Evaluation:

This is the list of aims and objectives of the project: Aims: Objectives:

To create an eye-catching advertisement video for the company

To see what kind of music complements a fashion and beach themed video

To use a proper video camera to film clips To edit the video clips on a editing software, such

as iMovie Add special effects if needed

Evaluation: Strengths: In my promotional campaign, I produced a teaser video and a website which our client put on her company’s (MerCulture) Facebook page. I think we met this aim well, as our video is quite exciting and we followed all the objectives in making the video. We included interesting effects, good quality film clips and made a story board to plan the structure of the teaser video, prior to the filming. Based on our client’s feedback and the comments and likes we got when she put the video up on her Facebook page, we feel that the video was successful. Natasha (client) was pleased with the music, the quality of the shots and the way we put our video together. Weaknesses: Even though we met our aims, there were still a few things we could’ve improved on. There is a section in the teaser video where the clip is a bit shaky. We were asked to try and fix this by stabilising the clip using a function on iMovie, however even after we analysed it for stabilisation there wasn’t much of a difference. Another thing I feel would’ve made the video better would have been to film on a bright and sunny day. However, as we started this project during the winter months, it was difficult to find a day when the weather was exceptionally good. Actions for the future: I think if I had more time, I’d like to spend it editing the video and learn which different effects could complement the film clips even better.

To create an engaging website To include text, videos and photographs on our website

To use an interesting theme that maybe relates closely to fashion and the ocean

To use pastel colours on the blog to create a calm atmosphere

To add music to the blog to make it interestingEvaluation: Strengths: I produced a website using a social networking website called Tumblr. Judging from the positive feedback we got from our client and several others who came across the website, we feel we’ve achieved this aim. I included a page on the website about the history of the company and a link which viewers can click on to be redirected to the Official MerCulture website. Furthermore, on our website, there is also an area where viewers can ask us questions. I posted some photographs we took from the photoshoot and the final teaser video on to our website. We got several ‘likes’ from people that came across our website which we think implies that they like the swimwear. I included appropriate music, and added a turquoise background to our website to set the beach theme of the company. Weaknesses: One major problem we were unable to fix was the delay in the uploading of some photographs. A minor issue we faced was that the “theme” page redirects to another Tumblr template page. We were unable to fix this at short notice, as we would have had to email the user who made the theme to ask for permission to remove it. Actions for the future: In the future, when making a website, I will ensure that my photos aren’t delayed by using a theme that loads quickly and also email the user who made the theme really early to get rid of the redirected page before the website goes public.

To make sure photos from our photo shoot will be captivating and have high-quality

To use a high-quality camera To have a photo shoot by the beach when the

weather is good To edit the photos using an editing software such

as Photoshop

Evaluation: Strengths: I feel as though we only partially achieved this aim. Although our photos from the shoot were high-quality and captivating, we didn’t manage to follow many of the objectives we set for ourselves. We edited the photos using iPhoto which gave us the option to change the contrast, exposure and sharpness of the picture. I was also able to add different effects to the photographs, for example adding a sepia tone and an antique effect.Weaknesses: Although we did use a high-quality camera, and the quality of the photos turned out well, we were unable to have a photoshoot when the weather was good and we didn’t use Photoshop to edit our photos. The weather was really gloomy on the day of our shoot, however I was able to brighten our shots to make it look like we took the photos on a sunny day. Although we wanted to use Photoshop to edit the photos, we were unaware of how long it actually took to learn how to use Photoshop and then apply what we’ve learnt to our photos. Actions for the future: I would like to properly learn how to use Photoshop so I can show more technical skills when editing the photos.

To promote the swimwear line To promote it through Facebook by getting different people to ‘like’ the page

To post the link to our website on Tumblr, a well known blogging site

To make our website interactive by allowing others to comment, ‘like’ and contact the company

Evaluation: Strengths: I think we achieved this aim although we didn’t follow the objectives we set out for ourselves. This is because we made changes during the process of our promotional campaign, which restricted us to only some of the objectives. We definitely met our objective of making the website interactive. People are able to “like”, “reblog” and comment on our photos, videos and text posts on our website. We were also able to promote the swimwear line through Facebook as we got our client to post our teaser video and pictures on her company’s Facebook page. Weaknesses: One objective we did not meet was posting the link to our website on Tumblr. This was because we ended up creating the website on Tumblr, which we didn’t expect to do at the start of the project. We experimented with website generators such as 4ormat and webs.com, however they both didn’t have the function to be interactive. So if we had used 4ormat or webs.com people wouldn’t be able to comment or ‘like’, they’d only be able to view the photos, videos and text posts. Actions for the future: I should have tried to finish my video and website faster so I would have more time to promote the swimwear line. I should have also tried to encourage more people to “share” our teaser video on Facebook so the company gets more recognised and better known.

To get to know the person behind the swimwear line

To interview our client & designer, Natasha Jhunjhnuwala

Evaluation: Strengths: Personally, I feel that I got to know more about the company and its aims as well as the person behind MerCulture. After interviewing our client, I got to know a lot more about her thoughts on the company and what encouraged her to start her fashion business. She also talked about what she hopes to achieve through her swimwear line and in my opinion, I thought it was really inspirational. Because I had to communicate with her throughout the process of our promotional campaign, I got to know her even better. Weaknesses: I only met her in real life a few times as it was difficult to arrange proper meetings with her. I ended up mostly communicating with her through emails. Actions for the future: I would’ve tried to get our client more involved in what we were doing. For example, we could’ve gotten her to be involved when we were filming the clips for the teaser so she could direct us on what she thought worked well and what she thought needed improvement.

Evaluating the process:

Research and Planning: Reflecting back, I think I did quite a lot on research and planning. For me, the most useful parts of research and planning was looking at why promoting a company was important and talking to the client to find out what she wanted us to help with. I think my strategies of research and planning contributed a lot to the final outcome of the video and website. Researching about the qualities that make a website and video standout were also very useful. However as we ended up modifying both the video and the website a little bit, some parts of our research process didn’t help as much. For example, we created a storyboard outlining all the steps we would take to put together the teaser video but during the process of editing, we felt that certain effects worked better with the film clips than the effects we set out to use.

Technical Skills: During this project, I definitely learnt a lot of new skills. Some skills were simply learning how to embed Powerpoints and videos onto my Wordpress blog, whereas the more major skills were learning how to use different functions on iMovie and iPhoto and learning how to make a website. In my opinion, the website was the most difficult process as I had to learn how to add links, pages, navigation bars and an interesting theme. Although I had used both iMovie and iPhoto before, I still learnt a lot more about these software throughout the process of our promotional campaign. Firstly, I learnt how to change the speed of the clip and to add transition shots after the clip to make the video flow better. I also learnt which effects suited our clips better and which would help brighten the shot. In future, I hope to learn how to use a more complex photo editing software such as iPhoto. The two softwares I enjoyed using most during this process was the social networking site, Tumblr and iMovie. I feel they are both very sophisticated softwares and have a wide range of technical functions for their users.

Communication: I certainly communicated effectively with my client and group. I mostly communicated with our client through Facebook inbox, as it is a social networking site we both check very often. I also spoke with our client in real life several times to discuss our progress throughout the project. I communicated with my group mostly through a GoogleDoc we created. This is because it was easy for us to make changes to our work on our GoogleDoc and share our thoughts with each other. We were also able to chat with each other through GoogleDoc if we were all on it at the same time. I communicated with my audience only through the website I created. They were able to send me questions through our website about the company and I could answer them privately. This was a very useful tool as without it, I would’ve found it very difficult to communicate with our audiences.

Testing: We gathered quite a lot of useful information about our products through testing, however if we had had more time it would have been better to test our products for a longer period. The best feedback I got was from my client and my audiences. Our client commented on areas she thought were good and eye-catching and also areas which the thought needed improvement. We also tested our product by looking at the number of like and comments we got on our photos and videos on the website. Overall, we got positive feedback, however I would’ve liked to survey a larger audience to find out more about what others thought about our products.

Originality and Creativity: I mainly developed my creativity through editing the video, photographing the models, editing the website and editing the photos. During this process, I had to make many creative decisions in order to make our products look as eye-catching as possible. I had to make a decision on what colours complemented the beach theme of MerCulture, what music suited the website, what video and photo effects would enhance the shot and which website theme looked most attention-grabbing. We made an effort to make our creative decisions as a group so we could discuss with each other whether the choices we were making were the most appropriate.