Apple Recruitment Video
The purpose of this corporate video is to promote the working environment that the company Apple enforces, and is therefore a form of advertisement to encourage a certain type of person to come and work with them. This means the video has to present both visually and audibly the type of person they want to recruit.To begin with, the video introduces us to a series of different speakers and the pace has been set during editing as initially quite fast; flitting from one interviewee to the next. The speed we are subjected to in these shots was quite confusing to me to begin with, but the pace beyond this point did regulate to a moderate speed. By choosing to drop in straight away with all these images the director of this piece obviously wanted to grab the attention of the audience by forcing information onto them. As for the speakers interviewed themselves, I think the company presented themselves as slightly ‘equality bias’. Although these interviews taken from those who work within the company display both male and female roles, we are presented with more male speakers – which makes me think, does this company favour men over women overall? Or do men have more of an interest in this line of work in general? Also, to comment on the race/ethnicities of these interviewees, the company were even less diverse in choosing who would represent their values as they were mainly white with English obviously as their first language. This piece is in no way racist, but is ultimately lacking in diversity, unless perhaps more factors affect the reason for this – Is it to do with where this particular branch of the company is situated?
Next looking at the use of cinematography in the video we are shown LOTS of diversity with the shots that are used and how they tie in with the overall mis en scene of the piece. The video features a display of panning shots across actual work spaces while people are working on actual technological products that the company sell. This introduces viewers/potential employees to the environment they will be expected to work in. In these scenes we also have shots that go tighter on these employees who are working to create a different viewing perspective and in general throughout the whole production there is a lot of camera movement. Within the piece are also promotional images of Apple products which reminds viewers of the video’s purpose. To aid with this, there are also shots afterwards of the general public moving outside, which gives the effect that Apple employees are working towards products for these people and they therefore ‘value’ them.
The sound that is used for this piece is also important when looking at how effective the video is in its purpose. Here we have a mixture of diagetic and non diagetic sound. The spoken interviews with members of Apple are diagetic sound as we can see where the audio is coming from, and the source of non diagetic sound comes from the music playing in the background. The background track used is clean and easy to listen to which is important because the video features lots of speaking, so a more complicated/in depth track would distract the audience from the interviews which would in turn defeat the video’s purpose.
In conclusion, to analyse the overall effectiveness of this corporate video I would go as far to say that it actually is very efficient, though lacking diversity within the casting, because it includes a great deal of focused speaking from important members of the company about exactly what they want from their work force and it is easy and interesting to watch.
Holmefield Vets
In contrast with my last video analysis I am going to start the analysis of this video by first stating how ineffective it actually is in my eyes. The purpose of this video is simply to promote the work this particular veterinary surgery does.
The first
reason I am unimpressed by this piece relates to the cinematography/use of the
camera. This video has a very limited display of locked-off shots which
actually get repeated throughout the duration of the video! We end up seeing
extremely similar shots of the same animals inbetween shots of 2 speakers
talking to the camera which are equally lacking in creativity; without any form
of movement and staying in the same position (speakers and camera) throughout
the whole time they are speaking. All the
shots used are either wides or mids, which makes the viewing very uninteresting
for this video. Tying this in with the mis en scene of the piece, we are never
anywhere apart from the vet’s surgery itself! While this is the setting of the
actual place they are promoting, there are not many scenes other than those
repeated in the same positions, and it therefore becomes very boring to watch,
whereas the Apple Recruitment video features shots outside as well as in the
workplace.
Next, to
look at the people being interviewed in the video, again we are presented with
a very limited cast. The only people we have talking to the camera are female,
and the only sight we get of a male is in the background of one of the shots,
so even the choice of speakers is limited. As well as being somewhat sexist,
from what I could see there were only white people shown in this video. Someone
of a different race might feel very intimidated watching this, feeling as
though they could not work there as they are different to everybody else,
unless perhaps they were a WOMAN. The people in this video also seem to be of
an older generation, there are no particularly young people, which again might
put younger people off from wanting to work in that environment as they might
feel inadequate.
Looking at
the editor’s choice of pace in this piece, again I feel there is something not
quite working here. The pace is very slow, and as a result the video overall is
too long for the amount of content there is. This again makes the piece
uninteresting and it doesn’t take long to lose interest in it. The editing
overall is very basic and ‘Safe’ but does it really need to be anything else
for a video about a vets surgery? The use of sound here is actually slightly
more interesting than the rest of the video’s components. Here we have voice
over cutaways going from an interview to over shots of animals in the surgery,
and there is a subtle change in music for different scenes, for example, it
changes from being an upbeat track to a more saddened one when talking about
the welfare of the pets they treat.
In
conclusion, I am 50/50 on the subject of how effective this video is overall,
because although it says everything it needs to in terms of addressing the
audience by stating what they do and gets a point across, it is very boring to
watch in terms of cinematography/pace/editing, lacks in creativity and there is
an element of inequality within the cast.
London Business School
Out of the
three videos to be analysed this is the one I find to be most effective in its
purpose and in terms of a production generally. The aim of this video is to
promote the London Business School and interest/persuade people to go there for
its environment and facilities.
The first
factor that made me favour this video above the others is the amount of
diversity there is with the people who were chosen to be interviewed. We have
speakers here from many different countries and of different races/ethnicities,
which was really refreshing because it presents an agreement with equality and
shouldn’t make anyone feel uncomfortable about joining the school. There is
also a roughly equal ratio of men to women who are speaking to the camera,
which ultimately gives off the feel that there is no prejudice within this
venture and this helps greatly in the video’s overall effectiveness. There is
no recommendation of class in the video, but because everyone is smartly
dressed and speaks in a certain way, the general feel here is a suggested class
of well-educated/middle class people.
As well as diversity
within casting, there is also a great deal of creativity presented in this piece
in terms of cinematography and editing. Even within an interview with the same
person, there are lots of different shots used of the same person, which
refreshes the eye to new movement and keeps the audience interested and
therefore keep watching. There are also close-ups of movements such as people’s
hands writing while a voice over from an interview plays, which introduces some
new footage to stray away from the boring idea of someone just talking to a
camera. The editing within this production is also quite interesting as it
features title screens that appear in-between shots, which gives the video
structure and breaks it up to make it more digestible for the viewer. The pace
we are introduced to at the start was initially very fast, supposedly to grip
the audience straight away into watching, but this does slow down equally
quickly. The only real complaint I have about this video is the length of it;
while the content is very good and has been done in an effective way, looking
at the length of the video is an instant
put-off, and
I do feel that the video is perhaps too long to sit through and in that sense
some interest is lost. The video also creates a personal touch with viewers by
interviewees sharing personal stories/experiences with the show as the last
point made, which sticks in the minds of viewers about a positive fact about
the place.
Looking at the mis en scene of the piece, we are shown lots of shots around the workplace and where people choosing to go to the London Business School would be working and what environment they would be in, which enforces the whole purpose of the video. There are also shots of meetings held there, board rooms and even some shots of outside the building, which takes the edge off of talking and interviews and gives the eye entertainment as well as the ears. The music used in these shots has also been carefully thought about as it appeals to a younger audience with a soft, modern drum and bass type track, which is quietened while interviews are shown and are louder during cut-aways. This creates an easier watching/listening ratio for the audience.
Overall, I would say this piece is extremely effective in accomplishing its purpose, as it is easy and pleasing to watch with lots of information about the establishment, all positive, creates a feel that it is open to anyone without discrimination and the use of camera/sound/editing brings all the positive factors together very well to inform people while exciting the eyes and ears, despite being quite a long piece.
I wouldn’t say that sexuality is defined in any of the videos here, which ultimately suggests an equality of sexuality in this are as there has been no need to highlight it at all.
Looking at the mis en scene of the piece, we are shown lots of shots around the workplace and where people choosing to go to the London Business School would be working and what environment they would be in, which enforces the whole purpose of the video. There are also shots of meetings held there, board rooms and even some shots of outside the building, which takes the edge off of talking and interviews and gives the eye entertainment as well as the ears. The music used in these shots has also been carefully thought about as it appeals to a younger audience with a soft, modern drum and bass type track, which is quietened while interviews are shown and are louder during cut-aways. This creates an easier watching/listening ratio for the audience.
Overall, I would say this piece is extremely effective in accomplishing its purpose, as it is easy and pleasing to watch with lots of information about the establishment, all positive, creates a feel that it is open to anyone without discrimination and the use of camera/sound/editing brings all the positive factors together very well to inform people while exciting the eyes and ears, despite being quite a long piece.
I wouldn’t say that sexuality is defined in any of the videos here, which ultimately suggests an equality of sexuality in this are as there has been no need to highlight it at all.
