Understanding Codes, Conventions and Current Practice in Corporate and Promotional Programming

Current Practices Task:

1) What Equipment is required to produce a corporate or promotional video and why?

The basic equipment needed for a corporate/promotional video are:

• Digital video camera or camcorder

• Tripod

• External microphone

• Extra batteries and recording media

• Video lights and light reflectors

• Computer

• Video editing software

2) What formats and distribution methods are required to reach the intended audiences?

- Define your target audience - To reach your target audience, you must first define your target audience. And, for this, you need to understand your customers. You can do this by building a consumer persona. A customer or buyer persona is a generalized representation of how your ideal buyers would be like. You list their demographic and psychographic attributes and preferences to gain a better understanding of your target audience.

- Create Useful and relevant content - The best way to reach your target audience is by providing them with useful and relevant content. Writing about topics that are of interest to your intended audience is a sure-shot way of grabbing their attention. Here are some methods;

- Video marketing – Videos are highly engaging and interactive in nature. A good quality video can catch the attention of the viewer easily.

- Blog posts and articles – Written content may not work as well as videos and images, but it still helps you get the attention of your audience. Just make sure that you write about topics that are of interest to your target audience and are useful to them.

- Social media content – You can connect with your target audience through social media as well. Through a combination of images, videos, and text, you can engage and reach them more efficiently.

- Reach your target audience on social media via hashtags - With people spending more time on social media platforms, you can’t ignore the importance of them to reach your target audience. However, to target people who might be interested in your brand, you need to use hashtags. Relevant, industry-specific hashtags can help you broaden the reach of your social media content. And, it will help make sure it’s displayed to people who might be interested in it. For example, if you have a luxury hotel brand, you could use hashtags like #luxurytraveler or #luxurytravel. This will help you reach people who might be interested in booking your services.

3) What common shooting methods/conventions (shot types, composition etc.) would you expect to see in a corporate or promotional video and why?

Resolution – for the video to be high quality it’s expected to be at 1920x1080 (1080p) so the video will have high quality and will show its professionalism.

Framerate – The higher the framerate of a video, the smoother and more professional it will look. So, when recording with for example a DSLR Camera, the framerate should be at 25 frames per second (fps) which is the standard framerate for a video.

Shutter Speed – when you have shutter speed you must make sure that it’s double the framerate in order for it to properly work and have a standard smooth motion in your videos e.g. your camera is on 25 fps, which means the shutter speed must be at 50.

ISO – this is light intensity, for the purposes of a corporate video the ISO shouldn’t be very low as a high ISO = bright and a low ISO = dark. However, sometimes boosting the ISO to a very high number (300-400) will help give a foggy image to your video if that’s what you’re going for

Aperture – Adjusting aperture helps to focus on either a person or an object and that’ll help manipulate the depth of field. But the tricky part is to be able to balance both Aperture and ISO (and shutter speed if you want motion in your images) as they all have an impact on each other.

Shot types - there a range of shot types but if you want your video to look professional then you don’t want to use too much or anything that’s too much for the viewers to be able to see what’s going on. Simple shot types like close-ups, medium shots, panning, and long shots are the standard shot types when shooting a corporate video

Cutaways – cutaways are shots that are inserted into footage for a variety of reasons; it could be to cover up a continuity error and change the atmosphere of the video. But for a corporate video, cutaways will be useful to make the video more interesting as to not make the viewers bored

4) In regard to pre-production. What should all corporate/promotional videos begin with and why?

Regarding pre-production, all corporate/promotional videos should begin with a client brief. This contains the initial ideas of what the client wants to include in their corporate/promotional video.

5) Why is client liaison important?

A client liaison acts as a focal point for client problems, questions or concerns. They coordinate with the proper company personnel to provide timely and accurate answers for the clients. So, it’s important because you will know what the client wants for the corporate/promotional video. It’s also important to make sure the client is happy with the video you have produced and if they have any questions or concerns about it before it’s done, changes to the video can still be made. 

6) What documentation could/should be completed before production starts and why?

- Risk assessments are very important to complete before the production of a video, so everyone can be aware of the potential hazards when filming a video in a certain location (in a corridor, on the street, etc.) and to avoid causing themselves or anyone harm during production. 

- Talent releases are very important too as they are needed for anyone who is in a corporate video to show they have given their consent and full permission to be in a video.

7) What is the difference between a script and a shooting script?

a script is a piece of written work made by screenwriters before the production of a video starts and it’s to show how the video will be sequenced, who is in it, what will people sand, and how it will turn out.

A shooting script is the version of a screenplay used during the production of a motion picture. Shooting scripts are distinct from spec scripts in that they make use of scene numbers, and they follow a well-defined set of procedures specifying how to script revisions should be implemented and circulated.

Corporate Video Analysis Chart

Corporate Video Pre-Production

Risk Assessment:

Client Brief:

Location Release:

Group Talent Release:

EN - Initial Research Task

What is East Norfolk’s mission?

East Norfolk’s mission is to give students the best possible opportunities to fulfill and achieve their individual potential through high-quality teaching, learning, and assessment and a broad range of provisions, which offers choice and progression. They will provide a supportive environment, which responds to individual needs and encourages respect and they will serve our local and national community by responding and adapting to the needs of our learners and of our stakeholders.

What are East Norfolk’s core values?

East Norfolk’s core values represent the guiding principles of the College. They support the delivery of their mission and will drive the direction of the College’s leadership. They believe that outstanding performance cannot be achieved unless they operate by the same values. 

The College Governors undertook a review of its Mission in June 2012.  Following that strategic review, the College is undertaking a process of consultation with students, staff, and stakeholders on the following set of core values to underpin our work:

- They promote excellence in order to provide our students with the best possible opportunities to equip them for their future. An ethos of reflective and shared good practice will underpin a culture of high aspirations, high standards, and high achievement which is highly valued by students and the communities they serve. 

- They value our students, staff, and governors and their talent and within a framework of support will nurture each student to develop his/her personal potential.

- They embrace diversity and promote equality of opportunity within a framework of mutual respect.

- They adhere to high ethical and professional standards in staff and students’ work and relationships. They’re committed to working hard and promoting equity and fairness.

Impressive facts about East Norfolk:

- EN is a top college locally for progression. 56% of students that progress to Russell Group universities achieves a First-Class degree, over 20% higher than the national average for State and Independent sectors. 9 students secured their places at Oxford and Cambridge in 2020, a record-breaking number for EN.

- Students choose EN because of the freedom an independent specialist Sixth Form College experience offers. Located in the very heart of the Gorleston community and likened to a mini-university campus, the college is large enough to offer a wide choice but small enough for personalised experiences.

- EN offers a wide range of extracurricular activities not available anywhere else locally. Students with aspirations to be professional footballers or pursue a career in sport have a unique opportunity too as EN is the only college locally with the prestigious Norwich City Community Sports Foundation Elite Football, Elite Xtra, and Sports Coaching programmes. A state-of-the-art 3G pitch, 800 capacity stadium, and clubhouse are also on their way. The College is also one of only 25 FA Super Hubs, placing EN at the forefront of sporting innovation and excellence. EN is also home to the Combined Cadet Force (CCF), the only one in the local area, and is an approved centre for the Duke of Edinburgh Awards.

How many courses are East Norfolk currently running?

East Norfolk offers a varied curriculum with over 80 A Level, BTEC Level 3, and Route 3 subjects. With a 99% A Level pass rate and 100% pass rate in 40+ subjects, students achieve at the highest level. They also offer T-Level courses.

What is the ‘Futures Team’?

The Futures team arranges a very large number of work placements, internships, and volunteering projects which include the Health Care Academy (in partnership with the James Paget University Hospital), East Coast Energy Internships, and numerous projects supporting the local community events.

What is extENd?

The Extend Programme is for students who are aiming to get into a highly competitive university and typically where the application process includes some form of the admissions process. The programme challenges students to think ambitiously about where they see themselves progressing onto after Sixth Form studies.

City College Norwich comparison:

What is City College’s mission?
City College Norwich has undergone substantial change in the last five years, responding to both national policy development and to local needs. They have established themselves as a progressive college and their aspirations remain high. "Over the next five years, we are absolutely determined to become a college in the top ten nationally and that goal requires us to think and act differently"

What are City College’s core values?
Respect, Ownership, and integrity

Impressive facts about City College:
- The college provides their very own debut restaurant and cafes, Starbucks and Costa Coffee
- The college provides industry-standard facilities such as studios, labs, workshops, kitchens and hair, and beauty salons.
- Their campus is always active with events and activities. From Music Nights and modern theatre performances in their Platform Theatre to themed evenings and guest speakers.

How many courses are City College currently running?
The college offers the largest choice of courses in Norfolk, with over 250 courses to choose from

What additional support is on offer, for any level of student?
The college offers many sources of help for all students like; 
Travel – how to travel to the college safely and tells you about discounts and offers. 
The Advice Shop - offers expert impartial advice and guidance for anyone considering their career, education, and training options. This free service available to both existing students and young people and adults across Norfolk who need advice and guidance about their next step. 
Special Educational needs offer - to ensure young people have information and support to enable participation and to assist in achieving the best possible education outcomes.

Why you picked EN

I picked EN because of its massive range and variety of courses they offer, many of which I was interested in. There were many courses I have never heard of or even knew you could take these certain subjects as a course. I also liked the amount of support they can provide you if you need any help whether it's for your courses or for yourself, there are staff who are always here to help. EN is also a lot closer to my house compared to my High School, I went to Notre Dame High School in Norwich, so it was nice to be able to go somewhere closer to home. Although Lowestoft College is just a 5-minute walk away from my house, I still found EN was the better college for me as my brother attended EN before me and he told me his experiences and how much he enjoyed it. 

What subjects are you interested in?

Aside from the courses, I am already doing (Performing Arts (acting), Creative Media (TV and film) and Graphics Communication), the other subjects which interest me the most are:

- E-Sports

-Games Design

Artist and Song Research

 Artist: Sub Urban

Genre of music - Dance/Electronic

Type of Music Video - Mainstream, Interpretive ,Surreal/Absurdist, Editing & Animation

Settings and Locations - They're filmed in studios, warehouses and majority of them have green screen involved. However in his music video for "Cradles" some of it is set in a house, on a bridge and in a dance hall. But in his music video for "Cirque" it's set in a bar in LA and set like a 1940s-1950s action movie (Bar Fights, Back Alley fights etc.)

Costumes - Old fashioned, smart, Circus-esque

Props - a range of props are used in his music videos such as a baby stroller, a cradle, a bed, large tables, curtains, food - Cradles 

Cages, Canes, Weights, Swords, microphones, clocks, Bowling/Juggling Pins? stilts - Freak 

Cards, Tables, Glass bottles, Poker chips, Guns - Cirque

Makeup - majority of the makeup used consists of black eyeliner, and there is a small use of fake blood that is found in all his music videos.

Themes/Tones - the occurring theme Sub Urban likes to use in his music videos are things that relate to personality & psychological disorders, which explains why his music videos are very surreal and as if someone was dreaming about it.But they're all set in a very unpleasant and eerie tone, showing that these are nightmares more than they are dreams. 

Narrative - It doesn't seem like there is a narrative towards his videos.

Choreography - There isn't a lot of choreography that's taken place in Sub Urban's music videos. However some scenes in them show some choreography for example, in his music video for "Cirque" there are dancers in the bar, and then there's some gang members that enter and they beat up Sub Urban.

Song: Freak

Lyrics:

[Intro - Sub Urban] 

Welcome to our freak show, come meet my monsters

Oh, such a fine collection of stranger things

[Verse 1 - Sub Urban] 

My patience running thinner on this melting clock

Cerebrum jailed with thoughts, most would consider rot

To think you're any different from an animal

A creature sick as you should be put down

But I can't help myself

[Pre-Chorus: REI AMI]

Oh-na-na-na-na, oh-na-na-na-na

Oh-na-na-na-na, oh-na-na-na-na

[Chorus: Sub Urban, REI AMI]

Welcome to our freak show (oh-na-na-na-na)

Come meet my monsters (oh-na-na-na-na)

Oh, such a fine collection of stranger things (oh-na-na-na-na)

[Verse 2: Sub Urban]

Please, don't hide your imperfections nature

Took two tries to make the man in white

No, I don't mind, you are a beauty

Not temptation, you're my creation

[Verse 3: REI AMI, Sub Urban]

Freak o' Friday night, know I'm the main attraction

Basket acrobat, they wanna see some action

Tinkering with my design, twist and turn my feral mind

Play with me 'til you've found another toy

Let me be your freak show, I could be your favorite monster

Rattle my whole cage, remind me why I can't be fostered

Let me be your freak show, I could be your favorite monster

Lock me up, don't let me out 'cause you know I can't help myself

[Pre-Chorus: REI AMI]

Oh-na-na-na-na, oh-na-na-na-na

Oh-na-na-na-na, oh-na-na-na-na

[Chorus: Sub Urban, REI AMI]

Welcome to our freak show (oh-na-na-na-na)

Come meet my monsters (oh-na-na-na-na)

Oh, such a fine collection of stranger things (oh-na-na-na-na)

[Bridge: Sub Urban]

You're wasting, you're wasting all

Of your time finding a cure when there's no disease

You're wasting, you're wasting all

Of your talent on an audience who sees a freak

[Pre-Chorus: REI AMI, Sub Urban]

Oh-na-na-na-na, oh-na-na-na-na

Oh-na-na-na-na

Can't help myself

[Chorus: Sub Urban, REI AMI]

Welcome to our freak show (oh-na-na-na-na)

Come meet my monsters (oh-na-na-na-na)

Oh, such a fine collection of stranger things (oh-na-na-na-na)

Lyrics Analysis:

My patience running thinner on this melting clock, Cerebrum jailed with thoughts, most would consider rot - A damaged cerebrum (largest part of the brain) would cause multiple impairments, one of which is visionary hallucinations, such as a melting clock as well as distorted thoughts one would consider rotten. Also associated with personality disorders and general cognitive impairments which fits the theme Sub urban wants to project in most of his songs.

To think you're any different from an animal, A creature sick as you should be put down, But I can't help myself - Sub Urban is referring to another person as an "animal" or a "creature". He's also saying that this person is “sick” unlike the others, and normally someone would put it down due to it’s abnormally, but he can’t help himself to do that.

Please, don't hide your imperfections nature, Took two tries to make the man in white - Sub Urban here is sayings to not hide imperfections, ‘cause it even took god (nature) more than one try to make Jesus, who Sub Urban refers to as 'the man in white’, and Jesus is seen as a perfect figure in religious text. But ‘normal’ people are not made perfect, nor can they be, so he's telling them to embrace and accept their imperfections instead of trying to be someone they're not.

No, I don't mind, you are a beauty, Not temptation, you're my creation - Sub Urban notices there are some problems in his “creations”, but he doesn’t mind them. He actually embraces them but keeps them at a distance so he doesn’t fall into “temptation” from their beauty. He admires his monsters but also doesn’t want to get too close.

'til you've found another toy - REI AMI could be referring to other "toys" Sub Urban has created and is saying that he will be with her and play with her until he gets bored of his creation and wants to make a new toy to satisfy his desires.

Let me be your freak show, I could be your favorite monster - This line is comparing one monster to all, where the ring master (Sub Urban) has to watch all of his monsters, but one of them caught his eye by surprise though.

Lock me up, don't let me out 'cause you know I can't help myself - This may mean that REI AMI (Sub Urban's monster) wants to be locked up because she knows that she can’t help herself from doing something twisted or bad. She knows this and wants to avoid causing trouble by being locked up.

You're wasting, you're wasting all, Of your time finding a cure when there's no disease - Sub Urban's monsters are telling him that it’s a waste of time trying to cure whatever he has since psychological disorders don’t have a real cure since they are not technically diseases. So it’s a waste of time trying to cure a mental condition since it’s not a disease. Sub Urban could also possibly be telling the “freak” that its a waste of time trying to cure his differences because it’s not a disease and he's embracing what he has.

You're wasting, you're wasting all, Of your talent on an audience who sees a freak - Sub Urban is saying that the person is just wasting their great talent because, no matter what the person does, this audience will always see them as a freak, a sick creature, a monster. It doesn’t matter how much it tries, it will be seen in a negative way because of the way they look, so he is just wasting his talent.

Can't help myself - this line is meaning that it shows no control, he has no control over himself and temptation has taken over him.

L4 Creative Enterprise Portfolio

 1) 'Olly Moss' Style Poster

This is a piece that I have for my Graphics work, it is based on a character referred to as 'Dreadbear' from the virtual reality adaptation of Five Nights at Freddy's and it is in the style of the work produced by a digital artist known as Olly Moss. This wasn't a final piece for my course, this was merely an experiment to show progress in my work, but I am very proud of how this turned out.

2) Short Clip on an Upcoming Animation

https://youtu.be/uTlP6sTZOzU

This is an extra-curricular piece of work I've been working on, It has nothing to do with college work, it is purely a passion project - something I want to work on in my free time and to express my talent of animating by making a music video from a song of my choice. I chose this to be on this portfolio as it is one of my personal favourite and best pieces of animation I have done to date.

3) Demo Reel
https://youtu.be/oCxgHOJfcyU

This is a Demo Reel for my animations, this has shown my progress of how much I improved as an animator in just a year, and it shows what my future work is expected to be like. I'm very proud to look back at the old animations I made and feel really proud of the progress I have achieved in the year I have started making animations.

4) Short animation

https://youtu.be/vDh-L-_m0Tg

This is also another extra-curricular piece of work I've made. I decide to pick this animation because i really liked the creativity and ideas i thought of for this, and the liked the editing i put in to it.

Task 1 - Research Roles

 Research Roles

Academic & Research Librarian:

They work in universities and further education colleges and they provide staff, researchers, and students with access to information needed and teach them skills necessary for conducting research. They do this by training staff and students in information literacy, referencing, literature searching, and copyright laws. 

Skills required: collection management, cataloging, and classification (typical librarian skills). 

Formal qualifications aren’t usually needed with many academic libraries advertising graduate trainee roles. For senior positions, a postgraduate qualification in library and information science is normally required. Many employers also look for CILIP chartership (professional registration chartership) or a willingness to work towards it. 

Market research data analyst:

They study statistics and information collected through surveys.

Bibliography:

(1) https://www.cilip.org.uk/page/AcademicResearchLibrarians

(2) https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/job-profiles/market-research-data-analyst

Research Portfolio

 Primary Research:

Questionnaire for collecting the feedback on my corporate video:

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/GNDNBVK

This Questionnaire was for our corporate video unit that we created so we could have an understanding of how many people have watched the video, who watched it, and what their opinions of it were. This is a good example of primary research as I created the questionnaire along with my partner, who also made the video that this questionnaire is about. We both worked together on coming up with the questions we wanted to use and we were also the ones who shared it around with others. This meant that we had control over who was filling out the questionnaire, in doing this we were able to ensure that the answers we would receive were serious and useful data. The results we collected are honest and we have trust in the people we sent our questionnaire to, to answer the questions seriously and honestly to give us accurate data in regards to the video. We included both open and closed questions so we could collect both qualitative and quantitative data. We controlled this by creating some multiple-choice questions (agree, disagree, etc.) and some questions with text boxes that everyone can freely write in so there was a variety in how the viewers would answer the questions to help give out their opinions. 

Secondary Research:

Unilever Rebranding Pitch:

This was for our advertising unit and we had to present these pitches to our class using the research we've found to help support our pitch. It is a good example of secondary research as I had to find information that already exists about the company Unilever and the Magnum ice cream brand. I used their official websites to ensure that the information that is shown is all accurate and trustworthy to use. I used this research to back up the primary parts of my pitch, such as my rebranding and advert ideas.

TV Advert Analysis:

My TV advert analysis contains secondary research along with my analysis, such as Snickers' slogan, when the advert was aired, and who the target audience was. Most of the information wasn't all from a reliable source like the official Snickers website however, I still managed to find useful and accurate data to be used. I used the research to support my analysis of the advert. The analysis allowed me to understand the importance of every aspect of an advert and what effects it can have on an audience.

Quantitive Research:

Data for questionnaire on Why Choose EN video:

This research was collected for the corporate video unit and was used so we could understand the viewers' opinions on the video. It's a prime example of quantitative research that I collected from the responses to the questionnaire about our Why Choose EN corporate video. These bar charts show the popularity of each answer in the multiple-choice questions, which allows us to have an understanding on what the average effect our video had on the audience and what the audience thought of it. The number of each response to the questions was counted up and then converted into graphs and percentages to showcase the results.

Qualitative Research:

Answers from the questionnaire:

This research was also conducted for the corporate video unit, but the opinions that we collected produced qualitative data instead of quantitative data. These responses are a good example of qualitative research as they give non-numerical data, they are the reasons and opinions of those who reviewed our video and filled out our questionnaire. This is useful for understanding what they think of the video in more depth in comparison to qualitative data. These answers were in response to open questions that allowed them to express their thoughts. We can then use this data to understand our audiences' opinions and know what we can improve on for future work.

Production Research: 

This production research was for our corporate video unit, it was necessary for us to do this so we would be able to continue with our task and create the video that our client wants. We noted down all the things our client was wanting to see featured in our video from the facilities found in the college such as the gym, the HIVE, or the canteen to the extracurricular courses they offer, such as the Combined Cadet Force, Duke of Edinburgh and UEA. With all of this noted down, we were able to plan out what we were going to include in our video to make sure we can satisfy our client to the highest standard possible. We then filled out a production schedule so we will be able to know where we can film parts of our video at whatever time space is available, for some places like the sports hall or the gym, we had to get in contact to ask when the gym is normally being used by students and if we have permission to film there. We also had to fill out a Risk Assessment as this is a very essential piece of paperwork that needs to be filled out before filming your video. You have to consider every risk possible from a major risk such as filming outside and not looking whilst crossing roads to minor risks like wires hanging out and becoming a trip hazard to people. We also had to fill out talent and location releases as if we have people included in our video whether they are talking or used in multiple scenes, they have to sign a consent form so it can be confirmed that we had their permission to be filmed in our video. If we are including a large group of people (a classroom) then we have to get them to sign a group talent release, this saves the effort of having to print out a single talent release to everyone individually. For location releases, we had to make sure we gained permission to be able to film in whatever location we were filming in, we had to get permission from the college as a whole to be able to film all around the site and for individual areas like the gym.

Audience Research:

Unilever Rebranding Pitch:

This research was conducted for the advertising unit, which I conducted so I could understand the brand I've chosen to rebrand, Magnum. It is a good example of audience research because I gathered information about the audience who would typically watch Magnum adverts, so I could identify what my audience is for my rebranding idea. This included what their gender, age, class, lifestyle, and psychographic profile are. I then related this information to their adverts, which allowed me to understand why they used certain techniques and imagery and how it appealed to their typical audiences. 

The Nature and Purposes of Research in the Creative Media Industries

Primary research

Primary Research is a way to collect data directly and not depending on data from other sources, examples of Primary Research would be; Interviews, Surveys, Questionnaires, Observation, and Focus Groups.

“Primary research is a type of research design in which the researcher is directly involved in the data collection process. In other words, the researcher gathers relevant data samples directly instead of depending on already existing data with regards to the research context.” [1]

One example of Primary research I have conducted is an Online Questionnaire, for my corporate video task, in this task  I co-created a video to advertise East Norfolk's facilities, what courses they offer, and the college site itself. I created my questionnaire on a site called Survey Monkey and I included open and closed questions so I would be collecting both qualitative and quantitive data. through the responses I got, I was able to gather the age and gender demographic of those who have answered the questionnaire and watched the video. In some questions, I gave them the option to be able to express their opinions on a certain part or topic of the video and say whether they believe it has achieved its goal and purposes or not and how it could have been improved. [12]

Using Primary Research instead of Secondary Research comes with many advantages. The main advantage to it is that the data that is collected is all accurate and it's first hand, meaning that it doesn't dilute over time. This method of research can also be customized to suit the personal requirements and needs of either an organization or a business. Another advantage to Primary research is that it focuses mainly on a problem at hand, which means entire attention is directed to find the probable solution to a pinpointed subject matter. It allows researchers to go in-depth about a matter and study all foreseeable options. However, Primary Research does come with its disadvantages. For example, it can be a very time-consuming process. some methods of gathering data like conducting interviews, sending and receiving online surveys, all can be quite an exhaustive process, and for the process to work you need to invest a lot of time and patience. Another disadvantage would be that just using one method of primary research may not be enough to gather enough evidence. In such cases, the use of more than one method is required and this would increase both times required to conduct research and the cost associated with it. [2]

In the professional media industry, test screenings are often used as a method of collecting data from primary research. Test screenings are previews of a film or TV show before its official release and its to measure audience reactions. The audience is selected from a cross-section of the population and they will usually have to fill out a questionnaire or provide feedback after the screening on what they liked about it and what needed to be fixed/improved (if they're needed to be anything changed). [3] These screenings have significant control over how a film/TV show will end up when it premieres, with a lot of noticeable changes that have been made after majorly negative feedback. One example of this happening relates to
the film, Shaun of the Dead (2004)' the director and writer of the film, Edgar Wright stated in an interview that "in test screenings done before the film's special effects were completed,

audiences remarked that the ending was "a bit abrupt" and "lame"." And after being given a low budget of $6.1 million [4] and 2 days to finish shooting, the filmmakers added a "15 second" ending which in the follow-up press screening, the audience liked this addition to the film which lead to one reviewer who gave the film a bad review
changed it, giving it an extra star.

Secondary Research:

Secondary research is data that you collect from other sources such as books, websites, videos, audio recordings, and articles.

This material of research can be found in public libraries or online. The existing data is "summarized and collated to increase the overall effectiveness of research." [5] when using secondary research, it's important that you proofread it and make sure that the information you have found is 100% accurate otherwise it would result in your research containing false information.

An example of Secondary research that I have conducted is my Unilever Rebranding Pitch for our Television Advertising Unit. In this task, I had to do research on the company Unilever and on a brand that Unilever owns, which I decided to do Magnum Ice Cream. We had to research what the chosen brand's target audience was and we had to decide how we would change that brand to target a different demographic. For my rebranding idea, I decided to advertise Magnum through 'The Gaming World', but having popular influencers in the gaming community getting sponsored or featured in the advertisements or being sponsored by gaming companies like Playstation and Xbox. [11]

Secondary research comes with numerous advantages compared to Primary research. For example, Secondary research is always readily available. There are many sources from which relevant data can be collected and used, unlike primary research, data has to be collected from scratch. The availability of Secondary research also makes it a less time-consuming process when collecting data and is less expensive. Although, it does come with some disadvantages. One disadvantage of Secondary research is that credibility evaluation must be performed to understand the authenticity of the information available. Another disadvantage is that the resources may not offer the latest and up-to-date versions of articles, reports, or statistics making the information outdated and irrelevant to "accommodate recent timelines".

In the professional media industry, horror movies will often need a major amount of secondary research data, so they can reach the highest possibility of accuracy to the story it's based from. This research includes collecting information from the people involved either through books they've written, newspaper reports, videos, etc. They collect this information from multiple different sources so they can compare and check the facts to eliminate the effect any biases could've had when the information was first collected. An example of this is the classic
horror movie "The Exorcist" released in 1973, this film is based on the story of a young boy from Maryland named Roland, who was normal at first but in the Summer of 1948 as the boy's aunt died and he began to experience acts of the paranormal such as hearing scratching noises from the basement, his mattress moving in the middle of the night only to find out Roland was possessed by his dead aunt's spirit [8]. Because of this, an Author named  William Peter Blatty was inspired to write a novel about this horrifying story and then became what is now one of the most iconic horror movies of all time. [5]

Quantitative Research:

Quantitative research is a form of numerical data collected from figures, numbers, statistics, etc.

"Quantitative research is the process of collecting and analyzing numerical data. It can be used to find patterns and averages, make predictions, test causal relationships, and generalize results to wider populations." [6] It's the opposite of Qualitative data, which involves collecting and analysing non-numerical data - texts, videos, or audio.

An example of Quantitative research I have conducted is from the data I collected from my "Why Choose EN?" online questionnaire. [12] The bar charts helped us determine which is the most popular answer in the multiple-choice questions, and that will allow us to be able to have an understanding of the average effect that our video had on our audience. 

Using Quantitative research over Qualitative comes with some advantages. One advantage would be direct comparison results, "it can be reproduced in other cultural settings, times or with different groups of participants, and results can be compared statistically." [6] Another advantage to this research is that the data from large samples and can be analysed and processed with reliable procedures through data analysis. Another advantage to it is that it can conduct hypothesis testing, using formalized and established procedures mean that you have to be careful considering and reporting your research variables, data collection, and predictions before coming to a final conclusion. However, it does come with its disadvantages such as; it has a lack of context, it often uses unnatural settings like laboratories or it doesn't consider historical and cultural contexts that may affect data collection and results. Another disadvantage to this is that it has a lack of focus, meaning variables that have already been determined and measurement procedures can mean that you would ignore other relevant observations. One other disadvantage this form of research brings is its superficiality, it uses precise and restrictive operational definitions that may "inadequately represent complex concepts"[6]. For example, the concept of mood may be represented with just a number in quantitative research, but it would be explained and elaborated in qualitative research.

In the professional media industry, Quantitative data is used to find out how successful a piece of media is using figures such as the box office revenue, star ratings, etc. For example, the highest-grossing film ever is 'Avengers: Endgame (2019)' with a worldwide gross of $2,797,800,564 [9], despite being the most successful movie ever made to date, it is only the 74th highest rated film out of 250, with a rating of 8.3 stars and a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes. On the list, the top-rated film is 'Shawshank Redemption (1994)' with 9.2 stars. [10] The rating could be considered a much better method of measuring the success of a movie as it's the average of hundreds of thousands of ratings, whilst box office revenue will only measure how many people bought cinema tickets/DVDs/merchandise/etc.

Qualitative Research:

Qualitative research is data that is collected first hand from non-numerical data such as videos and pieces of text.

"Qualitative research involves collecting and analyzing non-numerical data (e.g., text, video, or audio) to understand concepts, opinions, or experiences. It can be used to gather in-depth insights into a problem or generate new ideas for research." [7] Qualitative research is commonly used in the humanities and social sciences, in subjects such as anthropology, sociology, education, health sciences, history, etc.

An example of Qualitative Research I have conducted is once again the data collected from my online questionnaire for my "Why Choose EN?" Corporate Video task. [12] This type of data allows us to have an understanding of the different opinions our audience has and helps us know what to change about our video for the future if we either have to include something that wasn't there before or remove something that might not seem necessary.

Like all the different types of research, Qualitative research comes with some advantages, some of which are; it's flexible, the collection of data, and the analysis process can be adapted as new ideas or patterns emerge, so they are not "rigidly decided beforehand". [7] Another advantage to this is it has meaningful insights, so the data that is collected is detailed descriptions of people's experiences, feelings, and opinions and that can be used to test and improve products. Another advantage is that it can help with generating new ideas - open-ended responses mean that researchers can think of solutions to any problems they were facing and can find opportunities that they wouldn't have thought of before. However, this does mean it comes with its disadvantages, some of which are; It can be unreliable because of the uncontrolled factors that can affect the data and the responses you will receive from an audience might not be 100% honest, and that can heavily affect your data if it's inaccurate and false. Another disadvantage is that the data is subjective, due to the researcher's role in analysing and presenting data, which cannot be replicated through Qualitative data as the researcher can decide what is important and is irrelevant in data analysis, so interpretations from data can vary. Another disadvantage is that this has limited generalisability - small samples of data are collected and gathered into detailed pieces of data on specific contexts and despite the diligent analysis procedures, it can be challenging to draw out generalizable conclusions "because the data may be biased and unrepresentative to the wider population". [7]

In the professional media industry, Qualitative data is often collected from reviews given by the audience or critics. These reviews are often posted online on websites such as IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes, or an independent review website such as Roger Ebert's review site. On IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes, any of the users are able to write a review for a film or TV series and give their personal opinions and express their feelings about how successful they believe it is. On the other hand, Roger Ebert posts his own reviews on his website since he was a professional film critic. These reviews are helpful for media production companies because they can read through the thoughts and opinions of their audience and critics and see what they did well and what they can do to learn from the mistakes they made and ensure it doesn't happen in their next production.

Data-Gathering Agencies:

A data-gathering agency is an agency that captures and records the consumption of footage, with the data collected it is made available to the public. (e.g. TV ratings and viewership). An example of a data-gathering agency would be BARB.

The Broadcasters' Audience Research Board (BARB) is an organisation that collects and arranges audience measurement and TV ratings in the UK. It is jointly owned by multiple different companies such as the BBC, ITV, and Sky. BARB collects their data from around 51,000 homes containing participants. They all have a box on top of their TV sets which tracks the programmes they watch. The participants can indicate who is watching the programme by pressing a button on the remote control. The data is then collected overnight and published at around 9:30 the following morning for TV stations and the advertising industry to use. [13]

IMDb (Internet Movie Database) is an online database that launched on October 17, 1990, and it contains lots of information relating to films, TV shows, video games, and other online content. The sections on there include the cast, production crew, plot summaries, trivia, ratings, and reviews from fans and critics. It has approximately 6.5 million titles and 10.4 million personalities in its database with 83 million registered users. These users are able to write reviews, edit the site's information and vote on the ratings. [14]

Box Office Mojo is a website launched on August 7 in 1998 and it tracks box office revenue, which is also owned by IMDb. It provides box office data for franchises, genres, actors, filmmakers, distributors, budgets, and inflation-adjusted figures. It also displays the top movies of the year (in terms of revenue) and has competitions between 2 films of a similar genre. [15]

Audience and Market Research:

Market research is an organized effort in gathering information about knowing their target markets and customers, starting with who they are. "It's a very important component of business strategy and a major factor in maintaining competitiveness". Market research also helps to identify and analyze the needs of the market, the market size, and the competition it's facing. Its techniques encompass both qualitative techniques such as focus groups and in-depth interviews, as well as quantitative techniques such as customer surveys, and analysis of secondary data. [16] 

Similar to market research, audience research is identifying the target audience of a media product and conducting research to understand who they are (e.g. demographics, psychographics). It's conducted on specific segments of their audience and it includes information such as their attitudes, interests, preferences, and behaviours. [17] Audience research is the most common type of research carried out by cultural organisations and some organisations even have their own audience research departments. This data will help uncover information related to who is visiting, why they are visiting, and what the people who are already engaging with the organisation think. [17]

During the process of making my re-branding pitch for our advertising unit, I had to look into the target audience that Magnum was focusing on. I was mostly able to determine this by watching their adverts and analysing them. From the high production quality in these adverts and how it was composed, it was clear that their target audience was towards wealthy adults as it was very professional and in their "Release the Beast" campaign they did for Magnum Double in 2016, they used CGI animals (Lions, Tigers, Sharks, Eagles, etc.) and Graphics for the ice cream itself. [18] 

In the professional media industry, audience/market research is used when regulating a media text. The media production company would have thought of their target audience, regarding the age demographic before creating the product so they then understand what content they can include in it. After that, the product is sent to a regulatory board, such as the BBFC (British

Board of Film Classification), to be reviewed and rated. The board can then provide guidance and help on how a media company can change their product if it doesn't comply with the restrictions of the age rating they're aiming towards. 

Production Research:

Production Research is to help companies decide on a number of factors that will affect how they create their product. One of the factors that the media production company will have to research is what is the best way to showcase their product to their specific target audience. This is very important as the product has to be shown in the correct way that their target audience will mostly use, whether this is broadcasting the product, showing the product online, or even showing it on a podcast. [19] 

Whilst creating our Why Choose EN Corporate video, Production Research was required for

us to be able to do this task. We had to investigate all of the courses, facilities, and support that can be found at EN. We wrote down what are the most important features of the college and what would interest the viewer the most such as the canteen, the gym, the HIVE, etc. We had to write down what our client wanted to see in our video, in doing this, we can have a clear idea of how we can plan out filming and editing our video up to the standard of what our client wants us to meet.

In the professional media industry, pre-production paperwork is required to be filled out for every media project, so the company can have permission to use certain people and locations and plan what they're going to do during the production process. This paperwork includes talent/location releases, location recces, shot lists, and production schedules. Before these are filled out, processes such as talent and location searching are carried out so they can find the cast, crew, and locations they want to use in their media production. With looking for a location specifically, the company will look at the locations they'd like to use so they can see if it's actually possible for
them to be able to film there and capture the pieces of footage they're wanting. However, this

is very dependent on factors such as the weather, the amount of space this location has, and if the location is available to be used for filming.

Bibliography:

[1] https://www.formpl.us/blog/primary-research

[2] https://www.questionpro.com/blog/primary-research/

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Test_screening

[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaun_of_the_Dead

[5] https://www.questionpro.com/blog/secondary-research/

[6] https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/quantitative-research/

[7] https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/qualitative-research/

[8] https://www.mirror.co.uk/film/exorcist-based-true-story-real-11303612

[9] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-grossing_films

[10] https://www.imdb.com/chart/top/

[11] https://prezi.com/view/U99alxSyZ4C0BzyhRYPs/

[12] https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/GNDNBVK

[13] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadcasters%27_Audience_Research_Board

[14] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMDb

[15] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Box_Office_Mojo

[16] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_research

[17] https://www.colleendilen.com/2016/06/08/audience-vs-market-research-a-critical-distinction-for-cultural-organizations/

[18] https://youtu.be/tYsjR6RZ1Nw

[19] https://mediafort.wordpress.com/2013/05/03/market-research-audience-research-and-production-research/#:~:text=Production%20Research%3A,to%20their%20specific%20target%20audience.