UAL Level 3 Extended Diploma

Unit 13: Unit 13: Extended project in creative media production

The Final Major Project (Year Two)

STATEMENT OF AIMS

FMP unit is the summative unit in the final year of the two-year qualification. It
will provide students with a measure of self-directed learning through the
completion of a substantial creative media production and technology project.

The unit requires students to apply the skills, knowledge and understanding
developed over the entire course, to complete a creative media production project. It
will provide students with a measure of self-directed learning, and an opportunity to
further clarify their longer-term goals through their choice of an activity to explore in
greater depth.

Name
Jacob Butler-Smith

Disciplines Video Production

(primary/secondary Photography
)
(e.g. video,
animation, sound,
photography, 3D,
etc)
Project (e.g. short Documentary / Interview
film, music video,
animation,
documentary, advert,
branding, etc.)
Section 1: Rationale (minimum of 100 words)
During my time on this course, I have achieved a much clearer idea on the basics
of Media as a whole. Before starting this course, my only Media experience was
Photography in Year 9 in secondary school and as expected that taught me next to
nothing. Since starting the college course, I have worked on Video Production,
Photography, Animation etc. Although working in so many different areas at the
same time made it difficult to progress on some occasions, I managed to broaden
my knowledge and skills by a significant amount.

The projects we have done over the two college years have influenced my
decision for my Final Major Project substantially. The Video Production side came
from the fact that as soon as I picked up a camera at college, I felt like it would be
the most effective way of bringing my ideas to life. This is because, I personally
feel like Video Production is the most flexible when it comes to telling a story and
taking an idea out of your head and putting it on a screen. I originally wasn’t going
to have the Photography side of my project. However, we recently had a work
experience week where I was placed in the Photography group, and I realised the
incredible detail a stills camera can bring for photos which can help me with things
such as taking before and after photos in my project.

However, as far as things I’ve achieved on this course, my biggest achievement is

definitely coming to a conclusion on what I want to pursue after college. After
college I am very set on working in Advertising / Marketing and promotional
content. This is exactly why I am doing a promotional piece and interview for my
Final Major Project.

Even though I had never had Video Production experience before starting the
college course, the projects we’ve done over the last two years (such as making a
30 second short film, 30 second advert, a title sequence and more) I have learnt
enough to confidently use Video on the final important piece.

Section 2: Project Concept (minimum of 200 words)

The concept I am going for on this project is a Video Production and Photography
piece. I am going to essentially interview a cleaning business and create a
promotional piece following them into their business and giving a behind the
scenes perspective for viewers and potential customers. The aim of this project is
to promote a commercial venture for both me and the business at hand. There will
be documentary aspects within and an interview running throughout. I aim to show
said business in a positive light without making it seem like a campaign. I am going
to follow them and show the work they do and give a behind the scenes insight to
the audience and potential customers. This would in turn make the potential
customers feel as if they personally know the employees of the business as people
and not just people delivering a service. As a result, they would feel more inclined
to use this company out of the thousands of other options.

To gather research for this project, there are many angles I can look at. For the
documentary aspects of the project, I am going to research all things that relate to
documentaries. One of my college lecturers used to run a documentary course
and he gave me the resources he used to use to teach the course. The document I
was given has information about pioneers of documentaries, the different styles
and genres etc. I can take aspects and ideas from that and implement it into my
own piece. As well as that I am going to research different promotional videos and
different cameras and lenses so I can get the best settings and best quality for my
finished promotional video.

I anticipate producing a roughly 10-minute promotional video that will be shot and
edited by me that will encourage the audience to use the cleaning services from
the business shown in the video.

I won’t need a large number of resources to complete the project due to the fact
that it’s a promotional video. Everything is practically laid out for me, I just have to
arrive at the location (client’s house), record footage and edit it in Premiere Pro.

The promotional video, which is in video production and photography form, will be
completed in the allocated time because it shouldn’t take a long time to record.
The editing will be the most time-consuming stage. As a result, I am making the
video 10 minutes so that it doesn’t drag on and become boring and to allow me
certainty that the project will be finished in a reasonable time.

Section 3: Evaluation – How you plan to record your progress (minimum of 100
words)
One thing I will be doing over the course of the project and at the end is create
surveys to gauge what people think about my project. I will create at minimum one
survey throughout my production process to best steer the direction of the filming
and editing process in the opinion of the audience. As well as that I am going to do
a survey at the end to get feedback on my overall finished project as I want to
make content like this in the future. I will ask what went well in my project, what
needs improving etc.

I am going to also keep track of my decisions, progress and changes using my

‘daily reflection log’ on my website.

I am also going to have regular conversations with classmates and lecturers for
inspiration and note that down on my Weebly website too. This is because
everyone has different opinions and see things from different angles and
perspective.

Section 4: Proposed Research Sources

A lecturer at the college used to run a documentary course and has a PowerPoint
document I can use for research into different types of documentary styles and
techniques.

I am going to use YouTube to look at different documentary and promotional video

styles and take notes of the things I like and dislike.

Section 5: Equipment Required

I am going to need a computer that has access to Adobe Premiere Pro so I can
edit my project. Premiere is the editing software I am most comfortable with and
it’s what I’ve used for every project so far.

I am going to need to hire some cameras out from the college so I can video and
photograph the whole project. I’ve learnt about some good lenses and cameras to
use over my college projects and the photography work experience, so I am quite
confident.

I will also need to get a boom microphone for when I am conducting the interview
section of my video so the audio is good.

Section 6: Resources Required

The bulk of the recording will be done at a client’s house so that will be the
predominant location.

The employees of the business will have to have their uniform on and they’ll have
their cleaning equipment on the ‘set’ as props.

Section 7: Skills to develop/learn

I need to work on my communication skills. This is because I am going to be
working with outside people, interviewing them etc.

I need to work on writing skills for making thought provoking questions. As well as
reading skills to be able to clearly ask questions.

I will also need help with photography as I’m not completely confident on the
camera settings and the correct lenses for specific shots.
Section 8: Personnel and responsibilities
N/A

Section 9: Intended audience and context

My specific intended audience is people who are planning on starting their own
business or who have already created a business and want to become properly
established. I feel as if there is no specific age group as there is no exact time for
someone to start. However, my finished project is going to be a promotional piece
predominantly for online / social media. As a result, the demographic will more
than likely be a bit younger because of the social media aspect.

Section 10: Creative Mindsets

The six creative mindsets are Ownership, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving,
Creativity, Risk Taking and Collaboration.

Ownership: I am going to plan for my project and have a good time management
so that I can keep ownership of my work.

Critical Thinking: I am going to process the information from my research and use
it to help me analyse what is best for my project. (Things that are suitable and not
suitable).

Problem Solving: I am going to ask my classmates and lecturers as well as use my

own initiative to solve problems instead of giving up.

Creativity: I want to make a unique promotional video that stands out and has
variety in music, sound and angles to keep the audience engaged.

Risk Taking: My project shows risk taking as I am producing something that I

haven’t done before.

Collaboration: Working with businesses to make the project possible.

How to successfully complete a final major project

1. Do something you enjoy – look back on projects this year and think about
what skills you’ve learnt and which you have really enjoyed. What job would
you like to do in the future? How can you apply it to your project? Pick a
theme or themes which you can connect with.
LOVE YOUR PROJECT

2. Do lots and lots of research – primary and secondary are both essential.
Use a wide range of methods and resources, such as questionnaires,
surveys, interviews (Primary), and researching the work of professional
practitioners and techniques (Secondary).

3. Manage your time – Just think how fast this year has gone so far. Plan
ahead and don’t fall behind. MAKE USE OF INDEPENDENT STUDY TIME.

4. You must document everything what happens as you go along. Your entire
journey from start to finish should be fully recorded. Describe and analyse as
you go along. Every aspect of your project should be fully considered. Your
Planning and Schedule will be vital to the success of your FMP

5. Research, design, experiment, build, evaluate. Your project should evolve

over the allotted time. Be flexible and adaptable if your FMP decides to go in
a different direction than first intended. Ensure you record all developments as
the project develops.

6. Critically analyse and evaluate – this will refer to the research you
undertake, the pre-production, production and post-production. Don’t just
describe but analyse, interpret, research and evaluate.

7. Listen to advice from your lecturers in formative assessment sessions

throughout the project. You might just find that as we are used to marking
work, we know what the requirements are to make good/exceptional projects.
Remember, your work will be graded at Pass, Merit or Distinction, so aim
for the best grade you can and take advice on board when given.

8. You are being graded against SEVEN Learning Outcomes, so you need to
ensure that you do the very best in each of them to achieve the grade you
may require, so pay close attention to all parts of the FMP