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.