Final Evaluation

My main idea was to try and convey horizontal integration of a product within my short film as well
as advertise the product outside of the short film in different mediums. Throughout the units I
have been focusing on making promotional, marketing adverts for different products and items,
however for this final major incorporate adverts within a short film this is because I would like to
go into the film industry as well as the promotional side of marketing so I felt this was a good
combination of having both factors within my project. I wanted to further develop my skills with
editing, camera work and the photography side of this unit. My intention was to portray a product
that could be integrated within my short film as an item that can be advertised. I wanted to make
a stand alone piece of different video ads for the bike as well as take photographs of the bike for
the advertising and promotion. I generated ideas for my short film and the picked the best one
with the narrative making the product stand out in the best way.

My idea materialised through on a one to one call with both Sarah and George through lockdown.
I was finding it quite challenging thinking of a product that would firstly be suitable to use for a
short film but also something I could advertise, the way this materialised was that I could
incorporate the protagonists characters profile with the item trying to make it a unique selling
point within the product. I was thinking of different items and products such as phones, football
shoes, laptop, fragrance sprays, and then I came up with the idea of a bike to be used and both
Sarah and George felt that this idea was the best one. I then developed a narrative storyline
behind the main focus of being a bike. I wanted to use a high quality good bike so I asked my
friend if I could use his as it looked brand new and this made it more suitable to promote and
advertise in the adverts and photographs. The narrative was difficult to come up with as I wanted
to incorporate the bike within the short film as much as possible, I came up with some ideas that
made the bike the dilemma which is not suitable as the bike needed to be shown within a good
light. The idea materialised when I first began looking at the different characters within my short
film and then relating them to the main product, this meant that the script was a vital part within
developing the narrative segment and having the horizontal integration of having the bike shown
in a good light. After generating ideas I choose the narrative with the most positive impact on how
the bike is portrayed. I wanted to create my work in different mediums presenting the bike so I
decided that after coming up with the narrative plot that I wanted to make a series of images that
can be used to advertise and showcase the brand of the bike. I enjoyed this as it linked both of
the 2 niches that I would like to prioritise myself into being in the film and advertising section
within film and photography making it beneficial for my development. I believe my narrative plot
for making the horizontal integration worked as it was effective however overall excluding the
product placement and link into that the short film could of had a more consistent genre them as
it mixed into too many different ones which can be effective as hybrid genres can make different
target audiences and classes watch the short film however I believe it cut to quickly in and out.

Within the project I looked at looked into various different productions that incorporate product
placement and have horizontal integration. I found this very helpful as I felt I have gained a good
understanding about how the process of horizontal integration happens as well as product
placement. Looking at a range of different productions helped me as I would be trying to replicate
a similar technique method of showing an item within my short film. Looking at the techniques of
how the segments where product placement is noticed I found it very helpful looking at the mise
en scene as it gave me inspiration on how to setup my own production. Areas such as camera
angles and movements, editing and lighting were the main factors in the productions relating to
horizontal integration that were helpful to view as when setting up my pre production I was able to
show the use similar methods of creating my own film with the techniques used by big production
teams. I think that I could have developed my understanding more looking into the different
medium topic of photography more as I really enjoyed it. I had an understanding within product
photography as I have done this within my previous unit however felt carrying on this would have
beneficial.

In this unit I evaluated my work as I went along. I used self reflection methods of weekly blogs to
help and look back at where I am at the current points within my project. Weekly blogs were very
helpful as the self reflection helped with my organisational skills especially as it made me look
back at what I have done and what I yet needed to do in order to complete everything. I evaluated
my work s well through the use of group crits, talking to my class mates was helpful as they were
able to give me resources and ideas throughout the unit that I would have not necessarily have
thought of. Talking to people about my work gave me a different opinions and views that were
 Final Evaluation
helpful for my short film. At the beginning I was finding it difficult as I wanted to focus on
advertising as well as making a short film and I was told about the whole concept of product
brand placement within movies making which was the perfect concept that I could not of thought
of alone. To keep on top of things I self reflected to improve my workload which not only helped
me on this course but also outside improved my self reflection and development.

I feel my work was successful to some extent. I created a short film with the attempt of having a
strong product placement and incorporating horizontal integration within this through the use of
showing the bike of within the short film. Also I have managed to create advertisements of the
bike through video and photo which were my main tasks that I set out to do. I feel like I have
conveyed the product within the short film to stand out through the use of adapting the mise en
scene. I tried to convey the bike to stand out through the use of different techniques such as the
script writing, character profiles, settings and locations, editing, lighting and camera angles and
movements which all played a factor on showing the bike. I felt I used suitable filming locations
for the product of the bike to be used. The script related to the item of the bike within the
narrative, and I had character that were suitable and in the age category to be using the product
for the target audience. I used high key lighting when showing the bike and used a range of
different camera angles for the bike to be shown. I also liked the photography side as I feel the
bike images stand out within my short film.

On the other hand there a few things that I feel I could have done differently with this unit. The
time management and organisation was not as good as what it could have been which lead to
parts of work not being as detailed with an uneven distribution of work that was evenly spread
out. I could have improved on the overall narrative and plot development of the short film,
especially the transitioning of one scene to another as I felt using time titles did not look good.
Also the ending and build of the narrative felt too quick and the overall story arch was quite poorly
done I felt. The time of the short film was good just maybe I should off trimmed down a few shots
in order to have more of a description of the build ups and tensions of the plot. Also the video
adverts for the bike I was happy with the cinematography and the editing but again with the short
film I did not attempt to make a narrative out of the adverts which I should off created. I was most
happy with the outcome of the photographs as I felt they looked professionals and matched the
aims of what I wanted to come out with.

Through this unit I have learnt about the whole process of how horizontal integration works and
the business side of things with movies collaborating with business enabling product placement
with production. I developed my cameraman skills, lighting technician setups and editing
improvements on this unit. I had the opportunity to use the adobe suites such as: Photoshop,
Lightroom and Premier Pro which allowed me to strengthen my software post production skills by
editing my photographs, editing ad and the short film. Before this I really never used photoshop
that often and feel more confident in the ability to edit images in this software. I used lots of trial
and error techniques in order to make my pieces. I have learnt how important it is to be organised
and on top of work and also when I do have an opportunity in any moment that can benefit me to
really grasp and take the help. I have tried to enhance my practical skills and felt the
independence of my improvement of the skills I have attained from this unit. I feel that I have
learnt a lot about myself from this unit. I have cherished a lot of moments through this unit and
course learning new skills meeting great people and learning lessons that I can take away not just
from the industry skills but life lessons as well.

I will definitely miss my time here at the henley college as I could not of asked for a better time
and experience studying and learning at the college. As I am going on to university I feel I have
closed a chapter of my life with the college but will open a new one at Uni. I am looking forward to
expanding my skill set and knowledge at university which will prepare for work in the industry. As
well as this I am going to take in the all the work that I have learnt about in this unit and previous
ones. I would like to work in the media and film industry as stated previously. I will take the skills
that I have learnt into uni and the industry.