Essential Knowledge for the Aspiring Media Professional

John Zaffuto

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781000056457
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Film & Video

Essential Knowledge for the Aspiring Media Professional provides readers with the skillset needed to produce professional, high-quality video content in today's competitive media landscape.

The author draws on over two decades of industry experience to offer strategies for how to develop a sense of design, adopt a holistic approach to the media production process, and craft a distinct idea for a project's intent and form. In five in-depth chapters, the book delves into topics ranging from pre-production and planning processes to technical considerations and post-production methods. It concludes with an overview of career opportunities for aspiring media-makers.

This book is an invaluable resource for students and professionals alike looking to hone creative production techniques within a broad range of formats and environments, particularly those requiring effective marketing and advertising-oriented content.

1
Pre-Production and Planning

Part One: Assess the Project

No matter the genre or format, when first presented with the opportunity to produce something new, it is extremely important to stop and reflect upon the exact nature of the project and its presumed effect on the intended audience. While this initial step may seem to be extremely basic or even self-explanatory, it is quite necessary since it is entirely possible for production to commence on a project where many persons intimately involved in the creative process do not fully comprehend key messages or themes. Reasons for such an oversight could range from a reluctance to seem unknowledgeable about a situation or a kind of overconfidence or arrogance concerning talents and abilities. Either way, without a simple assessment of the task at hand, the entire process will either be doomed to failure or, at the very least, be subject to an embarrassing rescue from outside parties with a more comprehensive understanding of the task at hand. Generally, a basic analysis of project goals – essentially a more intuitive variation of the situation analysis familiar to the marketing professional – can consist of two fundamental steps: question everything and research.

Step One: Question Everything

Within a group dynamic it is crucial to use all meetings, formal and otherwise, as valuable opportunities to gain information about a prospective project. In general, it is helpful to maintain an objective perspective, allowing the other party (a client or collaborative ad agency, for example) more than enough time to expound upon the hopes, dreams, and reputations that may depend on the success of the project. During such a meeting, it is important to pay strict attention and make notes if necessary while remaining engaged in the conversation, never interrupting and mentally preparing for the congenial interrogation to follow. Form your questions carefully and intelligently, remembering to use some of the terms and phrases that are already associated with the project. Also, don’t be shy. This may be your best and only chance to clarify key themes that need to be addressed within the production. Consider these two questions that could be posed when meeting with representatives of a fledgling chicken wing franchise.

Helpful Question:

“So, am I right in understanding that it is extremely important that we emphasize the expanded sauce options – like Spicy Caramel for example – that will be available at all Wizard Wing franchises? Will all franchises offer the same options, or should we remain non-specific when we discuss this selling point?”

Unhelpful Question:

“So, I’m guessing the new stuff on your menu is something you definitely want to talk about?”

Again, asking very specific questions will not only impress the prospective client with your apparent affection for their product but also help tease out important details that may affect the overall creative direction of the project. In the “Wizard Wing” example, the astute AMP would instantly realize that any budgetary consideration given to creating an animated curly fry sidekick for the franchise mascot should perhaps instead be directed toward hiring a top-notch food stylist in order to convince customers of the exotic thrill of drenching chicken wings with spicy caramel sauce. Make no mistake, these initial flesh-and-blood interactions with your project’s stakeholders will provide you with the creative fuel necessary to help prepare a successful production. This initial fact-finding discussion should seize upon key points that will help create a broader picture of what exactly it is you are expected to create.

But what of the smaller project, or the production that lacks any sort of formal committee tasked with its successful completion? Academic projects or freelance projects will often take this form, not to mention self-initiated endeavors, such as a documentary or short film. Even though something may be a bit more free form or even your own “pet” project doesn’t mean you can instantly comprehend every how and why of its creation. An introspective review of the project’s overall goal and intent is still in order – even if it takes place entirely within your own brain. Again, an example – this time in the form of a mental dialogue that could take place entirely within the mind of the content creator.

Prospective Concept:

“The old guy who runs the barbershop where my uncle gets his hair cut is hilarious. I could make a documentary about what goes on there on an average day. The way the older fellas in the neighborhood congregate, goof around, and pontificate about world events is so entertaining I could get a ton of good stuff – an award winner, even!”

Things to Consider:

“Should this film focus more on the regular customers, or assume the point of view of the barber himself, and how he may or may not intend for his business to be an unofficial “community center” for older residents of the neighborhood? Maybe we should mention how places like barbershops, pubs, and the like used to function as “third places” where communities formed their collective identities – sort of like how health clubs or coffee shops seem to function in newer areas of town. Perhaps some historical perspective is needed, especially since few places like my uncle’s barbershop even seem to exist anymore.”

This sort of circumspect scrutiny will definitely serve to both streamline the production process and, most importantly, conserve resources best applied to creative decisions designed to hone an already solid idea. Without it, the AMP in the previous example could conceivably find themselves trapped in an edit suite – possibly under deadline – stuck with hours of material not adhering to any central theme or structure. While several hours of colorful neighborhood characters reminiscing about the old neighborhood may seem at the moment like found-footage “gold,” it may also represent a lost opportunity to craft a more engaging (and very possibly career-enhancing) story. Arguably, one does hear of veritable masterpieces that reportedly arose from vast piles of random images. These scenarios are the exception rather than the rule and are very often accompanied by epic tales of busted budgets, frustrated underlings, and tainted careers. If such infamy is an ultimate goal, consider yourself instead an AET (aspiring enfant terrible) and this book entirely unfit for your chosen career path.

Remember that as an AMP, if you do not take the time to ask the really important questions that may influence the direction of your project in a profound manner, someone else will. If these matters aren’t considered before or during production, a disappointed CEO or other ad hoc critic will surely address them when it is entirely too late, and with dire results.

BOX 1.1 The Situation Analysis

Research and strategic planning as applied to marketing and advertising has been an extremely formalized process for quite some time. The initial step in implementing an extensive advertising campaign is the formulation of the official advertising plan. One key element within this plan is the situation analysis, a logical approach to the objective evaluation of proposed communications goals. Ideally, the situation analysis contains four primary components:

1. The company, product, or service history. Any research in this area should naturally consist of an assessment of legacy media elements such as logos, jingles, and preferred typefaces.
2. Actual product or service appraisal incorporating a practical, tactile, “boots on the ground” interaction with the product, service, or idea. In other words, it is vital for creative partners to taste, operate, or observe their proposed subject matter.
3. Consumer opinions and comments concerning the product or service (data resulting from consumer research).
4. A survey of the competitive environment. Ideally a secondary practical, tactile, “boots on the ground” interaction with competing products, services, or ideas.

It should be noted that the situation analysis corresponds with the more contemporary SWOT analysis. This strategic device organizes the planning process into a four-part consideration of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The AMP should be prepared to encounter either or both concepts within a professional environment, also noting that, like the world of content creating, theories and conceptual paradigms related to marketing and advertising are constantly evolving and mutating in order to address shifting social and technological environments. It is yet another area in which a vigilant attitude toward critique and analysis is advised.

Step Two: Research!

A modern version of the old adage “great writers read” would be the much less-elegant phrase “great content producers … watch stuff.” The intense analysis of a wide variety of media should serve to not only entertain the AMP but also provide an easy benchmark of the level of professionalism expected by both clients and the target audience. “Research” as applied to our example of the “Wizard Wing” campaign would doubtlessly include ample scrutiny of the marketing materials utilized by both direct (other chicken wing outlets) and indirect (other fast-casual restaurants) competitors as well as other media emphasizing new product introduction. This investigation should also not be limited to “old-line” media such as thirty-second commercials and promotional films. The AMP should always understand that they are first and foremost a message-oriented content creator and not simply a neophyte director or special effects whiz and should be prepared to consider a wide variety of media offerings. These items could include online and social media presences, print and promotional materials, and even (or maybe especially) real brick-and-mortar manifestations of the subject matter if they exist (one or several visits to an actual Wizard Wing restaurant, for example).

In a larger, well-funded environment, these activities could possibly augment more traditional empirical research conducted by an advertising agency or marketing firm. However, the conscientious AMP still must conduct the previously described non-traditional investigations in order to effect a cohesive and organized production workflow. All data is useful, especially in these early stages where even the most mundane detail could in fact spark an entire campaign. In this as well as most other pursuits, there is no such thing as too much information.

In contrast to the objective critique of sound and image that characterizes the research process as applied to our “Wizard Wing” scenario, crafting a cohesive narrative for the barbershop documentary could require the AMP to assume a more academic posture – momentarily trading in the filmmakers’ cap for the metaphorical threadbare tweed jacket of the obsessive history professor. If our hypothetical AMP did indeed choose to portray his uncle’s favorite barbershop as a sturdy bastion of fading values of family and place, i...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Preface
• 1 Pre-Production and Planning
• 2 Technical Considerations
• 3 Location Production
• 4 Post-Production Procedures
• 5 Now What? Career Opportunities and Considerations in the Evolving World of Motion Media Creation
• Figure Credits
• Index