Sophie Marriott1210547

Sophie Marriott

BA (Hons) Television Production

Year 2

Professional and Critical Practice:

Commissions Report

Pauline Quirke Academy

Submission Date: 1/5/2015

Word Count: 2147

CONTENTS

Company Profile – Page – 3

Commission Process – Page 3 – 4

My Role: Director and Editor – Page – 4

Pre-production: Shot List – Page 4 – 5

Production: Shoot Day – Page 5 – 6

Post-production: The Edit – Page 6 – 8

Reflections – Page 8 – 9

Bibliography – Page – 9

Illustrations – Page – 9

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Company Profile

The Pauline Quirke Academy (PQA) is “a weekend performing arts academy

providing tuition for children and young people from 4-18 years” (PQA, 2015)

and was set up by English actress Pauline Quirke in 2007 to try and replicate

her fond childhood memories of drama classes to a new generation. The

students can undertake a series of classes, concentrating on Comedy &

Drama, Musical Theatre and Film & Television.

Commission Process

For this commission project I paired up with another student from the class,

Roxanne Meats. Upon looking for a commission, we were offered a range of

promotional videos but decided that PQA looked like an exciting project and

something we wanted to be associated with. I was particularly interested in

creating a promotional video, as I had never been involved with this area of

work so it would enable me to learn something new. The aim of the

promotional video is to encourage new students to join the Tunbridge Wells

branch of the academy and to essentially advertise what PQA does.

We contacted the principal of the academy, Verity-Rae Martin, to inform her of

our initial ideas about the promotional video and to get a clearer idea of what

she would like. Verity gave us an open brief and was happy to give us

creative control over the video but made a point that the video needs to ‘sell’

the academy. Roxanne and myself made the joint decision that we would

create a video similar to that of the video made for the Rochester and

Tonbridge academies. From watching the existing videos on the website, we

noted that the overall structure was consistently upbeat and had an energetic

feel. Although the content of our video and our filmic style will be different, we

will incorporate this attitude into our work. We did not want to divert from the

original style out of fear that it would not fit in with the branding; we wanted to

ensure that all videos worked well together, as well as separately. As this is

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an academy that covers various classes, our video will feature all of these to

accurately present PQA.

My Role: Director and Editor

Once we were commissioned for the PQA promotional video, Roxanne and

myself discussed the roles we would like to fulfill. I immediately volunteered

myself as editor and Roxanne volunteered herself as producer as we both

favour these areas of production. On the day of the shoot, Roxanne offered to

be the camera operator, which meant I would become the director. Chris

Ruffell defined a direction as a person who “understands vision that knows

what the story is to tell, the best genre and methods to conveying that

message” (Ruffell, 2011). As a director, it is my job to take the idea written in

the script and turn it into a physical product. I am responsible for telling the

story through imagery and getting the message across of what the academy

is. Although I have creative control of this project, the content has to match

the producer’s expectations and visions too.

As my second role is an editor, I will be responsible for piecing the footage

together to tell the story in the way it was planned in the script. I found that by

having two creative roles they complimented each other and allowed my

creative vision to come through more effectively. It would make the post-

production process quicker as I would be deciding on which shots to use in

the edit whilst I was still on the shoot and I would create a time-line in my

mind.

Pre-production: Shot List

Before I could create a shot list or Roxanne could create a script, we

scheduled a day to visit the Tunbridge Wells academy. Hayley, the vice

principal, showed us around the building and informed us that Verity wanted

us to showcase the facilities where the classes were held. We started to

collate ideas of what we wanted to include in the video, which lead to

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Roxanne drafting a script for us, and me creating a basic shot list. I included

establishing shots and a combination of wide shots and close-ups of the

different activities, as well as allowing for improvisation on the shoot day as

there will be certain situations I cannot script for as it will be out of my control.

This visit was helpful in inspiring us to take the next steps with the production

and starting to get our vision formed. I looked at the book ‘Video Production

Workshop’ to develop my shot list and Tom Wolksy stated, “a promotional

video may begin with the background of the company or institution and show

the setting and community followed by an in-depth look at facilities,

programmes or products” (Wolsky, 2013:92). This seems to be the generic

structure of a promotional video, and as we had previously agreed, we would

use this and keep it simple but create our video with a light-hearted approach.

Roxanne had scheduled two shoot days but only one was needed as we had

enough usable footage for the edit. The other day was changed to a viewing

of the rough cut from Verity, where she gave feedback and we discussed the

music we wanted for the video.

Production: Shoot Day

On shoot day, I was the director and Roxanne was the camera operator.

It was my job to make sure we followed the shot list accordingly, as well as

looking for extra interesting shots. When choosing the equipment, I wanted to

use the Canon 7D as I believe that I know the camera better but due to

practicality we opted for the Sony EX camera. We needed a camera that

would maintain in focus while the subject moved which the Sony EX is

capable of.

When we arrived, Hayley informed us of the plans for the day, as we had not

received any lesson plans prior, so Roxanne and myself could make a

schedule as to not miss out on any of the classes. As we were working with

children and activities that involve a vast amount of movement, I had to be

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attentive at all times and communicate clearly with the camera operator. I had

to state clearly the type of shot I wanted and Roxanne had to frame up quickly

in order to capture it. Being the editor of this project, I tried to shoot it with the

edit in mind and was thinking of shots that I knew would cut well together.

Due to a problem with the battery on the camera and not having a spare one,

it meant we had to stop filming earlier than expected so we could charge the

battery via the mains. Luckily, we had attended each class prior and had

already filmed the establishing shots before we arrived. While the battery was

charging, we transferred the footage onto my MacBook to review the shots

and ensure that we had all the footage we needed. We were happy with the

diversity of the footage and agreed that we had more than enough to make

the video.

Post-production: The edit

Roxanne and myself worked together through the rough edit, highlighting the

usable clips and dragging them onto the timeline. We wanted to make sure

we included shots of the children having fun along with teasers of what each

class involved to show that PQA is not only a place to learn, it is also a place

where children can socialise and make friends. At first, I found it difficult to edit

a video where the shots were so diverse yet placed next to each other and not

fully sequenced as that is the style of editing I have become accustomed to. I

watched a video entitled ‘The Making of A Corporate Promotional Video’ by

Mike Wilkinson where he explains, “having a montage of clips that can carry

movement and energy can ensure the viewers don’t become bored of

watching” (Wilkinson, 2013). This made me realise that although this way of

editing footage seemed unnatural to me, it helped with the pace of the video

and keeps the audience interested in what’s on the screen. The editing

technique fits well with our footage as we have lots of movement within our

shots so cutting to and from different shots ensures that we are promoting

each aspect of PQA. The fast-paced editing will also work well with an upbeat

soundtrack, similar to the track in the Rochester promotional video.

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After the rough cut was complete, I started the fine cut in which I would make

colour corrections, adjust the audio, add a soundtrack and make tighter edits

with the transitions between shots.

Fig 1. Before colour correction (2015) Fig 2. After colour correction (2015)

I contacted Verity via e-mail to ask if she was able to contact the PR

department about receiving the music from the Rochester video but we had

no reply. Due to our approaching deadline, Verity advised us to look for

alternative music. We were very selective with our choice of music, as we

knew the exact sound we were aiming for and most importantly, it had to

match the visuals. Additionally, I enquired about receiving the full resolution of

the PQA logo that will feature at the beginning and end of the video but due to

no reply, I had to screenshot the still image from the Rochester video.

Fig. 3 E-mail to Verity (2015)

As I had to match the image to the music, it meant I had to change the order

of the clips and divert from the script; I did this upon Roxanne’s approval. I

had to group the clips with the most movement together to keep up with the

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pace of the music, and create a section for the clips with audio in. I made the

decision to use some footage with audio in, for example the class singing and

the children acting, to keep the audience attracted. As the music was dipping

in and out during the video it meant I had to do sound design work adding key

frames at relevant points to fade the music in and out.

Fig. 4. Fine cut of timeline (2015)

I read the book ‘Visual Social Marketing For Dummies’ to familiarise myself

with what a promotional video needs to do and why they are used. Krista

Neher advises to “make promotional videos short and to the point. The best

ones last less than two minutes, but use as much or little time you need to

make your point” (Neher, 2014:307). Verity had not specified an exact

duration for the video, which lead to Roxanne and myself using initiative and

deciding that a 2-minute video would be appropriate, as their previous

promotional videos are that duration. This allowed sufficient time for me to

include all that PQA has to offer without it becoming repetitive.

Reflections

Due to the nature of this work being for a client, it was important that we were

seen as professional filmmakers at all times, whether it was in person on a

shoot day or contacting them via e-mail, we adapted a professional manner.

For example, on the shoot day we ensured that we did not cause a disruption

to the usual Saturday classes, as this would be seen as amateur and

unprofessional.

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Before this commission project, I would not have considered making

promotional films as a freelancer but this has made me aware that they can

be exciting as well as challenging and each video would be unique. Although

with Verity, we were given an open brief and complete creative control over

the project, I am aware that other companies may not do the same, which is

something I will take into account for the future. I particularly enjoyed the post-

production process of this project and it is something I am considering

pursuing as a future career. With a general understanding of editing skills and

the software, Final Cut Pro X, I am keen to learn more and build on the skills I

am equipped with already. With this project, I learnt how to edit out of

sequence and was given a new challenge in an editing perspective, which I

believe was a good experience. If I were to create another promotional video,

I would test my creative skills and step out of my comfort zone further to

create a more experimental video as in this project, I remained rigid with a

preset structure.

It has been a positive experience working for a client and having to

comprehend their deadlines as well as the ones set by our course leader, as it

has allowed me to manage my time more effectively. I feel that Roxanne and

myself worked well as a team as we both had our preferred areas of work,

which meant we were both, passionate about different aspects of the project.

Bibliography

Books

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Neher, K. (2014) Visual Social Marketing For Dummies. John Wiley & Sons; 1st edition

Wolsky, T. (2013) Video Production Workshop: DMA Series. CRC Press

Websites

Pauline Quirke Academy (2015) ‘What We Do’ [online] At: http://www.pqacademy.com/what-we-do/ (Accessed on 12.4.15)

Ruffell, C. (2011) ‘How To Make A Promotional Video’ [online] At: http://www.reelmarketer.com/2011/01/how-to-make-a-video/ (Accessed on 12.4.15)

Wilkinson, M. (2013) ‘The Making of A Corporate Promotional Video’https://vimeo.com/60777705 (Accessed on 12.4.15)

Illustrations

Figure 1. Marriott, S (2015) Before colour correction [screenshot]

Figure 2. Marriott, S (2015) After colour correction [screenshot]

Figure 3. Marriott, S (2015) E-mail to Verity [screenshot]

Figure 4. Marriott, S (2015) Fine cut of timeline [screenshot]

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