My Individual Role

I helped to come up with the concept that we eventually used in the video. I liked the idea of the Navy advert style, the increasing rhythm and intensity. I have also contributed heavily in the editing, stating my opinion on changes. I suggested at one point that we don't delete a piece of footage that consisted of a drummer hitting his drum then we used the sound from that footage to cut a lot of other footage to the beat. I edited a lot of this and the other two in my group decided that we should get rid of it. I found this to be a horrible idea and objected but unfortunately numbers won over reason and it was deleted. When I went to Bournemouth I was saddened to see that the practitioner actually suggested this as an idea with no prompting. I was annoyed to find out that this was such a good idea it was suggested to us by a professional and we didn't see this and deleted it.

It was also my job to relay the information given to me to my group, as I was the only one who attended Bournemouth out of my group. I made a lot of notes and this helped me to clearly map out my thoughts to my team. They took on board the information I gave them very well and we have used most of it when finishing the edits of our videos.

Acting in our videos was interesting, especially with the voice-over I was able to portray my feelings towards how I wanted the video to sound as it was me talking. After listening to it however I still believe there are people with much better voices than mine who would have fit the role of the narrator much better. I have also discovered that it is very difficult to direct yourself. I thought the voice-over sounded great when I was doing it but listening to it back I can hear everything I could have done better and improved on. These things I wouldn't have missed if I was directing someone else.

The Junction's LOCQB

The Junction us a business in possession of a 'Learning Outside the Classroom Quality Badge'. It has been awarded one due to its ongoing contribution to helping schools and colleges with work experiences and new ideas. The Junction opens many doors to the colleges and schools in the community. An example of this was when I filmed my music video. The Junction allowed me to use its space to film so the result was a much better looking video that had a far larger impact that would have been possible without the collaboration and help of the venue.

Here is a cut of the music video:

We were given near full access and were able to set up a lot of equipment and special effects objects such as green-screens and lights. The staff were all very cooperative and it allowed for an amazing working experience. The Junction is very easy to work with, making this project far easier and causing it to move forwards quickly as we were able to pitch our idea and instantly get feedback about what Simon Bates liked and didn't like.

The Center for Excellence in Media (CEMP)

CEMP is a organisation that is trying to influence educational research. It is based at the Media School at Bournemouth University, directly linking it to this project. Three 'external evaluators' have been assigned to review and evaluate work in the different areas that CEMP cover. One of these evaluators is Janet Hanson, who happens to be the Head of Education Enhancement at Bournemouth University. The Higher Education Funding Council gave it its status in 2004 and it is the only one of its kind in the UK (HEFCE-funded center of media excellence).

CEMP has been set up to keep the country up to date with the constantly changing and developing sides to media. CEMP sees itself as being positioned at the forefront of the response to the technological, social, organisational and cultural changes that the media industry is always going through. It is always looking for new ways for students to enhance and expand their knowledge and functionality with media.
CEMP's leading aim is to produce practitioners with a full understanding to the potential of leading and evolving technologies as well as converging media. It helps towards the teaching of tools and mechanics to support radical new ideas and give students their own personal style of working building upon the ever-evolving nature of the world wide web. It does this by funding trips such as the one we just took to Bournemouth.

Here is a link to their website:

Implications of Work

Being able to jump straight into the media industry is a great way to show off the work we can do. Following this project I may choose to go on to university and take a degree to further my skills or I could take what I know and apply it to getting a job which would also develop my skills and tactics for producing things. I have the option to follow a standard course of education (Sixth Form, to University, to Employment) or I can skip the middle section and go straight from Sixth Form to employment. This is being done by several of the bands performing at the Junction. The Fiver gives the bands a leg up into the industry and enables them to get experience so they can jump straight into employment as a band. I like this as it is a good way for the Junction to help the community develop themselves quickly.

Working with different Businesses

So far working with different businesses has been very interesting as it has allowed me to see a wide variety of opinions about my work. Working with Shakin' Moo's alongside the Junction has given me a wide range of tasks to complete. I have to focus on Flyer design for Shakin' Moo's as the shop requires more methods of distribution that are cheap/free to manufacture and distribute where as the Junction is a bigger business and has many more contacts, therefore the collaboration with them was far more focussed on making promotional videos that are more difficult to distribute but have far more specific purposes.

For example, the videos we manufacture for the Junction can be used by Skillset for students, employers and consortia as an example of work related learning. This all goes towards benefitting the community as these examples could then provide ideas and insights for the next group of students doing the diploma to use.

The Junction Promo Video Version Two

Here is the second version of our Junction promotional video:

Notes

Skillset funded

Work*     

   |

University

   |

6th Form*

   |

School

 

= An example of a possible career route from diploma to degree or direct employment.

The Interaction Project:

A case study for Skillset website for students, employers and consortia as an example of work related learning.

Junction

|

Long Road

|

CEMP

Who are Skillset.org?

|

What is the Junction's Learning Outside the Classroom Quality Badge?

- What is CEMP

Educational Progression

This whole project is funded by Skillset. Skillset is an industry body that supports skills and training for people and businesses to ensure the UK creative and media industries continue to operate at their world class position. They support learning projects in the UK and assist when bringing together different stages of education and work, such as what we are doing for this project.

In this project we are dealing with three different stages of education. We are in sixth form ourselves and are working alongside a university and a business. Collaborating with Bournemouth university is very useful, we get to attain feedback from practitioners who have a great deal larger amount of skill then us, meaning their feedback makes our finished product to present to our client better quality.

We are in the center of working with two different stages of professionalism. On one side we are dealing with Bournemouth and on the other we are dealing with the Junction, a professional business. 

Final Budget

Here is the final budget we spent on the Bournemouth trip.

Simon had a £1000 budget for the travel.

Three Coach Companies Quoted £750
Then a final Coach Service Quoted £675

Simon had a £400 budget for the accomodation.

In the end we didn't stay so there were no accomodation fees.

Food cost £120
Driver would have had to stay over, so the coach quote would have been larger.

We plan to carry the remainder of this budget over for use on our next project.

Effects of having free use of equipment

All of the equipment we use to film/edit on is owned by the college. This means that we have the ability to use it for free, which drastically affects the costs and process of making the video. In most productions the camera and computers would be hired. Doing this would mean you would have to pay for the camera. The fact we can use them for free means we have a lot more freedom when going to film. This means we have more room to make mistakes, which maybe isn't necessarily a good thing but means we can learn from mistakes. For example, if I were to edit something wrong I would easily be able to keep editing for longer at college, however if it was a real partnership than this would mean it would be costing both parties more money to continue to hire the laptop.

Bournemouth Trip

Today we travelled down to Bournemouth to discuss our promotional videos/documentaries with some post graduate editing students. James and Hayden didn't attend the trip so I was able to talk to my advisor alone and was able to get a very detailed account of what needed to be changed in our video.

The main points he made about our video are that the voice-over was too quiet meaning that the effect it made had less impact. This affected the overall atmosphere of the video and needs to be fixed so that the narration can have the impact we wanted it to.

He also stated that the sound levels in our video differ. The voiceover was relatively quiet, especially in relation to the music we used for the 'How to Apply' section of our video, which was much louder and possibly distressing to our audience.

The last twenty seconds of the video is all about applying, and subsequently doesn't have any footage of live bands. Since this is the end of the video the audience might realise there is no more 'exciting' footage and get bored of the video, turning it off and forgetting about it.

The first fifteen seconds has the same problem. It may put people off at is gives across the appearance of a promotional video for a job as a lighting/tech expert etc. We have to rearrange the footage so the intro keeps the attention of the potential market.

Some of the soundcheck footage looks live, so we may have to rearrange the clips if more people think this.

We placed text over a background of text. This is a big problem as the audience gets confused about which layer to look at and it draws attention away from the important text on the screen. We will need to move the text or get rid of it completely.

He also mentioned that we should make sure that the email address we used in the video should be a fake email so as to not allow people to misuse it.

Budget

Simon Bates was given a budget to produce this project. Here is that budget's use:

Travel: £1000 Coach Hire to get to Bournemouth

Accomodation: £20 per person for Bournemouth Hotel accommodation. Total = £400

Food: £20 per person. Total = £400

University Fees: £500 to pay for student mentors from Bournemouth.

Samba: £260 for tuition

Total: £2560

All equipment we use is owned by the college, as a result it is free. This brings the cost down dramatically as hiring is not needed.

The finilised cost is very likely to come in lower than shown above.

My Role So Far

So far in the project I have done a lot of editing on the promotional video. I have finalised and exported the finished versions of our video. I made changes to the text in our video to suit the Junctions 'Helvetica' font style. I have acted as a voiceover and as a character in the video. As well as being one third of the direction team.

Feedback from Simon Bates

Here is some of the feedback we were given by Simon Bates about our rough cut:

Specifications:

Live footage of the Fiver Night.

What the requirements are for being able to perform.

What happens if/when your band is accepted.

How to apply.

It would be good if the video looks contemporary.

Additionally it must have all of the relevant information about the Fiver.

It is to appeal to the fiver audience (fourteen to seventeen years of age).

Feedback:

1. The video is well edited and the imagery is exciting.

2. More live footage of the Fiver will be needed to get people interested.

3. It doesn't represent the specifications clearly enough. You need to show that bands must first have experience to perform.

4. The introduction looks more as if it is an advert for working as a technician. It doesn't depict what the fiver is about and makes the Fiver seem more like a process rather than a great learning experience.

5. Provides a suitable amount of informations, if a little clunky.

6. Your video uses references to adverts and films well. It has a contemporary feel.

7. Your video is appropriate for the target audience and appeals to the right age group.

8. I like the way the video builds up. The speed increasing is really good, maybe you could accentuate this and make it a larger part of the video.

Junction Promo Video One

Here is the first promotional video we made for Simon Bates. It follows the specifications we gave him. We suggested to him that we use a method similar to that of the Navy advert on television. The narration talks over a series of quickly cut images to give the audience a positive impression of the job. Bates gave us a very positive response when we pitched this idea to him.

Here is the Navy advert:

In the advert we also use a song. We were given permission to use it as the band was one involved with the Junction.

We are ready to show the video to Bates so that he can give us feedback on the video and we can change it accordingly.

Collaborating With The Junction

It is important that the Junction likes and aggress with what we are doing on this project. Due to the collaboration my group must be sure to check with the Junction to make sure that they approve of what we are doing to the video. We made a very small quality QuickTime of the video to send to Simon Bates to acquire feedback so hopefully he will get back to us soon:

Wednesday 17th Interaction Project Editing

Today was the deadline for the rough cut. We had a lot of things to do as our video didn't make complete sense. We took the footage of me at the computer and filmed more. We edited the footage so as to fill in the gaps that weren't so good in the video and added a 'How to Apply' section to the video, using the shot footage. It was rushed and didn't look very good. However I was editing this bit alone and was only given about ten minutes to finish it. Text and all. After finishing our group watched it and decided that it was adequate, but there were some bits that obviously needed a lot of going over and improving. There were some obvious changes that needed to be made, Bates wanted a lot of live footage and we only had a small amount.

We will have to work very quickly when finishing off this video.

Tuesday 16th Interaction Project Editing

Today James and I took the script that I had written and decided to record the voiceover. Everyone else was busy and my group decided that my voice was the best one to use. We went into a silent room and recorded the voiceover. We recorded it several times to get the best results. We tried several different methods of saying the lines, we eventually decided to start off slowly and get faster and more intense (like the Navy advert, which was an inspiration to us). We also tried a method of leaving a pause after each line, but this made it difficult to make it sound right and cutting it would take a long time and was just unnecessary.

Image taken by Kirk:

We got back and imported the footage to the machine. After editing we had only one minute of footage. The promotional video was supposed to be two to four minutes long. In a conversation with Simon Bates before hand we agreed that it was better if the video was shorter and more powerful, rather than dragging it out too long and it getting boring. So we are only aiming for two minutes.

Monday 15th Interaction Project Editing

When we arrived today to find that all of the footage from the Junction had already been uploaded. This was very helpful as it allowed us to straight away look over it and decide what was useful. We put a tick next to all of the useful footage so it was easily identifiable. It is a very useful feature in Final Cut and also allows us to quickly and easily remove any unwanted footage. We already had basic pitch ideas which made the process of choosing the footage much easier.

James and I sat down and started to write up the layout of our video, he wrote up the sequence whilst I wrote out a narration and text script, all whilst Hayden was making an introduction.

We have started to edit the footage shot at the Junction. I have found that the footage shot by James and Sam to be the best and it is very useful. We marked all of the best footage and hid the rest so that we are only working with footage that looks good quality and professional. We decided to get rid of a section of the video. I had strong complaints about doing this as I thought simply revising it and improving it would have made it work brilliantly. The footage we removed was of a drummer, in soundcheck footage he hits the drum in rhythm, as this rhythm carries on we begin to cut the footage to the beat and it gave the video a very upbeat feel. The footage was removed due to it not adding much to the video but I was strongly opposed to this as I feel we could have made it work.

Editing other than this is going well. I am confident we will have a relatively good looking video before too long and the rough cut deadline will be met. Hayden has been adding some effects that the other two seem to think are effective. They are light effects but I think that they draw away from the footage. I am openly saying my concerns and they decided to dull them down due to my complaints. They look much better now.

We also filmed some footage to put in our video. I was the character in the video. The shots were planned by Hayden and I. My favourite shot was one thought up by Hayden where there is a shot of the computer screen in my eye. It's a very effective and professional looking camera shot.

By the end of the day we had a thirty second intro sequence and a full storyboard.

Promotional Video Inspiration

Keeping with the up-beat themes of our video we would like to incorporate a style of cutting seen in the Simon Pegg/Nick Frost films Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. Unfortunately, an example of one of these scenes is not available on the internet but this video has been re-created (badly) to simulate the feeling of these cuts. As these films are remarkably popular this is a very good way of adding to our video and appealing to the target audience. The quick cutting is very stylistic and looks effective.

We are also trying to emulate a stylistic theme in our video. A similar example of this is the anti-piracy video that is shown on most popular DVDs at the moment. It appeals directly to teenagers by the style of music, the cutting and the visuals. It's a very effecting advert, especially for my (and the target audience's) age range.

Here is the Royal Navy advert that is what we have based our video on predominantly. Its use of voice-over and increased pace is exactly what we want to put in our video.

Editing Health and Safety

While on the computers we will be editing footage for a long time. We believe that it is very important for us to be able to have a five minute break every hour or so. It is bad to stare at a screen for too long and is advised that after an hour of working on the computer we should stop and stare off into the distance for a short while. There will also be a lot of loud music that we will be dealing with and editing, it is important that we don't let the volume turn up too loudly which might damage our ears.

Our Initial Pitch to Simon Bates

Our pitch to Bates was a concept drawing from several other adverts and concepts in an eclectic style. We want to bring together a theme of the popular Navy advert where a narrator follows the life of a boy who eventually ends up in the Navy. The voice gradually gets quicker and more exciting to show the audience the excitement of getting nearer to the eventual goal (joining the Navy). We would like to incorporate this style into our video.

We also wanted to do this along-side a theme like the anti-DVD pirating video which is a very visually stylish video that greatly appeals to a younger audience due to its scratchy 'skater' style. We think incorporating these ideas together will work well when making our video.

We want our promo to be informative and helpful as well as getting people interested, so we pitched that we are going to try and find a way to make the video informative whilst still following the guidelines of our idea of the video getting faster and faster in pace. It may be that we have a climax and once that has finished (and we have got the audience interested) we revert back to a calmer pace, to give the audience information.

Finalised Groups

The groups that will be making the videos for the Junction are:

Promotional Video Group One:

James Walker

Hayden Martin

Alexander Whitcombe (Myself)

Promotional Video Group Two:

Laurence Smith

Sam Chappell-Winnington

Ashley Atherton

Promotional Video Group Three:

Tara Cox

Matt Leonowicz

Tim Hodson

Documentary Group One:

Kirk Kemp

Mike Shaw

Philippa Price

Natalie Nicoll

Documentary Group Two:

Matthew Hornby

David Pinchen

Joe Robinson

Junction Filming Risk Assessment

Even though I didn't go and film at the Junction personally I have still created a risk assessment for the process. I have based it around what Bates and people have said about being there to construct the assessment.

Junction Fiver Filming Risk Assessment:

There is to be no using the 'Cherry Picker' crane to get higher shots of the band. This is due to the machinery breaking, someone falling and hurting themselves or dropping equipment over the edge which could be a danger to those below.

When filming at the Junction during the live show wearing ear plugs is advised. They are optional but will probably be preferable to those with sensitive hearing as the noise of the amplifiers may damage hearing. This especially goes for when filming closely to the stage. When doing this it is also advised that the camera man/woman wears headphones (connected to the camera) so that the sound levels can be adjusted.

Filming backstage should be minimal. There is obvious need to be able to film the bands but it is important to not always clog up the hallways as there will be a constant stream of people entering and exiting carrying instruments and equipment. There is not a particularly large amount of room backstage, so this could be dangerous.

There is a model release form printed on the tickets to the Junction. As a result of this it isn't necessary to get permission to use footage of any of the crowd as when they buy a ticket they automatically agree to have themselves on film

Though not essential, it is recommended that those filming sit down for about five minutes every hour since constantly being on ones feet can be very straining.

When filming on stage always be aware of where you are. Make sure you have a clear understanding of how much room you have so as not to fall off the stage or get in the way of a performing band.

Be careful not to drop and/or break the equipment.

There are often wires running around the Junction. Especially on stage and during soundcheck, be careful not to fall over these.

Choosing Junction and Reasoning

I have decided to do my Interaction project working with the Junction due to the fact that I have worked with them before, so I know I can rely on them as well as already having connections with Simon Bates meaning that liaising back and forth will be much easier than it would be otherwise.

Aside from this, Shakin' Moo's was my other strong choice, however Chris at Shakin' Moo's wanted me to produce fliers for use at the shop and I have more of a personal preference producing videos, as they are better suited to my preferences and skills. As well as the fact if I worked with Shakin' Moo's it would be more of a commission than a partnership which is aside from the point of this project.

For these reasons I have chosen to work with the Junction over all other possible candidates.

Thursday 11th February Interaction Meeting

Today we met with the manager of 'Shakin' Moo's', a local milk shake shop. We had talked to him previously and he had showed interest in our course, so we put forward the idea that we should work for him for some extra research on this project. Today we went to see him for a meeting.

For the meeting we discussed several points. He addressed the ideas he wanted put forward and told us clearly what he expected from us. During the meeting we took notes and I took pictures. Here are the notes:

Order of Priorities:

1. Effective Flyers

2. Effective Student Aimed Flyers

3. New Menu

4. Posters

5. Shop Layout and Design

6. (If possible) Promotional Videos

Equipment available so far:

5x1 meters of pink camouflage cloth (similar to that used in the Shakin' Moo's brand design)

Large Milkshake man costume (Mr. Moo)

Possible large banana outfit

Average quality full-HD camera (Provided by myself)

Tables, chairs and a sandwich board - able to place designs on them.

Meeting Notes and Expectations:

Basic flyer designs - Main and most important job. These flyers are preferably to be designed aiming at the 'Primark' shoppers target market. As it is located near the shop and contains the target audience for the shop, we decided that this would be a perfect place to distribute the flyers, and that they should be designed accordingly.

Once designed, they would be handed out by a man in the Mr. Moo costume around the Primark area.

We decided that the flyer was too 'busy' and needed to be simplified.

Wheel O' Flava - Website Application, mentioned on flyer and not necessary.

Remove some aspects of the flyer such as mention of crepes etc.

Remove information error. (said the word 'shake' instead of the word 'topping' - a mistake that could cost a lot of money. "One Shake Per Flyer" should be "One Topping Per Flyer"

There should be a better map on the flyers, enabling easier locating of the store. The map should also include Primark and the Grafton Center so as to give reference points to people looking at the map.

We considered using Google Maps but decided it too badly done.

Keep the Wifi Symbol on the flyer but change layout - despite it looking quite out of place it adds a 'wow factor'.

One of the features of the shop is that it has a 'bring your own ingredients and we'll blend them' theme. So I thought that as this adds a large amount of excitement and is a very novelty idea, it should be on the flyers. I said that even though a lot of people would never really bother with it, it adds a wow factor to the poster, and makes people more interested.

Images of the flyers and some of my edits and notes, here you can also see the design of pink camouflage:

We decided that bringing in your own ingredients should cut the price of a milkshake. For example, a medium milk shake (Normally £2.60) would become only £2.00. As well as talking about other marketing schemes such as getting the Facebook fan-page working properly.

We were trying to draw ideas from how a milkshake parlour in Newcastle named Shakeaholic draws heavily (and effectively) from an 'emo' and 'goth' audience.

- www.shakeaholic.co.uk -

As well as discussing ideas to increase the popularity of the store, for example we put ideas on the table of having milkshake tasting days every week, were people would pay, say, £3.00 to have a taste of that weeks 10 best milkshakes.

When talking about online marketing, Lane made the point that websites such as Facebook have a:

No Cost and High Value

We were also asked to think of designs that could shroud the tables by using the 5x1 meter pink camouflage cloth. Pink is the main colour of the store and it draws heavily from it, as you can see from their websites here:

http://shakinmoos.co.uk/site/

http://www.facebook.com/ShakinMoos

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=281931154066&ref=ts

We were also all given CDs that Lane had made containing all of Shakin' Moo's image material such as fonts, images etc.

We were offered a fee for the work, but turned it down as we felt that it was inappropriate as we were benefiting from experience where Christopher Lane (The Manager) was benefiting from the advertising and our work.

Here are some of the pictures I took today:

Bates' Answers

1. The promotional video should be between one minute thirty and four minutes. Shorter is better though. (The documentary should be between three and eight minutes)

2. Backstage and in the venue are fine, you can film almost anywhere you want.

3. there are a few, I will send you a list of them later.

4. Yes please.

5. Helvetica is the font the Junction uses most of the time.

6. Well, yes. Music from the Fiver night and the Fiver night bands has to be used at some point throughout the video. Especially the promotional video. However no other music can be used unless it applies to the Fiver night.

7. Gary won't be able to work with us on the Fiver night as he'll be far too busy. However, there will be a possibility of a custom light show during the sound-check.

8. Bands are usually invited to play at the Fiver after providing us with their MySpace pages. They send Gary and email and we pick the best bands carefully. Also, a band is more likely to be accepted into the fiver if they have a lot of fans.

9. There isn't really any archive footage that we can use of the Junction. All footage used must be our own.

10. You can film whatever you want. The tickets sold for the Fiver Night have a model release cover, so we can film crowd shots however much we want. However no cherry picker or any other machinery can be used in the video due to health and safety restrictions.

11. We can film backstage on the Fiver night if you want to, you'll all be given backstage passes.

12. I want very good quality footage of the Junction to be used. Lots of live footage with loads of quality sound effects. The 'running order' of the promo and documentary videos is also very important. Also film the sound-check with the bands, and interviews would work great for the documentary. Also film cutaway footage, so you have something to cut to when editing between scenes. You possibly might also want to film the fiver from two fixed angles, but it's not necessary. Also make sure the documentary crew film the promo crew filming the Junction. Make sure to include everyone's skills within the video such as directing, camera operating and lighting etc. Interviews with CRaM level two students would work well in the documentary. Most importantly though, collect loads of footage!

13. The very final deadline for the videos is mid March.

14. I don't think it really matters. There is always a balance in the crowd at the Junction so its not really an issue. There are a few girls in the bands too, so I suppose it's important to include them in interviews and such.

15. I want to appeal to 13-21 year olds, people who attend the Fiver. So I would like a simplistic yet stylish video.

16. As I said, there are several logos you must include, I will send you a list of them later.

17. Yes, definitely, as I said your backstage passes will allow you to go and interview them. It's very important for the videos, especially the documentary that we get some footage of the bands being interviewed.

18. Interviews with the Junction staff and also educational staff at Long Road are very important and must be included in the documentary.

19. Yes, but please do not dilute the Junction branding, if you use it it must remain the same. If you make a Junction logo don't change the font or the logo around too much.

20. The confirmed date for the Junction Fiver Night is the 19th February.

The Junction's Role In The Community

The Junction have always been helpful to the community surrounding Cambridge. They give local, up and coming bands an opportunity to get well known as well as contributing well to the local community of Cambridge. For example, in a different project I was manufacturing a newspaper. I contacted the Junction and asked them whether or not they would be able to take out an advert with us. The Junction contributed £350 as a sponsorship for a half page advert which really helped with the printing costs and allowed me to make a fair profit from selling the paper.

Simon Bates Meeting Minutes Two

Today our class had another meeting with Simon Bates. He answered any questions and queries we had about the project so far. He laid out clearly that he was looking for one promotional video, and one documentary featuring the Junction's collaboration with our college and the making of the promo videos. The promo is aiming to be about 1:30 to 4:00 minutes long. The documentary, around 5:00 to 7:00 minutes.

We were then divided into our groups. I am working with James and Hayden to make one of the promotional videos. Our group of three is also working alongside two other groups of three making different promotional videos. At the end of the project we will present all three to Bates and he will choose between them which one he wishes to use for the real promotion.

There is also a group of four and another group of three working on producing the documentary Bates asked for.

We are supposed to clearly plan out our videos, and come up with ideas that we can then pitch to Bates next time we see him. We have to come up with idea, techniques and similarities to other videos.

Questions for Simon Bates

Below are some of the questions we need to address to Simon Bates.

1. How long does the video need to be?

2. What areas can we film in at the Junction?

3. Which logos do we have to use?

4. Would you like the same font as the logo for the Junction?

5. Which font is this?

6. Would it be possible for us to use tracks from Fiver bands for our video?

7. Will it be possible to ask assistance of the Junction staff?

8. What's the process bands go through to apply for the Fiver?

9. Is there any archive footage you wish for us to use of the Junction?

10. How much freedom do those filming at the Junction have?

11. Will we have backstage passes when filming the Fiver night?

12. What kinds of footage (interviews/live footage/soundcheck) and how much do you want in the promotional video and documentary?

13. What is the final deadline for the videos?

14. Is a clearly distinguished gender balance necessary?

15. What is the target audience you want for the videos?

16. Who must we give credit to in the promo?

17. Is it possible for us to interview the band?

18. Is it possible for us to interview the Junction staff?

19. Do you wish to have a Junction ident displayed throughout the video?

20. When is the Fiver Night?

Simon Bates Meeting Minutes One

Simon Bates, head of learning at the Junction has organised work for me to work in collaboration with the Junction to create a video promoting the Junction Fiver and the bands in it. The purpose of the video it to encourage young and up and coming bands between the ages of 13 and 19 to perform in front of a large audience. In the meeting Simon explained clearly what the Fiver was and how he wanted the promo to be laid out. He wanted an upbeat promo video, that would draw the attention of the target age range accompanied by a documentary about the making of the promo. This would be accomplished by having three groups of three working on the promo videos, and a group of three and a group of four to make the documentaries. We agreed to meet up with Simon every tuesday so we could gradually get a clearer picture as to what he expects from us. He laid down basics about what he wanted and explained about a scheme called a "Wow Factor". The wow factor is a secondary appeal to an object that increases its value to a customer as it makes the product more 'cool'. Simon gave the example that he bought a hat to keep his head warm and that the wow factor was that the hat looked cool, increasing its value to him. It is really an additional appeal that a product doesn't need, but benefits from. He suggested we are all careful of this, and to make sure our videos are what they are supposed to be, before we start adding a wow factor otherwise they will fall apart.

I will be deciding who is in what groups later on.

Shakin' Moo's

Shakin' Moo's is a small Milshake bar in the center of Cambridge. It is a high possibility for a venue as I have got to know the staff quite well. They are all friendly and are always looking for new and interesting ways to promote their business. I am planning to go and talk to the manager soon about a possible callaboration.

Shakin' Moo's is an independant store, not part of a chain. This goes towards helping the local community of Cambridge. The store is trying to get local people involved, it promotes itself as being somewhere for people to hang out. It helps the community as (unlike similar bars such as Shakaway) the money it recieves doesn't go into a chain, but is spent locally.

The Junction

The Junction at this point seems the most likely candidate for hiring us. Due to previous collaboration with its head of learning on different projects and how keen he is to use our course it seems very likely that the Junction will be involved with our course again, and this is a good project for that. We already know that working with the Junction is successful but due to our previous collaboration I would still like to find another venue to get a new experience, if not to do both. I could work with the Junction and still find another company to form a partnership with that may benefit the local community.

It is also very likely that we will be able to interact with the Junction to promote it as it is the 20th year anniversary of the venue in Cambridge.

The Corn Exchange

The Corn Exchange is the most popular music venue in Cambridge. As with Vue Cinema however, it is a thriving business and would most likely have very little interest in commissioning me let alone working in a partnership with me to do promotional work for it. As due to its popularity it does not need any such work. All of its artists are very famous and it doesn't tend to support artists that are not quite as big and would need marketing.

Vue Cinema

Vue cinema is part of a big chain of cinemas. There is one located very close by inside the Grafton shopping center, it is extremely popular. This may make it seem unlikely that I will be able to get to work in partnership with it however I know a couple of the workers there, these contacts could prove useful should I decide to try and get a collaboration there with some promoters. Even due to this however, it is still best to find a smaller company that I can make a mutually beneficial partnership with as they would be far more likely to accept us.

Another problem with working with Vue/Cineworld is that they are part of a very large chain of companies which would eventually lead me to promoting money to go out of the local community. This is the opposite to what I am trying to achieve on this project so working with Vue is unlikely.

Uprising

Uprizing consists of several DJs and musicians who work together to make a team that often puts on big club nights and similar at the Junction and other similar local venues. I went and asked them about a possible partnership and they responded positively. They said that they were actually looking for a team to film and edit footage of one of their live shows. This would be a perfect opportunity to make a promotional video or simply help with advertising them. Another bonus is that they weren't looking for any kind of long term job. This means that I may be able to work with them, and complete this single project. The events are relatively spread out so I will keep in touch to find out when the next one will be. Hopefully if it is within the time constraints we have for this project I will be able to collaborate with the venue.

Addenbrook's Hospital Collaboration

Addenbrook's recently asked Long Road Media students to help with some poster design that aimed at designing flyers to promote jobs at the hospital. They gave us specifications that included having a large picture on the flyer depicting several people from a range of ethnic groups looking like they're having a good time.

We were presented with an example poster, and asked to use its design for when we create our own poster.

The Arts Picture House

The Picture House is a independent cinema in Cambridge. It is always open to new ideas to promote itself and has worked with Long Road in the past. I worked there during the Cambridge Film Festival so have developed good relations with the staff. This could help with the possibility of working with them. I may be able to provide flyers/promotional videos to the cinema to help with promotion. The Picture House tries to bring interesting, new and independent ideas and films to its local audience around Cambridge.

Pros:

I know that I work with them well.

They give a lot to the community.

Easy to get to.

Advertisement opportunities always welcome.

Cons:

I have worked for them before and may like to get someone new for a completely fresh experience.

Planning

Firstly, we had to find a suitable venue/company that we could base this project upon. Here is a list of possible places to try and get a functional and mutually beneficial collaboration for the project:

1: The Junction
2: Shakin' Moo's
3: The Arts Picture House
4: Soul Tree
5: Vue Cinema
6: Cineworld Cinema
7: The Corner House
8: The Corn Exchange

9: Addenbrook's Hospital

Difference Between Interaction and Commission Projects

Where as the commission project was about making a video to specifications, the interaction is more to do with dealing with a variety of local businesses and working with them collaboratively to give something back to the community. It is more about the relationship between me and the client, and how this impacts the local community. This is far different to commission which was just about following specifications and to an extent we have to do this in Interaction as well as liaising with the community. A far more difficult task. However it will be interesting to see what working alongside a company will be like rather than working for them.

For a commission I have had to work for the Picture House working for Tony Jones. During this I had to do exactly what I was told and when. Working on Interaction I am working in collaboration with Simon Bates, we are able to bounce ideas off each other and come to a compromise rather than doing exactly what the client wanted.

Introduction to Interaction Project

For this project we have been asked to get in contact with a client in the local community and to produce something for them. The likelihood is that what we produce will be promotional material. Most probably videos, flyers, radio adverts or billboard design. I will have to contact several businesses and ask them for a job. After attaining a job I will have to discuss with them what they want and eventually make the product.

Welcome

Welcome to my Interaction Project blog!