The document discusses Samuel Schoettner's process for a promotional video project for the National Trust, including thorough preparation such as location scouting, equipment testing, and client research; the challenging two-day production shoot; and lessons learned around asking the client about using paid music, expanding creative options beyond the initial plan, and using color grading software.

1. Evaluation
Samuel Schoettner

2. Audience and Intentions/Research.
• I am quite happy with my research for this project, I think I asked my client for lots of information which they happily
provided and I did a fair bit of leg work prior to talking to them which gave me a good understanding of what it is
that they might want, being able to re-ensure this when talking to them was not only essential but useful as they
would either agree, add to it or say, actually how about we do it this way. This dialogue helped me develop my ideas
and forced me to think about them in more detail so that I could properly communicate them to my client, which was
extremely important for the project and a skill that will be important in the future.
• The audience for my project was both well defined but broad. This meant that I had quite a lot of flexibility within
the parameters defined by the Audience profiles and brand guidelines set out by the National Trust. Researching and
looking at previous national trust videos helped me narrow this down even further.
• Since the profiles and guidelines were set out by the national trust themselves, I felt hugely comfortable with
absorbing as much of it as possible as I knew it was all relevant. It was also vastly helpful as it meant I didn’t need to
spend as much time researching and grasping at straws when I had a very well rounded base of information readily
available after asking my client, so I could move onto thinking about the technicalities such as how I was going to
shoot the project what it was going to look like, shooting days etc.

3. Preparation for Production and Production Process
Since this was the first time I had done client work where I was filming for an external client I was
quite nervous and anxious about getting things wrong, behaving unprofessionally etc.
This meant that before I went to shoot for my client I took a few steps of preparation. The first
obvious one was of course to speak with my client and research their brand as well as the type of
advertisement that they have had in the past and the quality of work they expect. I found this very
useful and it really helped me to figure out what it is that I wanted to produce. Furthermore it made
me realise something I hadn’t considered before, previously when I had been doing audience research
I had been conducting it very numerically and on global statistics and societal norms however during
project I feel like a found a different form of audience appeal, one that is a lot more personal. For
example, with the knowledge that I have acquired during this production I feel quite comfortable with
the idea of approaching something like wedding videography, as now I know how I would need to go
about probing the target audience (in which case it would be the couple) observing them and figuring
out what it is that represents them. With this project, talking to the volunteers, and the national
trust staff as well as looking through their online presence with videos and catalogues/leaflets I got a
quite good base knowledge of the brand which came in essentially important and really helped me
with this project, and gave me a better lookout for future projects as well as adding a new approach
to my ‘intellectual filmmaking arsenal’ and I will definitely be using this approach again, when I am
doing another promotional video for a different national trust property in spring 2019.

4. Preparation for Production and Production Process
The second thing I did in preparation for the client work was to do a recce of the grounds on which I’d
be shooting a few weeks later, I meet up with my client and she took me to the grounds giving me a
tour with historical context and context as to what it would have looked like during a certain time
period, what things were used for and what they are doing right now to maintain the grounds. This
was extremely helpful, though it may not be all to important in terms of the content of the
promotional video getting the tour familiarising myself with the grounds and building a better image
of what the place is that I was filming was immensely helpful. I will most certainly ensure that for any
future projects that I work on I will always do a recce/location scouting, if it is a possibility. It makes
it a lot easier to direct a film, whether that’s fiction or an advert, if you know what it is that you’re
working with. For example, the interior shots of the Temples didn’t turn out as well as I wish they had
done because I didn’t get to see the interior until minutes before shooting it. Which meant I was
undertime pressure and it didn’t allow me to refine the shots to the point where each shot felt
perfect.

5. Preparation for Production and Production Process
The last thing I did to prepare for the production was to learn all the gear that I was going to use on
the shoot as well as I possibly could, this meant booking the equipment before the shoot, taking it out
and practicing using it as much as possible. Now this didn’t only mean learning how to use the
camera/equipment itself, e.g. learning how to use the ND filters, how to change settings etc. but it
also meant taking the footage and editing/colour grading so that I would understand and know not
only how to use the equipment and camera, but also how the footage looked and acted once all was
said and done and it came to post production. This ended up being more important that I was
expecting as I found a lot of little things that I could change to make the footage more dynamic and
flat, so that I would have more image data to work with in post.
I think it was the collection of these bigger and smaller task combine that really helped me to get to
grips with working for an professional big brand client and it truly allowed me to come out of my shell
from the sort of protective bubble I had been in where I had only worked on college projects with
friends as actors and experience what it is like to work with real people on real product for a real
client. I don’t think I would have changed much other than maybe practicing with the gear a little
more as I felt my skills with some of the equipment were lacking a little bit however I will get into
this later.

6. Preparation for Production and Production Process
After I had done all of the production preparation and worked out the two days that I would be able
to shoot, to meet the deadline for the project, it came time to produce the video.
The days always started early, I was getting up at 5:00-5:30 am to be there for 7:30-8:00am. I did this
because I wanted to show that I was prepared to work hard for them as well as making the most of
the day. If Nick (the gate keeper) was to get there for 8, I’d be there 30 minutes before. I didn’t want
to make them wait for me, nor did I want to be inconveniencing them. What I really wanted to do is
turn up say hello and then as much as it is possible with a cine camera on steadicam, not be noticed
as I filmed them working. The days were really quite hard work, I brought a lot of equipment, a
tripod, a Steadicam, a slider, my backpack with my food water and some spare warm clothes, a
secondary dslr as well as the big canon c100 + spare lenses and the led monitor. All of these things
added up to around 30kg of weight which isn’t that bad when you just have to carry it from the house
to the car, but when you’re constantly doing 1km laps of the terrace it can really start to physically
drain you. So the physical exertion is what I struggled with the most, especially after the first day
where I pretty much exclusively shot on the Steadicam for hours on end. This meant holding up 2-4kg
on one arm, which again isn’t a lot of weight but after a few hours it feels like your trying to lift a car.
So I really do wish I had, had a bit more muscle to help me through the shooting days however I did
end up managing but it was certainly something that I’ll carry forward for future projects as piece of
mind to ensure that my days are well balanced between tripod work and Steadicam work so that I get
to rest and have more energy throughout the day without loosing energy.

7. Preparation for Production and Production Process
However, the thing that I initially found most challenging was simply filming the folks who worked
there. It was very odd to just turn up somewhere and thrust a camera in there face of people you had
never seen, meet or talked to before and trying to make it look and feel natural. Though this was
luckily just a matter of time and getting to know one another as well as getting comfortable with one
another and it was certainly a valuable experience. It is going to be essentially important for future
projects to learn how to approach your subject(s) (whether it actors or just people on the street) and
knowing how to not only be comfortable yourself, but also how to make them comfortable, as
however intimidating it may be for the person behind the camera to film the subject. If the subject is
not used to being filmed it will also be extremely uncomfortable for them meaning both parties are
awkward and uncomfortable. So this experience will be a very good reference and learning point for
future projects and has given me a platform on which I can improve for future projects. Especially
with things like wedding films and casting talent for short/feature films. Other than these two issues I
really found filming relatively straight forward, I spent some time getting through my shot list and
then just experimented and got creative with the only concern being the disappearing daylight of
those short winter days, but I always managed to wrap up before the sun had set.

8. Post Production Process
• When it came to post production I hadn’t set out as much of a plan as I wish I had done.
Since I only had two days to shoot my plan was to simply shoot as much as possible
during those two days and then see what I had and take it from there. I began by sorting
all the footage into bins. Starting with the two separate days, and then the two different
cameras. Then I spent a few hours looking through all the footage and moving all the
footage that I liked to a new folder which I would then use to edit. From there I just
started colour grading without any specific aim or structure, just grabbing one clip
colour correcting and grading it and moving on the next clip. It was roughly at this point
when I started to run into trouble. I had a very good idea of the type of music that I
wanted to accompany the edit, I wanted upbeat dramatic strings with an orchestral
classic feel as well as lots of deep bass like chords to add dynamic range to the sounds.
However, after browsing for hours on dozens of different royalty free websites I simply
couldn’t find anything that I liked or would work. So, I did the only reasonable thing and
sulked, and in doing so went onto a paid subscription based music licensing service to
look for music there, and within minutes finding what was to me the perfect song. I
downloaded the preview and then cut a draft edit of the promotional video.

9. Post Production Process
• I then the next day after much contemplation sent this draft edit to my client explaining
that I couldn’t find much good music and that I wanted to at least ask whether they
were willing to pay for the song and them saying no rather than not too ask at all. I was
fortunate in that my client agreed to pay for the song while I paid for the license which
worked in the interest for both parties and allowed me to produce a better product. This
was a very beneficial lesson as it taught me that I should always ask the client about
something even if they might say no, if I think it will result in a better product. As
chances are that more often than not, if the client thinks they’re product will end up
better, if they just spend a little more than they were planning, they will often times do
it. Plus it showed me that its important to just simply communicate important creative
decisions with your client as it is important the product you make will reflect them and
that they like it, so communicating these ideas to your client is extremely important.
• In addition it also taught me that when I get stuck rather than obsessing over the way I
had planned to do it in the first place explore different methods, maybe ones that aren’t
favourable but simply expand your horizon and see where it takes you as you can always
revert to the original plan if it doesn’t work.

10. Colour grading examples

11. Colour grading examples

12. Colour grading examples

13. Colour grading
• This was the first project where I had really taken colour grading very seriously. Though
on my previous FMP in 2018 I spent a lot of time colour grading I never really tried to
learn how to colour grade, mostly teaching myself and using photoshop colour
techniques and transferring them to premier pro. For this project however I decided to
dive into using a program with which I had dabbled with previously and to learn it as best
I could in the time given. This program was Davinici Resolve 15, one of the industry
standard colour grading software’s. I watched lots of tutorials by Blackmagic (the
creators of Davinci Resolve) to learn about the workflow and how to use the software to
my advantage.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jo0YcNRlrNA
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEuFP7U7tB8
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBvEOIozAJk
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wk1iLsYytDE

14. Colour grading
• Learning more about this software was extremely good and I will continue to learn more
about it and how to use it as it will come in extremely handy for future projects as well
as job opportunities, as knowing this software will greatly add to my portfolio and CV
and it is something I am interested in expanding into more professionally. Furthermore
the tools which the software provides allowed me to match grass colours and create
uniform colour throughout an image by selecting and shifting the hues of specific colour
ranges. This was something I had never worked with or even considered as a creative
choice and I ended up needing to use it more than I was expecting to really tighten up
the images and make it feel a little larger than life.
• It was quite a humbling experience learning a new software and having to get to grips
with how it worked differently after spending the past 3-4 years exclusively editing on
premier pro. It also showed me what a tremendous difference it can make to use specific
tools for specific task, rather than just using one multitool (premier pro) for everything,
leaving some of the other tasks to other programs and picking the best parts from each
software.

15. Example of selective colour hue shift
Before After
Lots of colour
variations
Lots of yellow,
straw like grass
Colour is much
more uniform,
pushing more
towards the
greens

16. Product comparison: 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9p4pVUsFrs
This is the most seen National Trust advert on the National Trust YouTube channel. While this product
has a completely different motivation and different target audience to my product it does have a few
things that I envy and wish I had placed into my product.
The first thing that I think would have made my product some dozen times better is some form of
voice over or narration. It would have introduced a more human element and I think it would have
really elevated the product.
Furthermore, I wish my video had a wider breadth of models to make the video feel more dynamic
and real and ‘expose’ a small shimmer of the vast community behind the national trust.
Another consideration is the budget, my advert was shot on almost a £0 budget, working with what I
had and what I could possibly get from my client. But without a doubt this video would have had a
budget, for equipment, cast, a production team and far more production time than myself.
They will have had access to professional grade lighting rigs and high level cine cameras and a variety
of lenses to achieve the look that wanted.
Artificially lit shot

17. Artificially lit shot
Clearly professional cine
Camera several extremely
Good dynamic range.
No crushed/clipping
blacks or highlights.

18. Less dynamic range with blown out
Highlights and crushed shadows
Purely natural light
(fortunate to have an overcast day)

19. Product comparison: 1
• I do wish that I had, had this voice over, which would have allowed me to focus more on
the human side of the property and allowed me to create a more 3 dimensional product
which showcased the brand and ethos behind the national trust, rather than the
somewhat 2 dimensional product that I ended up creating due to the lack of certain
elements such as a variety of models and a voice over.
• Of course having better equipment and access to professional lighting rigs would have
improved the product too, however the biggest most noticeable changes would have
been the said voice over and access to actors. Changes to the production technology
would have simply polished the product but not really changed it.
• While I think and know that my client was pleased with my product and I think that this
product is definitely strong enough for them to put onto their website, I do feel that
there are areas where it could have certainly improved and these are all factors that I
will carry forward with myself for future projects.

20. Product comparison: 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZiKmw5t3Ec
This advert by English heritage, is an example of something that came a little closer to my own
production. It is a very simple video with a few drone shots of one location, with a classical score
underlaid. However I feel my project feels more professional than this video. Non of the shots have
been really been colour graded or colour matched and the footage looks like it was simply recorded
and placed on the timeline without any process in between. While I envy the use of a drone, which I
am sure would have added to my project and given it another dimension of professionalism. However I
feel the complete lack of normal on ground camera operation takes away from the video and makes it
feel a little half baked and just like a test shoot that somehow ended up being the finished product.

21. Product comparison: 2
• I feel as though my product does draw on similarities but I also feel that it surpasses this
advertisement in a lot of ways. For example this promo isn’t really selling me much of an
experience, I feel there is very little sense of scale and there is again nothing the can
make you relate to the place. It is simply a sequence of pretty shots compiled to look
good. But in my product there was a bit more of an emotional response as we could see
people at the venue pointing talking smiling holding hands etc. Establishing a mood that
we could then build on with our own opinions and pre-conceptions.
• Again this was something that I found helpful with my client, discussing with them that
they didn’t just want a reel of empty shots, but something that conveyed some sort of
emotion and put across a certain mood.
• I think it really is true especially with filmmaking, that the only way to learn is by doing.
These little things that I have learned while doing this project, I could have easily found
them out by researching the concept of making a promotional video for weeks, but by
just making it myself and then looking back at why it worked or didn’t work as well as
comparing it to existing products really carries a lot more value and weight.

22. Strengths and weaknesses
Strengths:
I think my product looks quite professional and it is evident that more thought was put into than just
turning up and pointing my camera at random things that I thought looked good. I feel that the use of
more professional equipment (such as the c100 and the Steadicam) really takes the video from a
college project to something that I feel comfortable to give to my client and knowing that it would
benefit their brand to put this work up on their website/social media. I think that all the early
mornings paid of in the sense that I managed to shoot lots and lots of footage and then sorted through
all of it to compress the very best bits into a 1 minute promotional video. Furthermore I think that the
editing really plays a large role in making the product look and feel that extra bit better. So as I
mentioned earlier I think my product doesn’t look like something I threw together because I was
required to do so because of my college course. I feel the fact that I went out of my way to learn new
software programs and re-consider creative choices to see what would benefit the client, already pre-
determines that the product will be of higher quality as it is those few extra steps that take the
quality a step higher. I think I was more determined to create a better product as this time it was
going to not be me who had to stand behind the product and be happy with. It was a client who had
given me the opportunity to create something to reflect their brand. So I feel I went the extra few
yards to make sure it was the best product I could create with the time and possibilities given to me
at the time.

23. Strengths and weaknesses
Weaknesses:
However, there was flaws in my product to, weaknesses that I wish I had been able to override but simply
were not possible to bypass.
The first and biggest weakness I found was the monotony of cast. I was unfortunately only able to shoot with
the selected few models that were made available to me by my client, this caused the video to feel a little
rushed and like it was made in one afternoon, unfortunately it was not a possibility for me to bring my own
models as the shooting days started very early and were during the weekdays so anyone I knew who could
have modelled was unable to help due to school etc.
If I had, had more time I would have certainly come back more often to capture a variety of weathers,
daytimes and people it would have allowed me to create a product that would have showed the best of my
ability, rather than just the best I could do at the time with the resources at hand, as well as showcasing a
product that the reflected the clients interests better and gave the audience a better insight into the place
and the people of the venue.
I also wish it had been a different time of year, though this was absolutely not a possibility I wish it had been
spring or summer as during winter all the foliage and flowers etc. Of course disappear leaving a very baron
landscape, and it the product would have worked much more effectively if it was during spring/summer or
even early autumn, but winter was not ideal. However this was unfortunately not under my control and never
was a possibility. But it definitely made me realise the importance of when to shoot promotional videos for
outdoor venues.

24. Client Feedback
• I was quite pleased with the feedback from my client. They seemed to be very pleased
with the video which of course was hugely important to me. I really wanted to create
something that my client would be pleased with, as when they allowed me to work for
them they took a huge gamble by putting their entire brand reputation, though to a
small degree, in my hands. So I wanted to give my all and produce a video for them
which they would feel was worth their time and investment and I think based on the
response they gave I manged to do this.

25. Client Feedback
• I think the reason the client was so pleased with the work is mostly to do with the fact
that I gave them as many opportunities to correct me or to give their two cents. Meeting
several times in person and exchanging over 30 e-mails.
• This made it easy for both parties, myself and the client, to always have an oversight of
the project and know more or less what was going on. I communicated creative choices
and technical choices with my client in terms of video length style and music choice etc.
This again benefited me as well as them as I could constantly let them know ‘this is what
I am doing’ which allowed me to bounce ideas of the client, and made the client feel
like they had utter control of the project making both parties happy. I will continue to
do this with future clients as I find it immensely effective way to communicate and push
the project forward, both creatively and physically.

26. Client communication and reflection
• One example of how this method of communication worked extremely effectively was very near the
start.
• After I had contacted my client and we had a phone conversation about the National trust
properties, where Laura explained to me what the National trust find their properties tend to
reflect (in terms of audience) I made notes and made some Mood boards drawing inspiration from
my own research as well as the things she had told me.
• I then showed her the mood boards which she said she thought ‘hit the nail on the head’ and from
this point I could begin to form a product as I had built a very good idea of the audience from two
very simply conversations, one communicating and absorbing, and the second reflecting the
absorbed information back with my own ideas. This method ensured of two things. One it made
sure that my client was happy with the audience profiles and definitions which is hugely important.
Ensuring that the product is correctly targeted is vital to the success of making a product that is
appropriate for your client. Secondly it ensured that I knew what the audience was because I had
to absorb the information and do something with it to present it back to the client in a way that
made sense from a film-makers point of view.
• Overall this approach was hugely successful and I will most certainly re-use this approach for lots of
my future projects as it would be foolish not to do so. It is a very easy and effective way to both
get what you want out of the client, as well as ensuring the client that they will get a product
that’s correctly targeted. Giving them a piece of mind, and yourself a good starting point.

27. Action Plan
• For future project I definitely want to focus more on the weight behind my films. I’ve always been
very concerned and keen on making my films look good and professional. While this isn’t necessarily
a bad thing it has meant I have sometimes not considered the depth and value of the story I am
trying to tell (for example my 2018 FMP).
• Much the same with this project though the project looks good and the client seems very pleased
with it. I personally feel like it lacks story and character, the story must be complex or large, it just
needs to exist and make sense.
• I want to become better at working with models and real world clients and continue to improve my
communicational skills both with said models and real world clients, as well as actors and crew that I
have/will cast for my short films.
• I also want to start reading more literature relating to the topics I discuss in my films. Regardless of
whether it is about a 18th century terrace or something fiction based. I think immersing yourself with
a subject and understanding allows you to think of it and about it with a different lens and allows you
to apply other forms of creative thinking.