Presentation Day Video Evaluation
On the 25th of April we
were tasked with creating the presentation day videos that represent each
college in the Hadlow group. The clients gave us a brief that detailed the
project title, background, timescale and the locations we needed to film on
along with the deadline we had to meet in time for them to review the edits and
make any potential amendments to it. Our goal was to capture what it was like
to study at each of the colleges and make sure we are focusing on the students
work and how each curriculum area is run. Having helped to complete a full edit
for the Hadlow college presentation day video, I am now going to evaluate my
role in this production.
Constraints
In terms of legal constraints, we
didn’t face anything that could’ve been an issue before we began filming. In
terms of regulatory, we were simply documenting the lives at the colleges in
the Hadlow group and the permissions to film over those colleges are already
signed over to us due to the fact that students sign a waiver when they join a
Hadlow group college stating they are comfortable with being filmed as part of
ongoing projects throughout the years. We also ensured that all students were
wearing correct protective gear where it applied, and that college logos were
on display, such as on uniform or on their lanyards. In terms of the music used
for the presentation day video, we used music provided by the clients that was readily
available to download off of moodle to include in our edits. There were no
financial constraints either as all transport was provided by the college, and
all camera and microphone equipment was borrowed from the media technicians.
Management
Time management was an issue on my
part, as I only ended up going to one of the filming days, which was at Hadlow
college. My time management was poor during the filming stages of this unit,
with the addition of my brother now being able to drive and needing the car on
some days to get to work, I was unable to drive to Tonbridge in time for some
days to help film at other colleges and only managed to help with the Hadlow
day. Other than my own time management, the filming went well for others and
the edits were completed in time, no deadlines were missed and the clients were
able to provide feedback for the edits in time for necessary adjustments to be
made.
The actual filming that I helped
with at Hadlow I thought went well. Tim and I managed to capture a lot of footage
of the students enjoying their courses and we managed to capture what it was
like to study at Hadlow in various curriculum areas. We worked well together
and as my role as the director, I thought that we were both able to understand
what each other thought was best to film, and he made some great executive choices
during filming. Whenever I suggested a shot to capture, he was able to work the
camera quickly and not miss a moment that might’ve gone unnoticed by the other
groups. With the footage we filmed overall at the equine, fishery and floristy
parts of Hadlow, I believe that we managed to capture what it was like to be a
student at the college perfectly well, and from there on, it was down to the
editors to make the video look professional. In the future, I would aim to be
on time to every shoot and help out as much as possible in the editing stages,
and not just during the filming.
Feedback
Looking at the final edit for the
Hadlow college presentation video, I feel as though I did not have a large
enough part in it to comment on the quality of my work. The sequence I had the
largest contribution towards was the equine sequence filmed at Hadlow, as shown
below. As I was working with Reece Armstrong and Mel Paige, I was there
providing my feedback and advice on the edit whilst Reece spearheaded the
entire post-production process. With the inclusion of my aforementioned poor
time management, I was unable to contribute much towards the final edit and
therefore have prevented myself from being able to critique the edit as a whole.
Despite this, I still feel as though the equine sequence came out well, and
having sat there and helped Reece edit it that my contribution to that specific
sequence is enough to self-evaluate my efforts.
I feel that the equine sequence was
very well edited as Reece and I went through and picked which angles and shots
of the horses would best suit the pace of the video. I liked the transitions
that we picked for in-between the shots. I do feel like some of the shots cut
too early however this couldn’t be helped as we attempted to edit the video so
that it cut to the beat of the music. Here is some of the feedback that we
received for the Hadlow video from our peers:
Sam Peate - I thought the edit was great, I enjoyed the editing and the
way that it flows. If I would have any changed I would improve some of the
signage but understand the setbacks with filming. I like most of the
transitions and I enjoyed the cutting to the beat.
Luke Cheeseman - Very well made and the shot transitions are smooth as
well as cut to the beat I really enjoyed it and things there is nothing to
improve on.
I agree with what Sam said about
the signage, and with the lack of footage capture of the signs at the college
it made it difficult for Reece, Mel and I to add those in. Both Luke and Sam
noted that the videos flows well, though I still think that some of the cuts
are a bit jarring when they cut to the beat, so that is definitely something I’d
change on another edit. I would likely edit it so that the video cut on every
other beat rather than every second or so. The client feedback for the whole
video was:
Client feedback- I liked the edit of the video the only thing that needs
to be changed and added is the transition between the animal management clips
needs the transition to be the same as the previous one. I would like there to
be signs at the beginning and the end and then better signage, apart from that
the edit is very well composed. There is nice juxtaposition between the
student and animals and grounds. Positive representation shows the Hadlow
College as an idyllic land based college.
Again, the main
comments here were on the signage and the transitions between each shot, as
most people felt that the video didn’t flow as well as it should have. Reece
went back and edited in the necessary signage and changed the transitions to
match throughout the video and I believe that the whole final edit came out nicely
after having acted on the feedback provided.
Summary
To conclude, I
feel as though my contribution towards the filming of the Hadlow footage was
good, and that Tim and I managed to film enough usable and professional footage
that fit well into the theme of the presentation day video and suited the
client brief. However, I also feel as though my poor time management stunted my
ability to help film in other areas, and also help with the final editing and
therefore I cannot say that my contribution to the unit as a whole was good
enough. I also feel as though the equine sequence I helped edit could’ve done
with some more work in terms of pacing and fluidity.
