Filming perspective

I also thought of a filming perspective in our group, so what our audience would feel like while watching the promotional video. I thought of a first person perspective, so the camera appears like you are looking through someone's eyes and seeing what they see. I thought this would be a great way to get our audience interested in my video, as they will feel more involved if things were shot in a first person perspective. I will ask members of the group who shoots at the junction to get some shots like this and hopefully we can create this effect.

The specific parts we thought would be good in first person were:


- The shot of the tickets being handed out at the door, so back and forth. I thought a shot of the ticket being passed to the person appearing as the camera and the person's hands taking the ticket.
- Perhaps a walk backstage, or a perspective from the crowd to the band, so it appears like you the audience are actually watching the band as opposed to it being clear somebody filmed it. Here are some examples of the first person type of perspective I think would be good in our video.





The specific example I showed Simon was from a TV show called Peep Show, which uses first person shots quite a lot. The link to the youtube video is here to show the first person shots in the video. A screenshot of one is below:


Overall, Simon liked this idea and said it was something different which would keep the audience interested. In response, I think now with Simon's thoughts on the idea I will progress further into turning this idea into reality for the promotional video.

My initial proposal for video

Throughout this week I explained to Simon my initial proposal for the promotional video. At first he only wanted a rough idea of what I was thinking of, but as our production meetings progressed he asked for more specific ideas such as camera shots, transitions, etc. Below is my summary of my original idea in our promotional group of 3 people. I have expanded a bit on the idea I gave to Simon over the production meetings and overall, he thinks our idea is simple but effective, and simplicity sometimes is the best way forward, with no complications and it allows me to stick to time restraints without running out of time.

- Junction branding at start, maybe a quick animated logo or a simple logo on a black screen. It would then fade out.

- Establishing shots of the Fiver event, the queue outside, the tickets being handed over, the reception area being busy etc.

- Shots of Fiver getting started, bands setting up, technicians testing sound etc.

- Shots of bands playing at the Fiver, the busy crowds, shots of instruments etc.

- Shots of all the bands playing and their response afterwards of what they thought of the Fiver personally. Perhaps 3 or 4 bands interviews as 5 would take up too much time.

Overall, general information added to these shots, perhaps a text box, or a voiceover to establish to bands who want to get involved, what they do, how they apply, what they can look forward to and what they expect from the Fiver. I personally do not want the text or the voiceover to overshadow the shots in the video, but I also do not want the footage to distract from the overall information, as the information is the core product of the video in my opinion.

The Brief - promo video for the 'Fiver'

The Brief: Create a Promo for The Fiver

Level 3 Independent Unit

Level 3 students will produce a promotional film for The Fiver for The Junction website
The film must have the following content:

• Live footage of The Fiver
• What the requirements are for getting in
• What you get if your band is accepted
• How to apply
• It must look contemporary, fast, appealing to the 14 – 17 age group and supply all the relevant information
• Films will be judged by a panel of senior staff and, if the standard is high enough one film will be chosen and used on the website
• Planning sessions should be planned for the week commencing 8th Dec and scheduled in advance with Gary Brown and Simon Talbot
• 18th December – Filming of Fiver

The Junction 'Fiver' background information

• Background Information

• The Junction Fiver is a successful established brand that is gaining credibility as one of the best youth events in Cambridge

• Five local young bands at varying stages of development perform in Junction 1 (850 capacity live music venue), tickets cost a Fiver!

• The Bands are given a set amount of tickets to sell from which they take £1 per ticket, the more they sell the better they do financially and the more audience there is in the venue

• The Fiver aims to encourage and nurture emerging acts and provides a platform for young musicians to work with professional technicians, a top class PA system and exposes them to an audience five times their normal size

• The Junction needs to continue to attract new bands in order to keep this brand going and must increase the presence of the event on its own website and amongst social networking sites and forums

Minutes of meeting 15th January - Initial information needed for the promo video - by Simon Bates

Shown below is a general summary of notes on what Simon Bates (Working for the Junction as events manager) would like out of our interaction showing a clear partnership with himself. Her is looking for either a promotional video or documentary for the Fiver, and what these two projects would include are explained int he previous post. I had a summary of questions to ask him, and asI asked him these questions, I took minutes of the meeting, including what his response was and what he thought should be in the video. Below is a summary of notes written up on what the initial information for the Fiver is.

• Video promo must be about 3 to 5 minutes long
• No archive footage to hand from the junction
• Must be all our own footage, shot ourselves
• footage needs to be high quality
• bands get invited to the fiver, after looking at their myspace accounts and picking the best bands
• Running order of the promo and documentary is vital to the success of the completed video overall
• Can animated junction logo, but don't change it too much
• tickets have model release covers, so can use crowd shots
• 19th is the confirmed date for the fiver event
• we can film backstage if we wish to at the fiver event (backstage passes)
• do not dilute the the junction branding, it must be all the same
• The middle of March is the time it needs to be finished by
• NO machines can be used such as the cherry picker
• music from the fiver must feature during the promo trailer somewhere
• no other music can be used unless it relates 100% to the fiver events
• possible two fixed angles to film the fiver ( roaming and on stage)
• make sure documentary crew film promo crew on night of shoot
• Gary can't work with us on the night as he is too busy
• Possible opportunity for custom lights during show
• collect loads of footage
• simplistic yet stylish video (professional)
• make sure to include everyone's skills within the finished video
• Interviews with Cram level 2 students interviews will work well and must be in the documentary as well
• documentary should be at 5 - 10 mins

Decision for interaction project

I then made decision on the final community based organisation I was to work with. I decided to work with the Junction out of all the other possible projects because I think this would be a new and exciting project, given that i hadn't worked with the Junction before on my music video, as others had.


I personally liked the idea of using the Junction to show a partnership of interaction with a client at the organisation and myself, as it meant we could work closely with the junction and I could get to learn some more information about the Junction, what they do and what we can do to help promote them. I think out of all the possibilities I listed in an earlier post for commissions, I think the Junction will be the most adventurous and different.


The Junction I felt also boasted the main community presence and seemed the most willing to offer a partnership for my interaction project, I also felt it would show the process of working with a partner and I could hopefully produce something really useful for the community to advertise the Junction.


The project for the Junction was to either create a Fiver promotional event video, showing the clear process of partner feedback, improvements made by feedback which shows close atention to the needs and concerns of the partner organisation. The promotional video would encourage young people locally (and the younger community) to get into the idea of performing live music. This would involve filming of a Junction Fiver event and editing to create a lively, young but contemporary promtional video that would encourage young peopel or bands to play at the Junction and to experience this themselves.


The other choice for the interaction project was to create a documentary, showing clear process of interaction with the client, client feedback and changes due to this feedback. For this interaction project I would have to enocurage young people (and in this sense the younger community) to get involved in Diplomas in terms of education. This would involve filming the relationship of my Diploma with the Junction and would show the links made due to this, such as the links to Bournemouth University. The documentary would include interviews with members of high authority of these community organisations, for example Simon Bates is in high authority of the Junction. I could also include interviews from Bournemouth University teachers and students about links with the Diploma and the Junction.

Decision

I personally thought a promotional video will be a better alternative as I would like to create a video that promotes the community organisation of the Junction, I would also like the idea of the community getting further involved in the Junction and if my video can promote this, this would be an excellent achievement.

The community role of the Junction

In what ways does the Junction serve as a good example of a local community service?

The Junction is very much a community based organisation and play a very large part in the community of Cambridge. Boasting the largest music venue and most popular event venue alongside the Cambridge corn exchange and the ADC theatre, (which are more personally geared towards arts events and only feature small artist music gigs) the junction is easily the most community based organisation.

The Junction began due to an aim of maximising a new venue for the upcoming rave culture of Cambridge during the 1990s. This reduces the legality issues of rave culture, such as drugs, violence and alcohol. Instead, the Junction boasted a safe venue where rave culture could be expressed safely and therefore popularity for the Junction began to grow.

The Junction clearly promotes a venue space for community hire for events in Cambridge, for example drama productions by schools, Christmas or seasonal plays, local bands and any necessity to hire a venue at an affordable cost. In this way the unction i very much associated with the community of Cambridge and is readily and actively involved in the evolution of the community. For example, the Junction is now celebrating its 20th year anniversary and is hosting various small events with the community.

One event which is steadily gaining popularity is the Junction Fiver, a local community event geared towards the young and upcoming community - teenages aged 13 - 18. The Fiver boasts a live gig venue for local community bands who get perhaps a lifetime opportunity to play to a + 100 audience, five local bands get the opportunity to play at the venue and entry is £5, hence the name of the event. This is yet another example of how the Junction is very focused as a community organisation with a very clear community role.

Research - finding a partnership or interaction (possibilities)

For our Interaction project, we had to research possible partnerships who we could have formed an interaction with in order to complete a project asked of us. Interaction with a partner of the community organisation we choose will mean that we will work closely with a partner employed at the organisation.

This process of working with a partner will hopefully end in a project which both myself and the partner of which ever organisation are happy with. I thought of a few possibilities during this research in which I could possibly work with in partnership to create a project based towards the community.


Addenbrookes - Addenbrookes hospital had previously asked myself and the group to work alongside them to create a project of finished posters showing ethnicity and diversity for apprenticeships. Perhaps they would be interested in a further partnership with Long Road.

Pros -

• community based organisation
• close location to college so easy meetings and negotiations
• previous partnership community work with the hospital will benefit me

Cons -

• limited in what we can produce
• be more along the lines of advertisement than video work or creative work

Heart FM radio - I have recently been arranging some work experience with Heart FM radio station, so perhaps I could possibly use whatever I create during my work experience there as a partnership and clear interaction with a community based organisation. Perhaps a promotional video to use on the website, podcast for the radio station or advertisement eg posters, banners etc.

pros -

• Cambridge community based organisation
• something new to previous work I have done
• Exciting work and future opportunities

cons -

• negitiation would be difficult, radio station is based in Histon not Cambridge and this could be an issue
• only a small possibility of a partnership of interaction
  
• work would be mostly along the lines of advertising

Shakin' Moos - Shakin' Moos is another commission that we could use as a possibility. They are a new store around Cambridge and haven't been promoted too well so perhaps we could use a promotional video to advertise them, and since they are based in the town centre this is a clear community organisation which I work with.

pros -

• negotiations would be easy
• located in Cambridge town centre
• something new to do and new organisation to work with

Cons -

• mostly be advertising work
• limited in what I can produce, would be flyers, posters etc, maybe not video based work
• only small possibility of a partnership of interaction
  

Cambridge Film Festival - I have previously worked with the Cambridge Film Festival and the Picturehouse cinema in Cambridge, so perhaps this could be seen as another possibility in which I could interact with the Film Festival and create a project based on clear partnership and two way process, to create a finished project which we are both happy with. Perhaps a promotional video or video advertising the film festival or the Picturehouse would be a possibility.

pros -

• Previous work with this company could benefit me in the work I produced
• Would very much be working in a Cambridge community based organisation

cons -

• Very small possibility of a partnership
  
• only seasonal work when the festival is on
• limited work - mostly video based = may not be much diversity in jobs
  

The Junction - I also thought I could work alongside The Junction, as they are a clear community organisation and often have venue space for community projects to hire and use. In terms of the project I could create with a partnership of the Junction, I could create maybe a promotional video, promotional posters or behind the scenes video. This would be a great interaction project as its new and we have not previously worked with the Junction before, as with the Picturehouse who we have previously worked with. Perhaps a promotional video for one of the events at the Junction, perhaps with interviews of staff such as Simon Bates etc.

pros -

• something new/innovative
• new area of work in the music aspect of the media industry
• I already have good connections with the Junction
• communication would be easy - The Junction is near Long Road
  

Cons -

• work may be limited, could mostly be promotional or advertising
• Work may be time consuming

Coleridge secondary school/Manor community college/Chesterton Community College etc - With secondary schools taking the new Diplomas, this would be an ideal opportunity to promote our Media Diploma, or health and social care diplomas etc. I could perhaps do a promotional video for the Diploma, perhaps showing some of the work I have produced within the Diploma to promote it to a younger audience. We could have interviews with teachers, pupils etc. This would be a clear community based project and would be a great opportunity to interact with a community organisation and create a project after feedback and discussions.

Pros -

• possibility of a clear partnership due to educational links
• could promote the diploma
• could inspire and educate younger students

Cons -

• working with another educational institution
• could be limited in terms of work - only focus on the educational aspect

Cambridge Arts Theatre - Another possibility would've been the Cambridge Arts Theatre for a community based project. I have noticed lately there have been posters up asking about volunteers for work experience, so perhaps they may be interested in the possibility of an interaction based project with myself. I was thinking maybe we could do a promotional video, documentary or interviews, maybe even promotional posters or leaflets etc.

pros -

• something new and innovative - working in arts and theatre aspect
• considerable change of a community partnership due to the company searching for volunteers anyway
• could gain some valuable experience in a new industry

Cons -

• negotiation would be harder than other organisations
• based in the busy town centre
• limited in work produced - could only be advertisement

The Cambridge Corn Exchange - The Cambridge Corn Exchange could also offer an interaction based project alongside a client. In terms of promotional purposes, I could create perhaps a video, interviews or posters and leaflets, maybe even a promotional magazine. The corn exchange has quite a large community presence within Cambridgeshire and therefore would be a good project to show interaction with a partner.

Pros -

• new and innovative community organisation
• valuable experience of the arts and theatre side of the media industry
• communcation could be easy - not too far from Long Road

Cons -

• only small possibility of a partnership of interaction
• connected with various media organisations already

Oxfam/British heart foundation etc - Charities such as these boast one of the largest community based organisations and work together with the community to raise charity for certain causes. A charity such as these could be looking for someone for help about promoting the charities, perhaps with flyers through doors, talks, presentations etc, this could be an opportunity for myself to create a project based on interactions with the client, but we could add a twist to it so it features some of our media skills perhaps.

Pros -

• volunteer work would be very self rewarding
• could promote the charity or organisation so more funding could be given
• a new organisation to previous work - could benefit me in terms of work

Cons -

• Only a small possibility of a partnership or interaction
• charities are very time limited
• limited in terms of work - could only be advertisement
• no available budget - working for charity

Outline for interaction

A clear outline of the interaction project was made today, and a picture of the board with notes on is shown above. The interaction project is a skillset funded progression illustration, which shows and outlines clearly the progress from school, to 6th form college, to university, and then on to work.

The fact that we are working with both a university and the junction as a venue which shows an example of work related learning, both show an example of possible careers routes from the diploma to degree, or direct employment.

The interaction project also shows a link between the Junction, Long Road as a sixth form college and CEMP, the centre of excellence for media practice. It shows clear links between a new college motive of work related learning and working outside the classroom, which the diploma helps to illustrate clearly.

Our finished Junction promos may also appear on the skillset website, as it is also a case study for students, employers and consortia as it is a clear example of colleges working with venues and work related learning, aswell as learning outside the classroom.

The interaction project must boast interaction with a staff member or partner of a community based organisation, such as a charity, an entertainment venue etc, and must show a clear two way process of work and feedback from the partner, so that we can imporve our work due to these suggestions. The interaction project must show the process of working with a partner to create a finished project which both myself and the partner are happy with.