Pre Production Planning

Purpose of Commission

Fruit Bowl Tech a start up tech communications company have a new product to release, a web and mobile based app which allows for people to collaborate globally on creating a family tree allowing people to communicate with relatives across the globe. The software allows a person to create pages about relatives both alive and deceased in order to create connections worldwide with long lost relatives, it allows you to share documents, stories and images so that you can document your life and your families. As you connect with relatives your family tree grows showing you how you may be connected with so many people without even knowing. The app also offers a private chat function in order to allow family members to reconnect with each other in private. Fruit Bowl Tech has commissioned us to produce a promotional advertisement which portrays the brand as "friendly, approachable and essential". The promotional content must have an interlinked visual style with a narrative focus; the video must have an "overarching feel" and overall must convey the brand identity. The key messages which must be communicated with this video include, the vitality of communication, the importance of ancestry and the importance of family. The success of the production will be measured through app signups, brand interaction and through press and social media "buzz". 

Primary Research

For my primary research I conducted a questionnaire targeted at 24-60 year olds. The questionnaire was distributed through various social media services such as Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, I have distributed it in this method as it allows me to chose the age range in which I am marketing to therefore meaning that my results are true to my target audience. The advertisement will appear when the participant clicks on a video on their social media feed, the questionnaire is skippable after 30 seconds, most people will chose to complete the advertisement as it gives them something to do whilst they are waiting for the 30 second timer to run out. Due to data concerns, the questionnaire will not tell me who has completed the questionnaire it will only tell me the answers. I have chose to use both qualitative data and quantitative data in order to get the best results; the qualitative data will be open ended questions with a box which allows the participants to write an answer of up to 280 characters, I have added a character limit as it can become quite time consuming to read all the answers therefore putting us behind on the production schedule. The use of quantitative data is used in the form of multiple choice questions, this will allow me to gather data which can be put into a graph in order to measure the results rather than just relying upon individual opinion. Using social media sites such as YouTube we are able to market to our specific demographic and psychographics using cookies. YouTube can promote our advert to viewers that are 24-60 and we can reach people based on their specific interest or we can reach people that have kids or about to have kids so that we know we are reaching a family audience. Find out more about targeting advertisement on all Google Software here. 

The first question I asked is a multiple choice question, "What is your gender?", I gave 4 possible answers, female, male, other or I choose not to specify. Asking the audience what their gender is allows me to analyse what the difference in response was in later questions based upon gender. I found from this question that 62/100 participants in the sample were in fact female, 31/100 participants were male and the other 7/100 identified as other. No one chose the answer "I choose not to specify", this is helpful with our study as it means it is easier to analyse the data based upon gender. 

The next question I asked was "What Social Networking Site Did You Originally Find Our Questionnaire?". I asked this question as this gives us an idea of where it may be best to distribute the advert in order to reach the largest portion of our audience base. We found that 60% of the participants found our questionnaire through YouTube. Another 30% found our advert on Facebook, 5% found our advert on Instagram and a further 5% found the advert via Snapchat. Overall, I think it is clear than the best way to reach our audience base is through YouTube and Facebook, in this case I believe we should create a short advert for YouTube to meet the 30 seconds time in which an ad is un skippable on YouTube therefore forcing the audience to watch it. The advert may be longer on Facebook as you have a choice to watch the add in your news feed or skip it therefore, we will only reach people that want to watch it anyway.

Next we asked the audience "What is important to you in an advert?" We provided the answers "Storyline, Characters, Action, Special Effects, Cinematics, Other Please Specify". We found from this question that 40/100 find the storyline to be most important suggesting that our advert needs to have a strong and interesting narrative. 30/100 participants answered that characters are most important, this suggests to use that we need to create a strong connection between the characters and the audience, using an emotional storyline can make the audience feel more connected with an audience and it will also help us reach out to 70% of our audience base. Another 20% of our participants answered that Special Effects are important, using this feedback we believe we can try using CGI to make our production appealing to our audience base, we believe the use of CGI can be used to give people information.

Overall, I believe my questionnaire was very helpful I now have an idea of which sites it is best to advertise on and what sort of video my audience is looking for. I believe my questionnaire would be more informative if it contained more questions however, I knew that most people would skip doing the questionnaire if it was too long and boring. In order to back the primary research I have completed I believe it is best to also complete some secondary research as well.

Competitors

Ancestry shares a similar vision as Ancestry however, it does not offer the ability to communicate with people, I have done some research upon how their promotional videos are structured in order to gain inspiration and ideas for our product. Click here to view my post analysing The DNA Journey - Ancestry

I have found that YouTube is the most popular form of social media for people aged 13-65, for people above the age of 65 the most popular form of social media Facebook. As YouTube is the most popular platform for our key demographic I believe it is best to gain inspiration from their marketing campaigns, as well as that I believe that we should use this platform to post targeted questionnaires and distribute the promotional video in order to reach our audience base most efficiently. 

Audience Research

Demographics 

The demographic we are trying to reach with this video includes 24-60 year olds classed under the ABC1 category. 

Psychographics 

We are marketing to an audience of explorers, mainstreamers and aspirers. In order to reach a mainstream audience the video must be modern, it must show context to things that the world is consumed with currently in order to suggests to the audience that the company is up to date with current affairs and most importantly cares about connecting with the audience. In order to reach explorers the video could reflect the global connection aspect by showing how someone across the globe could be connected with you shows a form of exploration. We must make the product seem like an adventure at the grasp of their fingertips, the use of establishing shots of rural locations will satisfy their need for adventure. The product could be marketed as a form of self exploration, a person is able to explore every aspect of their family tree to see the journey of their ancestors. An audience of aspirers consider themselves stylish and on trend therefore the use of celebrity endorsement may help persuade them to use our product. Using celebrities within a production requires a large budget therefore we could use a simpler method we could tell a story of someone using the app and finding out they are related to one of their icons, making this idea seem believable will catch an aspirers eye making them more likely to use the product in order to find status. 

Location Recce

Since beaches are rarely privately owned, it is most likely we must reach out to the local council of the area to ask for permission to use the location, currently I will just create a pros and cons list in order to find out which beach is the best for our production and then once this is done I will contact each individual county via email in order to request permission to use the locations for shooting, in some cases I may require a permit, I must ask each county what their requirements are in order to make sure the production runs smoothly without any legal issues. I found information regarding the beaches we are contemplating using from Conte Nast Traveller. I am also going to complete a thorough research on all the locations to make sure they are fit for the production. This will be judged by the accommodation availability nearby, availability of facilities (Bathroom, Restaurant/Fast Food etc), transport links, parking, space and the busyness of the location. 

Location No.1 - Blackpool Sands, Devon

Pros

• Water is very clear making it look appealing and nice in the production.
• Since dogs are not permitted on the beach it means there is less chance of having people and animals running onto our scene whilst shooting. 
• Very few properties and businesses along the shore meaning that it is likely to quiet meaning we have more space to shoot without being bothered or harassed by public. 
• There seems to be some restaurants in the area meaning that employees will be able to find food close by when taking breaks.
• Breath-taking location will look great in drone footage.
• There are a lot of holiday properties and Airbnb's which are up for rent therefore instead of staying in a hotel we could rent out a house for a month to accommodate staff that would otherwise have to travel.
• Terrain is fairly flat therefore, it is easier to carry equipment up and down the beach when we start and finish shooting for the day.

Cons

• The location is 220 miles away and takes approximately 3 hours and 50 minutes to travel to the location therefore, we would have to purchase accommodation nearby for cast and crew or alternatively we would have to hire a cast and crew from the location to save on transport costs.
• There seems to be no visible bathrooms in the area meaning we would have to hire a portable toilet for the production. 

Location No.2 - Sennen Cove, Cornwall

Pros

• Beautiful location is good for cinematic drone shots.
• Dolphins swimming along the shore could feature in aerial shot which could look quite beautiful and scenic. 
• Very small village therefore there are very few people that would interrupt whilst shooting. 
• Many B&Bs and houses we are able to rent in order to accommodate staff.
• Weather conditions are usually lovely in the area with very few clouds.

Cons

• Very rural therefore there are not many bathroom facilities, we may need to hire out a portable toilet for the production.
• The beach is known to be quite windy, which is why many surfers frequent the spot, this could have a bad effect on the drone footage making it look unstable.
• Terrain isn't flat, we would have to carry all filming equipment up and down the hills circling the locations, we risk breaking crucial equipment. 

Location No.3 - Pedn Vounder Beach, Cornwall

• One of the UKs most remote shorelines making it ideal for shooting.
• It is very private meaning that our staff members will not feel uncomfortable whilst on location.
• Very low tide means that there is a lot of beach which we can record on without fearing our equipment will get pulled into the ocean.
• There are many self catering cottages in the area which are cheap and able to accommodate all cast and crew if needed.
• Stunning cliffs would look lovely in the cinematic drone footage.
• Very little wind compared to most beaches as it is cut off by cliffs and coves therefore, when shooting drone footage it will be best as it will be more stable.

Cons

• If the tide does come in, it cuts the beach off from neighbouring beaches which means there is a hefty climb which may be difficult with all filming equipment. We risk breaking crucial equipment.
• Very remote therefore therefore there doesn't seem to be many facilities in the area therefore, we may have to hire a portable toilet for the location. We may also need some form of food on set to avoid crew and cast having to leave the location to look for food on their breaks.

Final Choice

I have decided to go with the first location, Blackpool Sands, Devon. Although it is very far away I believe it is still the best destination for filming. It will look stunning in the drone footage however, the terrain is good enough to carry all the equipment to and from the car without risking breaking it. There are many restaurants along the coast which probably would not mind us using their facilities if we ask politely. Having restaurants nearby also provides a food sources for our crew when they are on their lunch breaks. The beach is fairly secluded therefore it will allows us all the space we need to shoot the footage without worrying about crowds of people ruining shots. When using the location I believe we should try hire crew which are already living within the area in order to reduce costs on accommodation. For staff members who must travel such as the drone operator who is coming from London we will hire out an Airbnb for them to stay in. Having an Airbnb also provides us with a safe location in which we can store our equipment overnight.   

Equipment

For this production I will be using my Canon EOS 750D to shoot the majority of the footage,  I want to use my camera for the majority of the footage as it gives me many opportunities I can alter my technical settings in order to capture the most fitting shot for the situation. Using a camera also gives me the option to change my lenses in order to capture some creative footage. Mainly I will be using my 18-55mm Zoom lens as this is versatile as it has the zoom feature meaning I can capture a variety of shots. The 18-55mm lens lacks in sharpness in some situations therefore the use of a 50mm f/1.8 can help us capture some very detailed shots. For any shots which require more than 50 frames per second such as slow motion shots I will be using my Samsung Note 20 as it allows me to shoot using 120 frames per second in order to capture a smooth shot. I also will be using a 75-300mm lens to capture some close up shots as it captures a large amount of detail making it easier to portray emotions of characters. Finally, I will need to purchase an SD card for the project, I am going to be using a 128GB SanDisk SD card which transfers files at 170mb/s making it fast and reliable.

I will be using a TP-35 tripod to stabilise the footage, the tripod weighs 1.25kg therefore, it is easy to carry around with the rest of the equipment when moving between locations. The tripod offers a mount for both the camera and a mobile device therefore making it versatile as it is useful for all our devices. The tripod also has a hook in which you can hang weights off in order to increase stability to get better footage. The tripod also contains a spirit level which allows me to make sure that the camera is fully level before I begin shooting. 

For a lot of footage I will be relying on natural lighting as it replicates real life making it seem very familiar to an audience and it is also free therefore very cost effective. The use of reflectors can help us reflect light onto the subject which looks natural and appealing. Reflectors offer 4 different options, a diffuser, a silver reflector, a gold reflector and white. All help create a different effect, silver reflects the most light and  does not alter the colour of the light, gold reflects light however, gives it a yellow hue which can look nice in situations where you are trying to emulate sunshine or create a warmer scene. Originally in my brief I suggested we should hire out lighting equipment, since then I have decided that a more cost effective method would be to just buy a softbox lighting kit, on Luxlight I have found a lighting kit which contains two soft boxes which come in easy carry bags, these will be good for the production as they are lightweight meaning they will be easy to transport to the location and they will be easy to move around once on set. As we are shooting primarily in the day time along the beach these will provide adequate lighting where it is needed. If we need lighting which is a bit stronger and more direct we are able to remove the diffuser on the soft box to create a brighter light. 

I will need a drone to shoot some of the aerial footage as well as a drone I will need a drone operator, I will hire a drone operator on location as this will mean there are less items to transport to the location. Drones can be quite expensive therefore we must make sure that we use all our time effectively with it. I believe we should rent a drone for a whole week giving us a chance to reshoot all the footage if needed, if there are bad weather conditions we will not be able to shoot on that day as the drone would risk breaking or capturing shaky footage which isn't usable, I believe having a whole week to shoot will give us the opportunity to avoid any bad situations by giving us the freedom to reshoot as much as is needed. Using Bee Aerial I have been able to find the daily rates for multiple different types of drones, it gives me a lot of information on which drone is best for each individual purpose, the Inspire 1 Pro with a pilot seems to be the best for our production, it is primarily used to shoot broadcast quality productions therefore, it is going to work for our production, it is able to shoot in the format of 4K as well as HD therefore making it the best choice to create a good quality production.

The last piece of equipment we will need is audio equipment, there may not be much dialogue in the production however, I believe being able to capture background noise such as seagulls on the beach or the laughs of the baby as it learns to walk will help make the production feel more natural therefore, connecting with the audience better. As most of the audio I will be recording is just ambience I don't think it is that important to buy an expensive audio kit. As we are using it to record ambience we will need an omnidirectional mic which will capture sound coming from all around it rather than just from a certain direction, it also needs to be very sensitive in order to pick up the sounds of birds and waves crashing along the shore. I have chose to use a large diaphragm condenser microphone as they are very sensitive to sound therefore, making them the best for our intended use.  I believe we should go with the Shure SM57 as it is versatile and lightweight, I found all my information for choosing a microphone from Landr. On Guitarguitar I was able to find a Shure SM57 kit for £104.99 which is more affordable than hiring out sound equipment as originally planned.

Pros and Cons of Buying vs Renting Equipment

Renting may give us more variety in what equipment we can use because there isn't a large upfront cost however, overall when shooting it will cost us 6 times more to rent equipment than it would to just buy the equipment we need out right. The client may believe it is a waste of time to buy equipment as it is the production company that will keep it after however, they are avoiding a lot of costs, if any equipment was damaged on the production the rental company would charge them a big fee for damaging equipment whereas if we buy our equipment outright we own it therefore if there is a damage it is our responsibility. As well as this, when renting equipment you have to check the availability on the dates of the production whereas if we own the equipment we know it is readily available whenever it is needed. Bolt Productions offers a lot of helpful information regarding renting vs buying equipment.

I have created an equipment list which makes it clear what equipment we need, how much it will cost and whether we need to buy/rent or already own. 

Storyboard

The use of a storyboard is important for the pre-production process because it clearly conveys how the story will flow as you can see how your shots work together. It also allows you to see potential problems which would go unnoticed otherwise, ultimately saving you and your client time and money. For example, my storyboard was based off the treatment in which I provided a list of what each shot contained. What I found was that in one of my last shots which I suggested was going to be a mid shot wouldn't be aesthetically pleasing and also wasn't moving the scene along therefore, I decided to change the shot type when creating my storyboard to make it flow better and look more visually appealing to an audience base. Storyboards also help each member of the cast and crew do their job correctly as it gives them a clear understanding of what they are meant to be doing for example, an editor can look back upon the storyboard to see what sort audio needs to be in each scene, it also shows them what type of transition should be used between shots. 

Music

For the production we will be using Adobe Stock audio as it is free to use for anyone that has a license to use Adobe software. This means we will not have to be any royalties and we can use the music within the production easily. Adobe Stocks have thousands of different sounds to use making it the obvious choice for the production. Within my storyboard I suggested that the use of emotional piano music would work best as it makes the imagery in the video seem more emotional making the audience feel more connected with the characters. The piano music must start of quite calm and emotional and as it progresses, the pace should speed up in order to make it seem more inspirational/motivation reflecting how AncesTree brings people together. The addition of violin may also amplify emotional aspect of the production. I believe that it is best to decided upon the sound once production is actually complete as we can try match it to the pace of the editing rather than having to change the video to match the pace of the instruments. Below I have some sample clips which match the tone of the video. 

Costume and Props 

Beach Chairs - Beach chairs will be used in the scene to make them scene look more comfortable and in order to link to conventions of being on a beach in order to make the scene look more familiar to an audience. The beach chairs should be quite bright and colourful in order to give the scene a happy atmosphere.

Phones - The phones will be used to show the family recording precious memories of their child's first steps. The phones will be covered with plain cases in order to hide the identity of the phone brand in order to avoid any copyright or trademark claims.

Old Photograph - An old photograph of a man and his son taken long the beach is needed to reflect the passing of time and the importance of ancestry. The photograph should be grainy however, it should be in colour rather than black and white. Colours shouldn't be very saturated in order to create a dated look.

Sun Glasses - The use of glasses makes the scene seem more familiar and comfortable to an audience when it contains props which they would generally link to the location. The glasses should be unbranded in order to avoid any copyright claims.

Bright Clothing - The males in the family (Dad and baby) will be wearing swimming shorts and a t-shirt. The fathers T-shirt will be a light yellow colour as this colour suggests the theme of optimism which is a reflection of how the father should be optimistic as he may have lost his dad however, hr has his own son to love now. The son will be wearing a white T-shirt, the colour white suggests the idea of innocence which is usually what an audience will link to the imagery of a child. The mother will be wearing a floral sundress, the dress will be very flowy in order to convey the message that she is very fun and approachable making the audience connect with her. 

Beach Towels - The use of colourful beach towels with patterns will make the scene seem more familiar to an audience as it is a prop which generally is linked to the location. It will also make the scene seem more real rather than just a set for a promotional video.

Drinks - There should be family friendly drinks with them, the child may have a little baby bottle with squash or water in it. It is best that drinks are kept in unbranded bottles rather than the original bottle in order to avoid copyright claims.

Bags with Supplies - The bag with supplies may contain a nappy, the drinks, sun cream etc. all with the brands hidden or removed. This just makes the scene look more familiar and comfortable as you would assume that parents would have a bag of supplies for their child when taking them outside. 

Contingency Plan

I have put many measures in place in order to keep the production running smoothly throughout, the purpose of the contingency plan is to make sure that if there are any unforeseen issues they will be quickly fixed before putting the production behind schedule ultimately costing more money. As we are going to be capturing drone footage, the weather is a big variable which we cannot avoid. If it is too windy or if it is raining it will be impossible to shoot the footage needed with the drone. This is why I have set out three days to perform the drone footage, we only need one day to shoot the footage however, if the conditions aren't great this means we have time to reshoot on a different day without affecting the production schedule. We have also made sure to contact both extra actors and crew which are happy to keep the production dates clear so that if the cast and crew are unavailable they will be able to fill in for them. We have also made sure that all the locations we have mentioned within the location recce are within an hour drive of each other therefore, if one locations becomes unavailable or is too crowded for filming we will be able to use a different locations without it being to much hassle for example if Blackpool Sands isn't available our next choice of location is Pedn Vounder Beach, and if by some chance both those locations aren't available we have gathered permissions to use Sennen Cove to shoot the footage. We have also made sure that as we are shooting on a beach there may be no power sources available therefore, we have made sure all the equipment is battery operated rather than powered through mains. We will be taking extras of every battery used in our equipment so that if one battery runs out we just have to replace it and carry on. We will have power banks for emergencies and if this isn't enough we will also have chargers which are suitable for 12 volt adapters in cars so that we can use the vehicles on set to charge some of the equipment. All equipment will be carried onto set in carry cases and staff will be told that no equipment will leave the site without being properly put away to avoid any damages, if by any chance the equipment is damaged it is covered by insurance however, to continue shooting we will have some emergency equipment to use in that situation.   

Cast and Crew

We have decided as we are shooting in Devon it is best to find employees who are already based in the location to avoid any accommodation or travel costs. We have posted advertisements out for the job roles needed to be filled online using Indeed in order to find staff members for the production. We have used indeed as it is the most popular job search site and it is free to post adverts for jobs on the site.

Call Sheet

A call sheet is one of the most important things for a production because they provide a game plan for each day of shooting for yourself, your crew and the cast. They tell you who is going to be on set, what is going to happen, when everything is going to happen and where. Without a call sheet a film production would simply not function. 

Bibliography 

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FGQTP62 - general film quiz.

https://www.informaticsinc.com/blog/january-2018/best-ways-target-your-audience-online-age 

https://stephenfollows.com/changes-in-movie-genre-tastes-with-age/ - age and films. 

http://www.magnumco.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-film-lights/ - What lights to use in film.

References 

Indeed, Date Accessed 2021, About Indeed (Online)

Accessed by - https://uk.indeed.com/about

GuitarGuitar, Date Accessed 2021, Shure Sm57 LCE Mic and Mini Boom Pack (Online)

Accessed by - https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/product/c191108350914008--shure-sm57-lce-mic-and-mini-boom-pack?gclid=Cj0KCQiAhP2BBhDdARIsAJEzXlEMlOePS1Fsu9FoMhzYtp_UX3IAMpF0LB_JCakvI10gLjUAWf5rhpEaAiSuEALw_wcB

Hahn, M., 2019, Microphone Types: How to Choose the Right Mic for Your Sound (Online)

Accessed by - https://blog.landr.com/microphone-types/

Bee Aerial, Date Accessed 2021, Rates (Online)

Accessed by - https://www.beeaerial.co.uk/rates/

Luxlights, Date Accessed 2021, Soft Box Kit. Photo & Video. Vivid Pro. 11,000 Lumens LED. CRI 94 (Online)

Accessed by - https://luxlight.shop/products/2-x-cri95-60w-led-50cm-softbox-kit?utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=Google%20Shopping&currency=GBP&gclid=Cj0KCQiAhP2BBhDdARIsAJEzXlHk-WBX5ZFXZMWYKG2uIoxMk8EP2Frnh3JLdh-Tps6suSR7z9bGe9IaAuvzEALw_wcB

YouTube, Date Accessed 2021, About Targeting for Video Campaigns (Online)

Accessed by - https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2454017?hl=en-GB

Instagram, Date Accessed 2021, Build Your Business With Instagram (Online)

Accessed by - https://business.instagram.com/advertising/

Bolt Productions, Date Accessed, 2021, Renting vs Buying Video Equipment (Online)

Accessed by - https://boltproductions.com/camera-lens/pros-and-cons-of-renting-video-equipment-vs-buying/