Original Ideas
My original idea for the final major project and the product that I would produce for it, was an informative and well-paced promotional video for a local organisation in the Somerset Climate Action Network (Somerset CAN) who specialised in sustainably produced products, such as food or clothing or something consumable. I wanted the video to clearly highlight the good that we can do as a community by finding better ways to produce our goods, which are fair to the planet, to all forms of life on Earth and our bodies.
My original idea evolved overtime, with reconsideration after reconsideration leading me to make my final decision on what I would cover in my video. Eventually, I came across Feed Avalon, a social action group situated across Somerset who operate locally at the RedBrick building in Glastonbury. Feed Avalon specialise in completely plant-based, ethical and sustainable horticulture and farming, with events like seed planting days and ‘seed swaps’ taking place every few months, which gives the workers of Feed Avalon a chance to spread their message and educate the public, as well as motivate the learners and volunteers to choose more sustainable produce and learn more about growing and cooking wholesome food.
I wanted the video to showcase the great work that Feed Avalon are doing and also improve peoples opinion of topics such as organic farming, veganism, plant-based diets, ethically-sourced produce and buying local. I see all of the previously listed as forces for good in our world and as excellent strides made by innovative people, in the hope of bettering their community, making them more ecologically, sustainably and ethically-conscious.
I saw the project itself as a short commercial video which would showcase the work done by the people at Feed Avalon, I envisaged interviews, talking heads and B-Roll of work being done, all interspersed into the same media product which is more or less how the product ended up turning out.
Development Process
Pre-production involved a storyboard being put together, one which would give a vague outline of how the media product was intended to be put together, with continuity being shown between shots, ideas for what certain sections of the video would be devoted to and how I was hoping for everything to be shot. For the most part, I would argue that my video did live up to expectations and was well-received by my tutor Adrian Smith during a screening of all of our media products, who complimented the structure of the video and the product overall.
During pre-production, I wrote up a context essay, which acted as somewhat of a proposal and a declaration of my plans for the future and what I intended to create for my final major project. I did undertake research for my final major project, this included researching the Somerset Climate Action Network, which involved looking into their plans for the future as well as their purpose as an organisation in Somerset, researching previously produced social action videos such as adverts for sustainable produce, BBC coverage of areas of Great Britain which are making strides towards being carbon neutral, such as the town of Penzance in Cornwall which the BBC covered in a video titled ‘Plastic-Free Penzance’ which delves into the people of Penzance, the town itself and the strides that the people there have been making to make Penzance a more sustainable town, by cutting down on plastic and gaining carbon-neutral status in Great Britain which is a fantastic achievement for a town.
I personally also took it upon myself to do some technical research which involved looking into the effect of different shooting styles and lighting in filming, all of which I would consider research into cinematography and how to compose a video to a good standard. I looked into the effects of lighting and certain styles of shot and what they can mean to the viewer, as interpretation is the key to media, the question I believe that we should always be asking ourselves as media students is, “what does this mean to the consumer, or the recipient or the audience in general?” We might know what we have intended with our media product, but that means nothing if what we wanted to come across has not been translated well enough into the product. When we do not think clearly enough about the product that we are designing, we can become tone-deaf and the idea can distort itself and this is why I tried my best to pay attention to what I was doing and that my product would come through to the audience how I would want it to.
I certainly could have spent more time working on getting better at motion graphics and using software like Adobe After Effects, however this product did not require much input in that field (in my opinion) and thus the technicality is minimal, with more focus on the information being put across in a tasteful, simplistic and effective manner. I also did not follow the strictest of plans with this media product and this project as a whole, because I was always willing to be dynamic and made many changes along the way, which I shall touch on when focusing on the production process of my media product in this evaluative essay.
Communication
Other people became involved in the final major project as it progressed, due to the fact that because I was making a video all about Feed Avalon, I would require a client. This client would have to be part of the Feed Avalon organisation and have a good understanding of what they do, how they came to be and what they bring to the community. Eventually, roughly three weeks into the final major project, a fellow media student in my class revealed to me that he was working with the same client as me and for that matter, the same organisation as well. We decided to work together on making steps forward in the project and so I asked him, seeing as he had already initiated communications with one of the members of Feed Avalon, if he would inform the client that I would be paying them a visit on the same day as my classmate, who had a filming date arranged.
We were officially in touch with the client, however this new partnership did mean that I began communicating more with my classmate as well. We would discuss filming dates, ideas, plans and also help each other on the whole which we documented in a small series of production vlogs over our final term. My classmate and I communicated very well, regularly checking in on each other and tending to the others needs, we helped each other a great deal and the best example of our good communication was on a filming day when one of our cameras did not have an SD card. Luckily, I saw my classmate’s message and so I brought a camera that I had rented from the college’s AV centre and brought my own SD card as well, to ensure that we would walk away from the day of filming with footage to use and edit. I let my classmate know which made sure that he arrived at the filming site. It was certainly a close shave and I am glad that we eventually figured out a solution by communicating well.
Communication was on occasion, poor between ourselves and the organisation, who were not the most punctual when replying to emails that we had sent them. They are very busy people and did do their best to get back to us as much as they could, but this would be stressful for us as sometimes we would have trouble knowing what to do next as well as moving forward with the project due to these stagnant periods in communication between ourselves and feed Avalon.
Technical Skills
This project helped me improve my cinematography. I would argue that I have improved when it comes to shooting footage, using camera techniques such as focus pulls to name an example and also learning how to create an effective shot through angles, techniques and lighting. I believe that this can be seen in my media product, with the evidence on display that I have improved. I have also gotten better at mixing audio in a video, by using techniques such as ducking background audio during moments in the video with dialogue and also adjusting equalisers to help voices sound better and minimising background noise, particularly in the lower range of frequencies with for example, the rumbles of wind noise.
I did also for the first time, use my own music for the background music. Normally, we would be encouraged to use copyright free music from the internet to use in our videos, but being experienced with music software, I took it upon myself to use background music that I created completely by myself, which went down well with my tutor and also some of my peers. I think that the music fits the video well, with an upbeat and high energy atmosphere, whilst still being reserved in areas to fit in nicely with the general feel of the video, as we want to entice people, but also not distract them from the product itself, which is why background music for a media product, especially one which showcases something such as an organisation, should have a level of ambience to it, to blend nicely into the background and not distract the audience, whilst still remaining prominent and serving its purpose.
Effectiveness of my Outcomes
My tutor, being the professional when it comes to analysing a media product, had only good things to say about my final product, giving positive opinions on what I had done and stating that there was very little if anything wrong with it at all. This did of course, reinforce my confidence in the product but I also am proud of the video, I believe that it well portrays Feed Avalon and represents them well, while also showcasing my ability as a media producer and when compared with some of my older media work, I believe that the evidence of improvement is clear and it is not majorly difficult to see that I have learnt a lot over the term and have taken on board all of the reception that I have received from my fantastic tutors.
Compared to the original idea, there have certainly been alterations made in the process, most notably of which that I initially planned for the video to be at least five minutes in length, however over time I decided that the video should in fact be less than two minutes long, because I wanted the video to be effective and get across all necessary information within a small time frame, to keep the audience interested and to also leave them wanting more, which is one of the definitive features of an interesting and high quality media product. I feel that in my video, the audience are left feeling satisfied with the information that they have received, but also curious about the topics discussed in the video, which would leave them to require elaboration. It is for this very reason, that the contact details of the two head members of Feed Avalon (even though Feed Avalon is a non-hierarchal organisation) as well as the website address for Feed Avalon as well, so that if any viewer is curious about Feed Avalon and wish to know more about the organisation, explore the website or simply get in touch with one of the members, they are able to do so with the contact details provided within the video which appears at the end.
The assignment brief certainly posed issues, one of which regarding a script. Due to the fact that the script was not set in stone, as I was working with a client and our conversation would be off the cuff, it was difficult to envisage what purpose a script would serve, thus a script was converted into more of a storyboard which acted as an indicator of what the video would entail and how the video would be structured.
Audiences
My audience was intended to be the ecologically conscious in the county of Somerset and the enthusiastic locals when it comes to horticulture, plant-based diets, organic and ethical produce and to an extent, fans of gardening and cooking. All of the previously stated subjects hold relevance to the organisation of Feed Avalon and are all a representative part of what they do. When we can deduct what the definitive factors of a topic, or in this case an organisation are, we can then determine the audience that we need to reach out to, to ensure that the media product gets through to the right people.
In terms of a more specific demographic, straying away from peoples interests and focusing more on the type of people that I would want the video to appeal to, then I would consider all genders as well as people within a 10-mile radius of Glastonbury. I would also consider the target audience to be between the ages of 40 and 60, as I struggled to find people outside of that age range when I attended the seed swap on a day of filming, which gave me an idea of the typical age range of those that attended these events held by the organisation.
Learning
Working with clients taught me a lot about working as part of a greater team, with organisational skills such as time-keeping, scheduling and meeting deadlines being highlights of more socially-related skills in media which I have learnt to develop during my time working on the final major project. I did my very best throughout the project to apply the practical skills that I had learnt as well, attaining more knowledge in video-editing, camerawork and sound design throughout the course and as I have previously stated in this essay, I believe that the progress is noticeable and I am very proud of the product that I have produced.
Specifically, I would argue that my skills in Adobe Premiere Pro have greatly improved since the beginning of the year, when I knew next to nothing about how to operate the software which when compared to now, where I can comfortably compose and edit a video to a decent quality, proves the progress that I have made over the year.
Conclusion
To conclude, I believe that this term, as well as my college year as a whole has been a success. I have managed to learn a great deal about media as a subject, as well as develop and apply a series of skills in different areas of my work, to leave me with a well-rounded and convincing portfolio of media work from this year. There have been set-backs, changes of plan, successes and mistakes, but overall I can say that this has been a successful and fulfilling project to have made, which I hope can reflect a successful and well-rounded year of media studies at Strode College.
Romano G Media 