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My Work:

Videos that I have helped to film and edit:

Promotional Trailer -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkv1CpcP8po

Promotional Interviews -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWHwWBwsbvo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhRfAck6sUM&t=7s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0jZzO4br7A&t=1s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8a9hcZNqs1s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqYd3I3CwE0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6ltHnjuNOg&t=25s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4JRsVTzD9E&t=53s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_TBK881WiU

Other Group Promotional Videos -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0ikY-Uf2-Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGJf5T6MZLA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dfZLWakJ4s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2DQWIais2c

Tweets that I have produced:

Based on Location -

https://twitter.com/GMFringe/status/1118187783150084101

https://twitter.com/GMFringe/status/1103661714606878721 

https://twitter.com/GMFringe/status/1105094043875319808

https://twitter.com/GMFringe/status/1105075937715073024

https://twitter.com/GMFringe/status/1104722393543700480

https://twitter.com/GMFringe/status/1103661714606878721

https://twitter.com/GMFringe/status/1102957149787996161

https://twitter.com/GMFringe/status/1101463605948628992

https://twitter.com/GMFringe/status/1101505497511936000

https://twitter.com/GMFringe/status/1100057326164287489

https://twitter.com/GMFringe/status/1100406023838359553

https://twitter.com/GMFringe/status/1100034959232909313

Including our group videos:

https://twitter.com/GMFringe/status/1117550339354505216

https://twitter.com/GMFringe/status/1116722851263000577

https://twitter.com/GMFringe/status/1118191718250237952

https://twitter.com/GMFringe/status/1120333262566588418

https://twitter.com/GMFringe/status/1118046403912187904

https://twitter.com/GMFringe/status/1115293889529896962

https://twitter.com/GMFringe/status/1120230659669282817

https://twitter.com/GMFringe/status/1109439972346597376

https://twitter.com/GMFringe/status/1108093063291961344

https://twitter.com/GMFringe/status/1107990577973526528

https://twitter.com/GMFringe/status/1107628083551629312

https://twitter.com/GMFringe/status/1112278470183305217

https://twitter.com/GMFringe/status/1107567459182280704

https://twitter.com/GMFringe/status/1120333262566588418

Group Promotional Day Post:

https://twitter.com/GMFringe/status/1102572289512669190

Facebook posts that I have posted:

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Bibliography:

Glynne, A. (2012) Documentaries: And How to Make Them. Harpenden, Herts: Kamera Books. 

Lam, T. (2011) A Passion for Facts. Los Angeles: University of California Press.

Lum, G. (2011) Vocational and Professional Capacity. London: Bloomsbury. 

Management Association. (2018) Digital Marketing and Consumer Engagement. United States of America: IGI Global.

Sanker, D. (2011) Collaborate: The Art of We. United States of America: Jossey-Bass.

Rea, P. (2015) Producing and Directing the Short Film and Video. 5th ed., New York and London: Focal Press.

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Reflection:

My engagement and how this contributed to my Wider Understanding of the unit:

I have learned a great deal. Every completed goal contributed to my wider understanding of the media industry and how to operate as a practitioner in association with marketing methods and processes of a festival. The tasks included location scouting, social media posts on Twitter and Facebook, undertaking interview days and producing filmed interviews for YouTube. In connection, Lum states that there ‘is a world of difference between being able to understand Shakespeare’s text within a historical and cultural context and simply being able to parrot the lines…(but) an understanding of even the simplest tool is inextricably related to some wider understanding of the “world” in which the user wishes to operate and to that person’s wider goals’ (2011:Online). In other words, I have discovered that by completing task by task with my group members, skills in connection to these were used and developed in association with them. As a result, this compilation resulted in my growing awareness of media theory, practice and production overall.

Learning, Improvements and Developments:

In reflection, I believe that my choices aided in my progress as a practitioner. In the beginning, initial tutorial groups helped to establish my awareness of what Unit X entailed and this encouraged me to independently seek out members to form of a group. Once the group was created, I engaged in further tutorials with this team to develop our ideas and aims for promoting the festival. Collaborative workshops which I sought out then aided in the development of my own, and my group’s skills, as well as a greater understanding of processes of production. For example, I realised through practice interview sessions that I could emphasise the quality of recorded audio, by using the Tascam audio recorder. However, as this was a new piece of equipment, I believe that I may have used it too soon. The first time that I incorporated it during the Greater Manchester Fringe promotional days, I pressed an incorrect button which distorted a fraction of the recorded audio. Although, as a group, we recorded the audio successfully using camera equipment, this required additional practice. As a result, through later conversations with the tutor, this developed my understanding, as well as the group’s knowledge of how and when to use it.

Furthermore, I have committed and engaged with each aspect of the unit with the mindset to work as a group, strive to achieve our aims and advance our skills. During the practice interview sessions, I contributed by setting up the cameras to film them. This led to the realisation that in initial discussions as a group, we discussed only using one camera. Though, under the tutor’s instruction, he suggested it is better to use several viewpoints to provide a more stimulating production. In response, myself and another member fed this back to the rest of the group which resulted in the development of our practical know-how. Additionally, I also identified that through the Adobe Photoshop workshop, I was able to develop skills that I previously lacked. These included using software shortcuts and the acquired ability to change the opacity of images and collage them more seamlessly together. Nevertheless, in consideration, these could be considered to be intermediate skills. To improve my ability to use the software, this could be achieved through greater practice which could involve using other images and tools. In overview, since this unit has uncovered that growth is achieved through collaboration, my confidence in using Photoshop could excel further through learning from other people with greater experience. As a result, in future, this could enable me to create advanced edited promotional images.

Peer Communication and Future Ambitions:

In final reflection, through communication with my team members, over Facebook Messenger messages and posts on a joint group Facebook page, we discussed how to produce practical pieces in relation to the central themes of advertisement and promotion. I learned that this was quick and effective method that allowed for organisation and personal, as well as group, development. This is evident due to these platforms enabling me to express my own ambitions, in relation to developing my interest in all aspects of producing, filming and editing interviews, as well as gaining skills in photo editing. These motivations encouraged me to seek out associated workshops, recommend them in online and in person discussions and ultimately, engage with them. To conclude, this assembly of processes allowed me to develop practical skills, emphasised my appreciation of team work and increased my wider understanding of how to strive for and achieve goals within a professional industry environment. Ultimately, this project has informed and encouraged me to attempt to gain a career in the media industry.

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Lines of Enquiry/Investigations:

Collaboration:

Teamwork played a momentous part in every task within the project and through this collaboration we successfully achieved our principal objective, as well as other aims. Moreover, as one of the third year students, I helped to manage a couple of second year students that worked within the team to accomplish these. In Sanker’s view, ‘the key element that defines a collaborative effort is a unifying, shared, meaningful goal.’ In his words, ‘it’s that common goal that brings all the team members together and gets them to commit the necessary time, energy and resources’ to achieve it (2011:80-81). Our joint target was to promote the Greater Manchester Fringe festival and expose it to as many new people as possible. From this agreement, we used methods of media production and social media marketing to advertise it. Communication impacted on how we were to achieve these aims due to meetings involving discussions of our strengths, as well as weaknesses, to agree on roles and how we could develop. For example, I indicated that although I have experience in interviewing, I lacked confidence in editing on Adobe Photoshop. As a result, since another member had a limited knowledge of interview techniques and another had years of experience using Photoshop, we agreed that we should share knowledge, learn from each other and implement this throughout the project.

Furthermore, since I had undertaken the Documentary module during my degree, I had previously used Adobe Premiere Pro. However, since other members had greater experience using it during the Film: Process of Production module, this excelled my interest learning from. In reference to Lam, he believes that 'collaboration’ is evoked through 'objectivity and systematization, positivism and direct observation, and the endurance of hardship’ (2011:Online). In connection, during interview filming, we used up three cameras with different sim cards. During an editing session, members of the group that were previously present could not attend. This led us to believe that an unexpected problem arose in the form of missing footage. But, we identified that two of us which were present had memory cards and we could use the time wisely to edit this footage. This meant, at a later date, we could focus on the misplaced footage. In connection to Sanker’s thoughts, ‘it’s teamwork that keeps people with a diverse set of skills, knowledge and perspectives working together effectively and efficiently to achieve their common goal’ (2011:80-81). In overview, through listening to one another, understanding our similarities and differences, as well as working towards achieving our principal aim, we overcame challenges as a group and successfully worked as media practitioners.

The success of our collaborative efforts is emphasised by the production of filmed interviews. Three of the videos below were edited together by myself, third year members of the team, Amber Needham and Rosa Marsden, and a second year Film and Media student, Rhiannon Kirman. They can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0jZzO4br7A, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4JRsVTzD9E and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhRfAck6sUM.

Creative Processes and Key Developments:

Collaboration played an important part during the investigations into both familiar and new areas of practice. I learned from, alongside another of my team members, in three workshops. These were in conversation with tutors that have expertise in particular areas. They included several practice interview days with filming and audio recording devices, an Adobe Premiere Pro tutorial and Adobe Photoshop lesson. The interview sessions allowed me to familiarise myself with Canon cameras, as well as expose me to new equipment which included Fuji Cameras, LED Panel Lights, Tascam audio recorders and blimp kits. This advanced my understanding of the process of production behind film-making, such as for conducting interviews. Furthermore, I learned valuable tips, , including not to film interviewees in front of well-lit areas to avoid overexposure. During the Adobe Premiere Pro session I learned time saving shortcuts whilst editing practice video clips. For example, to quickly import a clip, you can click the command and then the “I” keys, where as to export it, you can click the command and “M” keys. The Photoshop tutorial led me into unfamiliar, but similarly enlightening territory. I learned how to change the colours of images by adjusting the hue/saturation sliders, as well as to modify the opacity of images by using the magic wand tool. 

These workshops informed and speeded up my decision processes whilst working to produce material for the festival. For example, in relation to the post production of the trailer and interviews whilst editing on Premiere Pro and inspiring me to use Photoshop to merge differently coloured images and text together to create a new advertisement header for their Twitter account which can be seen below. Additionally, as well as using and developing specific technological skills, the information gained from the industry experts led me to appreciate the importance of practice. This allowed me to take on the approach that I should use this equipment, software and taught skills on a recurring basis so that I could become more proficient. As a result, I felt encouraged to use different equipment during interviews, such as the Tascam audio recorder.

Additional Research and Planning:

A vital requirement which was requested by Zena Barrie throughout the project is that the group continually recommend for locations that could be used by show producers. These could then be promoted on social media. To do this, this required additional research, and conversations, to be conducted as a team. In the words of Irving, whilst location scouting, ‘it is important to choose the right world, or at least the illusion of that world, for actors (and the audience) to inhabit.’ Additionally, she suggests that scouts ‘must find a balance between your aesthetic concerns and your practical limitations’ (2015:141). This was considered, as well as Zena’s suggestions which included that all the locations should be within Greater Manchester, be theatres and pubs and the locations must feature theatres, bars and sit over one hundred guests. Furthermore, she recommended that the group use a Google Document that lists each of our chosen locations and the features it included. This was a relatively new method of software to each of the members of the group, but with patience, time and discussion we all figured out how to use it. Furthermore, we all agreed that to make things easier, we should each be assigned a location within the country. For example, in agreement with the team, I was allocated Salford, and another member scouted within Ashton-under-Lyne. In overview, this allowed us to quickly complete this task through organisation and time management, emphasise our collaborative efforts and allowed us to work towards completing the project as a whole. 

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Research:

Intended Areas and Processes to Explore:

The aim in working for the Greater Manchester Fringe 2019 is to promote it. One of the processes that I intend to explore is through the production and distribution of a promotional content including a trailer and interviews with festival participants. Social media platforms will be utilised to display these, as well as to attract attention through informative text-based posts, gifs and photographs. This will allow me to use and develop my skills as a practitioner that I have gained over my Film and Media degree, as well as work experience, such as at the radio station Gaydio. For instance, I plan to use my understanding of interviewing to query producers about their shows and film and edit these whilst working as a team. This will enable us to use our own knowledge of media theory and production, in conjunction, to produce publicity material desired by its leader, Zena Barrie. As a result, we will be able to work within this sector of the media industry to excel our understanding of it.

Key Discussions:

From the beginning, I realised the importance of group work and time management. Although I found it to be challenging at first, due to members being available at different times, social media made it easier for us to arrange when could produce our advertising methods. Another key discovery relates to my interest in interviewing. In Glynne’s opinion, ‘to interview well is’ achieved through ‘knowing what your approach is, what your style is, and what the narrative is’ which is determined through ‘not only knowing as much as you can about your subject, but knowing as much as possible about the subject matter’ (2012:107-108). This stresses the importance of preparation and knowing specifics. In relation to the Greater Manchester Fringe, this informed me that I should research into the individuals I intend to interview and what their shows are about beforehand. Subsequently, I anticipate to use this knowledge to plan questions during Unit X, as well as in the future in hope of achieving a career in broadcast journalism and media related events.

Additional Influential Key Figures and Processes: 

Before the production of content, I sought out influential material by the established Edinburgh Festival Fringe. This festival’s highest viewed YouTube video has received 44,000 views. In comparison, the Greater Manchester Fringe has an average of 30 to 40 views per video. I thought it would be of importance to learn from their promotional methods. For example, to advertise this year’s celebration, the Edinburgh Fringe created a video titled ‘Get ready for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe!’ which contains clips from past shows. It can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbT2gpN3KMQ. The video attracted a substantial 36,000 views. I suggested to my team that we should produce something similar which led to us gathering links to YouTube videos of previous productions on Greater Manchester Fringe’s YouTube channel. Furthermore, since we had confidence in using Adobe Premiere Pro, we agreed that these could be easily edited together to produce our own trailer.

In addition, social media had been identified as a method of promotion during meetings with Zena Barrie. Consequently, Edinburgh Festival Fringe’s Twitter account functioned as a source of inspiration because it has 170,000 followers, whilst Greater Manchester Fringe has 12,000. Therefore, this encouraged me to analyse how their tweets encouraged engagement. One tweet, which I found, inspired our Twitter posts and it can be viewed here: https://twitter.com/edfringe/status/1099634549464748034. It was direct and informative and indicated how potential applicants could perform at the show. Additionally, it attracted attention through emojis and a hashtag. In subsequence, I suggested that we incorporated these ideas by, for example, including the #GMFringe hashtag within tweets to make the Twitter account findable and incorporate bee emojis to coincide with the Manchester theme.

This research had a positive impact. According to the Management Association, on Twitter, ‘a “mention”…allows assessment of the extent of a user’s public interactions…followers can show engagement by favouriting a tweet…generally reflect(ing) endorsement… (and) retweeting extend(s) the reach of the tweet to the user’s own network’ (2018:291). In agreement, I created a tweets which were inspired by those of Edinburgh Festival Fringe and included the names of the places where shows were happening, the #GMFringe hashtag and bee emojis. As result, it gained five retweets and fourteen likes which is a stark increase to tweets without these features and indicates how engagement was both obtained and increased. The tweet can be found here: https://twitter.com/GMFringe/status/1103661714606878721. Likewise, the impact of their YouTube trailer, influenced us to create our own promotional trailer, which I helped to compile and edit, and can viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fz14CPX5qQ. It received 180 views demonstrating how past clips can evoke nostalgia and create excitement for the upcoming festival which creates higher viewer engagement. This use of Twitter and YouTube enabled the group to grow in confidence and also use Facebook to post informative posts that also increased public recognition of the festival. As a result, this indicates how research during the planning stages was influential and resulted in the team’s mounting awareness of how to market a festival and increase viewership of promotional content.