Evaluation - Corporate Video

Our task was to create a corporate video professionally to a client’s interests, we were asked by the MESH project if we could help them create a promotional video about their new community project called ‘Cutting Hedge’ so that they could show it at the ‘Neighbourhoods that work’ conference. We had to represent them with a 5-minute to 8-minute video that showed everything that the group do, what they plan to do in the future and how to contact them.

We were separated into smaller groups as we were working as a class, this was so there were smaller groups that could focus on a specific area of the ‘Cutting Hedge’ project. I worked alongside Katie and Zoe, we were responsible for getting the ‘Cutting Hedge’ after information, this included what the project gave people regarding qualifications and potential jobs and what the project planned to do in the future. My role within our group was to manage the Audio and Camera footage as well as helping with extra things that people within the class needed assistance with.

For my role I had to make sure that the audio was recording without white noise or wind which essentially meant I had to listen to the audio as it was recorded and make sure it was up to a certain standard. I was also responsible for making sure the camera was in focus and set up properly, I needed to communicate with Katie who was directing the piece about when I needed to start/stop recording footage. As well as this I aided other groups whenever they needed it, such as an extra person monitoring a camera of someone to hold a boom mic.

The most enjoyable part of the project in particular was the post-production as it was something I’ve never really used to a certain degree, it was fun to have to follow a certain structure so that our clips would all fit together within a larger video. I really enjoyed the opportunity to go and watch our video at the ‘Neighbourhoods that work’ conference as it showed me how much businesses/clients appreciate your work, it also showed me the other things that are going on with our community which was interesting to learn.

For me the most challenging aspect of the project was how we all worked on separate parts of the video as it meant that during the editing process a lot of changes had to be made so that all of the videos could fit together without repetition. It also meant if we messed up our small section we’d have go out and fix our problem to make sure the film is up to a good standard. I also struggled with being confident enough to talk openly to the people we would be filming, this helped me learn that the clients will listen to you as much as you listen to them so it’s okay to say how they could do things differently like standing in a different position etc.

If I could do anything differently I’d make sure when recording audio to keep out of the wind and to also test that I know how to use the technology as we had to reshoot as I accidentally didn’t record the audio as I had our TASCAM mic on test mode which meant I could hear the audio through the mic but it wasn’t actually being recorded.

Personally, the project has provided me with a lot of essential information I would need when working within the media industry. It taught me key things about working within large and small groups and how to communicate effectively within those groups. It gave me insight into what’s happening within our community and what people are doing to help other people out and that was incredibly useful.