Promotional Video: Feedback

Above shows my client posting my promotional video onto the dance school's Facebook page for parents, students, friends and potential students to see. Also some comments on the post giving positive feedback.

Here shows three dancers and a parent sharing the promotional video in a positive light. I'm glad that those involved in the dance school are happy with the video I made with the footage I got of them and for it to be used in hopes to bring newcomers to the school. 

Promotional Video: Final Product

Promotional Video: Final Product Evaluation

As a whole I feel as though this unit went well, with only a few minor issues that were either amended quickly or worked around, for example, I thought I was going to have an issue with two of the dancer as I know they were either foster children or adopted and wasn’t too sure whether they would be allowed to be filmed to be published on social media but because I handed out the release forms their mum signed and okayed that they were allowed to filmed for the purpose of the promotional video and for it to be posted on the internet. Also dealing with so many children could have been a big issue dealing with consent from parents/guardians but, again, because of the release form they allowed me to know which children were and weren’t allowed to be filmed, also the owner of the studio/dance teacher posted on the school’s Facebook page stating I would be filming and if any parent/guardian had a problem with their child being film to contact her privately so that she could let me know; luckily there we few children who weren’t allowed to be on camera or they just didn’t attend the lessons during my filming time meaning there was no chance of them being caught by the camera, which meant there was little rearranging and reframing that needed to be done.

I used majority mid to long shots as I felt it gave a good view of the studio, and the different styles of dancing. I feel that the use of long shots and showing the full body of the students shows how their whole body connects to the song and the choreography and it displays the quality of the dances to their full potential. As well as the mid/long shots I did close ups showing only the legs or feet to show a close up of the movement. I chose the feet because Karen Hardy (professional ballroom dancer) once said that ‘footwork is the foundation to movement’ and I took that and applied it to my filming by showing the footwork of the dancers and their movement during the dances.

If I had the opportunity to reshoot there are several changes I would make; I would hope to use a GoPro attached to once of the dancers to fully capture the movement and give an inclusive feel to the video, as it would be a point-of-view shot it would give the audience the view of a Kelly’s School of Dance dancer; I think the use of a GoPro would work particularly well when doing turns or tumbles to give a feel of the motion felt through dancing. However I was new to the technology of the GoPro and was unsure on how it actually worked and I didn’t want to use any footage that I wasn’t sure of and didn’t look a high enough quality for the final edit as it was for the promotional use of a business and I wanted to be able to make to the highest quality possible. I would also want to have a wider range of shots, for example a high angle almost giving a birds-eye-view on the studio and the dances as it would add dimension and depth to the video, also I would like to do extreme close ups on possibly the faces of the dancers to fully grasp the emotion when dancing as dance is a sport where the execution during performance heavily relies on the emotion and facial expressions of the performers to sell the dance. Another idea would be to use a dolly or glider to get steady and fluid camera movements when shooting the dance without it looking static and monotonous, this would work really well if I was to schedule times when I had certain, smaller groups of dancers performing one of their dances more in a way as if they were competing or not in a dance class setting, much like the videos I found to look at the framing and angles used when filming dances prior to my filming. However because I was filming during active lessons it wasn’t possible to get the perspective I was after as it would have been too disruptive to the classes and as I was shooting during the business hours of the dance school it just wasn’t doable. Ideally I would have been able to have a time when I could have almost staged classes where I would have been able to get into the dances more and show a different view of how the dances look.

If I was to continue with this project I would keep on top on how successful the video was by checking the likes and comments section of the video on YouTube to see how it is received by the audience. Another way I would measure the success is when new students start at the dance school on the registration form I would ask my client if there could be a section added as how they found out about the dance school and from that see how many people joined after watching my promotional video.

Overall I believe that the final product has been completed to a standard that my client was happy with, as it covered a whole range of classed that she offers at the studio. I think that the editing and the length of shots works well in time with the music, as I chose a song that was similar to the kind of music that Kelly (my client) uses when choreographing her dances and I thought a remix would give the promotional video a fun, energetic and engaging feeling for the audience as they’re watching; in hopes that the engaging qualities make the audience connect to the video and feel that this is the kind of dance school they would like to send their children to.

I sent the youtube link of the final product to my client for her to see the outcome. And her feedback was positive and she was impressed with the video as a whole. Although we had discussed ideas I could tell that she wasn't too sure as to what I was getting at fully hence why she said she didn't know what to expect but I'm glad she was pleased with how it turned out. 

Promotional Video: Health and Safety

Health and Safety:

As I was working in a setting with quite a lot of people around at one time I had to make sure I followed the health and safety procedures to ensure nobody was injured and that none of the equipment was damaged. I did this by making sure everyone in the dance studio was aware that I was filming and why I was filming. Since a lot of the students at the dance school are under the age of 18 their parents had to give me permission to film their child for the use of the video and because I did this I knew who was and who wasn't allowed to be frame when filming; luckily no parent said they didn't want their child to be filmed. As I used camera and tripods every shoot and two camera set up for one shoot having the students know I was filming made them aware that there would be camera equipment in certain area of the studio and to be careful when near the equipment to prevent injury to them and damage to the equipment.

Permission/release forms:

Due to legal reasons I had to ensure that anybody that was being filmed for the promotional video had signed a release form which gave a proof of permission for being filmed and the footage to be published. As the majority of the students at the dance school were under the age of 18 their parents had to give me signed permission. Below are the signed and returned forms.

Although this isn't all of the forms, because I have a close relationship with many of the parents and dancers, that are 18+, I did have permission off all dancers to be a part of the final product of the promotional video.

Promotional Video: Location

The location of all of my shoots is at the KSD studio on Heath End Road, Nuneaton. The dance school recently moved into the building after renovating it from a derelict shell of a church. Before moving into their own building they were based at the Nuneaton Academy Sports centre. 

The new KSD studio on Heath End Road.

The studio is local to me so is only a 3-4 minute drive away and only a 15 minute walk away. However it was always easier to drive to the studio as it was more efficient because I had to transport all the equipment I needed during shoots that would have been too much if I was to walk.

Promotional Video: Contacting Client

I first met with my client in person at the studio before classes and asked her in person whether she would be okay with me making a promotional video for the dance school and filming the classes. I felt it was the right time for the project with her as she had recently opened the studio in her own building after hiring facilities for so long. She agreed to me creating the video so I contacted her through Facebook messenger because is a quick and easy way to contact people, especially as I know my client personally I knew she was more likely to respond on Facebook faster than by text or phone call.

After her replying I spoke to her after class just to briefly discuss ideas and what sort of things she wanted to involve.

From this we decided to get footage from each class she provides ranging from age 3+ and I offered to do interviews with some dancers and their parents to give a personal touch and what those who are involved with the school feel about what Kelly does.

promotional Video: Analysis of 4 Promotional Videos

A Promotional video is 'a video or short film that promotes or advertises something." They are appointed by a company/business whether it be to gain custom, inform on a product or put across an idea. 


Like any genre of moving image promotional videos have codes and conventions that they follow that separate them into their own category, such as; voice overs, brand identity, interviews, vox pops (voice of people), cutaways, and more.

This promotional video is by Amazon for the launch of its product Echo, it has a professional yet slightly informal mode of address, this makes it more relatable to it's audience. The target audience for the video seems to be a range of people, primarily focusing on families. The use of Vox Pops used in this promotional video is the main feature because it gives the audience the idea that its the right product for them. The camerawork is clean which makes it nice and easy to watch, engaging the audience. They use a close up of a customer stating one of the features to a wide shot showing the feature in action of turning the lights on.

This promotional video covers an event by the clothing company Revolve. The professional tone to the video engages its target audience of more middle class people who would shop at Revolve. When it comes to conventions of promotional videos this video uses customer testimonials of those attending the event and celebrity Emily Ratajkowski who was the face of the campaign. The video conveys the brand well by showing the brands name throughout but without it being too obviously thrown the viewers face.

A showreel is a sort of promotional videos that companies use in order to show a full range of what the company has to offer all within a couple of minutes. This showreel is aimed towards those who would use the products that The Foundry provide, which their website says 'covers everything from storyboarding to finish', which are used in design, film/ television, gaming, etc. The tone to this showreel is very professional which shows that their products are targeted towards professional and big companies. Although the brand/company isn't made known until the end of the video, they are well represented throughout due to how The Foundry's products are shown in use. 

This video for Woodlands School has a specific target audience, children of secondary school age and their parents looking at which school to enrol their children at. The mode of address in this video is majority formal, in that the lexis and tones used by the speakers is formal and comes across in formal yet engaging way. The way the video is edited manages to show the school in away that a website or prospectus wouldn't be able to.