

Visual Influences

Below are various clips, documentaries and photographs that I am going to take influence from in my next shoot. I may use these videos as inspiration for shot types, angles, camera movements, content etc. 

Psychoanalysis Film - Editing Process

The editing and post-production stage is vital in the creation of my psychoanalytical film; the way in which I edit my clips and combine them has a huge impact on the way the my subject's obsession is portrayed. For example, shallow depth of field, repetitive clips and lingering shots all echo and highlight the idea of obsession. 
To edit, I use Adobe Premiere Pro CS6, which allows me to organise my footage and separate clips according to the content of them. I have separated and organised each of my clips into 'bins' - one for audio, one for titles, one for interview footage, one for footage of the car and one for miscellaneous footage.

Shooting Plan One

Main ideas

My idea for this shoot is to focus predominantly on the interview footage, whilst also trying to capture footage of the car itself. I will ask my subject (Jordan) various questions about his obsession and then in post-production, I will carefully select my footage in order to construct the interviews in such a way that it really enhances the idea that he is obsessed with his car. 


Lighting

I plan to use natural ambient lighting as my main light source but will also use any other available lighting as it will enhance the quality of the exposure a fair amount. I could use light from windows, ceiling lights, lamps etc to light the room that I am filming in.


Audio


I plan to record a voice-over to layer ontop of some of my footage in the recording studio. The narration will explain any information that is not obvious to the viewer to begin and also introduce to the audience what the entire documentary is about. Most of the rest of the audio (interviews etc) will be recorded in camera.





Equipment

In regards to the equipment I plan to use, I intend on using my Canon EOS 700D camera paired with a 18-55mm f/3.6-5.6 lens and a fluid-head tripod which will allow me to utilise different camera movements and angles. This will make for documentary of professional standard, as there will be no camera shake as a result of hand-held camera movement, unless intended, and because it will have a variety of different shot types to make the documentary more visually interesting. 


 



Location


The location I am going to use will be the garage that the car is stored in and my subjects house. I have chosen these places as my two main locations in which to film because my subject feels most comfortable in them (being as they are where he spends most of his time) and because they are relevant to the subject matter of the documentary. In the two places there is a lot of iconography that connotes the idea that my subject is obsessed with VW beetles and cars in general.  

Risk Assessment

The majority of the footage that I will be recording will be filmed whilst in a fairly enclosed space, being as it is a fairly small garage, so I will have little room to manoeuvre my equipment. I will have to make sure that my subject is aware of any wires, tripods etc to avoid anything falling over and breaking either the equipment, or the car that is being filmed, as well as avoiding any trips that may injure myself or my subject. The garage is also full of car parts, tools, actual whole vehicles etc so I will need to make sure that everything has been put away correctly and nothing is left lying on the floor.