What worked?
My favourite part about the project was following a brief given to me by my commission client, but also having the ability to create the video in my direction and being in charge of what the video looks like and sounds like.
- Communication
- The main thing that I think went really well, was the communication between me and my commission clients throughout this project.
- At first it was quite difficult trying to arrange a time to meet with them, but once they had replied, it was smooth contact from then onwards.
- I felt able to contact them if I had any queries about anything, or if I just wanted to double check a piece of information, but I knew not to harass them with emails as they have their own work to do. By having this boundary it helped give me a sense of freedom as I was able to do my own thing, while also checking back every so often to make sure we were all on the same page.
- They let me have quite a lot of freedom within this project, and they told me that if I needed some support they could give it to me when they were able to do so. However, I didn't feel like I needed much support, as I knew what I was doing from the video making sides of things.
- They were very helpful when getting information for the objects and the scripts, and they also communicated well with any changes that needed to be made or if they didn't like a particular part of the video.
- With this level of communication, I felt confident that I was doing a good job and the ideas and work I was producing was something they were happy with. Also, I'm sure they felt confident enough to get on with their own work and not have to worry about mine, which was a good way for both of us to work.
- Scripting and Shooting
- Relating to the communication skill, when writing the scripts and when shooting the actual visuals, I feel like I had a lot of freedom to experiment and put my own style into the videos. This is something I really enjoyed having.
- Throughout scripting, they gave me a few source materials that I used to my advantage, in order to keep all of the information, I was putting in the narrative, factual. Once I had finished a first draft for each script I sent them to Rachel and Jeremy - my commission clients - and they read through them, giving me feedback on what they thought should be changed.
- I liked this aspect, as I was able to follow what the client wanted, while also keeping my ideas present and it was almost like we were collaborating with each other.
- This was similar within the planning of the shoot, but while shooting I was completely free to do what I needed to do, within reason.
- Before we started shoot, I told Rachel what we were going to do and she told us she was happy with our plans, and then let us get on with it.
- I liked this freedom as it meant I could experiment with the different type of shots I could get, but also it meant that they trusted me to shoot what I needed to shoot. If we needed anything we could contact Rachel and she would come down and help, but as we (myself and Nisserin - who helped on shoot days) knew what we were doing with the camera, we didn't need much support.
- Edit Viewing
- When Rachel and Jeremy viewed my edits, they always gave good constructive feedback and they gave me good communication about what they liked, what they wanted to be changed, and their thoughts on the videos themselves.
- I liked having this feedback as it gives me something to work from, especially when making the video as good as it can be. They would always say not to do these improvements if I didn't have the time, but I was always happy to make the changes as it helped make the videos a lot better and more to their liking.
- I wanted to make sure that they were happy with the outcome of my videos, so by showing them to Rachel and Jeremy, it meant we were all aware of what the outcome would look like.
What didn't work?
Fortunately, there weren't too many things that didn't work, but there was one aspect of the idea that didn't go as planned, but maybe that was for the best.
- Planning
- When I first heard about this commission, it was mentioned briefly that the idea of merging the two commission projects together could be a possibility.
- I had been told that the commission clients were happy with this possibility if the idea was fully executed and thought out.
- However, within my initial ideas meeting, when the commissions were being briefed I realised I had been giving some misinformation. Instead of one of the projects being a documentary style video on the museum, it was on the building itself. Meaning that the possibility of merging the two videos together was a very small possibility.
- This was disappointing as I feel it would've challenged me quite a lot, working with two different styles in one video. However, looking back now I think it wouldn't have worked as well as I would've hoped, and the quality of the video might not have had the same impact as the three videos I did make.
What did I learn?
Within this unit, I have learnt:
- Communication with a client is really important.
- When you have good communication with your client, it makes both of your jobs easier. Without communication you won't know if the work you are doing is something they like, or whether it's hitting the brief or not.
- I found that good communication led to quite a lot of freedom as we both trusted each other and we knew we would always consult one another before doing anything drastic to the work.
- It also adds to the experience and creates a good persona for yourself, which could be an advantage when looking for work in the real world.
- Be confident with your work.
- Always feel confident with the work you produce, as it will come across in your work whether you like it or not. It also gives the client confidence in you to get the job done and get it done well.
- When I first suggested doing three videos, Rachel was a bit concerned that, that would be too much work for me to take on, however I knew I could do it. I stayed confident about my decision and I think I have made three very good quality videos.
- Time management and self motivation are key skills to have in the industry.
- When doing this sort of job, it is important that you meet the deadlines given to you, but also it is important for you to plan everything. Its up to you to sort out your time management for the project to ensure you get everything done on time, and being self motivated helps towards that.
- Be independent.
- Within this sort of job, you can't be reliant and dependent on your client the whole time. If you are then they won't feel as confident in you and also they might be quite annoyed as they have their own work to do.
- Being independent allows you to get on with your work at your own pace in your own way, while also having freedom to manage your work without someones help.
Overall, I'm really happy with the outcome of all three of my videos, and I think, considering the other commitments I had, I got the work done in a suitable amount of time. Rachel and Jeremy were both very happy with the outcome of the videos and they will be putting it on their website to show children from schools which is great to know.
The experience of working in a professional freelance environment was really useful to have and I definitely feel as if my experience has been quite accurate and it represents a real commission job. The communication aspect was really good, and that sort of skill will be really useful within the industry as people will recognise me as someone who communicates well.
I am definitely thinking about going into freelancing and taking on different commission jobs when I leave university, as I really enjoyed this experience.
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