Research

In this blog post I will be conducting some secondary research to inform my specialist study. The information researched in this post will help me to create a proposal for each potential idea.

My 3 ideas:

• Create a video at my local skatepark showing off the lessons that are available (showing children with learning disabilities)

• Create a video showing off a fashion brand that someone is starting up (showing their work and designs)

• Create a music video for a client (A very upbeat and fast video)

Audience:

For all 3 of these video ideas I have a very different target audience in mind for each one. First, the video that I am planning to make at the skatepark. There are 2 potential target audiences for this video. The first target audience is the children that are going to want to come to the skatepark. If I were to create this video with the children being the target audience then the video would have to be very upbeat and happy. The reason the video would have to be like this is because the children need to see positivity when associating the skatepark. If they see sad stories then they may associate the skatepark with bad things. If I do end up aiming the video at the children then I must ensure that I use bring colours of the skatepark and people talking about happy things and their good experiences at the skatepark. Whereas if I aim the video at the adults who may bring their children to the skatepark then I can make the video a bit more deep and realistic. If this was my target audience then I would want to show some stories from children who come to the skatepark with learning disabilities and show how the lessons at the skatepark really help them to communicate and get along with other children as they have a similar passion and hobby.

Next is the fashion video, I feel as if the target audience for this video would be the people who are likely to buy the clothes. In this situation and from what I know about the brand so far the clothing is aimed at 16-24 year olds. If this is correct then this will be the target audience for my video. If my target audience is 16-24 then that will be good as I fall into that age range, this is helpful as I can use my experience to know what people like at this age.

Finally is the music video, for this video I do not have a set target audience yet as I do not have a song that I will be creating a music video for. But from what I have done with music videos recently shows me that younger people are more likely to watch music videos as that is the type of platform that they enjoy watching videos on. Youtube is the most popular platform to watch music videos on as it is very simple to use and very easy to access. The age range for the video I am planning to do is around 14-20 year olds. To create a video that is targeted at people of this age I need to make sure that my video is very aesthetically pleasing as that is what people in that age range like to watch. I must decide on wether it is best to make a video with a very clean look with nice cinematography or to create a video that has a lot of editing done to it. I will decide this once I have a song and when I have a client.

Market:

After doing some previous research about these types of videos I have found out some information about the market that these videos belong in and how they can help to add to the market.

For my first idea there is a very small market for what I am wanting to do. I have looked on multiple video platforms for some documentaries at skateparks and I have struggled to find any of they. I found a few that I have analysed in previous blog posts but apart from that there are no videos that are exactly like what I want to do. I feel as if I have a lot of freedom with this idea as I do not have any requirements on what I have to match with. I can open a new style of video with this production as it will help to get other organisations other than skateparks to show off some services that people may not know they offer. This video idea is a documentary/informal video so I can professionally create a hybrid of those videos.

Next is the market for my fashion video. After researching this style of video I have really struggled to find a video that matches the idea I have, even more than the previous idea. There is a very small market for these types of videos as they are not in much demand to be watched. Similarly to the previous market I feel as if I have a lot of freedom to create a video that I believe is suitable. There are no boundaries on what I can and can't create with this video as there are not many other videos to compare to.

Finally is the music video, this is the most common of the ideas. Youtube is full of hundreds of music videos from all different genres of music. There are lots of requirements with music videos as you kind of have to follow the trend with music videos. You cannot make a country song with a really hyped and over-edited music video as it just doesn't work. And vice versa, you couldn't make a slow/elegant video for a fast-paced rap song.

Production:

After conducting my research for the videos similar to the ones I am hoping to create I have learnt a lot about the different production techniques used and what I am needing to do to create a high quality video that compares to the existing videos out there. The skate park video and the fashion videos that I have looked at so far have all be shot on video cameras or DSLR's. This is what I am comfortable using as I own a DSLR and I have access to video cameras at college. I prefer using my DSLR to the college cameras as I have to ability to swap my lenses out to get a different style of shot whereas on the college cameras I do not have that ability. This will restrict my ability to create the type of shot I am looking for. I have a Canon 760D which can record in 1080p at 30 FPS and 720p at 60 FPS for any slow motion shots that I want. The fashion video is very cinematography based and uses high quality cinematography techniques to create a very professional look to the video. I have a variety of lenses to use on my camera from a fisheye lens to a 50mm prime lens. These lenses give me a wide range of capabilities with the shots I am able to get. The music video that I have analysed is different. The video that I am using as an example uses an old VHS camera, the use of this camera allows the video to have a completely different feel. The VHS camera has a grainy effect which looks really effective in a video that does have parts filmed with a current video camera. When the two go together it really shows the progression of quality over the years in cameras, it also creates a very visually appealing look to the video when the two different styles are used together in one final product

Influencers:

For this section of the research I will be talking about some of the influencers that I have going into this projects. I have different influences for each of my video ideas, for example my influences for the music video and my influence for the documentary video are different. For my first idea which is the documentary I am influenced by a cinematographer called Adam Watson. I have been influenced by his work for a while as he started off by making videos at the skatepark the same as I did and that is how I found out about his work. The video that I have attached below is a video that he recently created. He has recently started his own production company and this video is one of his first professional productions;

The cinematography in this video is incredibly high-quality. The camera work and angles are next to none, this video is one of the most aesthetically pleasing videos i have seen. The video is uploaded in 4K resolution which allows the viewer to really get a good idea of how beautiful the landscapes these shots were filmed in. I really like the way this video is composed as it tells a really powerful story.

This is my favourite shot of the video as the framing is very symmetrical in the valley, this create a very nice effect and an overall aesthetically pleasing shot. The colour grading is also very effective and up lifting. The music/audio track used in the video is a piano being played which is what I imagine the subject to be playing. Overall this video is shot very professionally and gives off a really nice effect, I would like to film my documentary style video at this quality as it makes you look very professional.

Next I will be talking about the inspiration for the fashion video idea. My biggest inspiration for the fashion video is Highsnobiety.

As you can see above a quote from the Highsnobiety website. Highsnobiety is a large media influence on people who are into high-end/streetwear fashion. Highsnobiety is one of the largest fashion information websites around alongside pages like HYPEBEAST. Highsnobiety's youtube channel has over 200,000 subscribers and frequently releases videos on all aspects of fashion. Highsnobiety create very professional and effective videos looking at fashion and the effects of it on people. The video I have attached below is by Highsnobiety, the video talks with some of the main designers behind the Jordan brand and how they design the shoes that get released.

The video is nice as it speaks with two different designers for the brand in different locations, this is a different to other videos as they usually interview people in identical locations as it is easier to record. The interviews in this video are also different to what I want to do as I do not want to be in the shot as it gives off a different vibe to what I am trying to create. I want the interviewee to be in shot alone as it is a personal style of video and I feel as if you get a better feeling of emotion when the interviewer is not in shot.

Finally I will be talking about my inspiration for the music video. My inspiration of the music video is a duo called BRTHR

These two create very dramatic music video that have a lot of editing techniques involved. They work with some of the biggest artists currently in music Such as Travis Scott, 21 Savage and The Weeknd. Their videos have a particular style and you can tell when they are the ones that have created the video. They create videos that are extremely fast-paced and the shot tends to stay on the screen for less than a second. Their videos are very colourful and visually appealing. The video attached is one of the most famous videos that they have created is Butterfly Effect by Travis Scott;

This is a very well known video to people who enjoy rap music as it started a new trend for music videos. Many rappers are now getting music videos for their songs in this style as it is a new trend. It is very hard to choose a favourite shot in this video as the shot doesn't stay on the screen for long.

This is one of the nicest shots in the video as there are some bold colours such as the gold colour of the car and the bright red on his pants really stands out as the colours grading has been added to make the colours pop on the shot. This type of colour grading is used throughout the video.

Above is a Question and answer session the creators did with HYPEBEAST magazine for issue 20. Resourced by myself as I own the magazine