CHARLOTTE WAKERLEY
LEVEL 3 MEDIA STUDENT
Creative Project
Interpretation of the brief
In this assignment, I must create a video or a series of photographs and post it on social media to online audiences, using the theme of hidden in plain sight and I must create audio-visual work that suits the theme of identity or strength. The target audience is aimed at young inspiring creators and the deadline for this project is the 10th of June 2022. I can create either a documentary, music video, short film, video podcast or a series of photographic images to showcase one of the themes.
Challenges I may face
In this assignment, I feel like I will do well with video editing as I have improved my editing skills from the last two projects, and I am feeling more confident with these skills. However, I feel like I will struggle with my camera operating skills as I am not great at setting up and using the equipment. To improve my camera operating skills, I will do some test shots and practices in my free time/before I shoot.
Research into social media campaigns
In the #ThinkBeforeYouLike image campaign, it shows a picture of a cheetah and there are a lot of captions/text on the image so that the audience can understand what the campaign is about. The background of this image is black which makes the cheetah, and the captions stand out, which helps get the message of the campaign across. The story behind this campaign is that people should think before they like posts of animals. They explain in the campaign that when you spot photos of pet cheetah cubs on social media, everyone should know that most of those animals are victims of trafficking. The photographer has conveyed this message through the lens by trying to make it look like cheetahs are cute, friendly pets but once you read the text, it makes you think twice about it. The supporting text and hashtags help support the message, as their viewers can understand more about the subject and what they are trying to raise awareness of.
In Dove’s #ShowUs project campaign, it shows clips of women trying to support other women. The story behind this campaign is to promote positivity and to create a higher feeling of inclusion for women in their day-to-day life, by shattering the beauty industry’s expectations. The director of the campaign has conveyed this message by using lots of voice-overs of women speaking about beauty and confidence.
Instagram research
I did some research on how Instagram posts become viral so that I can use the same techniques so my final product can be successful. I also researched what makes a good social media post so then it can help me with my process when creating my post.
Research into vertical videos
It is useful to make vertical videos to post on social media as lot of phone users like to use their phone in vertical mode and this makes it easier for them to watch videos. Lots of social media platforms cannot be used in landscape mode so posting videos in vertical mode is more practical for the audience to watch the video. Study also shows that way more people would stay and watch a video/advert if it is in vertical mode. A study also shows that people are more engaged with a video if it is in vertical mode on social media which is good for adverts as it helps sell their products and showcase them.
For Facebook and Instagram feeds, the aspect ratio for a video is 4:5 or 1:1 and for Facebook and Instagram stories, you can use an aspect ratio of 9:16 or 4:5. For a video carousel format, use 1:1 aspect ratio for all videos on there. Overall, the ideal aspect ratio for pure-play vertical videos is 9:16 and the ideal resolution is at least 720p for exporting high-quality videos from whatever tool you use to create them.
Vertical videos have become popular because they make it easier for the viewer to watch the video on social media, hence their rise in popularity.
Firstly, I imported my vertical video into Premiere Pro.
I then went to the sequence settings and I set my video ratio to 1080 x 1920 (9:16) so that my video could be exported into a vertical video without the black bars around it.
I then made sure my video fit into the frame as there were still black bars around it and then I exported my clip.
Instagram market research
I did some market research on some of the tools I might want to use on Instagram and why it is important and useful for engaging and understanding my audience.
Initial research into strength and identity
Instagram poll
I created an Instagram poll so that I could get some ideas of what my audience would rather see for my final product.
Secondary research into strength and identity
Strength:
The definition ‘’strength” could have different meanings depending on what the situation is. Strength could mean having the ability to deal with certain situations, physical power, a positive attribute (strengths and weaknesses) or a source of strength or support. In the Cambridge dictionary, strength is described as “the ability to do things that need a lot of physical or mental effort.” They also gave examples of strength.
Identity:
The definition “identity” could have multiple meanings, just like strength. The definition of identity is who you are, the way you think about yourself, the way you are viewed by the world and the characteristics that define you. On the website ’Quora’ someone believed that identity is that fact of being who, with reference to qualities, beliefs, personalities, looks and even expressions. They also said that everyone’s names are the only identity of yours known to you.
I have selected the theme of identity because I want to inspire others to not be scared to express their true identity/self. I plan to use this theme to create an inspiring short film or documentary and I would like to share an inspiring message with my audience in my video. I believe that the pro of picking this theme is that it is a very inspiring and positive theme, and I would love to include an inspiring mood and atmosphere into my video/film.
Audience research
Survey
My survey results showed that the majority of my audience were males aged 16–17. It is essential to know my target audience's age and gender since knowing who they are in terms of gender, age, and interests will help me figure out what type of creative content I will need to produce for my film.
I started by asking my audience what they believed made a good social media campaign. Based on my results, I believe it is essential for a post to be engaging and to keep the audience hooked. This is good feedback as I understand that it is necessary to keep your audience interested when posting on social media, or else they will become bored.
I then asked them what would make them engage with a social media post and from looking at their answers, I could see that the most common answer was having relatable content. I agree with the answers from my survey as most of the content I interact with on social media is entertaining. I would like my final product to be entertaining for my audience as I believe that more people will engage with it.
I also asked the people who answered my survey what would make them not engage with a post. The most common answer was having a post that is too extra. I agree with these comments as I would like to keep my post as simple as possible as having a post that has too much stuff going on can confuse the audience.
I asked what social media platforms my audience use as well. The most popular answer from my survey was Instagram as they like to engage with other peoples’ posts, and they like to express themselves. This is good for my campaign post as I am planning on posting my short film on Instagram so I now believe a lot of people will engage with it.
From my results, I could see that a lot of them did not understand the theme of hidden and plain sight, however from the results I did get I could see that a lot of my followers believe hidden in plain sight and identity could mean how people dress and it could also be culture. I agree with these results as the way people dress helps people express themselves and growing up with different cultures can make everyone’s identity different.
They also think that the best way to interact with a post as a consumer is to like and comment on posts and they could also share the post to get more people to see it. I think these are great ways to engage with a post as a consumer and it could help with making the post viral as well.
I shared both of my ideas with the people who did my survey so then I could see which idea was more popular, which will help with developing my final idea. From the results, it is shown that my superhero short film is a more popular idea than my gender identity documentary as many more people seem to be interested with the theme of superheroes rather than gender.
Mind map of initial ideas
I chose the idea of secret identities and superheroes as I think that this idea will be fun and entertaining for my audience and I also think that this short film will inspire my viewers to help out others and also it might inspire them to create their own short films.
In my superhero short film, I want to showcase a teenage boy at college who saves people who are in danger, such as people being robbed, people being chased and I also want him to help the homeless. I want this superhero to be inspired by the character Spider-Man and the graffiti artist Banksy as I want him to hide his identity and he doesn't have a uniform.
How has my research informed the contents of my mind map?
I came up with the content for this idea, by talking about Marvel superheroes with my friend, James and it inspired me to create a superhero and secret identity film. I got the idea of having a Banksy inspired superhero as he only works at night and he is never seen, which is what I want my superhero to do too. I also went on a trip a few years ago where I had a tour of Banksy's work and I was thinking of that trip when I was coming up with initial ideas in my research.
Feedback:
From the feedback that I received about my initial ideas, my peers suggested that the theme of superheroes would be the most engaging and entertaining idea for my audience. They discussed that if I made a post with the topic of this, it will keep my viewers hooked rather than having a documentary about gender or fashion. They also shared that doing this theme could also be linked to nurses and police officers as they are everyday heroes, which could be another idea for this theme. As well as getting feedback from my peers, I also got feedback from my survey and audience research. I could see that the theme of superheroes was the most popular answer which also shows that it might be an engaging topic for my certain audience.
My pitch
Feedback:
One of the strengths from my pitch was, I made a decent amount of research and planning beforehand. This was good for my pitch as it helped me be more organised when presenting my PowerPoint. Another strength I had during my pitch was, I presented my idea well and it linked to the brief. This was important for my pitch as I needed to make sure my audience understood my idea and I am now confident that my idea relates to the theme of identity and hidden in plain sight. One more strength I had from my pitch was that I explained my target audience clearly. This was also important as it is useful to know who is watching my video and I discussed this section well in my pitch presentation.
One of the weaknesses I had from my pitch is that I did not include both primary and secondary research. For my primary research, I included screenshots from my Instagram poll and Q&A, however I did not include any of the secondary research I gathered, so next time I will make sure to include this. Another weakness I had from my presentation was that I included too much text in my slides, and it wasn’t clear for my audience, next time I will make sure to include less text and add bullet points instead.
In addition to this pitch, I will now do some production research on lighting for my short film, as I will be shooting most of my short film outside and I need to know what time of the day will be best to shoot my video as the lighting will change throughout the day. I will also need to research what lights I will need if I end up using them. I will also need to research composition as I will need to know who is doing what role, especially for my crew as of right now I am the only crew member so I will need to research how I will take on all the roles such as lighting, sound and camera operating.
Mood board
I created a mood board so I could visualise my idea and I could include what influenced my final idea.
Storyboard
I created a storyboard so I could see what I want my shots to look like in my final product and it will help me with the production process when shooting.
Scripts
Script
I created a script so then i know what actions and lines my actors will say in each scene of my short film.
AV script
I created an AV script so then I know what will visually happen in each scene and it will also help me recognise what sound effects and music I will need to use in each scene.
Shot list
I created a shot list so then I will know what shot sizes, camera movements, frame sizes and angles I will need for each specific shot when shooting.
Technical workshops
Images
I practiced different photography techniques in one of my workshops. Although I haven't chosen photography for my final product, I think this workshop has helped me with different techniques.
Triangle - I used the triangular lighting to create a powerful image. I would like to use this kind of lighting in my final product as it will make my film look powerful however it would be very difficult to capture it in a moving image rather than a picture.
Leading lines - I think this technique will be very beneficial for my short film as it can be easier to capture in a video. Taking this picture was the easiest for me to capture out of all of the techniques I learnt in this workshop.
Frame within a frame - I believe that this technique was the most difficult to capture as I had to get the timing right as I chose a moving object to place in my picture.
I then used Photoshop to improve my images as some weren't bright enough and they all had dead space in the frame.
Triangle - I cropped my image so that I could get rid of the dead space and so that I could focus the triangle more. I also made the image brighter and made it black and white to make it more powerful.
Leading lines - For leading lines, I didn't change much to the image. I also decided to crop this image to get rid of dead space.
Frame within a frame - Just like the other photos, I also cropped this image.
Videos
I did a video workshop so I could practice with the camera, lighting and audio equipment.
I firstly trimmed down my clips so that I could get rid of the parts of the clips I didn't need and I also colour graded my videos so that the quality would be better.
I then used the audio gain tool to make the audio clearer for my viewers.
I finally used the constant gain to fade my audio in and out at the end and I also used transitions to separate each interview.
Proposal
Intended outcome – A short film about a teenage superhero who hides his identity and fights crime and saves lives.
Intended audience – The intended audience for my short film will be towards aspiring media creators and people who enjoy watching action/superhero films.
Treatment –
In the first scene, it will be a training montage of my superhero lifting weights, working out and on the running machine. I will make sure that the superhero isn’t fully revealed in this scene as I want to slowly reveal his identity throughout the short film, so then I can stick to the theme and brief. I will film this scene at my house as I have a home gym.
In the second scene, my superhero will be walking through the city, trying to find a villain who had just robbed a bank. I will slowly reveal the identity of the hero and villain in this scene as it will hook my audience. I will film this scene in the Gloucester city centre.
In the third scene, I will film a fight scene between the villain and hero. This will show the final identity of the hero and it will show the hero being their true self, which is the goal of this film. This will also be filmed around the Gloucester city centre.
Legal and ethical – I will need to be careful about copyright. Since I am doing a superhero film, I will need to make sure that my superhero’s name has not already been invented and I will also need to make sure the superhero’s costume has not already been created. I will also need to make sure my music and sound effect choice is copyright free. I will also need to create a risk assessment as I need to make sure that my crew and cast are safe. I will also need to make sure that my content will not be offensive.
Planning – To make sure I achieve these plans, I will create a storyboard and shot list so that I know what type of shots I need in each scene. I will also create a script for my cast, and I will also create a production schedule and I will ask my cast when they are available so that I can achieve this.
Resources –
Equipment – I will need a Canon EOS RP, camera lens and a tripod to record my clips. I will also need a microphone to record the audio. I will also need editing software's such as Premiere Pro and Adobe Audition to edit my clips and audio together. Luckily, I have access to all this equipment so I will not need to book anything, which will make the production process much easier.
Cast and crew – My cast and crew members will be myself, James Chance and Faith Bethell. For my cast, I will need to ask people to participate in my film and I will also need my casts contact information so that I can contact them before shooting. I will also need their permission to post the film on social media.
Distribution – I will be posting my short film on HIPS Instagram account, and I will also be posting it on my personal YouTube page.
Production schedule
I created a production schedule so that I can manage my time during this project and so I can get everything done in time for the deadline.
Location recces
I created location recce sheets as it is important for me and my team to get to know the location before the day of the shoot.
Kit list
I created a kit list so then I will know what I need when it comes to production and post production. I also luckily have access to all this equipment at home so I will not need to create an equipment booking form.
Props and costumes
I created a prop and costume list so that I can be prepared for the days when I will be shooting my film. Also knowing what I want my props and costumes to be will allow me some time to equip these items for my film. For my costumes I would like my superhero to wear casual clothes with a mask and gloves, and I would like my villain to wear an victorian styled outfit with a cane as a prop and also a mask.
Cast/crew
I created a list for my cast and crew so that I can gain their contact information and so that I will know when they are available to shoot.
Release forms
I got my cast to sign release forms so I can show that I have permission to film them and post it on my social media platforms
Risk assessments
I created risk assessments for all of my locations so that myself and my cast will be safe on set, and know the risks there will be on certain locations.
Test shoot
For the process of this test shoot, First I set up my equipment and decided where it would be best to shoot. Unfortunately I had limited options on where to shoot for my test shoot as I had covid so I couldn't film at my other chosen location for my final shoot. I decided to shoot in my home gym and garden as a lot of film will be outside and one of my locations will be in my gym. However, my shoot went well as I managed to get most of my clips in focus and I think the lighting looks good, considering I had no lighting equipment. When editing, I found it easy as I managed to create natural colour grading and I used a fade in and out for the music which is an effect I would like to use in my final video.
Some things that I think could have gone better is my test edit looks like I picked the theme of strength rather than identity, so next time I will try to stick to the theme I had chosen, however I will be using gym equipment in my identity video so i think it was relevant for me to use these clips.
Feedback:
Shot one:
From my feedback, I could see that I had a great selection of low angles and close-ups which is great as I plan on using these types of shots in my final product. Next time I will need to make sure that I allow space in front of my subject’s feet in the direction of the running within the camera frame.
Shot two:
I received similar feedback from my first shot in this shot. I need to think about what is within the frame of my shots, as there was a random wheel in the bottom corner of my frame which was dead space. However, I had a great use of static camera movements, and the angle of the shot also created a dynamic line across the frame as it created a diagonal line.
Shot three:
My peers discussed that I had a good use of tighter cropping and composition and it worked well in the middle of the frame.
Shot four:
I got similar feedback to my first two shots. I will need to consider the direction of the actor as the subject will move to allow this enough room. Again, I think this is good feedback as it will help me pay attention to detail when shooting my final product.
Shot five:
My feedback from this shot was great as my peers explained that my camera movements were excellent, and I had a perfect timed tilt.
Shot six:
In this shot, my peers discussed that I had a much-improved use of space in this frame and this time my runner moved right through the frame. They also explained that they liked my use of creative techniques, such as the reflection in the window and I would like to use this creative technique in my final piece.
Shot seven:
In this final shot, my peers liked my creative use of composition, mixing foreground and background. They also said that the leaves also act as leading lines to the runner. They also explained that next time I should move my focus to the actor to create an effect, which I will consider using for my final piece.
Editing process
I firstly added all of my clips in and I used the text tool to annotate what type of shot I used.
Next, I used the tint and temperature tools to change the colour grading of my videos to a yellow tint.
Finally, I added music to my clips and I used the constant gain tool to fade my music in and out of my video.
Social media calendar
I created a social media calendar so that I can organise my time and I would know when to post and what I am specifically posting. I also included what links I will be adding to my bio for each post and I also included what each caption will be.
Instagram caption research
What are Instagram captions?
An Instagram caption is a written description/explanation about an Instagram photo or video to provide more context.
What makes for good or bad examples of captions?
A good example of a caption would be to include a good use of emojis, a call to action, a good number of hashtags and a lighthearted tone which will stand out to your audience. A bad example would be to include too many hashtags and text, spelling and grammar errors and including irrelevant content.
What do you need to be aware of when posting captions on Instagram?
I need to be aware of the language and tone of my caption as I want the caption to be seen as lighthearted and casual. I will also need to be aware about what context I am including in my caption, I cannot go into too much detail, and I need to be aware of spelling/grammar errors. I will need to use hashtags so then I can gain a wider audience. However, I should be aware of how many I use since it could confuse my audience. I will make sure my caption is professional as well, however I do not want it to seem formal so I will need to be aware of that when writing out my caption.
Instagram mock-ups
I created these Instagram mock-ups so that I could have an idea of what my posts would look like and then I could write out the captions I would like to use to accompany my posts.
Instagram mock-up feedback
From my peer feedback, I have been told that the caption of my post are good as I have added mentions which helps promote the actors, hashtags which is good for gaining a wider audience and a call to action which is beneficial for my viewers as it will tell them to do something. My peers have also discussed that my post matches the brief as it encourages people to think about identity. However, from looking at my feedback, what I could do better next time is making sure the captions aren't too wordy as some of my audience will have trouble reading it. I will also add a play button next time so that it is clear that it is a video.
Final content
Trailer
I created a trailer for my final product so that it can encourage my audience to come back for the final film and it can keep them hooked. It will also tease the film for them so they can know what it is about.
To edit this, I used my first drafted final product and I cut down the parts that I wanted to tease for my audience to see before watching the final film. I also added text so that my audience would know who is in the film, when it is releasing and what the film will include. I finally included dramatic toned background music so that my audience could understand the feel and mood of the film.
Bloopers
I created a bloopers clip so that my viewers could see more and I think it is good for aspiring media creators to watch as they can see what goes on during the shoot and what the videos looked like before all the editing.
For editing, I firstly imported all of the blooper clips and trimmed them down. I then added background music which I faded in and out using the 'constant gain' tool again. I lastly added text at the beginning which tells the audience that it is a bloopers video.
Final product - first draft
I firstly trimmed down my clips to the parts I needed for my final film and I colour graded them to a red tone for my training montage, and a green tone for my fight scene. I also colour corrected my clips so that the videos were better quality.
I then added text and transitions to my edit. For my text, I included the title of the film at the beginning of the film and I added my talent's names and my own name so then my audience would know who created/starred in the video. For transitions, I added a lot of 'dip to black' transitions as it fades the scene in and out. I also added the tool 'constant gain' to a few parts of my audio so that it could fade in/out.
I then increased/decreased the audio gain of the clips where my characters were speaking as some of the clips were to quiet for the audience to hear.
Lastly, I added sound effects and music. For the training montage, I added calm toned background music and for the suiting up and fighting scenes, I decided to go for dramatic music as it fitted those scenes.
In my final draft I would like to cut down my clips in my fight and suiting up scenes to a jump cut to make it more fast paced and tense. I would also like to increase the audio gain on my actor's voices so then you can hear them over the music.
Final product
I trimmed down my clips so that it could have more of a jump cut/fast pace so that it could create tension in the scenes.
I then speeded up a few of my clips so that it could be more fast paced when i couldn't trim down the clips.
Lastly I increased the audio gain more on some of the clips as they were still to quiet.
Self reflections and evaluation
Informing ideas:
Throughout the project, I did a lot of primary and secondary research to help me come up with some ideas for my final video. For example, when I first started this project, I created a lot of mind maps for the concepts of strength and identity, as well as for my final ideas. I've also thoroughly evaluated my ideas by applying a variety of research methods and evaluated how my research will support me in completing this project. I mentioned a few concepts on my initial ideas mind map that I was going to choose from, such as a gender identity documentary or a fashion documentary. Instead, I decided to make a superhero short film as I believe that superheroes are more entertaining to watch for teenagers, and I wanted my video to have a comedic tone to it. Using Instagram to poll and survey people has also benefited me in developing my ideas because I was able to see what other people thought of my final ideas and which ones were the most popular. Another reason I chose this over a documentary was because my final idea was more popular in my survey.
Problem solving:
Throughout this assignment, I was faced with numerous challenges that I had to overcome. I highlighted problems I may face throughout this project throughout my portfolio, along with solutions for how to solve some of them. For instance, because I was stuck at home with Covid and had limited resources and location options, I had to just film in areas that were like my final locations, and fortunately, I did have access to one of my locations at home, but unfortunately, I did not have my final cast. Someone tried to take me and my cast's belongings while we were filming my final piece, which I had to overcome as well. Fortunately, we were able to catch this person stealing, and I had included this in my risk assessment, but next time I will bring an extra person to look after our equipment and property so that my talents and I can feel safe on set.
Technical skills:
My work demonstrates a good level of technical skills, and my annotations reflect this using technical terminology. In this project, I proved my technical abilities through vertical video research, technical workshops, a test shoot, and final content. I also detailed what I was photographing/shooting and documented my technical work, as well as showing my editing process using screenshots and notes. In my video technical workshop, for example, I mentioned that I shot these videos to experiment with various equipment and resources. I took screenshots of the editing process to establish that it was my own work, and I annotated them to show the step-by-step method I used to make the final videos.
Professional practice:
Throughout this project, I have worked to good professional standard, which was backed up by my pre-production. I also presented my idea in my pitch presentation, which was beneficial to me for this project because it allowed me to show off my concept, receive comments on how to improve it, and it was also good professional practise for future presentations. In addition, I had to complete plenty of pre-production documents, including risk assessments, location scouting, a production schedule, cast/crew lists, and release forms. This was essential for this project and professional practise since I needed to know what risks might occur on set and in specific locations, it helped me organise my time, and it was also necessary to gain permission from my talents to film and post them.
Communication:
My portfolio successfully communicates the process that I have undertaken and my creative intentions. The edit of my film promotes my audience to think about identity and this has been communicated well through the mise-en-scene, music and hashtags. For instance, I wrote down what I wanted my final idea to be in my proposal so that I could communicate my ideas throughout my portfolio, and in my final content, I highlighted the theme of identity in my film and used headings in my trailer to communicate what the film is about. To communicate with my audience, I included hashtags, call to actions, and mentions in my Instagram mock-ups. My audience required the use of hashtags in order to connect with one another. My viewers benefited from the mentions in my captions since they could see who was in the film. Including call to actions was also helpful because it allowed me to increase my audience's engagement with the post and interact with them.
Evaluation video
I created a video essay for my evaluation so I could show how I informed my ideas, how the production process went for this assignment and what influenced my final content.