Closing Statement

My project was to create a recruitment style video for Leaf Care Services, Norwich. I emailed Leaf Care Services regarding working with them for this assignment and they were interested straight away. I went into their offices for a meeting to pitch my idea of a recruitment video. We worked together to source people to be in my video, and from there it was very much my own project. I had full directional input apart from “make sure they’re wearing their uniform!” from Katie. This meant I could decide who to interview, what questions to ask, what and where to film, while still being influenced by traditional care recruitment video guidelines.

The technical quality of my video is quite high, I used a range of equipment I haven’t used before, such as the camera in the studio & an external microphone which plugs into the camera. I had guidance from Derek on how to use the camera & lighting to set up my interview in the most professional way. On the first day I had the studio booked to interview, my contributor cancelled on me so I had to wait till the afternoon for my sister to come in to interview her instead. I had always planned to interview Rosie, but not in such a desperate I-need-a-contributor-now sort of way. The next day Tia came in as planned for interview and this went as smoothly as it could have done.

Looking back, I wish I’d have asked a variety of questions, but I did settle my contributors into their interview by asking them a few irrelevant questions such as to describe what they had eaten last night, and what they plan to do with the rest of their day. This meant that both Tia and Rosie were comfortable in front of the camera and didn’t panic or stress too much when it came to the actual questions, as they were already describing something mundane and potentially uninteresting.

The look of the video fit with the style I was going for, such as a well-lit, clean interview with a comfortable, almost family-like setting while we follow a carer round on their day-to-day. I also got some shots of flowers and leaves on some plants to give it a homely, soft feeling but while also being relevant to the video. I’ve learnt during this to get more shots of the same action from different angles and different variables of closeness, to make more artistic and good sequences in the edit.

Feedback I received from peers allowed me to see the point of view from the audience. For example, they all said that it was engaging for the target audience, which is great because that’s what I need. My interviews were informative of the role, but I had mixed feedback on the soundtrack. For example, someone said the music was fitting but another person said it could be changed. I feel like the track I used was suitable for the video, as it’s similar to other tracks used in care recruitment video but I understand why some people may not like it as it can seem sad, and slightly make the video seem depressing, which is not what some people like.

Overall, the client and I agree that it achieved what it sets out to do. I’ve asked relevant questions in the interview to get an in-depth insight into the role of a home care worker, and included relevant shots of someone in someone’s house doing their job. It’s bright, airy, and eye catching. The audio could do with a slight adjustment in being louder, and I could have filmed a wider range of GVs to give an even deeper insight into the role, but the finished product is effective for its aim.