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PROFESSIONALDEVELOPMENTJon Saward

+PROF DEV AIMS& OBJECTIVES Develop skill & creativity & create interesting work Extend knowledge & understanding of opportunities Stretch myself to find other contexts for my work Develop communication skills with clients/collaborators Stronger understanding of funding and revenue streams Promote myself as a practitioner in professional manner Explore the opportunities available to me

+INITIAL THINKING& PROJECT IDEAS

Create some corporate video content to promote myself

Develop company branding/marketing. Web, online etc Look into teaching on BA (Hons) Digital Film Production Investigate Arts funding and residency opportunities Curate within existing or create own mini film festival Develop installation/direct action video for Greenpeace Create & run educational video production workshops

+FILM FESTIVALCURATION?I have some contacts within this film festival having exhibited at it. I wanted to try and work with them to develop ideas to strengthen the festival and extend their audiences. This again is likely to be a long term project as the festival is in November.Develop links with potential speakers.Curate an interesting days screening of documentaries.Forge strong links with the festival.Develop some educational events & workshops.Investigate funding streams for such events.

+LECTURING ON BA COURSES AT UCSI got in contact with Alexandra Leaney who runs the BA Digital Film Production, Film Studies and Screenwriting courses at UCS. I have stayed in regular contact and we are looking to try and arrange some lecturing next year.Develop links with potential speakers.Curate an interesting days screening of documentaries.Forge strong links with the festival.Develop some educational events & workshops.Investigate funding streams for such events.

+GREENPEACE PROJECT IDEASUsing a close friend who is the Head of Media & Special projects look into collaborating and working with Greenpeace on some of the areas below. Proved difficult to find immediate work but conatct established.Installations for events and exhibitionsDirect action campaigning (video activism)Videographer for campaigning (direct?) & eventsViral campaignsPromos for campaigns and issues

+DEVELOP MY OWNPRODUCTION COMPANYI have a company name, url and basic website from a past documentary project. However I want to create a more commercial video production company using this.Create some corporate content for clients to show off my skills, abilities and creativity.Create a stronger branding and identity for my company.Develop online presence to host my video content.Plan a marketing campaign to attract potential clients.

+VIDEO WORK FOR CRAFT BREWERYThis is a local craft beer brewery that I contacted with a view to working with and for. This would also act as a case study and provide the following.Brush up and develop client relations, collaborations and communication.Create a variety of strong corporate video content to show off my skills, abilities.Create some bespoke creative video content to promote myself online.

+VIDEO IDEAS FOR CRAFT BREWERYThrough initial communication I developed with the client the following ideas. I am aiming to produce 1-2 of them initially. The idea was to use them primarily on their website which is basic with no sticky content, for sales & possibly elsewhere events, festivals etc.A potted history for their “About Us” section of website.A short promo/advert for the brewery and its produce.A mini doco with the brewery owner about the business.A “process centered” documentary of brewing process.

+RESEARCH INTO CRAFT BREWERYI carried initial research before I contacted the client so I understood their brand. Also after we discussed potential ideas to develop. We also spoke about the following areas. Historical origins of Bishop Nick brewery.Ridley brewing family links and traditions of owner.The setting up of the brewery and how it came about.The branding, marketing & ethos of the company.USP’s, ESP’s and target audience.

+BISHOP NICK MARKETING

+RESEARCH INTO COMPETITIONCompetition is possibly too strong a word but I wanted to investigate the craft brewery market-place. This was to see other companies marketing and aim for originality. I analyzed campaigns, branding and especially their video.

+DEVELOPING IDEAS & PITCHESFrom some limited communication with the client I decided to develop ideas for all 4 of the pieces of video we discussed but focused on two. The mini doco and process of making the beer were put on a back burner.A potted history for their “About Us” section of website. This has bags of potential and possible use of multiple formats especially animation.A short promo/advert for the brewery and its produce. The footage for this could be used in a variety of other video content doco and process too. This allowed again a lot of creativty from me.

+ABOUT US IDEAS & PITCHES 1A potted history for their “About Us” section of website. I carried out research into the history and really wanted to bring the brand identity to life. This was the main idea.3 minute animation covering the brand history. Innovative cut-out images/photos created in Adobe AE.Utilize the brand logo, typefaces, imagery. Woodcuts etc.Inject humour, fun & tongue in cheek attitude to brand.

+ABOUT US IDEAS & PITCHES 2For the “About Us” animation I developed the following pre-production and planning before I embarked on it.Detailed proposal/brief written for the creative.Images being researched and sourced of history.Script written for the animation.Visuals being created & developed.

+PROMO VIDEO IDEAS & PITCHES 1 A short promo/advert for the brewery and its

produce. Footage could be used in other videos for them too…3 minutes on the company story, ethos, image & brand(s).Cinematically shot creative high end footage. Soundbites from owner & shots of product, brewery & drinking.Snappily cut to music with motion graphics & titles.

+PROMO VIDEO IDEAS & PITCHES 2 A short promo/advert for the brewery and its

produce. Footage could be used in other videos for them too…Detailed proposal/brief written for the creative.Preliminary IV with client of questions/topics. Rough “script” written for IV with client.Recce of locations and shots planned & storyboard.

+CLIENT ISSUES &PROBLEMS!The clients are essentially a small company with the owner Nelion Ridley wearing lots of hats and myself dealing with his wife who is very part time. Communication is an issue and no dates could be firmed up to meet and forge ahead!Do not put all my eggs in one basket!Greater client communication and less time in between.Sell myself more. Make aware of what they’re getting free!Money issues. Asking for costs may have been a misstep.Stronger time management from me. More structure needed.

+DEVELOPING BRAIN TREE FILMS PROD COMPANYI had huge issues with poor communication and timescales with Bishop Nick. Therefore I moved the development, branding and marketing of my own production company from the back burner to front and center. I will build this then generate video content to populate it. I have a company name, url and basic website from a past documentary project. However I want to create a more commercial video production company using this.Create some corporate content for clients to show off my skills, abilities and creativity. Was going to be Bishop Nick! To do list!Create a stronger branding and identity for my company.Develop online presence to host my video content.Plan a marketing campaign to attract potential clients.

+RESEARCHING BRAIN TREE FILMS PROD COMPANY

I carried out research into a variety of other production companies to assess the marketplace and competition. I used this to assess the following areas.Branding and marketing. Logo, web, social media etc.Types of work, goods and services they offer. Gaps?Pricing structure research for typical production.

+DEVELOPING BRAIN TREE FILMS PROD COMPANYI used this research before I did any development, marketing or logos etc to help me decide exactly how I wanted to promote and market the company. Professional and trade on my experience in industry.High to medium end work. Hide fact one man band.Services would be corporate work, animation, virals, music video, promos and also covering of events. May draw line at weddings! Also offer shooting & edit only.Not super slick and pricey – not bargain basement.

+RESEARCH FOR LOGO FOR BRAIN TREE FILMS

I did some research into other company logo designs, style theory and psychology. This was to support my own work.Font and typefaces. 2 only.Colour & shape psychology. Use of images & symbols.Negative & positive space. Consider variations & contexts.Keep it simple and be original. Do not follow trends.

+DESIGN FOR LOGO FOR BRAIN TREE FILMSI have a company logo which I knocked together for an earlier project. However this felt dated and needing a re-purposing for use with a multi-functional prod company. I used my research into company and logos to develop this. Look professional & slick but approachable company.Try to represent all of the goods and services I can offer.Play with company name Brain Tree films in imagery.Research images and sketch lots of potential ideas.Get audience feedback and continue to develop.

+BRAIN TREE FILMS LOGO DEVELOPMENT VERSIONS

These are rough mock ups of some of the logo versions that I have developed. As of yet I am undecided as to the right way forward and more development is needed.

+RESEARCH WEB DESIGN FOR BRAIN TREE FILMSI use websites every day but do not often stop and analyse them enough. So I carried out carried out research into website design theory, design and functionality to aid me.Type: Business brochure/information with video contentStyle: Design & style appropriate for company. Consider mood, colours, layout. No click off links too near top etc.Content: Sticky and formal, refreshed regularly. Sharing.Functionality & navigation: Simple, clean & well labeled. Works across multiple platforms.

+RESEARCHING BRAIN TREE FILMS WEBSITE FUNCTION

As with the logo I carried out research into a variety of other production companies to assess the marketplace and competition. I used this to assess all of the following areas.Content on the website & how much. Navigation to this.Style, design, copy on website, navigation & functionality.How they displayed video content work & descriptions.Use of contacting social media & content sharing.

+BRAIN TREE FILMS WEBSITECONTENT STYLE & DESIGN

Utilizing all of my website analysis and research I created a brief for the creation of my website. Business brochure/information site. 8-10 pages but scalable.Slick and professional style: Clean design and minimalist, use of video links and content where possible. White background & colour generated through images and content. Minimal copy.Content: Formal overview of company, profiles of projects, lots of sticky video content. Contact us section and clear SM links.Functionality & navigation: Simple, clean & well labeled at top of page. Works across multiple platforms.

+RESEARCH WEB THEORY FOR BRAIN TREE FILMSWebsites are only as good as being able to direct potential client to them. I researched into search engine optimization and different ways of creating, building & monitoring them.SEO: Where site appears in searches. Link baiting, keywords and tags, alt text, headings and anchor text.Scripts and coding language: HTML, CSS & Javascript.Landing page: Ideal pages where you want users to land.Google analytics: Allows data to be collected from users.Responsive styling: Site adapts to different platforms

+RESEARCH INTO SMMFOR BRAIN TREE FILMSThe social media marketing (SMM) of a brand is a really trick business but powerful and one I knew little aboutTitles: Catchy, snappy & descriptive.Target audience: Aim mood & tone.Content: Fresh, regular & interactive.Viral: Give to receive. Link baiting.Honest: Try not to market too much!Video Content: Upload to platforms.

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QUESTIONS?