Did you meet your stated aims?
“The aim/focus of the video is to give the viewer/audience a greater understanding of the advantages of owning an electric vehicle and to spark a discussion of whether an EV should be the next car they purchase.” (Part One)
As you can see above the original video intentions were not to convince the audience to purchase an electric car, and this was the case throughout, as I feel that this would have made the video seem a lot more like a promotional than a documentary even though there are some promotional qualities about my video. The reason that I chose to not go down the promotional route and instead create an informative documentary was because I don’t’ agree with making an advertisement where only the good things about the vehicle are shown, I believe in my opinion it was more morally correct and I was more comfortable showing the good sides and the bad of an electric car. I also believe that in my FMP that I highlighted all the important features but also the bad too, for example the long charge time when plugged in using a three-pin plug, this will deter people from purchasing the car but in my opinion is still a very important fact to include if someone were to be thinking about purchasing one.
I was also very specific with the first part of this statement in saying “…give the viewer/audience a greater understanding”, I think this really shows that I wanted it to be an informative documentary meaning to provide the viewer with as much information as they need and then leave the decision up to themselves. This analysis of my aims and then watching through the video helps me understand what I did differently (if anything) and where I can improve in the future. Within the feedback survey that I recently carried out after presenting the FMP to a select group of people I asked the question: “What do you think the main purpose of the documentary was?” with the two answers… 1. “To convince the viewer to purchase an electric car” and 2. “To inform the viewer about the advantages of owning an electric car.” The correct answer is 2.
Looking at the results 81% of the people who answered the survey got this question correct, which I am very pleased with as it shows that the audience also understood the purpose of the documentary. Overall, I am very happy with this aim that I set myself at the very beginning and by looking at the statistics it also seems that I have kept on track and my documentary has a lot of clarity within it and is having the desired effect on the audience.
“I would class the video I am aiming to produce as a documentary as it will document the different reasons to and to not purchase an electric vehicle and how accessible they are.” (Part Three)
Throughout the FMP I aimed to produce a documentary however this wasn’t a typical documentary as I was experimenting with the idea of combining multiple different styles/types of filmmaking into one informative film, even now I would say and agree that it still falls under this ‘factual TV’ category and one of the reasons for this being that it is made up of mostly interviews which is what makes up a typical documentary. The outcome of the video was more so leaning towards a ‘factual TV’ show because it included both elements of a documentary and a promotional video. Looking back on this I now believe that my short film fits better as a ‘factual TV’ show even though it isn’t being uploaded or presented through TV. The lines are very thin between a TV show and an, what I will refer to as an ‘internet video’ by this I mean… the production quality of a mainstream TV show is always very high whereas an internet video is lower quality and generally has a lot less effort put into it, this could be because online there are lots of smaller and independent creators which in my opinion a good thing as it allows students like myself to upload work that they are proud of and potentially get discovered.
I also mention that I want people to realize how accessible electric cars are, there were a couple of ways that I believe I did this within my film, the first one being that I showed the audience that you can charge your electric car with a 3-pin socket, so this means that there is no need for a bulky wall box which is something that usually deters a potential customer, obviously this does have its advantages though with a quicker charging time, however I believe this is obvious and instead decided to focus on making the car seem accessible and communicating this to the viewer. Another way that I believe I did this was by showing the viewer an electric car physically within the video, this shows the audience that they are readily available and that you probably come across them more often than you think. Within the feedback for the video in the additional comments section of the survey someone suggested that I should have shown off the fact that the car has been given to me by BMW for use within the documentary, however I didn’t think that this was necessary because I had included an advertising banner throughout the segments where the car is present, and it would have seemed more forced by BMW themselves and may have seemed like I had been told/informed what to and not to say. If this ever were the case and I wasn’t allowed to use the vehicle unless I did what they wanted.
I wouldn’t use the vehicle or that company because I do not think that this is correct in anyway, particularly in informative videos people should be allowed to voice their own opinion and give the viewer an unbiased opinion. Overall, I think that it doesn’t matter whether my video fits into certain categories/conformities, the main thing to focus on here is that the video works and that people find in interesting to watch, I also don’t think that this decision being made at this point affects the video or how it would have been created in any way.
How does your work compare with your chosen practitioner?
To help answer this question I included it within my feedback survey and asked the viewers: ‘If you were to compare the film to another series/video what would it be?’ This links directly to the question and gives people the opportunity to voice their opinion, but firstly I will give my own. In my opinion the final video I produced related more to TopGear than I had hoped however I can see why, and I don’t necessarily think that this is a bad thing. TopGear is more of an entertainment show rather than informative which is where the videos/films differ, I think that if we look at my video specifically that it’s the ‘car review’ section that reminds people most of TopGear as this visually looks very similar, but they do go more in-depth into what the car is actually like to drive and the specifics where as I deliberately stayed away from this for two reasons, the first one being that I wanted to keep my video to around eight minutes long which meant that when calculating how long each section would be I didn’t have much time to film this part, I think it was better to keep this short and sweet as it gives a quick insight and allows people to find out more elsewhere if they wish to do so. Also, the car review section links back to another practitioner which is the YouTube channel ‘carwow’ because the car review section is based and has taken inspiration from theirs.
When answering the survey 13 out of the 16 people suggested that it reminded them of TopGear (please note that these that said TopGear may have also mentioned other shows). TopGear is a very popular show here in the UK and I am sure if you asked anyone to name a UK car show that they would pick TopGear. This is a shame for me because I didn’t want it to relate to a show as closely as the viewers think it does, however this could be because there is no other show even close to the size of TopGear. Two people mentioned that it seemed like carwow, however this seems about correct as TopGear is much larger than carwow. I am not overley pleased that so many people managed to relate this video to another however it was an automotive video, so it is extremely easy to relate to the shows I have previously mentioned and this could be the case as they were asked to answer the question.
Did you make any changes? Why? How did your concept develop?
Throughout the production process there was only one minor change which will have affected my final major project which will have been noticeable, this being that I decided against interviewing employees at car dealerships, the reason for this being that I believe they would be too opinionated and focused on giving the brand a good image, and you can’t blame the employees from doing this because it is essentially what they are getting paid to do. I first interviewed car journalist and expert Rory Reid, after doing so I thought that this was enough interview for my whole video. The uncut interview is over 25 minutes long which is around three times the length of the planned, I also believe that my question list which I asked Rory was very detailed and didn’t leave many if any stones unturned and the questions I did ask hit all of the points that I wanted to include within the documentary.
Anyway… back to my point. This deterred me from including any other interview subjects because I believe that it would have the following consequences… make the short film more complicated because by including more than one person it would make the video more complex to edit, conflicting information, if one interviewee stated one fact and another said the opposite I would then have to do further research and check who is correct, finally and most importantly, it would increase the length of my documentary. I already had to cut masses out from the interview section so that it would fit and even still comfortably within the allowed time slot, so by adding a second interview would ultimately complicate this to a whole new level. This was a hard decision to make and it required maturity, but I still feel that it was the correct one overall I feel that my film was more accomplished by only including the one top-quality interview. Other than that my concept didn’t develop much whatsoever over time and I closely followed my plans that I originally set out, some people may consider this to be a bad thing however I would disagree because I put a lot of thought into the original planning and research, if I hadn’t done so then it may have meant going off track.
Does the finished product appeal to the target audience?
My finished product appeals very well to the target audience in my opinion. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a chance to provide and get feedback from a wide range of my target audience however I did get a few people from this range’s opinion. First, we’ll start with the teacher that was in the room when I screened my film to the class. The immediate response the teacher had was asking me about electric cars and the cost that they are second hand. To me this shows that he listened well and that the general impact that was intended for the target audience worked, he may have asked how much they cost second hand because within the car review section I announced the high price of the car. When he got back to his computer, he started googling different cars and their prices. As mentioned before the idea of this was to ‘spark conversation’ surrounding electric cars, and this clearly happened in this case. He also feedbacks that the short film was very informative and that it has made him investigate potentially purchasing one.
The second time I screened it to a target audience was at home to a group of family members who still fit into the target audience profile. Their response was very similar, and they fed back that they thought it was a good short film. Unfortunately, I do not have any more information about if they looked at the different EV’s afterwards as this isn’t something I can monitor. This would be the same even if I screened my film to a very large target audience, I can’t see their actions after watching it but only get their initial opinions of the film. This is the main issue with creating a film which is has a vague ending or one that doesn’t come to a full conclusion/make the viewer feel in a certain way. You struggle to find out people’s opinions after watching the video. Overall, though with the feedback I did get from my target audience. If I were to do this again I would screen my film to a larger audience all at once and then go to them again one or two days later to ask if they have done anymore research into electric vehicles or potentially purchasing one. Interpreting and evaluating this feedback I would say YES it does appeal to my target audience.
How accurately does the product reflect your skills and the things you have learnt this year? Is it an accurate representation of your skills? Are you proud of it?
My product was specifically designed to show off a small example of the different things and styles of filmmaking I can accomplish and how they can all come together into one big piece. Firstly, I started off with a completely and somewhat unpractical style of filmmaking where I edited together the interview sections, this meant a lot of cropping so that I could separate both me and Rory as separate videos and then add in the background and edit the selected questions that I wanted to include into the final video. Without the skills that I have learnt over the previous year I would not have been able to do this, as well as becoming more advanced within filmmaking this has also had an impact on my graphic design skills meaning for example the background within the film I was able to create myself which fills in the empty space, also switching between the different video sources which was something I wouldn’t have been able to do this time last year.
Secondly the car review section of the video, this year I leant to use two different techniques these are called J and L cuts, it is where the visual or the audio for the next clip/track comes in, this really helped and improved the quality of my video because it allowed me to shorten down certain sections meaning they took up less time and using this technique it helps the flow of the video dramatically and make it seem seamless. Thirdly the car review section, before this unit I had never filmed or edited any form of car content, but I did enjoy this section. I think when watching it that you can tell as a viewer that I am not the most comfortable person when talking in front of a camera however I do believe that by completing the test shots it gave me a massive confidence boost and made me realize that maybe I’m not as bad as it as I thought, this is something that I believe I will improve at over time but it was probably my least favorite part about filming my FMP, if I were to shoot it again it would be possible to get someone else to present the video however I had already conducted the interview and everyone gets better with experience so this would be a useless exercise.
Thirdly, what I have coined throughout as the ‘car cinematics’ section of the video which follows straight after the car review, this is my favorite section of my video as it shows commercial grade footage and what is possible when equipped with the correct equipment and mindset to make decisions about how to carry out a project. This year I tested several pieces of equipment before shooting with them which allowed me to learn how to use them before the real shooting days. Overall, I believe that the FMP represents my skills extremely well as a filmmaker as it shows different filmmaking styles that I am capable of. Within my feedback survey I asked the audience if they thought it represented my skills well as a filmmaker. Within the feedback survey I asked the viewers to rate whether the video represents my skills well as a filmmaker and I received a score of 16:0 meaning everyone who viewed it agreed which I am very pleased with.
I am very proud of the video I produced, and I believe that it is a very good visual representation of the work I am able to produce in a set period of time. I aimed to produce a quality piece of work that I can show to people that I am proud of. As previously mentioned, there are some very minor issues with the video however this doesn’t take away from how proud I am.
What would you do differently next time? What did you learn?
If I were to complete or to re-record this again, I would certainly change some things that personally I think would improve the video, obviously I would have done these however time constraints and budgets may have not allowed for me to do so.
- Starting with the camera vehicle, when looking at my practitioners list and one of them is TopGear which I have mentioned throughout. There are very little images of what they use as a camera vehicle however in this clip: Jeremy Clarkson’s Second Hand Maserati Has No Brakes & Crashes Into Crew Camera Van | The Grand Tour – YouTube we can see that they use Land Rover Discovery’s which are a perfect fit because the rear glass panel opens separately from the rear tailgate, and has enough room for a large high end tripod and a much bigger camera.
- Therefore, if I were to do this again, you can also see in the video that there is a camera operator sat in the boot of the vehicle, we cannot see clearly but I would imagine he has a harness on to restrain him into the vehicle so he cannot fall out. Luckily for me especially in Devon Discovery’s are very easy to come across and I could easily borrow one from a friend. I probably wouldn’t use a gimbal like I did but instead copy this set-up and video above and use a much better tripod while operating the camera manually. This means I learnt what was possible with the constrains that I had within my setup/budget and also how I could achieve the same/similar effect with a smaller budget and different equipment.
- Looking at the primary research I conducted, I would say that it was very helpful in understanding that my target audience was the correct one. I asked people my age via a quick Instagram poll if they would watch a video similar to the one I planned to produce and the majority stated that they wouldn’t want to but this was the expected answer anyway so didn’t bother me too much. If I were to re-do this project or to do a similar project I would definitely have a group of people that are my target audience and see their opinions on the video this would be so that I could be sure that the people who the video is made for enjoy watching it. I would also conduct more primary research generally, I do think it is very useful and most of the time more convenient to asses and analyse pre conducted research as it saves time and usually the research has been conducted to a larger audience. For example, in part three when looking at a target audience I analysed YouGov’s research surrounding electric cars, personally I don’t think within this time I would have been able to contact and research all the different age/genders opinions. But it is still very important to research on my own behalf but for this project I used primary research to back-up and reaffirm my secondary research and make sure my theories were correct. I learnt how important research is within a project, I think that if I did this project and threw myself into the deep end without it would have meant that I wasn’t able to do things like get big names like Rory Reid to appear in my documentary or research into electric cars to ask for one from BMW.
- I also previously mentioned in the evaluation that I would consider asking someone or hiring someone else to act as a presenter in the video however I still think that this would complicate things. For example the Rory Reid interview was conducted by myself and if I’m completely honest I believe that I have some good experience as an interviewer and know the ways to make an interview good and how to stop it going downhill. With this interview I believe that I kept it going very well and that the subject (Rory) gave a very good response throughout. This meant I learnt that from the test shots to the final video I realized that these things take time and how with sufficient practice Infront of a camera I will eventually get better.
- In response to this question I asked my audience within the feedback survey what they would changes they would make if they could, and I will now go through some of the answers. One said ‘Maybe show an evaluation at the end to conclude the documentary’ I would disagree with this because there was never meant to be a full conclusion bolted onto the end of the documentary, as previously stated throughout it was more so made so that people have their own decisions to make after watching the film. Another said… ‘make it a little longer or have a second guest’ I agree that it may have been better if I included a second guest however this would make the film much longer which completely contradicts another question that I asked within the feedback survey where I asked; ‘What do you think about the length of the documentary?’. To which 15/16 respondents said that it was ‘just right’ which is a very vast majority. This means that I am now aware and I have been assured that the length of my short film is spot on.
Throughout the process of forming this short film I learnt how different filming processes work and also came to many different conclusions along the way and I believe it is a good idea as a filmmaker to be honest with yourself after completing a project as it shows that you are able to reflect about what you could do better next time.
What would you do differently if you had a larger/unlimited budget?
If I had an unlimited budget, I would take the production quality of my film to a completely new level. And in my opinion, it would improve the quality of the film visually, but the concept wouldn’t change much/if at all.
- First, I would hire/purchase better camera equipment, although the equipment I used was very high-end for a film of my style. Stepping this up would make the film even more impressive. Looking back at the research where I first looked at what camera to use, I tried to use the highest resolution camera that I had access to and have the audio be the best quality I could. However, if I had a larger budget, I would improve the camera to a BlackMagic camera or maybe a RED camera which are cinema quality, also for example I used a gimbal in the rear of the car which I would swap for a fluid head high-end tripod. If I had an unlimited budget, I would hire a fully kitted out camera car with a crane arm which would look so much better and more impressive, but obviously this would cost a very large amount.
- When looking at my initial research I asked people which electric car first comes to mind when they think of an EV, of which the wide majority stated that Tesla was the biggest brand. Rory Reid also believes this the same which is a question I asked within the interview. So, if I had a larger budget, I would hire a tesla as this car is from a brand which only produces electric cars and are most noticeable on the road. Even better… if my budget was unlimited, I would hire every model of tesla because this would be even more impressive and in my opinion immersive as it would allow the viewer to decide which is their favorite and also give them the option to have an opinion within the video.
- With an unlimited budget I could have also hired a test track to test the car on, this would mean we could’ve avoided all of the safety issues with filming on public roads and could’ve taken more footage with the vehicle from different angles as I wouldn’t have to be correctly restrained within the vehicle.
- Also, with a higher budget and if coronavirus wasn’t an issue, I could have hired a set and travelled to London to film a more formal interview with Rory Reid. This would have been better because within my current video the virtual interview is the only section that isn’t in person/physical. Although this isn’t an issue in todays world because people are more understanding with filming limitations in the future this is something, I would have done differently
To what extent have covid restrictions/regulations impacted your production (at any stage)
Covid restrictions didn’t have an impact on my production throughout. The only stage was when I had to change what I was doing due to coronavirus was when I asked me and my friend who I was filming with at the time to take coronavirus tests as part of the guidance which I researched in part one. Which we both did, and we believe it was the correct precaution to take. This didn’t have a bad impact on the filming process as it allowed us to film efficiently and safely under the current circumstances. My film was designed from the ground up to be covid friendly so that I could still create and finish it. But it took a lot of sophistication and decision making to do this correctly.
References:
The Grand Tour (2017) Jeremy Clarkson’s Second Hand Maserati Has No Brakes & Crashes Into Crew Camera Van | The Grand Tour. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIxP8OgAg44 (Accessed: 21/05/21).
GIPHY (no date) Counting money. Available at: https://giphy.com/explore/counting-money (Accessed: 21/05/21)
BBC (no date) Covid: Why is coronavirus such a threat?. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-54648684 (Accessed: 21/05/21)
Bradley Smart 