CHARLOTTE WAKERLEY
LEVEL 3 MEDIA STUDENT
SMILE CAMPAIGN
Interpretation of the brief
Key requirements:
I will produce a moving image campaign with accompanying a logo that will make people smile. The deadline for this assignment is 14th March 2022 and the target audience is for 13 to 18-year olds. The client for this project is Happy Foundations and it is a 60 to 90 seconds TV advertisement. I will produce a logo related to the smile campaign and I will be working as part of a production team.
Challenges:
This assignment could be a challenge as I have never produced a video before so that will be a challenge. I have also not got much experience with video editing so that will also be a challenge. Interpreting the brief, client, audience, requirements and purpose will be a challenge as I need to make sure I please my target age range and I need to make sure the campaign makes people smile. To get over challenges like these I will, watch tutorials on how to film/edit clips, I will do test shoots/edits and I will make a production schedule so that I know when I should complete tasks so that I can get it all done for the deadline.
Opportunities:
Some opportunities I will get from this assignment is getting to shoot and edit videos, I will get to do individual and team work, I will get to improve my technical skills and I will also get to use new kit and software.
Codes and conventions
I looked at different campaign videos so that it would help me develop my own ideas and it will help me think of different techniques to include.
Secondary research
For my secondary research, I looked at different websites which explained what makes people smile. I gained plenty of results from this research and I discovered that sunny weather and chocolate were the most popular reasons that people smile.
Websites I looked at and my results:
Quora website - coffee, cookies, training.
Panmedia website – organised rooms, calling/texting loved ones, movies with happy endings, good grades, friends, hot showers, hugs, pizza, the first bite of a chocolate bar.
Closer online website - sunny weather, compliments from strangers, old photos, shop discounts, hearing a baby laugh, messaging loved ones, hugs, seeing an old couple, when your favourite song comes on the radio, going to bed, chocolate, flowers.
Tech mamas website – getting active, dental health, reading funny content.
The websites I looked at
Initial ideas
I cut my secondary research down to three ideas. I chose the most common results I received from my research because it shows that it makes more people smile.
Audience research
From my results on my Instagram poll, most of my followers said that sunny weather makes them smile rather than cats. Fifty three percent of my followers said sunny weather and forty seven percent said cats. These results will be helpful for my research as I now know what makes my audience happy. In my secondary research, I noticed how lots of websites said that sunny weather makes people happy and from the poll I made, I gathered similar results.
In conclusion, I would like to use the theme of sunny weather for my campaign idea since I like the idea and from most of the research I have gathered, sunny weather was one of the most popular suggestions for making people smile.
Storyboard for initial idea
I created a story board for my initial idea so that it would be easier to see what I wanted my initial campaign idea to look like.
Shot list for initial idea
I created a shot list for my initial idea so that it would make it easier to film each shot of my campaign if it was picked.
Script for initial idea
I created a script for my initial idea so that I would know what would happen in order of my video if my initial idea had got picked.
Research into cinematography
I created a video essay about cinematography and Roger Deakins so that I could understand more about what cinematographers do and I believe that Roger Deakins was a good example.
Research into editing techniques
I researched different editing techniques so that I could learn more about why to use them and I wanted to see what editing techniques I would want to experiment with during my test edits.
Test shoots
My team and I had to experiment with different shot sizes for our first test shoot. We shot a few clips with an extreme close up and we also shot a couple of clips with a wide shot. We used a Canon M5 Mark II and setting up the camera before shooting was quite a challenge as we needed to use the correct settings on the camera, and we couldn’t figure out how to apply these settings. The manual focus was the most difficult to set up since we couldn't get it to focus on anything when we tested it beforehand. Fortunately, we got some of our peers to help us set up the camera so that we could confidently set it up next time. When we got to the student hub (the location of where we were shooting) we started testing out how to record on the camera. At first, we couldn’t find the record button on the camera which made the test shoot a challenge as we couldn’t record anything but thankfully, we found a solution on Google, and we were able to start shooting something. We started off with filming a few wide shots and in the first shot unfortunately it was out of focus and we needed to figure out how to focus it. Luckily, my group knew how to focus it, so after they taught me how to focus it using the lens, I became more confident throughout filming the extreme close-up and wide shots and we managed to get some decent clips for our first test shoot. In our first test shoot we didn’t use a tripod which meant we had to somehow keep the camera still without one. This was very difficult because if the shot ended up being too shaky, it wouldn’t have made it a very successful test shoot and in my final campaign, I want my shots to be as still as possible when I need it to be so I couldn’t have a shaky camera during this shoot. My clips turned out ok overall, however I feel like the stillness of the camera could have been improved.
In the second test shoot we got to use a tripod when we were shooting. The process of setting up the camera this time went ok and we were more confident with setting it all up unlike our previous test shoot. Focusing the lens during the crash zoom was challenging as I had to focus it whilst I was zooming in however, I think the shot turned out ok. In the first test shoot, keeping the camera still was quite difficult, luckily, we got access to a tripod, and it helped us keep it still this time. The only shot we took where we couldn’t use the tripod was the tracking shot. I found it difficult to keep the camera steady whilst walking backwards with nothing to keep it still, the only way to avoid this issue was that I had to try and bend my knees whilst walking backwards so that the camera would be steady. Not only that but the weather was really sunny that day, so the lighting was very bright and we couldn’t figure out how to change the lighting using the camera settings and it was hard to keep the subject in the frame whilst recording. To solve this issue, I had to try and walk backwards faster than the subject so that I could keep them in the frame. When we did use the tripod, it went ok overall, however when I had to film the pan shot, I had to lean the tripod up against a fence so that it wouldn’t get in the frame, and I had to record the clip whilst also holding the tripod in place. Not only that but I wasn’t tall enough to even reach the record button and I couldn’t see what was happening in the frame as I couldn’t see the screen on the camera. To avoid this issue, I had to flip the screen to the side and face it downwards so I could see it, however it was a bright day, and it was still unclear, but I believe that the shot turned out ok.
In my third test shoot, we had the chance to use a gimbal. Before setting the gimbal up me and my group had to research how to set it up. This was quite difficult for me as we had to watch videos and take notes on how to set it up rather than practising with the gimbal. To solve this issue, on the day of the test shoot, we got our peers who have used a gimbal before to show us what to do and we also brought notes that we had made from watching videos on how to set it up. Filming with the gimbal was very challenging as we didn’t know how to operate it. To try and avoid this challenge, we made sure to bring our notes along so that we knew what buttons to press to set up each feature. Once we got the hang of the gimbal, we managed to record some decent clips and I think the result of this test shoot turned out ok.
In our final test shoot, we got to use a microphone to test out how to do voiceovers. As usual setting up the equipment was ok, and we have used microphones and the camera before, so we were confident with setting up. Once we got outside (the location of where we were shooting) we shot a tracking shot, like we did in our second test shoot, and we used the boom mic to record our subject or actor speaking. We then shot another scene in the same location as our second test shoot so that we could add another scene on to add to our test edits. We used the boom mic so that we could record the actor speaking again and I think it turned out well.
Overall, I think my test shoots were a success. I learnt how to record and set up a camera. I now know how to create voiceovers for my future videos. However, I think I could do with some practice with using the gimbal more as it was very hard to set up and use.
Test edit
I created a test edit so I could practice my editing and filming skills. From this task I learnt different camera shot sizes, angles, movements and I even learnt how to create a voice over.
Peer feedback
In my peer review of my test shoot and edit, I did well with camera movements and shots, my peers also liked my use of black and white in certain shots and scenes. They also mentioned that they liked my use of music. I agree with my peers as I liked how I faded in and out lots of different background music as it helps to show the emotions of different shots and scenes. I also agree that I did well with camera movements and shot sizes as I believe that this also helped to show different emotions in various scenes. My peers were engaged with the edit as they believed that my test edit was funny and fast paced. My peers have told me to improve my colour grading as they believe that some of my scenes are a little dark. For my final campaign I will use lighter colour grading so that my scenes are less dark and more visible so that my viewers can see it and I will also add different transitions so that they can help set the mood or tone of certain scenes.
Evaluation
I evaluated the editing stages of my test edit so that I could figure out what editing techniques I need to improve on and what I would want to add to my final campaign.
Logo designs
I designed a logo for Happy Foundations and for my campaign. I created 3 designs and I used my feedback to improve and pick one for my video.
Market research
Levi’s Pride 2018 Campaign:
In the Levi’s Pride 2018 campaign, they are standing up to the LGBTQ+ community. In the campaign, they use different techniques to communicate this such as their slogan at the end which says, “be proud, be bold, be yourself’ which is also a call to action. They also included a lot of rainbow colours throughout the video to show that it is a LGBTQ+ theme. I believe that their target audience is for people in the LGBTQ+ community and for people who want to understand or find out more about it. They use the technique, talking heads to showcase different people’s stories and this technique allows brands to engage directly with their audience, simply by speaking to them. The duration of this campaign is around 2 minutes long and I feel that if the campaign was a little shorter, it would make the campaign better and it would keep the audience a little more engaged with the video. They published their campaign to YouTube. From looking at the comments from this campaign, I can see that the audience got excited from this campaign as they loved to hear these stories from different LGBTQ+ members and they were excited to buy Levi’s new pride collection. This campaign has received 667 likes. I think that this campaign will help me inform my ideas because I liked the idea of the talking heads, and it got the audience engaged and I would also like to add my own slogan to my campaign as well.
Dogs Trust – Dog Thest campaign:
In the Dog’s trust Dog’s Thest campaign, they use the theme of family to show that dogs are a part of the family. In the campaign, they use different techniques to communicate this such as the slogan at the end, “keep your dog safe, spottable, keep them is sight and trained to return” which is also a call to action. In this call to action, they are telling their audience to train their dogs so that they won’t go missing. They also included happy music at the start when all the families were talking about how much they love their dogs at the start of the campaign, but it then fades into sad music when some families started crying about how their dogs helped them through rough times. I believe that their target audience for this campaign is for families that have dogs, or it is for people who love dogs. They also use the technique, talking heads to showcase different families’ experiences with their dogs and they also talked about how much they love their dogs. Just like the Levi’s pride campaign, I feel that this campaign is also too long, and I believe that if they made their campaign around a minute long, it would keep the audience more engaged. They published their campaign to YouTube. From looking at the comments from this campaign, I can see that the audience felt sad after watching the campaign as dogs are like a human’s best friend and some people watching may have lost pets in the past. This campaign
has received 30 likes. Just like the Levi’s campaign, I think that the talking heads technique made their audience engaged and I would like to try and include this technique into my own campaign.
Campaign proposal
1. Title Page – The name of the campaign is called Friends for life and the duration of the campaign will be around 60 seconds long
2. Description of Intended Audience – 13 to 18 years old
3. Treatment – The video begins with a guy in a house with two boxes ‘keep’ and ‘throw away.’ He then sees his childhood bear and decides to go and recreate some of his old memories with his childhood bear, such as going to a coffee shop, going to the gym and going out for a meal. It then fades back to the house where the guy puts the teddy bear in the ‘keep’ box and the Happy Foundations logo appears at the end of the campaign.
4. Legal & Ethical – For legal issues, I need to be aware of copyright. To avoid this, I will make sure the sound effects and background music are copyright free and the music for the campaign will be made for me and I will also check to see if this campaign idea hasn’t been done before. For ethical issues, I will make sure that me and my production team do a fair amount of filming and other jobs and I will also ensure that nothing will be offensive in the campaign.
5. Personnel – Me and my production team will need to film the campaign at various locations such as the gym and coffee shops. We will also need to make sure we have all of the equipment we need for filming the campaign and we will also need to plan out what props, costumes and shot size, angles and movements we need for each shot in the video.
6. Distribution Plans – Reaching our target audience will be achievable as our idea is about a teddy bear and I feel that lots of teenagers will love the idea of this as most teenagers have had a childhood toy so I feel that they will relate to this campaign.
Location scouting
We did some location scouting and research for our shoot so that we could figure out what risks there could be, what we have access to and we also had to ask for permission to some of our location spots.
Production research
I did some production research with my production team so that we could figure out what costumes, props and equipment we would need in our shoot.
Production schedule
I created a production schedule so it will help me manage my time during the project.
Revised storyboard
We created a story board so that we will know what we want each frame/scene to look like.
Revised shot list
We created a shot list for our campaign as it will make the shoot easier since we will be aware of what camera angles, sizes and movements to use in the frame.
Revised script
We created a campaign script so that we understood what order our scenes take place in our campaign video.
Risk assessments
We did a risk assessment so that we would be aware of what hazards might occur on set.
Sound and lighting plans
We created a sound design so that we knew what audio to record on set and when we needed to use the boom microphone. We also included the sound we wanted to include in post-production.
These diagrams were useful for the shoot as we knew where to place all the lighting and other equipment.
Crew and cast list
We created a crew and cast list so everyone in the production team knows which roles belongs to who and it was helpful to know everyones contact information and know when they are available to shoot.
Reviewing my footage
I reviewed my footage before editing because I wanted to make sure I had organised my clips. I think that putting my clips into separate folders has made the editing process a lot easier as I know what clips to not use/use.
Action plan
I made an action plan so that I could get all my editing done in time.
First campaign edit
This is my first draft of my campaign edit. In my peer reflection I received feedback such as changing the slogan and some of my peers weren't keen on my first jump cut, in the scene where Cy is looking through his old stuff however some of my other peers seemed to like it so I will like to keep it in my campaign in my final edit. In my final edit, I am planning to change my slogan and I will also like to use a hashtag so my audience can interact on social media.
Evaluation of shoot days
The shoot days for myself and my production crew were a success, in my opinion. Everyone committed to their roles on shoot days so that we could get everything done as soon as possible, and it helped us all work better together since we all knew what we were doing. We even went over our pre-production planning, including our storyboard and script. Using our pre-production work helped myself and the rest of the crew comprehend what was happening in each frame, as well as direct the actor. All our shots for our campaign video took me and the crew two days to complete, however we did run into some complications that we had to solve during the shoots. We failed to bring headphones to the shoot when we arrived at our first location (at the gym). To fix the problem, our actor returned to college to collect our headphones, while the rest of the crew and I set up the rest of the equipment. Another issue we also had to solve as a team was crew not being able to turn up to certain shoots. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it to one of the shoot days so there was no cinematographer for the shoot. To solve this problem, me and my crew got another cinematographer to step in. In addition, I believe our final footage was successful. The majority of our clips were in focus, and we had great lighting in every shot so personally, I believe our campaign shoot went smoothly.
Production meeting minutes
In our pre-production planning for our campaign shoot, we had a meeting to discuss what planning should have been completed before the days of the shoots.
My updated production schedule
I had to update my production schedule as we and my production team ended up shooting on different days and I ended up editing my campaign on different days as well.
Evaluation of process and final product
I believe that the process of planning, filming and editing my campaign video was a success. When planning my campaign, me and my production team made sure everyone completed their parts when doing pre-production. As the cinematographer in the group, I made sure to complete the shot list and look over the story board with the director before going out to film our clips. When shooting our campaign, I made sure to look over every clip on the camera to make sure the clips had good lighting, angles and I also made sure that the camera wasn’t too shaky. During post-production I made sure to review my footage before editing it into the final video. I organised my clips into folders of clips I will or will not use so it made the editing process easier. Overall, I think the final product turned out great since I used lots of organsing, team and planning skills during this whole process which made it a success.
Final edited campaign
I decided to add more to my final edit. I changed the slogan so it makes more sense to the audience and I also included a hashtag so that my audience can interact on social media.
Editing process
I took screenshots throughout my editing process to show the how I edited my final campaign.