Form and Style Development

Styles, Techniques and Conventions of Pop Promos -

Typically, ‘Pop Promo’ style videos have a number of codes and conventions.

They are usually around 3-4 minutes in length, and can conform to a number of styles. They are often very uptempo and glam, promoting a cause or service in a positive way.

Examples of Pop Promos -

An example of a pop promo is this promotional video for a band. The purpose of this video is to promote ‘The Hot Sauce Committee’ as band. From this video, a number of pop promo codes and conventions become apparent. For example, the video has a generally uptempo vibe throughout. A piece of music from the band’s own collection has been used as feature track, to help aid promotion. The shots are cut fairly quickly, which helps to contribute to the general atmosphere the band are hoping to promote. There is also use of a lot of fish eye tracking shots of the singer performing which I think is a real nice touch and adds a unique quality to the video. I want to try and use some creative shots in my project to add a real creative flair. There are also some text graphics used creatively which is something I’d like to experiment with in my own project. The video is around 2-3 minutes long which keeps it short, sweet and to the point. Using a shorter length for a video of this type is desirable as it means less chance of audience’s concentration wavering and allows them to take in the information.

Taking inspiration from existing videos -

To begin my some form and style development into my chosen idea, I decided to look into past videos created by City Academy Norwich for World Book Day. In 2013, a member of staff at the Academy created a World Book Day promo the form of a simple video including colleagues and students talking about their favourite books. It was of a very straightforward style, with no evident use of editorial technicalities such as transitions. With the use of jump cuts and simple titles, it’s straight to the point and conveys a clear message. As it was recorded on an iPad by a member of staff who was inexperienced with shooting video for edit, the footage was portrait rather than landscape. This has lead to black bars either side of the video throughout the edit, which could be seen as slightly unprofessional. There is an underlying music track that increases in volume through titles. It slightly affects the overlying video, steering focus from what the participants are saying. It’s around 5 minutes long, which is a suitable amount of time for a video of it’s kind. However, due to the overall simplicity of both content and style of the video; audience concentration could waiver slightly.

In 2014, a different member of staff at the Academy alongside my client Simon Rogers created a World Book Day promo of a different style. The video was a pop promo, in the form of various students and staff members performing everyday school tasks with books. With the use of basic editing techniques such as jump cuts and simple titles, it’s message and purpose is clear. However compared to the Academy’s 2013 video, he style was exciting; with the featured use of a piece of uptempo music and to add a real positive feel. Alongside visuals with the use of varied shot styles and framing, there was a real focus on educational values as well as the intended audience.

New Techniques & Software -

For the creation of my video, I have researched into a number of new techniques & styles to try out either in production or post-production.

Typography & Motion Graphics

After researching into existing ‘Pop Promo’ style videos I noticed that something very popular was the use of typography and subtitling. The codes and conventions of this type of sequence often mean that typography is utilised to describe services or glamorise products on offer.

An example of this is a video by Adnams Southwold created to promote the various types of alcoholic beverages they have on offer for sale in their store. I really like this technique and think that this video in particular has utilised them really well. In comparison to the typical method of simply describing a product to the audience, the use of the motion graphics in a creative way adds a real interesting, unique approach to the purpose of the video. It gives the audience something interesting to look at, with constant changes in shape, colour and style to capture their attention.

After deciding to try and experiment with this concept, I researched into instructional videos on Adobe After Effects.

This is a video I found that gives instructions on how to create simple motion graphic sequences using After Effects. It gives a general overview on how to create, position, animate and stylize typography.

I will use tutorials like this one to help create various titles, credits and name straps for my video. I feel that they would suit the theme I am going for of excitement and would add a real creative flair and finishing touch to my video.

Shots I'd like to include in my video:

I'd like to try and experiment with some new styles of shooting in my video. I'd like to experiment with focus, using it creatively to add a real professional flair to my final video. I'd like to try and use a range of varied camera angles, but however due to the fairly spontaneous nature of a majority of my filming, this could be proven quite difficult.

However, I will try to include:

• Classic 'interview setup' shots.
• Tracking shots.
• Establishing shots to set the scene for the audience.
• Close ups on student reactions etc.
• GVs of students reading/working etc.
• Pull focus.