Having sent off a copy of the link to the promotional video that I have completed, my client has since sent me feedback informing me that I have succeeded in making a promotional video that fits the brief and efficiently conveys the values of the company.
This is the finished and final version of the promotional video that I have made for my client's, Mrs Nicola Osborne, Childminding business. Having completed what I set out to do I feel as though I was able to produce a fairly decent video even though there are some issues which, given a longer period of time or the chance to redo the video, I would improve. The use of matching the voice over to what was being shown on the screen at certain parts of the video, I feel, has given it a some what professional appeal as the clips illustrate what is being mentioned. I also think that the way in which the overall video is constructed (it's structure) work well in showcasing the variety of activities and care that each of the children at my client's facility receive. In terms of whether or not I was able to succeed in getting my client's desire message across and managing to create I video that fits the brief that me and my client arranged, I feel as though I did manage to fulfil the task and create a product that promotes my client in a positive and correct way. I ensured to include some direct quotes from my client - namely their business ideal, details and services that they offered - so that the video itself was fairly straight forward and got the point across (it stated what the children will receive, how potential customers can contact the owner of the business and the facilities/activities that take place). I do feel as though when it came to writing the script and adding the additional information over the top of the footage, I could have included more about the hours that my client looks after children from and the flexibility with which she can work with the parents and around their shifts at work. I think that this could have attracted more customers as it would show that she (my client) is willing to work with them to make it a great deal easier and more convenient for them whilst also providing good care of their child/children. When it came to filming, I tried to take a wide range of shots so that during the production and editing stage of making the promotional video I would be able to draw on specific and a variety of aspect about my client's business. As I was creating and shooting this promotional video, I tried to create a very hands on while at the same time very caring feel to the video. This is the reason why a great majority of the shot in the video contain hands and different learning activities - such as drawing, recognising numbers and the carers/adults working at the childminding service holding hands with the children to ensure that they are safe. From the research that I did, I drew a great deal of inspiration and understanding of how to make a successful promotional video - specifically taking more reflection from the Childcare UK company promotional video as it directly linked to the type of video that my client wanted. In my research, I found that the Childcare UK promotional video had a mother's voice, high key lighting, bright colours and a great deal of shots of different children smiling. I believe that this research does show through in my final video and, as a result, shows the influence that I have taken.
In terms of health and safety, for this promotional video I had to take extra care with what I was doing as there were very young children on the premises at all times while I was filming. I tried to minimise the amount of clutter or camera equipment that I took with me so that the risk of damage to equipment and harm caused to any of the children under my client's supervision at the time was lessened.
Prior to filming anything, I also ensured that I had full clearance and understanding from the parents of all of the smaller children so that I didn't run the risk of unsetting them. In doing this, I was also able to survey the surroundings and locations that I would be filming in so that I could work out what shots I would do and how /i could go about shooting without harming any of the kids.
After creating and finishing the first draft of my promotional video, I emailed it to my client to ensure that I was taking the video in the right/preferred direction of my client. In this first draft I contained a note over the top of the video to indicate where the voice over begins and ends - sending her a copy of the script for her to approve in addition to the video itself. I received feedback from Mrs Osborne saying that she was pleased with how it looked so far.
In the recent meeting that I had with my client, on the 3rd of March, along with discussing the distribution of release forms I presented a few different royalty free musical scores that I feel gave off the child-friendly and casual vibe that my client is looking for to be the backing music to the promotional video. After showing her each of the pieces, we agreed that the Italian Afternoon tune - which I discovered on the royalty free YouTube library - was the most appropriate fitting to the specifications discussed in our first meeting. When it came to the release forms, I found some bases for parental approved ones, via an online source that my place of study provides, and edited them to accommodate the fact that the children who would appear in the video would not be able to write their own names and all rights and permission would have to be signed off by the parent or guardian of the child. Below I have included an example of one of the edited release forms which I have shown to my client for their approval and since then distributed amongst the parents/guardians of each of the children under the care of my client in the hopes of them soon being returned so that I can begin filming for the promotional video.
I have created a mood board to show some of the ideas that I could include in my client's promotional video including some colours from their business cards and also some types of shots and items that promote the client's chosen values.
Then I met up with my client for a second meeting, on February 15th, they approved it and the message I agreed to try to promote for them. In addition, we discussed and agreed on a structure and story board for the promotional video.
