(Kenny)
The brief: CTK are planning to launch their own digital TV channel for promotional videos for prospective students. They approached you to research and produce a suite of Idents to brand their channel targeting 15-19 years students of both genders from SE London. You will have to consider the requirements of your client and work closely with them to fulfil the promotional purpose of the product. You will need to negotiate and agree a theme and design for a suite of 4 seasonal Idents that establishes consistency in the brand identity of the channel and appeals to its target audience, encouraging them to consider CTK as a place to study. You must plan and produce the suite of idents that use stop motion animation and/or live video, negotiating creative changes with the client deliver to the project to deadline that fulfil the brief. Each Ident should be approximately 30 seconds and you will initially have a budget of £50.
Consultation with the client:
(Jordan)
Consultation with the client
when it came to our consultation with the client, we invited him and had a thorough 5 minutes just to discuss and negotiate conditions regarding the brief and then the client gave us an additional five minutes just to prepare our self's and compress or summarise some of our ideas so we didn't give the client any of our final ideas. when it came to came to questioning the brief and what the client wanted we looked at certain thing such as:
Duration of the Ident
When it came to the duration of the Ident, the brief stated that it has to be 30 seconds in order to count and comply with the briefs specifications. However we negotiated this and said our audience is teenagers and teenagers tend to have a very short attention span so we said if we could shorten the ident to 15 seconds and the client agreed with what we were saying.
Deadline
when it came to the deadline on the brief the client wanted to see the production finished by the 12th may for an initial review and then we were given feedback and then on the 26th may the final idea with improvements so that we could finish the final idea to the highest standard using the specifications wanted by the client. The client agreed and said this is an efficient way to work.
Competition Brief
when discussing the briefs conditions we wanted to ask and try to negotiate a deal where this brief would be a competition brief so it gave us the opportunity to gain prize money if we were the chosen team however the client said he would give prize money however he would reimburse the budget that was spent for the winning team.
Creative Discretion
When it came to the creative discretion we questioned about altering the colour or altering how we wanted to present our students, however the client wanted the colour scheme of purple and white to stay the same because he found that the colours were recognisable and helped the college create a brand identity. also regarding changing the presentation of our students the client agreed as long the ideas applied to the school rules and the CTK graces.
Target Audience
when it came to our target market,the brief stated the suite of promotional idents should be made for teenagers from south London aged between 15-19 years old, we wanted to make sure that the suite of promotional Idents would attract the parents of the students looking at the college furthermore I also wanted the suite of promotional Idents to entice the future students that may end up attending CTK. when we shared our idea with the client he seemed very interested and he was wondering as to how we could achieve this.
(Kenny)
This was more than one brief but i will say it was mainly a negotiating brief as we were able to invite our client in to converse with him the brief he set for us for the launching of ct. own digital TV channel in which will show promotional aspects for students. During this first meeting with the client he issued us a 5 minute discussion time so that we were able to brush up on ideas and question and lastly negating with each other what is needed to make the brief easy, under stable for us to do.
One question that was offered was the type of way in which the ident for CTK digital tv channel will presented, "Do we have to do stop motion" however, we stated that stop motion we take up more time and that won't last long. The client stated that what is presented in the stop motion ident must cover everything and your point must be clear to get across to students.
Second question that was expressed was "what brand identity do you want us to convey in the idents" he stated that it's targeting students aged 15-19 that might want to join the college so that they are able to see an accurate reflection of what the college is and what it is about but on the other hand he stated that the we have to bare in mind the stakeholder, that are going to be involved that are targeting and wanting students to join. He also stressed that we must consider how parents, partner schools might see it , catholic prodigious see it, and how the wider community might see it. so it's got to be a fair reflection, that it can't just be targeted at the creative side (media) but that is you wanna see the college in the best light by showing a mixture of things that show the college.
Third question asked "if we can rebrand the product as we feel it's currently branded to the parent rather than the students" the client implied that rebranding is fine but take into consideration the wider stakeholder and it's got to fit in with the expectations of the local partner school, wider catholic prodigious in which you can not be unrecognisable to them.
Fourth question was "have you got any boundaries when it comes to representation of students and teachers in the college" he portrayed that we must consider the mission statement at the college but that you must have something that strongly represents the college.
A fifth question was that "In the brief it states that is should be seasonal (4seasons) can we just do 4 different idents that links with the college instead of seasonal" he expressed that it is okay that there is no reason why it can't be done differently but it must not alienate other subject and that it should strongly represent the school as a whole.
In conclusion the the negotiation process with the client resulted in being successful as we were able to change and demand what we want that will better the school digital TV channel meaning that we basically have the option to use creative description but that the house design which is usually white, purple and black should be kept the same as that is what is used across the sites as the main house design and that it's already branded in the mind of the students and parents so there would be no point in changing the colour scheme of the college. we also negated as a group if we could incorporate the idea of an completion brief that expressed what ever group that had the best idea in which the client then loved/chose will be offered a prize of some sort therefore, it resulted in us coming to an agreement that the group's idea that is chosen would be reimbursed for what was spent in the pre-production process (budgeting). Lastly, we also talked on terms about the type of way in which we will deliver the idents via: stop motion or live. however, in the brief it was portrayed that it had to be 30 second in order to succeed and to meet the brief specifications but we were able to water down why stop motion will be hard to deliver a 30 second stop motion ident each as it will take time and because of the audience we are dealing with we know that they have short attention spans meaning they will be looking for something that stands out, drawn them by making them want to engage with the product and lastly it must be memorable and clear for audiences to remember.
I am able to relate to this brief because I had been set a brief to produce a music video in the past in which had the same kind of terms and conditions in which I had to choose and negotiate with my client what will be suitable for him and for me and for the wider community.
Degree of discretion in interpreting the brief has to be taken into consideration because it allows us to negotiate with the client. If there is too much discretion, we will go out of our creative boundary, because discretion means that one has the freedom of what should be done. Also, you may not understand the brief. If there is just enough discretion, it will allow you to think about how you would create the production, in the eyes of the client.
When it comes to the degree of discretion in interpreting the brief, we had to make a few negotiations with the client in order to try and make sure we can provide the best ident we can give to the client.
Firstly, we negotiated with the client the duration of the ident. As it says on the brief, the idents should last 30 seconds each. Our group discussed at earlier time that the duration would be too long if we were to do stop motion for the idents, as this would cause complications because it would be very time consuming. During the meeting with the client, we proposed that the duration should be cut down to at least 20 seconds, and the client, Mr Pearson agreed.
Secondly, we negotiated the colour scheme for the suite of idents. The client addressed that it would be beneficial to keep the brand identity the same, which is purple and white but we are free to use any other colours. However, we have chosen to keep the colour scheme, purple and white because it represents the college's colour scheme.
Another point we negotiated was the target audience, on the brief it says that the target audience is 15-19 year olds, but it was insisted that it must be targeted to parents, wider stakeholders, partners, diocese, etc. so it must be acceptable to them because it may/will be the parents picking which college they want their child to go to.
Fourthly, we negotiated if the proposed concept of the idents can be changed from seasonal because it is quite difficult to get a number of ideas from them. The client agreed and said it is ok but it must have an accurate reflection of what the college is about and how everyone else will see it,and must also have a representation because of the students they are trying to attract. (diverse representation of students).
Constraints (legal, ethical, regulatory)*; (Copyright, use of under 18s in the video, discrimination of ethnicity, gender, religious belief) (Ese)
Constraints (legal, ethical, regulatory)*; (Copyright, use of under 18s in the video, discrimination of ethnicity, gender, religious belief)
Legal Constraints need to be taken into consideration when creating and distributing a media product. The reason for this is to make sure that all media products that are distributed are not breaking the law. Another reason is to make sure that products are suitable for its intended audience. There are many laws and regulations set by regulators to ensure that media companies and organisations do not offend people. Regarding Ethical issues and constraints, we as a group made sure that our ideas and themes did not offend people's ethnic backgrounds, gender or religious beliefs. We also had to make sure that we did not discriminate against minority groups.
We also have to use actors who are a suitable age. The law states that we cannot include underage children in our production to encourage stereotypes. This Law is part of "The children Performance and activities regulation act".This means that no underage teens will be included in the production. It is our responsibility as a production team, to make sure our final product fits the terms and criteria of the brief and does not violate any legal constraints.This is because,creating something that differs from the brief,could violate the legal contract between us and the client. It is important that we understand the laws regarding ethical issues. Moral and ethical codes may not be the law, but the way in which ethical and moral issues are handled could potentially affect the outcome of the product and the reputation of the client. This is because our product could represent the client or his organisation in the wrong way. Moral and ethical issues relate to whether or not certain content is “morally right” or suitable to show to the public. Morals are the principles on which one's judgments of right and wrong are based on. One of the most important issues we as a production group need to consider is copyright. We have to make sure that our product does not include any copyright material. And if we use copyright material, we have to show proof of granted permission.
The actors that will feature in our idents, will have to sign release forms. A release form is a legal document that prevents any legal liability between the "releasor" and the actors signed by the "releasor". By signing these forms, the actors will be giving us legal permission to include them in our video production. This is important because without the actors permission, we cannot use them in our production without breaching legal terms.The Broadcasting Act is a law, which was put in place by the British parliament. The Act was created to change and improve British broadcasting, particularly British Radio.The broadcasting Act stops broadcasters from broadcasting inappropriate content.The act is essentially a collection of laws that television and radio producers must abide by. The purpose of the Broadcasting act is to protect people under the age of 18 from viewing inappropriate content. The non- discrimination law refers to the law on the right of people to be treated equally.
Amendments to the proposed final product:
(kenny)
When it comes to the changes we made to the final product we looked at things such as the:
When it came to the colour scheme, we originally decide to have a variety of colours because we wanted to endorse the themes as being colourful and bright, however from the clients specification he asked us to keep up with the college’s colour being purple and white.
When it came to the theme, we originally had decide to use the theme of “Shining” so we would have students studying hard but at a later discovery we found this idea boring so we came up with the concept of things coming to life.
The ideas across all the idents had to be realistic in making so we wouldn't have a hard time during the actual production stages. In which meant the development of our ideas into making something that is based in college and is realistic in producing to satisfy the client.
faders coming to life
Football coming to life
Science -chemical reaction
Art coming to life
This was the new outcome of our improved ideas which were more realistic to make.
A major issue that we faced was if the suit of idents were to be seasonal or nonseasonal (random) as some of the ideas we thought of would be hard to incorporate seasonal across the suit so we came to the decision to not incorporate seasons across the suit.
The type of product we decide to make at first was live video because we thought it would be able to capture our idea perfectly but then we decided that stop motion will show more creativity and flair.
The duration the suit of the ident was negotiated with the client to be 15 seconds and above for each ident.
Our original location idea was that we film each ident across all the other sites of st.marys CTK but then we discovered that is extra costs and that is long for us. So we decided to change it to be set in one location which is the site of CTK st.mary’s sidcup
Amendments to budget:
(Ugo)
Products are often subject to change , the same could be said when it comes to making amendments to the budget of a product. This will often happen when new expenses have been taking into account or original prices of expenses have increased. If there needs to be any changes made to the budget it has to be discussed with the client. For after meeting and discussing with the client , we have reached an understand that there will not be any amendments for the budget to make sure the idents are made on time to the desired quality. The Original budget that was set for the idents was £50.00. This is to cover expenses like props, lunch for cast and crew. After reviewing the situation we decided that we would not have to cover the expense for transportation as we students do not need to pay for travel (via Bus). Another expense that will not affect the budget is equipment such as access to Mac suites and cameras. This will be provided by the college because we are media students.
Amendments to conditions:
(Ugo)
Amends to conditions is just as important as making amendments to the final product. For example if the client wants to change the target audience of the product at hand. This will impact the production company as it will create more work for the production company. A why to avoid this situation is having very detailed meeting minutes. Meeting Minutes are the instant written record of a meeting or hearing. They typically describe the events of the meeting and may include a list of attendees, a statement of the issues considered by the participants, and related responses or decisions for the issues.
After reviewing the notes that were taken from the meeting with the client, a few conditions need to be amended. One that needs to be amended is the use of colours. the client had stated that he wants the colour scheme of the college to remain present, however we are given the freedom to use any colours we please as we need to play into the theme of the seasons (Summer, Winter, Spring and Autumn). Another revision that might need to be made is the target audience of the idents. This is because at first our group were exclusively target 15-19 years. However it has come to our attention that there are more factors that need to be taken into consideration. By this i mean the parents of the students that the college are trying to attract need to feel that this is an appropriate learning institution.
Opportunities for self development
(Ese)
It is important to find opportunities for self development,when working towards a brief for a client. Development is needed in order to help fulfil the desires of the brief and create a successful product. This is because a range of different skills are needed during production. If the production team is aware of the skills in which they lack, finding opportunities to improve these skills will further help the production of the product. Self-development isn't just beneficial for the production of a product. The skills developed during the project,can also help individuals during future projects. These skills can range from communication skills to technical skills in producing the product. For example, The original consultation with the client required us as a group to have communication and negotiating skills in order to work towards a brief with the client. Also another skill that was very important was to be creative and generate ideas that suited the desires of the client.
New Skills
(Ugonna)
New Skills are essential when it comes to working in a breif this is because it allows the person working to the brief to to add more experiences to their skill set making them more of an asset to the next brief that the individual works on.
New skills are needed in order be able to adapt order when it comes to writing about new skills that i have acquired it can be things such as communication skills for example when it comes to negotiating with a client you need to know what you are talking about and most of all you need to be persuasive in order to convince the client to change his specifications.
For example as a director some of the skills that need to be present is the ability to be creative and come up with ideas. This is incredibly essential because without and ideas it would be impossible for any ideas to transpire.
Another skill that need to be present is the skill to communicate with your team members clearly and efficiently. This is vital as a successful team is a team that is able to discuss any areas of the idea that may need to be made clear again , or even revised. I am able to communicate effectively therefore making me a asset to my team.
Multi-skilling
(kenny)
When it comes to multi-skilling there are many skills that have to be used for example when talking or negotiating the brief with the client you need to have preparation skills, communication skills and you need to have knowledge of the concept of the product for example we have knowledge of the college because we attend everyday, so with that we can get a feel of what life is like at CTK.
Contributions to the product Brief(jordan)
When working towards a brief in order to achieve success, contribution is needed. For example every member in the team needs to play their specific role because if not there will be errors and it will create a dysfunctional team with poor communication. when it comes to my contribution i have applied a lot of time because as an assistant producer and a director of Photography i have to work closely with the client and the team's director so we can work to their individual specifications.
