Existing promo videos analysis

-Identify the brand first

Target Audience​
Mode of Address (Tone/ Narration/ Lexis/ Delivery)​
Technical Conventions (Image/ Music/ Editing/ Colour)​
Conveyance of Brand/ Identity​
Narrative ​
codes and conventions


1. Walt Disney World promo


With a brand value of US$32.6 billion, entertainment giant Disney remains the most valuable media brand this year, despite a 5% brand value decrease since 2017. As a well-loved entertainment brand, Disney has a unique ability to use nostalgia to harness childhood memories amongst its customer base. (1) The company attracts people of all ages, reaching a broad audience through various media and entertainment outlets. Disney's power lies in its brand. Even in a short promo video of Disney World, they rely on visual storytelling to sell off the emotional component of the brand which is what appeals to all ages. In the promo we also see there is no speech as everything is portrayed through the use of visual storytelling. Disney also knows their audience- they know their audience relies on nostalgia, to keep coming back for more, they want a reminder of childhood not a new Disney but the Disney that the grew up loving as a child. Using symbolic codes, we can see that from the start as the most iconic character representing the brand identity without  the need of speech (Micky Mouse) looks in the mirror, and then followed by a montage of the park initially getting ready for the day. The music is uplifting and almost dramatic through the use of technical codes used to portray different recognisable characters, getting ready. All the colours are bright and the lighting is high key natural throughout. We know all this by the 37second as again we see Mickey Mouse looking at his Disney watch on his glove, through the use of editing and fast cuts as the park opening is about to happen, to the fireworks and different families portrayed after the 0.40 second, relying on its family values and well established brand identity, as the clips go through fast pace (rollercoaster video), to slower pace (Belle hugging two little girls), to interact even better with each important moment.

2. GoPro HERO5 Launch promo


Even before watching the promo we know the GoPro is a brand for the explorers, for people who need to capture the moment of living on the edge, capturing the same moments in fast pace, while usually practising extreme sports that no other camera can while also being portable and smaller than half the size of a regular phone.  It manufactures action cameras and develops its own mobile apps and video-editing software. Founded as Woodman Labs, Inc, the company eventually focused on the connected sports genre, developing its line of action cameras and, later, video editing software. (2)
To appeal to its target audience the company would need to use the same elements in its advert- from the opening of the video with the sunrise, we see a broad range of locations and activities performed, from mountain climbing to kayaking and concerts. We also see the same camper van throughout which most travellers/explorers would identify with as a prefered method of travel for them and the very clever editing of it moving through different location while the camera stays on the same position, cutting to the beat of the soundtrack (at 1.27 min), to represent again the capability and range of the cameras/drones.




3. Always advert


The Always advert almost doesn't feel like an advert, as throughout its not focusing on a product as such but rather the idea/campaign behind it. Always as a brand is known for its activist campaign in aid, empowering and self-confidence, as stated on their website 'Always empowers women to live life without limits through trusted feminine hygiene products and education.', so knowing this, thats what we're likely to see in the advert- gender stereotypes have a big impact on girls during puberty, as this is the time when they learn what it means to be a girl, and young womanhood comes to be defined by a set of rules, like beauty and submissiveness.(3) In a studio setting, high key lighting, they ask young women and men, boys and girls, what does it mean to do something 'like a girl' and their answers show the different views of the older girls and man compared to the young girls and how much society affects their views when growing up on what being a girl means. The mode of address is informal and direct, as the participants are looking directly at the camera as almost speaking to the audience/ viewer on the other side of the screen, the editing being very minimal, to focus the attention on the participants and their answers, while the music is motivating and in the background 'quietly' tying the video all together. The advert is actually breaking the assigned codes and convention of what 'being like a girl' has become to society, also translating as 'being weaker'. The advert however was a huge success, targeting females all over the world of all ages and backgrounds- #LikeAGirl was watched more than 90m times and was the number two viral video globally. It also drove unprecedented earned-media coverage. There was also a rise in purchases as a result of the campaign. Many celebrities like Gloria Steinem and George Takei, joined Always in its mission to change the meaning of the expression ‘like a girl’, turning it into a symbol of female empowerment all over the world.
The "Like a Girl" campaign from Leo Burnett won the 2015 Emmy Award for outstanding commercial.(4)



(1) https://brandfinance.com/news/press-releases/disney-sparkles-as-most-valuable-media-brand-of-the-year/#:~:text=With%20a%20brand%20value%20of,brand%20value%20decrease%20since%202017.&text=As%20a%20well%2Dloved%20entertainment,memories%20amongst%20its%20customer%20base.
(2) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GoPro#:~:text=GoPro%2C%20Inc.%20(marketed%20as,apps%20and%20video%2Dediting%20software.
(3)https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/case-study-always-likeagirl/1366870

(4)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Always_(brand)

Evaluation of practical skills

In the last year I believe I have gained a better inside and understanding into editing compare to practical skills, however I can also see i have improved in some of my practical skills and I know the ones I also need to work on.
At the start of the course, my first task was to get a better insight into how the camera works and its basic settings- the ISO, the f-stop, and the shutter speed. I learned how to use them together to create the best photographs/videos working with the current lighting and set up around me. We then also were given a task of learning and practising different lighhting techniques to get a better understanding of the different lighting set ups we could use and work with- Rembrandt, split, butterfly, high key and low key.

One thing that helped me get a better understanding of the camera and all its setting was the short film challenges we were tasked with each week at the start of the year- as I only had a limited time to film and then edit the clips together to create a short sequence, I had to work with what was around me, meaning i had to experiment with different set ups such as working outside using natural lighting, working inside a poorly lit building, so having to use a higher ISO whilst also not compromising the quality and getting grain the final product.

The next task where i had to use my practical skills was in the making of my New wave short film. As the majority of my footage was filmed in Bulgaria, after a short visit there, I had to experiment with different filming techniques, and long shots, such as filming with whatever equipment i had on me at the time and also as I didn’t  have any access to lighting prompts, use natural lighting and my camera settings as best as possible.
A set up where I actually had to rely on lighting equipment was in my music video project, as to use the green screen I had to have my subject always well lit from each side with no shadows in the background, as that would of complicated the editing process. I used different lighting equipment such as a soft boxes as well as well as LED film light projectors to light up the subjects from every side.

I believe my strongest unit, and where I had to show strong practical skills rather than editing, due to unforeseen circumstances and not being able to film, was in my Promotional video unit, where I had to undertake a series of research, developing my ideas whilst working towards the given requirements efficiently up to the standards of 'the client'

In the following year i would like to improve my practical skills, as for example learning about different lenses and how a 300mm lense would benefit me in landscape photography. I would also like to improve on my knowledge and use of sound. In my short films even though I had the opotunuty to mix, cut and edit different diegetic and non-diegetic music, I would like to learn more about the different set ups and ways to improve the sound in my videos and how different sound equipment works.

Bins and storing footage

Throughout the year i made sure to store all my files on my portable SSD, in separate folders organised by units so they’re easier to find and access.

That’s an example of how I would organises each unit, with separate folders for different footage for example found footage for an advert and camera footage which would be easier to import to Premier pro as a folder with footage ready to edit. I would also keep any editing prompts/ music in a separate folder ready to use as well as also having the final product for each unit- either a short film or an essay.

Evaluation of editing skills

At the start of the year I was only familiar with the Premier pro and Photoshop editing softwares, and still I was only able to use their basic settings, as being able to simply put together a sequence  in premier pro from a crated 'bin' and then cut it to appropriate  times and lengths. However as the year progressed the tasks became more complicated  and would involve me getting more creative with my ideas and editing techniques and using different softwares. The first challenge I faced was when we had to, as a group, film a series of short clips (a couple seconds each) and then assemble  a stop motion short film. We had to not only film more than 50 separate short sequences, but then after I also had to edit each sequence to match the beat of the music (wii theme ringtone).

Another example was when we were given the task to create a New Wave film. I had to not only become familiar with the era of filmmaking but also all the techniques used at the time. I had to make sure my final product had the same aesthetic as the films I had researched, and to do so I had to research editing techniques which i haven’t previously used. An example is learning how to use split screen as well as layering clips on top of each other creating a new interesting effect, whilst again using the beat of the song to cut.

I also had to work predominantly with the Premier Pro and Photoshop editing softwares, however as the year progressed, I learned to get out of my comfort zone of what I already knew and discovered different settings such as the colour wheels and being able to edit the cinematic feel of every one of my short films, and got a better insight into both. For my project on film studies, creating a short film while also applying the relevant theory, in Premier Pro I had to learn how to film and then edit a green screen sequence. As this was something I’ve never attempted before I did my research before hand, watching different videos and reading blogposts on different ways of editing on a green screen. After I had the needed information I attempted a couple different methods of editing such as using the chrome key and using the ultra key, of which i preferred  using the chroma key as I found the settings after easier to adjust and edit to my liking.

In both Premier pro and Photoshop, something I had to learn how to do for my music video project was cloning. My idea was  to clone myself to essentially create a 'band', playing on air instruments. At the start it took a few trials and errors, and I also had to adjust my filming plan and ideas to fit the cloning as I found, for example, that the same subject can’t be too close to its clone/each other on screen as it blurs the lines and creates glitching where they touch,  therefore when filming the person has to have as much space as possible between the 'other person' that I would position on the screen when editing.
In the same project I also had to learn to use adobe After effects for the first time to create different animations in my music video. After learning the basics of how to create different animations I realised how time consuming is for editors to create whole short films fully based on animations, as if i wanted the animations to work and be interactive i had to draw on each frame per second rather than seconds, so to create even a second worth of footage it took a longer time than expected.

In the future I would like to improve my skills by working with different softwares in the Adobe cloud to further improve my skillset. I would also like to work on my editing of still photography.

Overall I can confidently say, and justify that I have improved my editing skills in the past year and feel a lot more confident in the use of different softwares as well as in working with more advanced editing techniques.

Legal documents/ contracts/ health and safety

A talent release form is a document that gives you (the filmmaker) permission to distribute and sell your video or film with the permission of your talent. The form protects you from your talent getting cold feet after the production has wrapped.

https://kecnuneaton-my.sharepoint.com/:w:/g/personal/17aivanova19_kinged6nun_ac_uk/EXmiKa1GAtNJsZiHY-zHNkEBu-NeLQd4m24sIQE_k3EUsA?e=iJN2ZX

A personal release form gives the filmmaker, the rights to film another person for your project and then to use that footage in your video. It allows the 'photograph, voice, personal characteristics and other personal identification in all manner and media whatsoever in' of this person to be used for the agreed production.
https://kecnuneaton-my.sharepoint.com/:w:/g/personal/17aivanova19_kinged6nun_ac_uk/EWE-3D-Ww71ChU7b5l9E4NkBnTYwWXwciWg1236E0NFFvg?e=1JUHlO

A location release form is a binding contract between the producer/photographer and the owner of the private property within or upon which the production is taking place. By signing this release, the owner of the property forgoes the right to sue the company for any claims after the production starts.

https://kecnuneaton-my.sharepoint.com/:w:/g/personal/17aivanova19_kinged6nun_ac_uk/ERFx1I5vSK1IigvMnzJywYgB9tIQfUo71MZLKQzVhvIWHw?e=qYpuPS

Before the production takes place we would also need a risk assessment form, used to identify and control risks in the workplace. It involves a systematic examination of a workplace to identify hazards, assess injury severity and likelihood and implement control measures to reduce risks.

https://kecnuneaton-my.sharepoint.com/:w:/g/personal/17aivanova19_kinged6nun_ac_uk/EeRDDhxREQZFrsC9wu7ZGOsBPvBuW-qNIOKctXgmfythcQ?e=c2BzDr

As well as fill a risk assessment and policy template. The purpose of risk assessment is to identify hazards and evaluate any associated risks to health and safety arising from the iBSL's activities, enabling informed decisions to be taken to eliminate or minimise any risk of harm to those who may be affected. (1)

https://kecnuneaton-my.sharepoint.com/:w:/g/personal/17aivanova19_kinged6nun_ac_uk/EV66Gye4V-5Kkgvjb-5uR-AB7l4rcQA_Mmd1zErS36B7-g?e=EpqRWZ

(1)https://www.interpreterbsl.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Risk-Assessment-Policy-and-Procedures.pdf

Bibliography

https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/free-talent-release-form-film-video-productions/

https://nofilmschool.com/2016/08/grab-every-filmmaking-form-youll-ever-need-these-99-free-templates

EXAMPLE TIMETABLE FOR SHOOT DAY

GAANT CHART

Promotional video Evaluation

For this unit I was given the task to come up with and plan "A series of videos with an interlinked visual style and narrative focus" for a client- Fruit Bowl Tech, for the launch of their new app.  My target audience was 24-60 years old with a social status of ABC1, therefore higher class, and psychographics group of Explorers, Mainstreamers , and Aspirers, and find ways to interlink their personalities and goals to achieve a high quality videos that focus on the family values. 

Starting off with, with initial idea, my plan was to create 3 separate short 'stories', focusing on the cinematic look, the feeling of nostalgia and the importance of the family, however as I kept changing and modifying my ideas, I realised I wanted the clips to interlink more. My first short story was linking very well with my third story however, the 2nd story in-between wasn’t working for me, especially on top of the fact it was the most expensive one out of the three- after discussing it with the client, we decided to keep only the 1st and the 3rd story and work on them to create the interlinked short video from the 1st story to the 3rd.

After watching similar adverts for inspiration, i didn’t like the heavy adverts, that 'push off' of the products the different companies were advertising, it felt very unnatural and even uncomfortable and 'in your face' at times, an example would be any of the commercial for old spice, macdonalds, victoria secrets etc- that being something i definitely wanted to avoid in my project. An example of an advert that i actually liked and felt inspired by was https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWS_N4GbzcI  as it represented ancestors and family history in a storytelling and engaging way.

For my location, I wanted to find a house in the higher to middle class range  to help attract the audience with the use of semiotics- by having a high end house, which the target audience is most likely to already live in compared to  that would be represented by the use of the big backyard, a spacious and bright kitchen, as well well dresses actors, all helping to build the high class family image.

One of the big questions I kept falling on was freelance vs professional? Whether it was about the crew( the editor/ creative job roles)  I had to hire or the actors.
Hiring freelance editors and ctreative designers, would of been positive on the money side as their prices are usually half of what youd expect a professional editor to charge, however hiring a freelance on the internet has its downfalls. "Very often freelancers and short-term remote specialists do not plan to get deep enough in the overall project strategy and in the best case feel responsibility only for their small tasks" (1), this would of been a problem from the start as the project's schedual of 6 weeks requires it things to be planned ahead and to move forward as smoothly as possible, and without the full involvement/critique and work from everyone there would be problems on the way.
Another issue that we face as a high end, big established company is the ethical side of the business. As beneficial hiring a freelance would be for the budget of the project, the issue of paying tax arrises as this is a relatively long term project, and by hiring a freelance we would also be potentially taking the job out of a trained professional.
By hiring a professional, we also would avoid any worry about quality of the work as well as timing, and involvement on the editors side. They would be hands-on from the start, building a better relation with the team, and wouldn’t (necessarily) need training as most freelancers would.

To conclude:
-for the large and complex projects, it is better to work with full-time remote specialists than part-time freelancers.
-Cooperation with part-time freelancers is good only for small and easy tasks.

Some of the challenges we could face would be in working with children. I found there are many  steps to be taken when employing  young actors under the age of 16, such as having to first contact your local council for the specific work terms in the area, then 21 days prior to starting the shooting, I would have to apply for a Child Performance Licence from the government’s page (see Working with child actors for more information). On set they would also need to be accompanied by a legal guardian or a specified preliminary person.

I realised the budget has to be open to changes, and unexpected/unplanned costs happening at any time, especially considering how varied the prices can be on the market/internet. I believe the process shouldn't be set in stone and the budget for each aspect of the production should be set a little higher than expected and be flexible, due to these unexpected/ hidden costs. To further take that into account I made sure to use the highest price out of all of my findings, to get a picture of what's the highest price I could reach in this project
When adding all the prices I also decided to include the animator in a separate column as the prices were the highest/most varied, and it would be easier to see a clear sum for them at all times, also be able to change them if certain issues arise.

Something that we would have to be conscious of is also the weather, as some of our shoots would be happening outdoors- we would have to make sure the shoot falls in the summer so we get long days and natural lighting, as that is a major point in the video (using as much natural lighting as possible and as little artificial/ added lights in the shoot, that being one of the reasons the shedual starting time is 6am so everyone would have enough time to arrive and assemble by 7am/ half 7am, making the most of the day. Timing would also be important were it comes to the children on set- while being schooled, the children can work in the limited hours of 4 hours a day and between the hours of 6am to 9pm and that is as long as it doesnt fall on a school day (for more information go to "Working with child actors") as well as not being allowed to start work less than 12 hours after previously finishing work. Therefore the best time would be in the summer holiday as we not only get longer hours of light, but also better timing and availability for the children, as well as limiting the risk of the children getting overly exhausted doing both school hours and hours on set.

Overall, after completing  this module, I can confidently say it changed  my perspective on video production, the amount of work that goes into every project, as well as the fact it gave me a better understanding and an insight of the industry and the challenges I could face as a producer.



(1) https://blog.soshace.com/top-10-issues-when-hiring-freelancers/


Bibliography 
https://blog.soshace.com/top-10-issues-when-hiring-freelancers/
https://www.heartinternet.uk/blog/hiring-freelancers-vs-permanent-employees-pros-cons/

Working with child actors

For my project I plan on working with children under the age of 18, therefore I had to do my research on the laws, pay and the vulnerability of the matter, as the actors needed would be between the ages of 4-9 years old.

In order to build a working shedual, the first thing I have to find is what working hours I can place for each of the young actors.
Overall in my advert I will have the total of 5 children- 4 boys, all the same age, ideally 2 and 2 brothers, or with very similar appearance to help the audience feel the story more personal, all between the ages of 7 and  9. I would also include a girl between the ages of 4-5 for the second part of my story, ideally looking as familiar as possible to the boys at the start, to build the story better.


Infants <6 months: can be at work 2 hours maximum, acting 20 minutes/day maximum and only between 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. or 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Age 6 months to 2 years: can be at work 4 hours maximum, acting 2 hours/day maximum

2 to 6 years: can be at work 6 hours maximum, acting 3 hours/day maximum

6 to 9 years: can be at work 8 hours maximum, acting 4 hours/day maximum during the school year and 6 hours/day maximum during school breaks

9 to 16 years: can be at work 9 hours maximum, acting 5 hours/day maximum during the school year and 7 hours/day maximum during school breaks

16 to 18 years: can be at work 10 hours maximum, acting 6 hours/day maximum during the school year and 8 hours/day maximum during school breaks" (1)

If we focus only on the 2 groups I would need, we see that "2 to 6 years: can be at work 6 hours maximum, acting 3 hours/day maximum" and "6 to 9 years: can be at work 8 hours maximum, acting 4 hours/day maximum during the school year and 6 hours/day maximum during school breaks", therefore having the boys for 4 hours the first day and 4 hours the second day of shooting, and the girl for 3 hours the first day and 3 hours the second day, therefore the shedual would have to be made according these hours.

I would also need a Childs Performance License:

"There are two parts to the application

• Part 1 needs to be completed by the production company or the producer of the production
• Part 2 is completed by the child's parent, carer or legal guardian

Other things you may need:

• A letter authorising absence from school. This is only required if the child will be absent from school. It needs to be obtained from the school by the child's parent, carer or legal guardian
• A doctor's or medical certificate

It is a legal requirement that the child be supervised at all times by their parent/carer/legal guardian or a licensed chaperone." (2)

"Restrictions on child employment
There are several restrictions on when and where children are allowed to work.

Children are not allowed to work:
-without an employment permit issued by the education department of the local council, if this is required by local bylaws
-in places like a factory or industrial site
-during school hours
-before 7am or after 7pm
-for more than one hour before school (unless local bylaws allow it)
-for more than 4 hours without taking a break of at least 1 hour
-in any work that may be harmful to their health, well-being or education
-without having a 2-week break from any work during the school holidays in each calendar year" (3)

I would need to apply for the license via https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-child-performance-licence , and it would need to be done at least 21 days before the event takes place.

"Further limitations on hours of work

All employers need to make sure that:

• a child works only one shift per day
• a child does not start work less than 12 hours after previously finishing work
• a child works for four hours or less on the same day as attending or receiving schooling
• appropriate rest breaks are provided to children. Find out more about rest breaks
• a child does not work later than 9:00pm on a night before attending or receiving schooling
• a child’s combined work and schooling hours during one week is 50 hours or less.

Rest breaks

Children are required to have regular rest breaks during their work day. The minimum requirement for rest breaks is a one hour rest break every four hours.

In addition, within any four hour period, employers are required to:

• provide an appropriate number of breaks
• make sure that the breaks are of an appropriate duration
• take into account the needs of the child and the nature of the work the child is engaged in when providing breaks
• comply with the maximum hours of work allowed. Read more about hours of work.

What is a rest break?

A rest break is when a child completely stops any work activity. If a child is working indoors, a child could go outdoors for fresh air. It might also mean having lunch or a snack, leaving the set or spending some quiet time in another room.
Children should not travel to set, travel between locations, change costumes, rehearse or learn lines during a rest break." (4)

The last resource provided very in-depth information about working hours as well as break times for children working on set. They recommended a 10 minute break after every hour of filming and a mandatory1 hour break after every 4 hours of filming. I also found out that the children can't start work less than 12 hours after previously finishing work, which I would also need to consider in the time she-dual.

If I use the information from the last graph I can also see that the children in my chosen age group can both work between the hours of 6.00am to 11.00pm, however that only applies to a night where the children wouldn’t receive schooling the following day, as the latest time they can be on set until on a school night is 9.00pm. This however wouldn’t interfere in the she-dual, as I plan to set the shooting before noon, and not finish later than 4.00pm to make sure we get as much natural lighting as possible.


(1)https://careertrend.com/the-average-salary-of-child-actors-13655190.html
(2)http://filmlondon.org.uk/child-performance-licence
(3)https://www.gov.uk/child-employment/restrictions-on-child-employment
(4)https://www.kidsguardian.nsw.gov.au/children-s-employment/hours-of-work-for-children




Bibliography
https://careertrend.com/the-average-salary-of-child-actors-13655190.html
http://filmlondon.org.uk/child-performance-licence
https://www.mandy.com/jobs/auditions/uk/kids
https://www.hants.gov.uk/socialcareandhealth/childrenandfamilies/safeguardingchildren/childemployment
https://www.gov.uk/child-employment/performance-licences-for-children
https://www.channel4.com/producers-handbook/c4-guidelines/working-and-filming-with-under-18s-guidelines
https://www.kidsguardian.nsw.gov.au/children-s-employment/hours-of-work-for-children
https://omni-productions.co.uk/blog/guide-working-children/

Actors/Casting

To start my research I wanted to find  the average salaries for actors and then research popular companies/ casting agencies with thrust-worthy  reputation.


The prices surprisingly matched almost perfectly on all the platforms i researched.

"Commercial actors, on average, make more per hour than any other type of actor, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 2013, their average hourly wage was $51.08, compared to $41.94 across all categories of actors. As with all actors, though, the most successful earn several million dollars per year.
Most commercial actors are required to join the SAG-AFTRA union, Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Actors, which strictly regulates the rates members are paid by production companies. There are a multitude of variables affecting how much a principal actor in a commercial is paid: how many times the commercial runs in 13-week cycles; in how many cities; and how many 13-week cycles it continues to run. Also affecting the actor's pay are rates for cable and Internet showings, and if there is a 15-second version of the commercial in addition to the standard 30-second version. The benchmark, though, is $627.75 per day for actually making the commercial, and $627.75 for the first time it runs. The actor is paid substantially less than that for every time the commercial runs afterward. "(1)
In the UK, the same union is called Equity:
"Equity, formerly officially titled the British Actors' Equity Association, is the trade union for actors, singers, models, performers, directors, choreographers, designers, stage managers, and other creative workers in the United Kingdom. It was formed by a group of West End performers in 1930 and incorporated the Variety Artistes' Federation in 1967. As of 2017, it has approximately 43,555 members." (2)

"SAG-AFTRA Commercial Rates
On camera principal talent (per spot):

8 hour week day: $671.69
10 hour week day: $923.57 (2 hours overtime)
12 hour week day: $1,259.41 (4 hours overtime)
8 hour week-end/holiday $1,343.38 (double time)
On camera tags (each tag): $198.22
Extra Performers (per spot):

8 hour week day: $366.37
10 hour week day: $503.75 (2 hours overtime)
12 hour week day: $686.93 (4 hours overtime)
8 hour week-end/holiday $732.74 (double time)
8 hour hand model/scale $559.02
10 hour hand model/scale $768.66 (2 hours overtime)
12 hour hand model/scale $1,048.18 (4 hours overtime)" (3)

I also found responses on blogs about 'How much does an actor in a commercial get paid?'

"Depending on how long the shoot is going to be you should be paid between $500 and $1500 dollars a day plus a residual every time the commercial is played on television or elsewhere. This may sound like a lot of money but you will be indisposed for hours while they shoot and reshoot this from numerous angles." (4)

"According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the "median hourly wages of actors were £10.70 in May 2008." The bureau states that annual salaries are not listed because of the short-term nature of acting work. Commercial actors seldom work more than a few days at a time. Those belonging to the Screen Actor's Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) make minimal annual salaries on average. This is due to high competition from other actors and the unpredictability of work.

Under SAG and AFTRA agreements, commercial actors earned £384 per session as of 2009. For commercials airing at least 13 weeks, actors earn £1,080 in residual income. Commercial actors on long-running national commercials can make upward of £97,500 according to talent agent Bill Nauom. However, the average union commercial actor is likely to earn not much more than the 13-week residual rate. Also, due to "conflicts of interest," which limits actors from working for competing companies in commercials and the need for new faces in commercials, employment for union commercial actors is further limited."(5)

As there were many and all different pointing price about how much a commercial actor makes I would use the £16 per hour as that is the average an actor would be making in the UK. Considering we only have 3 adult actors(2 elderly brothers and 1 mother figure) the price for them would be 5 hours a day for 2 days (or £16x5=£80x 2= £160 per actor for the 2 days or £480 for all 3 actors for both days. I would double the overall price in the actual sums overall table so we have space for any hidden prices and/or hidden prices and mistakes in the process.

I then wanted to find how much do commercial child actors make,

"It’s important to keep in mind that child actor pay varies widely, depending on a number of factors, including their draw at the box office, how often they work and on what types of projects. The number of hours child actors can work depends on their age. For example, infants under six months of age can only act for up to 20 minutes a day, while child actors who are 16 to 18 years old can act from six to eight hours a day." (6)
After researching many different blogs and websites and agencies to mothers asking if their child would be a successful actor, non of them actually helped me in finding how much children make in commercials, so price-wise i plan on treating them as the adults on set and pay £16 per hour for each child actor. The children/boys in story 1, would be between the age of 7 and 9 therefore work no more than 4 hours a day, therefore they will be paid £16x4=£64 a day and £128 for the 2 days of work for each actor. That would make the overall of £128x 4= £512 for all boys for the 2 day shoot. 
For the 2nd story the little girl would be between the ages of 4-5 therefore work only 3 hours each day, that would equal to £16x 3=£48 a day so for the 2 days of shooting she will get £96.

As the children can only work a max of 3/4 hours per day we would need to work on a she-dual  according to them (for more information go to Working with child actors). As I found conflict in some of the hours issued for how long children can work in a day, I am planning on using the less/ shorter hours in my she-dual just to make it safer, for the company as well as the children working on the set.

An agency that I found for young actors, to have good reviews is  https://www.mandy.com/jobs/auditions/uk/kids, as well as a good place to advertise for the roles we are looking for.

I also found this post about the top 10 casting agencies in London which could help in finding a broad range of actors-https://actinginlondon.co.uk/best-acting-agencies-in-london/ 

(1)https://careertrend.com/info-8466340-average-commercial-actors-salary.html
(2)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equity_(British_trade_union)
(3)https://www.projectcasting.com/tips-and-advice/heres-much-commercial-actors-get-paid/
(4)https://www.quora.com/How-much-does-an-actor-in-a-commercial-get-paid
(5)https://www.ehow.co.uk/info_8466340_average-commercial-actors-salary.html
(6)https://izea.com/2019/02/25/child-actors/



Bibliography
https://careertrend.com/info-8466340-average-commercial-actors-salary.html
https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Actor_%2F_Actress/Salary
https://neuvoo.co.uk/salary/?job=actor
https://actinginlondon.co.uk/best-acting-agencies-in-london/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equity_(British_trade_union)
https://izea.com/2019/02/25/child-actors/
https://careertrend.com/the-average-salary-of-child-actors-13655190.html
https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/everything-need-know-child-actors-money-65122/

The Crew on set

  

For the completion of my project I have carefully selected a crew that would help me in the execution of the commercial video production.

As a producer, I would also need a DP/Cinematographer to be in charge of the camera/ lighting equipment. Lighting director, responsible for coordinating the lights to achieve the desired effect by the DP and the Producer. An Audio technician to record audio as well as to monitor and adjust levels. An Editor to help achieve the desired effect whiles in the planning stage and in the post-production stage for the final video. A Hair and Makeup artist for the actors. An animator for all of the animations used in the postproduction (go to Cost Summary for details).

First i started my research on Fiverr (https://www.fiverr.com/?source=top_nav) for a video editor. The prices varied from as low as £17, up to as high as £500. Overall the results weren’t promising and the quality was questionable.

After gathering some research I found a few stats on how much a video editor would cost me.

"This example is based on 2 hours of source recording edited down to a 3 minute marketing video with an average of 10 cuts per finished minute. Using a source video to editing time ratio of 15:1, that comes to 30 hours for the first element of the equation. Next, add in the cuts per minute factor. Let's say your video has already been imported and had some preliminary editing done and that it takes an additional 8 minutes to implement each of the 30 final cuts you are planning for the video. This would yield 240 minutes (4 hours) for the second part of the equation. The total time for both parts of the equation comes to 34 hours. At an average rate of say $100 to $125 /hr, you could anticipate the editing cost to be between $3,400 to $4,250."With this estimate in mind, I wanted to find other prices with more specific numbers to the UK, so I found this estimate(2):

I also decided to find out how much was a video editors salary in the UK per hour for an even better picture(3),

After my research, I found that for professional  editors, if i use my first estimate I would be looking at the numbers of  roughly $3400 (£2767) to $4250 (£3459), which would be significantly higher than hiring a freelance editor where the price per hour would be around £13 to £25 and if we use the same hours as the first example we'll be looking at £442 (£13 x34) to £850 (£25 x34), however there is the ethical issue of not paying tax, and initially taking the job out of a skilled professional editor.

For this specific project I would focus on the price of a professional editor, so I took in consideration all prices found- £3459, £25 x 10hours of work=£250, £13 x10hours of work=£130, however the last two prices seemed to me to be highly underpaying the editors, so for this example I would use the highest estimated sum out of the three £3,459, which is based on 2 hours of source recording down to 3 minutes marketing video, which is very similar to the estimated timings in my video project.

 The next role I looked for was Cinematographer.
The prices again varied, however I found them more similar compared to others, as the rough estimate was from £20 to £50+, but overall most prices stayed in the 20-50 per hour, making it one of the most expensive jobs on the set.
I wanted to have a final price, so I decided to use the average salary of a cinematographer and times it by the hours on set each day of shooting, therefore that would end up being ($29~£24) £24 x 5 hours a day is £120 a day or £240 altogether.

'Rates are dependent on the types of production you’re working on. Morgan casts some light on the process: “If you’re on a commercial or music video or short, you are paid per day.

On TV and movies, you get paid on a weekly basis. Bear in mind, you do get paid a little less for prep than you do on shoot.”

There used to be a “quote system” in place where a Director of Photography would expect to earn the same or more than their previous production. But, Morgan explains, “The quote system has practically disappeared so you just negotiate your quote on a per-production basis — it’s dependent on whether it’s a studio or indie project.” (4) 

What i looked for next was the Lightning designer. as not many options came up, I used the limited numbers I found. (5)

When adding the numbers I found id need to spend rougly around  (28+16 devided in 2), £22 per hour of work, which in my case would be £22 x 10 hours of work=£220 for the 2 days of shooting.

 The Audio/sound technician, was similarly hard to find as the previous. (6)
For the Sound director the rough hourly pay was also ($18.53~ £15.11) £22 per hour, (£29 +£15.11 =£44.11/ 2 = £22.055) which would cost the overall production exactly the same as the lighting designer or £220 for the 2 days of shooting.

 

 For Hair and Make up artists I found a few numbers. One thing I noticed is that most artists do one or the other, very rarely both hair and makeup, therefore that’s another thing to take into consideration when making a budget. 
The average cost on one place was £17.84 per hour, and on another I had to find the average make up artist salary and then the average hair stylist salary and combine them, therefore $18.44+ $10.16= $28.6 (£23.32) per hour. As I would need them throughout the process of shooting in the 1st and the 2nd day, the overall cost would end up being £23 x 10 hours of work= £230 for the 2 day shoot.

 

 Finally for an Animator I found that most places require  a quote or a short survey which demanded I leave my phone number or email and I would get a quote of prices for different animators. (7) Like most of the other jobs I was searching for on my list, I found the market for 'freelancers' to be yet again the largest, finding it hard to seive through and find professionals, or even how much a professional animator would charge.
Overall I managed to find the average salary for an Animator in the UK which is £17.58 per hour (8), and if we estimate the work needed for a 45 to 60 seconds of animation (for more information go to "Treatment")  using this guide(9) if we use the highest prices provided as a guide would be for a freelancer (£250+£750+ £1,250+ £200+ £500+ £500) is £3,450 including everything provided on the website ( going in order, Script Process costs, illustration costs, animation costs, voiceover & sound costs, consultation costs, and revision costs), however thats taking into acount everything provided by the animator, which for example we wont need things such as voiceovers and sound for the animation, as well as these are all the highest possible prices we would have to pay.
For a professional/studio the price would be, (£2,000+ £10,000+ £20,000+ £1,000+ £5,000+ £5,000) £43,000 which is very significantly higher, and is again taking into consideration the highest possible sums as well as including everything on the list as the previous example. As the numbers are so varied, as a setting point I would use the example set by the website "The average cost for a 60 second explainer video is $7,972 or around €6,500 or £5,700


At the end the price for my crew would come up to: £3,495 + £240 + £220 + £220 + £230 + £5,700= £10,105 




(1)https://www.directimages.com/blog/how-to-determine-professional-video-editing-costs
(2) https://www.bidvine.com/video-editing/price-guide
(3) https://www.payscale.com/research/UK/Skill=Video_Editing/Hourly_Rate
(4) https://www.careersinfilm.com/director-of-photography/
(5) https://neuvoo.co.uk/salary/?job=Lighting+Designer
(6) https://neuvoo.co.uk/salary/?job=sound+designer
(7) https://www.bidvine.com/animation-services?utm_campaign=con-ppc-Animation+Services&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=Google&criteria_id=1006966&gclid=Cj0KCQjw2PP1BRCiARIsAEqv-pSetA7miBM283zutFflSppH57npaXUSDDbLwvibTzoo7uvm-ldpgcMaAhOxEALw_wcB
(8) https://www.payscale.com/research/UK/Job=Animator/Salary
(9)https://www.wyzowl.com/how-much-does-animated-video-cost/

Bibliography

https://www.522productions.com/the-roles-and-hierarchy-of-a-video-production-team

https://screenlight.tv/blog/how-to-build-an-in-house-video-production-team

https://www.epikmusicvideos.com/blog/68-music-video-production-roles-and-responsabilities-explained.html

https://www.directimages.com/blog/how-to-determine-professional-video-editing-costs
https://www.bidvine.com/video-editing/price-guide
https://www.peopleperhour.com/hire-freelancers/cinematographer
https://neuvoo.co.uk/salary/?job=Lighting+Designer

Audience research

For my current project, the audience I'm looking to attract is in the ABC1 demographics 24-60 years old and fall under the Explorers, Mainstreamers, Aspirers psychographics. To achieve better understanding of my subgroups  and create work of a high standard I’ve conducted separate research on them.

Firstly the "demographic classifications in the UK refer to the social grade definitions, which are used to describe, measure and classify people of different social grade and income and earnings levels, for market research, social commentary, lifestyle statistics, and statistical research and analysis."
 All demographics fall under A, B, C1, C2, D and E, with A being upper middle class such as higher managerial, administrative or professional (1), B being middle class-intermediate managerial, administrative or professional and C1 being lower middle class, such as supervisory or clerical, junior managerial, administrative or professional. C2, D and E fall under the lower income earners, with C2 being skilled working class, the skilled manual workers, D being the working class as semi, and unskilled manual workers, and E being those at lowest level of subsistence such as state pensioners or widows (no other earner), casual or lowest grade workers.

Overall the consumers from one of the three higher social groups, as middle and upper class, consists of people with more/higher education and better paid jobs, therefore when looking to attract them, i would need to emphasise on the good/high quality of the product, and the financial value that’s gone into it.

Firstly, "Psychographics is the qualitative methodology of studying consumers based on psychological characteristics and traits such as values, desires, goals, interests, and lifestyle choices"(2). We are looking to attract the Explorers, the Mainstreamers and the Aspirers.
The Explorers seek discovery. They like to find new things, be challenged, don’t follow standard trends, but value the different, new or innovative brands. They would be the easiest to attract, as the app is new and the first of its kind.The idea/ feeling of nostalgia in the video, would also be beneficial to grab their interest.  The Mainstreamers seek security and the domestics. They make up 40% of the population and value the tried and trusted brands that offer value for money, less likely to take risks. As the app is new and doesn’t have a reputation or a build audience, to attract them we would need to put the focus on the family, the nostalgic feeling and the memories of the childhood, as well as the picture of the classic nuclear happy family, so they can feel familiarity when watching the advert and then eventually using the app. A benefit would be to emphasise the fact that the app is free. We could also work with familiar, recognisable faces  to get their opinions and feedback, which could then be used as advertisement. The Aspirers seek status, tending to be very materialistic. Looking for brands that show their place in society. Investing in luxury, they consider themselves to be stylish, and on trend, image, appearance and fashion orientated. Could be persuaded by celebrity endorsements. Here, using familiar celebrities, would pay off too as it would show the status of the app, making it even more approachable to the Aspirers. The use of the high end house would also help to attract them, as the video would be visibly minimalistic and of high quality attracting similar high end personas.







(1)http://www.abc1demographic.co.uk/
(2) https://www.hotjar.com/blog/psychographics-in-marketing/



Bibliography
http://www.abc1demographic.co.uk/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zy24p39/revision/3
https://www.hotjar.com/blog/psychographics-in-marketing/
https://www.slideshare.net/jayjammerz/psychographic-profiling

Equipment list

THE CAMERAS
https://www.hireacamera.com/en-gb/motion/cameras/

In our project, he choosing of the camera equipment would fall on the Director of Photography/ the Cinematographer, however in my research of equipment I found websites to help me estimate the price ranges.

When looking for cameras I first looked at cinematic video cameras and 4K cameras, and found the best camera to be the Sony PXW-FX9K, said to be the perfect camera for a minimal crew (1), however as for my production I would like to use 2 cameras, It would be more efficient to look for camera package deals instead.

Looking at the camera packages, the estimate daily hire goes up to £508, and considering the shooting time would be 2 days, we are looking at an estimate of £1016 for 1 camera and if we use these package deals and hire 2 cameras, the overall cost would be £2032 for the 2 days of shooting.











Looking at the light equipment the highest price per hire per day is £65 for a single light, however there are options such as the F&V K4000S Bi-Colour 2 Light Kit, which costs £51 a day for 2 lights, which would take the prices down.

 As none of the kits include boom pole or shotgun microphone, I have looked at the overall pricing- a boom pole costs roughly £150 and a shotgun microphone costs roughly £250.

When estimating all the costs added together we are looking at £2562 including the camera hire+ bough equipment for 2 days of shooting (£508 x2 x2= £2032 +£65 x2 =£2162 +£150 +£250 =£2562), therefore when leaving the job of camera equipment to the DP, I would expect them to find everything needed for no more than the budget of £3000-£3500 with room for unexpected costs.

(1) https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=95&v=hddQD1biK3E&feature=emb_title



Bibliography
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=95&v=hddQD1biK3E&feature=emb_title
https://www.desktop-documentaries.com/video-production-equipment.html

Location scouting

Example 1: https://ukfilmlocation.com/locations/london-period-house-for-filming-with-vintage-styling-LON2652 - retro, vintage, links well with time period
Example 2: https://ukfilmlocation.com/locations/spacious-period-home-filming-location-LON4461 -retro, good size garden
Example 3: https://ukfilmlocation.com/locations/large-detached-period-house-film-location-SE4282 - vintage, good size garden + (bonus) kitchen could be used for Story 2
Example 4: https://www.shootfactory.co.uk/uk-locations/vanners-farm-berkshire-rg20/- old fashioned, but well kept, lovely garden

Overall, when conducting my research I found very limited information as most properties require an inquiry to share their prices and it would depend on things such as, how many days the house would be used for, however most home owners state that their house could be hired for around £500 a day.

I had to look at a few similar houses on different websites just to get idea of the prices as most places require a phone call or email address to get a quote from them
One of the houses similar to my chosen one was (1), and the prices for end of July time was £2,940 for the 2 days, which sounded more accurate for the size and quality of my chosen house.
 Another similar house I found was (2) with the price being £700 for both nights, seeming significantly lower than the first price.




After the research I conducted I found it very difficult to find a set price for most properties I looked at I decided to settle on a budget in the middle and spend no more than £1,000 on a day of shooting for the location.





KEY
green- favourite
yellow-runner up
(1) https://www.partyhouses.co.uk/party-houses/toft-estate/
(2) https://www.partyhouses.co.uk/party-houses/hire-toft-barn/

Bibliography
https://ukfilmlocation.com/
https://filminglocationwanted.com/how-much-to-charge/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40566947
https://www.partyhouses.co.uk/day-hire-venues/
https://www.shootfactory.co.uk/uk-locations/vanners-farm-berkshire-rg20/