Again looking at what a promotional video is ''A promotional or corporate video is a video that is commissioned by a business or organization, to communicate certain messages to other people''. ''Corporate videos are usually shown at a specific event or sent to clients. But they can also shown on company websites, and they are sometimes broadcasted, depending on its purpose''. ''Corporate Videos always have a specific purpose, function and target audience''.
From this information we can see that this video is a corporate video that targets prospective students wanting to go and look at the college before making a decision to go and study at the college in question with is the King Edward VI College in Nuneaton, the video is designed to be played on their website but also to be sent out to prospective students via social media platforms so that the college can gather an interest from a larger group of people. The brand image of the college revolves around their college values, throughout the video they are referenced not only by text but also by the clips used as they show the college values in practice, the video contains the conventions of a marketing video by using the brand identity along with graphics, copyright free music, cut aways, demonstrations, and the targeting of an audience, the mode of dress for the video is clearly serious and informative.
looking at the video itself we instantly get this non copyrighted music, on screen is a background composed of pink blu and purple colours fading into one another, this colours are used through different forms of marketing to promote the college, as well as this we see the name pf the college and the slogan appear with an animated transition to draw the audiences eye to it, this has also done by putting it centre frame, the college slogan reads, why go anywhere else, posing this question to the target audience promoting the college as on of the best in the area. we then move on with an animated transition of a blue diagonal wipe across the screen leading into a set of clips that cut between different outdoor spaces within the college grounds, cutting to the entrance of the college and people walking in, showing people attending the college not in uniform gives the viewer information on where the entrance to the college is as well as the fact that the college has a no uniform policy. The video then cuts to team sports promoting the sport side of the college as they are a sports specialist college but also promoting this idea of a team within a learning environment that the college want to promote, along the bottom of the screen we see the first of the three college values ''Ambitious'' as the video cuts between clips of another sport, dance class and close up of students in a science class, illustrating the idea of ambition within different classes. Then we get another diagonal wipe this time showcasing photography students in the studio and then the same students looking at the result of the photo shoot, with the word ''involved'' appearing centre screen the second of the 3 college values, the video cuts to more student work and then cuts to students getting coffee from the bean hut, promoting the fact that the college have a place where students can buy coffee like a costa or Starbucks, the moments where students are walking are sped up to show them going to the place yet keeping the length of the video down to a minimum, the same thing happens again but with the cafeteria showing the cafeteria on site. another diagonal wipe transitions into seeing criminology, and psychology students with the final college value of ''genuine'' appearing on screen, the camera then zooms in on students at the table working and a pan of their work on the wall, the video cuts to more students working this time in electronics and engaging with the the teacher as that is another ideal that the college wants to get across, then the video cuts to students walking in an outdoor space and cuts between English students and mechanics students all doing work and engaging in the class, the video then shows the study hall and and ends on the student ambassadors waving at the camera and the screen cutting to the same animated background at the start of the video and the college values along the bottom with the college logo and name and the information of where to apply.
as mentioned before the video is informative and is designed to showcase some of the subjects on offer at the college as well as showcasing what the college has to offer and that the students like doing what they do, passing a key message to prospective students looking at where to study.
As we know, a promotional or corporate video is a video that is commissioned by a business or organisation, to communicate certain messages to other people, in the case of this video the organisation involved is not a company but an event in this case the event with is being promoted is a Music festival called Download that cater to the fans of Rock, Heavy Metal, Indie and Alternative music genres. In this case the promotional video is a type of production launch/ marketing event informing the fans of the festival of the announced headliners, whilst also giving them clips of what to expect from the performers.
When looking at the video itself it flits between a animated poster style and a montage of clips from the festival, As the music starts we can hear that there is no lyrics just and audio backing track of the song ''Toxicity" by system of a down, the first headliner of the weekend. We see the download logo fade in with the date of the festival shown below, giving people information straight away as to when the festival is being held that year, we then cut to a very quick clip of the download dog monument with os built in the middle of the field in the arena part of the festival grounds, its a place that a lot of people take photos of or with as its symbol of download, with the mascot being the download dog itself, those that have been the festival when shown that image would instantly recognise what it is, so we can see that straight away download are not only targeting fans of the genres but also people who have previously been or heard about it. On the first guitar slam of the music the video cuts to the logo of the first headline act of the weekend '' System of a down'' and their Band logo over an animated background image similar to the poster and merchandise using this idea of a universal image that people that know about download relate to it, that is the colours of red white and black but also using another symbol of download with is the download Totem. The video then cuts between a montage of clips of the band performing a previous year and clips of the crowd from that performance giving people information about what to expect from that performance. The video does the same for the other two headline acts ''Biffy Clyro and Aerosmith'' cutting to the beat between the bands logo on the animated poster background and clips of their performance in a previous year. It then cuts to the rest of the bands announced at the time, on the same animated poster background, ending on the download logo with the dates and the information that tickets are on sale now.
As suggested earlier the video is marketing the festival and the fact that tickets are on sale as well as providing the information of the first announcement of bands that are headlining the festival as well as the round of bands performing over the weekend, the mode of address they chose to go for was a serious one focusing on informing their target audience, because the video is simple and has no adult content the video is targeted at a universal age range as it is a festival for families but it only targets those people that know the bands or listen to that genre of music.
Promotional videos are commissioned by a business or organisation, to communicate certain messages to other people, in this instance Cadbury's did a Tv Advert, released in August 2007 to market themselves. An advert that reached a universal audience redesigning the Cadbury image, and producing a video with reflects the brand identity of Cadbury, using conventions like a music score, brand identity, narrative and targeting an audience, they came up with a video that people still reference in conversation 13 years later in 2020. That video is the Gorilla advert, where all we see is a gorilla playing the drum solo to Phill Collins '' In The Air Tonight''.
Looking at the video itself, the video starts with a purple wall in shot, the words ''a glass and a half production'' comes up as the music starts and the camera slows pans right, through the video
that purple wall is seen in shot, the particular shade of purple is synonymous with the Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate bar. it is also used here as a universal indicator for the brand behind the video. Moving on as the video pans we get a closeup of a Gorillas face, looking serious and looking like he is preparing for something big, this is seen through the way the Gorilla is breathing and moving his body, at this point the video appears to be serious as we cut between close-up and medium close up and extreme close up of the Gorilla waiting, as we see this we hear the lyrics '' I've been waiting for this moment all my life'' not only illustrating what is being said it could relate to how people feel about the chocolate bar promoting the fact that its so good its a feeling you have been waiting for all your life. The final cut is a long take of the Gorilla waiting, the video zooms out so we see the drum kit that the gorilla is sitting at, the Gorilla with we now can tell is a man in a Gorilla costume plays the Drum solo to the song, the video then cuts to the beat whilst he is drumming, and has turned into a comedic video appealing to the younger generation of viewers by using a simple idea very similar to something you would see in a Facebook or YouTube video that appeals to the younger audience whilst also using a song by an artist from the 80's that not only is recognisable by the older generation of adults but also includes the within the target audience, showing that Cadbury's chocolate bars are not only for young kids but also adults, creating a universal theme with the mixture of youth comedy and 80's music Cadbury's could reach a larger audience to promote their image, the song itself relates to what Cadbury wants to say about their products with the lyrics ''I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord/Well I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord''. It talks about the feeling that Cadbury's products give you when you get the rush of endorphins from eating chocolate in general, scientifically you feel good, but Cadbury are saying that they give you that '' oh lord '' feeling of goodness. The video then ends on on a purple screen the same colour as the wall with an animation of the chocolate bar and the company's slogan at the time of the marketing event. that slogan being '' a glass and a half of joy'' with an image of a glass pouring a milk like substance, this slogan says to people watching that Cadbury gives you a glass and a half of joy, saying they give you more than the full amount, and also syncing with the lyrics of that song, talking about a feeling.
As suggested the purpose of the video is not to promote a product but instead to market the brand identity of Cadbury, changing the slogan and advert style to fit with similar conventions of what is socially relevant around the time of release, making the video a subject of conversation for the last 13 years even in 2020 we still remember and love the advert and whenever anyone talks about the song itself they tend to reference it from the Cadbury's advert that is seen and talked about above.
A promotional or corporate video is a video that is commissioned by a business or organization, to communicate certain messages to other people.
Corporate videos are usually shown at a specific event or sent to clients. But they can also shown on company websites, and they are sometimes broadcasted, depending on its purpose.
Corporate Videos always have a specific purpose, function and target audience.
WHO ARE THE MAIN TYPES OF CLIENT
depending on the type of corporation or promotional video, depends on what codes and conventions will make it up. this also depends on its purpose and function, as well as the audience that it will be targeting. however it is made, it must reflect the brand identity of the corporation that it is being made for
as a whole if I did this again I would probably do a weekly focus group to see what people like and don't like about what has been done, but also to see if they have similar responses, sharing data that could be helpful, making the data I already have more valid as it would come from a wider range of sources, id also change the way I did my survey making the data more quantitive for an easier analysis and id also make the questions more specific to my plans for the video.
by doing this it would make the data I get more valid and follow a trend I want to see in my data, making it useful to help towards a production people want. a pilot study in this case would be useful too, using it with my peers in class to help come up with a clear plan for what I'm going to do, and again to help produce something people want to see rather than what I want to produce.
using different techniques like theses would help get a better result.
After finding the song Ohio (come back to Texas) by bowling for soup I had some friends listen to it for feedback, everyone who listened said that they pictured a group of friends mucking around in cowboy costumes, having fun like the pop punk genre style, I took this idea and used it to create a video in that style whilst using elements from cowboy films and giving the video an old west look.. It initially started off as an idea of a few mates messing around dancing in town and in different locations wearing cowboy hats just having fun. During the time of filming however we were mid storm so was limited to locations and also the hats I bought online came super small like novelty photo hats..
During the filming process, i found it difficult to film shots the way we envisioned due to my budget, small spaces to work with, the weather and the amount of time we had left to film and edit. However, I am pleased with the cinematography overall but feel like we didn't have enough footage or different camera angles of the same scenes to keep the music video interesting with enough cuts as the song is up beat and has lots of opportunity for lots of cuts. During editing, I also added a sepia and grain overlay to the video to make it look like an old photograph, I also used some footage from the opening sequence of an episode of Rawhide to have the intertextual reference of a western film.
One main challenge we found in a group was getting everyone together over a half term to get enough footage but also with the wether filming was hard as the ground was wet and so was the play area and health and safety issues came into play
I'm extremely happy with the feedback I've gotten from my music video. Friends and family have said they love it.
However the music video could have been a lot better, if id have done this again I would have done a lot more planning, having a contingency for anything that went wrong that ended up going wrong with lack of actors and bad weather, following this contingency plan id have also shot a lot more footage so that I could include the fast paced cuts seen in most of bowling for soups videos, id have also looked into getting better costumes and shot in a wider range of locations. all in all my planning let me down for this music video task.
doing a re shoot and using more locations and better costumes would help convey the cowboy and texan theme I tried to get across in my music video, but also help play along with the comical aspect by having fun in serious areas like supermarkets etc.
all in all the video could have been a lot better than it was if I had stuck to my gant chart and organised everything properly.
The music video ‘The Pretender’ by Foo Fighters shows several features of Andrew Goodwin’s music video theory. The video opens with the singer and main guitarist walking into an empty hanger and picking up their instrument and wrapping their hand sharing connotations with a prep like a boxer does before a fight, Grohl too looks like he's preparing for a fight, as the theme suggests it fits in with this idea of political unrest, the hanger is all white except one red wall and appears as a stripped back stage for the band, this is to bring focus on the band but also on the emotion behind the lyrics and video, as he starts singing the rest of the band join him, as the drums kick off we get fast jump cuts and close up of the band with the footage cutting to the beat of the drums and stabs on guitars, showing this star iconography and amplification of the lyrics that Goodwin suggested are seen in music videos. As we see them playing the instruments and also singing along, promoting this amplification we also see that Dave Grohl is wearing his guitar low down on his body and is in a sort of power stance this is a demonstration of genre characteristics, guitarists like Robert Trujillo from Metallica are known for their wide stance and low hung guitar, its a common association with rock music to see the main vocalist and guitar player to be in that stance. For a good 30 seconds or so we get this content stream of cuts ands close ups of the band; this is heavily enforced by the record label. It creates a persona for the band and helps them create specific motives that set them apart from other bands in the same genre as them. Low angel shots of Grohl and his guitar at the beginning make him look tall and powerful signifying he is the most important member of the band as he is the one people always associate Foo Fighters with.
Although the video is composed of mainly performance a stable feature of most music videos in the genre, linking together lyrics and visuals forms aspects of a narrative. “I’m what’s right, I’m the enemy” is showing disobedience towards society seen about a minute in with the start of the riot squad walking in in a full suit whilst we get shot reverse shot and cuts between the band and the riot team. with the band wearing white and the riot squad wearing black we get this idea of binary opposition, with this in mind the riot squad is placed further away from the camera than Grohl is when looking towards them making the audience side with Grohl in this confrontation. we see towards the end of the video that a line has been crossed that was holding everything together has finally snapped and that he has given up being ignorant towards the police and has deiced to make a stand, illustrated and amplified by the lyrics ''never Surender'' and also seen by the fact that the police literally cross over a black line in the floor in slo motion as the music itself slows down,
Goodwin also states there is a relationship between the music and visuals. The very first sounds are the lights coming on after this the music starts. also towards the end of the video the red wall behind them explodes and showers the room in a red liquid. The red liquid could be seen to represent the sheer passion and anger behind the song, but also the climax of the video. Visual editing can be seen to match that of the tempo close ups of the instruments being played in sync with the music shows the audience that the band can play. This can also be applied to the lip-syncing which amplifies the lyrics.
the camera also darts about frantically throughout the video amplifying the fast paced nature of the genre and the music being played
In relation to Carol Vernallis however when describing her theory particularly the narrative aspect, suggests that the video is a visual response to the narrative yet may not be complete sparring disjointed or disconnected much like the video above, where we have no idea the narrative behind the video yet there is something driving the story on.
in an interview Dave Grohl said himself the the video is massively open to interpretation and by looking what both analysts say cwe can see how it isn't clear on the meaning behind the video, but as Grohl himself said it was to make people aware of a political unrest at the time of writing.
PUNK ROCK 101 - BOWLING FOR SOUP
Following on using Andrew Goodwin’s Theory, the video opens with a shot of an airplane hanger, with the text punk rock boot camp, playing to the name if the song punk rock 101this is the only bit we can see what Goodwin said about the relationship between the music and lyrics as it doesn’t show much of what the singer is saying and instead throws a montage of different clips of a rock-like boot camp which doesn’t relate to the lyrics at all besides the Punk Rock 101 aspect of this song which is about teaching people how to be generically into the rock scene. cutting again we see a bus arrive and a close up of someone with spiked hair, already showing this punk rock look, that the band have and so many other bands of this genre had back in 2009 when the sing and video was released. we get content cuts following the fast paced beat of the song and genre, the video then cuts to a performance of the band, giving us closeups of the lead singer and the guitarists, as they are icons of the band, Goodwin referred to the star image a as a very vital aspect of a music video, they making the music video look more appealing to the audiences and bring a unique style to the video, they usually have the singer, if not the guitarist appearing in the spotlight for the majority of the performance and they are known for their guitarist to be an icon. we cut back to the narrative and see more of this boot camp, cutting back to the band and then back again, in the next bit they are all dressed in the same white top and pants, both men and women, alluding to the idea that we are all the same and that punk rock is universal. the video cuts between the narrative and performance in the fast paced style showing this video of thought through beat, when you listen to the song you can imagine, lots of cuts and fast paced camera action or character movement. the song and lyrics then slow down while the lead singer performs with a mosh pit behind him, showing this idea of intertextual references to the genre of punk rock and the bands in this genre such as Bon Jovi as he quotes the words ''like tommy and gina they're living on a prayer’. both people mentioned in the song Living on a Prayer by Bon Jovi as well as the mise en scene showing very typical rock clothing and actions. This video also shows a clear genre characteristic of rock videos by having this very rebellious clothing and hold a similar stage-like performance to most rock bands generally out there but in a comedic way. The comedic mode of dress comes from the band itself as they are known to be funny and upbeat as are most bands in this genre that like to have fun with their videos and performances, one main one that comes to mind is blink 182's all the small things, the video is a mashup of different parody scenes. having fun and being up beat, as the genre dictates. there is a relationship between the music and visuals which is evident from the video due to the fact this video slows down and speeds up a lot with what we see on the screen is the same as what we are hearing and flows very well with pacing and transitions. seeing the band perform amplifys the lyrics and the sound, as we are getting content closeups seeing them lip-sync and play. The video doesn't really have much of a meaning like the lyrics, my interpretation is that its just a parody of bootcamps like in full metal jacket but its having fun and messing about teaching punk rock behaviours like reeling, instead of teaching people conformity.
This video also fits in with what Carol Vernallis was saying about camera movement and framing, she states that establishing shots are one of the key camera features of a music video and are used frequently throughout a music video as well as close up shots. The style of framing of the video again is quite distinctive to the video and also the camera may move in time with the lyrics. Extreme shots also known as master shots are also very common, all seen throughout the video. as well that she also talks about editing saying that a clear convention of music editing is that the video may disrupt or break the conventions of continuity editing. The editing may also be bought to the foreground, become visible and not hidden apposed to the invisible style of continuity editing, this is evident by the constant jump cuts and extreme changes in pace.
however unlike what she said about the video being a visual response to the narrative of the lyrics, they didn't do that, they did it with the name of the song instead.
ROCKSTAR - NICKLEBACK
the video opens with a boy lip-syncing the lyrics cutting to a man a woman and an older woman each time on the beat, agin cutting to more people like a police officer and a model, the video is a montage of clips of people lip-syncing, from famous people to the everyday person, while hearing the lyrics we all wanna be rockstars this narrative/performance style video tells the story of different people and how anybody can be anything if they put their minds to it. having everyone sing along shows this universal idea that the band is trying to get across, not only doing that its also both amplifys and illustrates the lyrics. there is no performance from the band at all yet by using some famous people like gene Simmons, chuck Liddell billy gibbons, kid rock and the crew form American chopper. It eludes to Goodwin's theory of star iconography instead of it being the band its famous people from film and tv that everyone knows, by using this montage of clips all cut to the beat and the lyrics it gives the video a more unique look which overall makes it more interesting than other videos. Furthermore there is a strong use of voyeurism as every character is looking straight into the camera, at the audience, making the audience feel more involved.
there isn't a lot of interpretation to this video, and there isn't much going on with the video however if you look at what Carol Vernallis says when describing her theory particularly the narrative aspect, suggests that the video is a visual response to the narrative. Therefore whatever is happening onscreen reflects the choice of lyrics that the artist is singing and that although the video may have a theme or narrative, it is probably displayed in a montage style, rather than in one clear focus. she also goes on to talk about a clear convention of music editing is that the video may disrupt or break the conventions of continuity editing. The editing may also be bought to the foreground, become visible and not hidden apposed to the invisible style of continuity editing. Meaning the video will have a style of editing running throughout that is distinctive to that video. The whole video with its use of this montage of clips is evidence of her theory more than what Goodwin suggests.
looking at the video itself there are moments where we get lustration of the lyrics within the Performance for instance with ''playboy mansion'' we get plaboy models, ''be great like Elvis'' it cuts to an Elvis impersonator, and even with the mention of rockstar we get a shot of Gene Simmons surrounded by a wall of records and awards, shot at a low angle showing his rock god status, the video makes use of the juxtaposition between having and wanting this life, and showing connotations of this life, with kids in a music studio, security guards, models and bikers. it uses Goodwin's idea of Voyerism too using models film stars and celebrities to make you watch the video and selling this aspiration life that the band has, but by not having the band in the video it helps sell this idea of a universal want for fame and the idea that you can be and have what you want in life.
