Professional Practice: Promotional Video Research

Similar Video Examples

Now that I have some ideas in terms of styles and ideas for my promotional video, I decided to search for videos which have similar ideas to mine:

Manchester University Promotional Video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4-K0MRuEa8)

To begin with, I simply typed in 'promotional video' on YouTube to see what would come up. I eventually came across a promotional video (made by a graduate) for the University of Manchester. Whilst watching the video, I noticed that there was lots of dolly establishing shots - similar to the ones for my video, such as for the warships and the smithery (which you can see to the right). This was used to establish the idea of the university by simply having a tracking shot of one of the buildings.

Another interesting shot was how the camera focused on something close up, blurring the background. In this case, the shot focuses on a bike, having the university blurred in the background. This too could be incorporated into my film as although the shot doesn't really show much, it still helps to set the scene plus generally looks nice. This too works even better as this is a panning dolly shot and because it is focused on something close up, it seems more dramatical and generally framed nicely.

As well as panning shots, the video also has a few tracking shots which work just as well. For example, the image shown to the right consists of a tracking shot which also blurs focus as it tracks through a bush, whilst blurring out a university building in the background (similar to the previous shot).

Go Ape Promotional Video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yA_rcBaMpyc)

Interview with staff member

Whilst brainstorming, I thought of local attractions which would likely have a promotional video - so I thought of Go Ape. Whilst watching the video, I noticed that there was a frequent use of interviews which worked in a clever way. The interviews focused not only on the customers, but also on the staff. In this case, this allowed the video to give more information about the company through an interview, as well as allowing the audience to learn what the staff there are like. This is a vital technique for my film as I can use the staff to give more information about each attraction, plus allowing the virtual tour to be clearer and take place. For example, the staff member in the image above begins to talk about what GoApe actually offers,whilst the customers talk about their experience.

Sandy Dentist Promotional Video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VV4U_e01124)

This video is a promotional video for a dental surgery based in the UK. Although the content isn't relevant to the Dockyard, the way it was filmed could be very effective for some parts of my video. It is filmed in a POV, first person perspective - almost as if it is someone literally walking around the dental surgery and seeing what it is like. This idea of a 'virtual' tour can enable the audience to view the surgery as if it would be them walking around, making it very convenient. This idea is very similar to my initial virtual tour idea of the submarine by using a GoPro. Furthermore, I could also use this idea for other parts of the film (i.e. walking through the entrance of the Dockyard) so that the audience can see directly what the Dockyard is offering them.