YEAR 2 PORTFOLIO
Unit 13 - Final Major Project
Pro Forma for my Final Major Project:
Task 1: Initial Stages
My three arrived ideas from my Specialist Study are; Visual Effects, Cinematography and Digital Graphics Design.
The idea for Visual Effects is to create a short film where the main character is an antagonist who later discovers his powers as a villain. The idea mainly consists of 3D motion tracking, masking, manipulating and a green screen. I will be creating my own special effects using the green screen and I will edit them into my short film. I will also learn how to slowly change the veins, skin and eye colour of the character as if he is transforming.
The strengths of this idea would be being able to have fun and experimenting in a new area of interest that I have only little experience of before hand.
The weaknesses of this idea would be the software. The software I would have to use to be able to produce somewhat realistic visual effects would have to be programs such as After Effects and Blender. Meaning I would have to teach myself how to use these softwares from a lot of practice and tutorials. This would not be easy and would certainly be challenging in the short timeframe I have for this project.
The opportunities I would get from this project idea would be a portfolio showing my creativity, passion and experimentation and, it would show my ability to create my own visual effects and star a short movie with it.
The threats of this project would be the lack in equipment and skill within this designated area. For example, to create a fire or smoke effect coming off the villain to show scary supernatural powers, I would need several plugins and the software After Effects. I have the software After Effects but I do not have the pulg-ins which means they would need to be payed for. I also do not know how to create this effect which means I would have to try and follow YouTube tutorials which does not always work out the way you want it to.
The idea for Cinematography was to create a 30/60 second video advertisement that will be uploaded to various social media platforms including the advertisements you cannot skip on YouTube, to promote self-confidence for older teenager groups. It will be telling multiple stories and perspectives and it will encourage young people to not care what other people think or say about them and it will also give them confidence to seek professional help if they need it.
The strengths of this product will allow me to practice advertising, my cinematography skills and it will allow me to gain the experience of woking with people for the product.
The weaknesses of this product would be the lack of experience and practice I have the camera. Meaning the product may not turn out as hoped due to not having as much knowledge about camera movements and techniques as I should have to create this product. The other weakness would be the actors. I would need the actors that will star in the product so I would need to go and find people who are confident enough to stand in front of the camera and talk.
The opportunities that I will gain from doing this project, will be having a project that will showcase my abilities to work in a group full of actors and extras, a product that will showcase my camera and technical ability and finally my knowledge social media awareness as I would need to research into my target audience as to how they may take my project as an end result.
The threats of the product is if it does not turn out the way I original planned or wanted it to. It might not turn out the way I want it to due to the lack of skills I have with the camera. I have not had much experience with the camera so my product may not turn out professional and I may not be able to find the actors needed to produce the product. I also do not find cinematography as interesting as Graphics Design and Photography so I may not put in as much effort into this project as if I was doing something that suited me far more.
The idea of Graphics Design, was to create movie posters, branding advertisements and packaging or logos for a particular brand that already exists. I would pick a particular brand and I would demonstrate their style for their particular target audience with my own twist on it.
The strengths of creating these products for my FMP is for me to gain skill in areas I have not yet attempted before. I will have a original portfolio and end product and I will improve my communication skills with either a client or actors that are participating in photos I am taking for advertisements. I believe the products will come out successful as I have experience in photography before and this is what I really enjoy doing.
The weaknesses of this idea is the fact that I have very little experience in doing illustration and logos. Meaning I would either have to self-teach myself how to edit in Illustrator and further in Photoshop or try to follow YouTube tutorials which are not always the most helpful.
The opportunities of this idea would be having a portfolio that shows me working well both independently and in a group, having good communication skills with a client and models, being able to photograph, potentially film and edit and create advertisements. This will also give me real life freelancing experience and will teach me how in-depth my research would have to be.
The threats would be not being able to professionally edit my photographs and advertising posters as I have not done much editing in the past which means I would also need to learn the colour theory to incorporate into my products for my target audience. The threats would be lack in editing skill and research which could affect my project by lack of professionalism or lack of being able to communicate to the target audience.
Project Proposal
Peer Feedback on my three arrived ideas
After I came up with my three individual ideas that I had for my final major project, I handed out a survey I made for my peers to fill out so that I could gain their opinions and reviews on which of the three ideas they like, which they didn't like so much and which idea I should do in their opinion.
Most of the feedback that I received, suggested for me to go with the videography idea as it is easy, it shouldn't take too long, I have or can borrow the equipment from college and it allows me to have one final product rather than multiple like with the graphics design idea.
my first peer said that 'cinematography will be the most viable final major project as you can borrow a camera from college and you already know how it works'. Another peer said that 'you enjoy cinematography and it will just be the quickest and easiest option'. The next peer said that 'I think you should do the after effects project idea as it is a concept, it will look great in a portfolio, you enjoy it and it will be different to anything else you or the rest of the class has done before.' The next peer said that 'you are a video student, it will only fit your course if you make a video product and not only that but it will also give you a jump start into the industry.' The final peer said 'I should do cinematography because it will be fun and I will learn new skills'.
I then asked my peers for some project concept ideas incase I did do cinematography of some sort, what they would like to see. One of the peers had said 'a music video. Use a pop song of some sort and make your own comedy music video for it.' The next peer said 'a tv show, either make up your own tv show or you should remake a tv show that exists by having the base storyline but with a twist. Maybe even change one of the episodes.' My next peer said 'a short film. It will be easy, pretty quick and you know how to use a camera.' My next peer said 'a trailer, film and edit your own trailer for a film or tv show. Put your own twist on it.' My final peer said 'a movie trailer. Maybe manipulate a horror into a comedy or something.'
To analyse my findings, four out of the 5 of my peers had all agreed that cinematography will be my better project idea than the other ones I had discussed. Most of the peers had picked the idea cinematography because it is the most realistic for me to be able to do with my skill and time zone I have for the project. When I asked my peers about what project concepts they would like to see if I did decide to do cinematography, the answers ranged from a short film, tv episode or a trailer.
To conclude my findings, I have discovered that audience would like to see some sort of video within my final major project.
What is my final idea and my leading project concept?
My final idea for my final major project is actually something entirely different to each of these ideas shown above. I have spoken to my tutor Lee Gavin, and he told me that these three ideas that I have had, are not a project concept. He said that instead of thinking of three subjects to do, make your mind up on the subject you want to do and then come up with a project concept. He said I needed to be far more detailed about what it is I am going to do as my final project.
I began to think a whole lot more about which of these tree areas I am the most passionate about for what I want to do for my project, and I just could not decide. I was torn between doing either graphics design illustration, some sort of cinematography as me and my peers had agreed, and finally photography. Each of the three areas I was extremely passionate about.
This was until I came up with a solution. Me and my mum had recently built our own business. We see candles, bath bombs, treasures, soaps and more all based around the concept of baths, showers and relaxation. Some of the stuff such as candles, are home-made but the other products we buy from Ancient Wisdom as bulk. We eventually want to do all home-made products and have our own branding, but for now, we are in the buying and selling trade until we have practiced creating ourselves. This gave me the perfect opportunity for my final major project as it would allow me to do every area of what I am passionate about. I can satisfy my peers by creating short videos and trailers for the products, I can go on plenty of photography shoots and professionally photograph our products, I can build our own social media platforms for the business and finally, our own professional-looking website to sell the products.
This would give me a great portfolio for the future and industry if I wish to go in it and get experience, it will allow me to grow in confidence, gain business knowledge and skill, gain buying and selling skill, gain my communication skills for interviews, I will gain knowledge and experience in video, video editing, photography and building websites. This will be a great opportunity for both me and my business as I will be able to make the business fully functioning with business cards, surveys, research, posters and social media.
So, Why have I decided to go slightly against my peers and the three ideas I originally had?
Well because each of the three ideas I originally had which was visual effects, graphics design and cinematography, were not project concepts. This idea I have now come up with is a project concept, I am my own client working for myself, I will gain knowledge and skill of freelancing and working in the industry while also combining my original ideas of graphics design, photograph and cinematography together by making business cards, a logo, going on photo shoots and much more.
Final Idea
*Note: All of my final products for my Final Major Project, are on separate pages because of the amount of work. Highlight over the Unit 13 tab and their will be subpages*
My final idea for my Final Major Project I have decided to be based on my own fully functioning business. I will be combining two of my ideas including graphics design and cinematography and it will be used to promote the products within the business. I will be creating short videos, photographs, posters, leaflets, social media business sites and potentially a logo for the business. The project will be creating my hobby into a fully functioning business online and within the stools and events I attend. The end products will mainly consist of promotional materials, media sites for the business and stools where I sell the products first hand.
The strengths of this project compared to the strengths on my previous ideas is experience. I will gain the experience of working along side my mum which will improve my communication skills, I will gain the experience of working with clients, working to their expectations, I will be able to practice my cinematography skills, photography skills and graphics design skills all at once for my freelancing business and finally, I will be able to see my competition, research and experience what it is like in the freelancing industry which will grow my professionalism, confidence and skills in my three designated areas of interest. It is combining my favourite hobby's within media into one project where I will be able to improve in each area. I will not be let down by having no models or actors, no equipment or weather conditions for location shoots meaning the project should be an overall success. The project will also show my own intentions and goals for the future.
The weaknesses of the project will be trying to fit everything in within the designated timeframe as there will be a lot to do including photo shoots and edits. I will have to set clear timeframes and schedules to keep on track of this.
The opportunities it will give me is the ability to work in professional environments on market stools and events while practicing my ability in each designated area of interest including video, photos and design. This will also give me a very good portfolio and experience for university and future careers.
The threats of the project is not being able to get everything done within the time limit as there will be a lot to do but then it is up to me to stick to my schedule and keep working.
I have decided to go with this idea for my Final Major Project because it gives me the best opportunities for when I leave college. Not only that but it will challenge each of my abilities and will keep me working throughout the whole project. It will also allow me to have several outcomes instead of just one. It will also be the most practical as I will not need to rely on other models and actors to take part in project.
Potentials and Limitations
The potentials I have with this project, is the potential of a portfolio. Creating my own business website, social media, graphics, photography and video work while being my own client and making money from it, will be my ready made portfolio for the industry in which I wish to work in. I would love to do photography and trailers and manage my own website and social media for a living. My plan is to make this business grow as much as it possibly can grow. I may later on decide to go to university and experience the industry and work for a company but, having my own business that I have completely created myself, will be the start of something great to show the industry I aspire to be in.
What made me chose to do this business? How did I know I could do it?
My mum has always had her own businesses ever since she was a young adult. She has always been extremely good at speaking to people, buying and selling goods and making a success out of nearly everything she buys in bulk. She has had her own shops, has managed her own shops abroad, he has done bootfairs for a living and even had her own online shops. When I become old enough during my school years, she used to take me along with her on the stalls and I used to help out with selling and talking to people which was a really fun experience for me.
My very first inspirations was brought from when I was really young. Me and my mum would always do boot-fairs to gain a little money out of all of the junk and clothes we no longer wanted. Boot-fairs began to feel so normal to me as they was something me and my mum would do quite regularly. When I was in the end my second to last year of secondary school, me and my mum began buying and selling products at the bootfair. She used to buy e-cigarette liquids and makeup and accessories in bulk and we used to sell it. My mum taught me how to be more confident and speaking to everyone being a great sales person. This got me experience of freelancing already. I got to see how buying and selling works and also how to be a great sales person from working at the stalls alongside my mum.
Me and my mum have also always had a passion for smelly's and bath bombs even though we recently exchanged our bath for a glass shower. We thought it was only right to turn our passion into a business. We knew already that this is a huge market and can be made money from easily, especially because of how expensive we all know Lush can be. Therefore, we began buying and selling products from Ancient Wisdom. We began buying and selling our bath essentials on boot-fair stalls close by until we started to make a fairly big profit. Me and my mum released that there is a lot of worth within this business meaning there is the potential of us getting very big as we started becoming so popular. I wanted to start creating the social media, online site and graphics for the company anyway, until I decided that this will be a great opportunity to do for my college project. It is everything I am passionate about rolled into one so building my skill within these areas, would be great to show within my college work.
I wasn't so sure I would make a very good job at making this business professional to start with as I have only done photography as a hobby and I have only done video editing and filming at college meaning I am not too experienced. However, I am experienced with social media and I am passionate about these subjects so I knew I would put the effort and practice into becoming much better over time. Once me and my mum started earning a lot of profit from the stalls, we started putting more money into the products and equipment for the stalls so we could look far more professional and it definitely worked. This is how I knew I could do it, when I had gained a little bit of practice and I could already see an improvement within my social media sites, photography and video work.
So, to summarise, the potentials I have for this project is a really good portfolio of me being able to create my own up and coming website, social media pages, professional photos, professional videos, a logo and business cards to make the business fully functional. I will gain the potential skills and knowledge that I need for the industry incase I wish to go into the industry at a later date, I will gain the possible photography commissions off of other mall business starting out such as my auntie. My auntie has recently bought sewing machines and equipment and she makes blankets, throws, body suites, dresses, skirts, ties and headwear for babies and young children. She buys the materials and makes the clothing herself and she has recently commissioned me to photograph, film and create her a fully functioning website so that she can make her business more professional looking. Again, by doing this for my own business and my auntie's business, I would have the potential skill, knowledge and commissions in the future to build an even bigger portfolio.
To summarise the limitations of this project, I do not have the best equipment to film and photograph with. I currently have a Nikon D3200 with 4 lenses, I have made my own reflector using tin foil and cardboard, I have my own mini spotlights that I have made my ow diffusers for, I have bought a mini photo studio and materials as a product backdrop. Everything is either home-made or very old at the moment until I can save up a fund to enhance my equipment. I am still able to produce the images I want to produce so this is not much of a limitation, the main limitation I do have, is the knowledge oh photography. I have only ever used my camera on manual and as a hobby. The photography and video work will be a challenge as I have not done too much of it before meaning my products may not be produced to the high standard in which I hope they do. In result to this, I am going to research and practice as much as I can throughout the project to get my products so the standard I wish them to be at.
My Plans
My Final Outcome
My Future Aspirations
My initial plans for the project is to first research into other companies and businesses that are similar to my business. I will be analysing Lush's website and social media, I will be analysing Bubble T's website, The Body Shop and potential other companies that are similar to my business. I may look into the history, the ethics and analysing their photography, videography and how their social media pages and website look. I will be taking inspiration from this.
After researching into other businesses and companies for inspiration, I will be writing about my target audience and how I am planning on connect with them, then I will be researching into techniques for video and photography.
I will then be doing various shoots professionally with a white and black background and shoots in the bath to show the water changing. I may also shoot on grass to show a natural environment for the social media pages.
I will then make a business Facebook page and a business Instagram page. These social medias will show the boot fairs and stalls we attend to selling our products, and creative images I take of the products. Images showing a whole range of different products at once and individual products with animals to show non-animal testing, with grass, in the path etc.
Lastly, I plan to make a online shop using Wix. Once I finish college, my mum will be paying for the Wix website to stop adverts. On this online shop will be the products that I have photographed and filmed professionally using white and black coloured backdrops.
My final outcomes will be the Facebook business page, the Instagram business page and the online shop. These will be my three main final products to show and present at the end. I will also be showing my boot fair stalls for development, my photography I have done for the business and our business cards and logo although I am not too happy with the outcome.
To show my final outcomes, I have done a drop down list to click on every element of the business.
There is more than one final outcome to the project. The idea of the project is to make my business fully-functioning. I will be able to be my own client, have my own customers, earn a profit, learn new skills including building my photography and videography knowledge which, I am very passionate about and I will be able to learn business.
The Instagram page, Facebook page, online shop, business cards, logo, adverts and more will promote the business meaning we will be able to gain more customers. Therefore our business will be able to build up gradually and be more successful.
This all takes a lot of time and will not be completely done over night so for my project, I will be creating the social media sites and online shop which will be my final outcomes and my boot fair stalls and research we allow me to develop my skills, inspirations and knowledge.
*NOTE: MY FINAL OUTCOMES FOR THE PROJECT ARE THE PHOTOSHOOTS, FACEBOOK PAGE, INSTAGRAM PAGE, LOGO AND ONLINE SHOP. THE FINAL OUTCOMES ARE SHOWN AS SUBPAGES FROM MY UNIT 13 PAGE*
My future aspirations for the business are very high. I see us in the very far future, having a shop with a photo studio in the back, a professional website designed by resknow, a professional logo designed for us, more clothing and merchandise, more products and ranges and more. I hope for us to be really professional and successful in the future. I may design more business cards, leaflets to hand outs. I may design business promotions, adverts, video adverts and more. We my even start doing boot fair stalls in Chatham high street and dagenham market. We may get industry styled gazebos and a generator for a bubble machine or small tv to show our videos and trailers of the products. If a customer wants to see the outcome of one product, using the iPad and google chrome, we shall show the customer the videos from the iPad connected to the tv.
Final Idea
Sudz
BRIEF: My final idea for my Final Major Project is to make my bath bomb business fully-functioning and professional with its own website and social media pages. The business is called Sudz and this will be my the centre of my upcoming project as it involves different medias such as cinematography, photography and graphics design. I will be making a Facebook and Instagram page, I will have professional photographs of the products, I will be creating stalls in different locations selling the bath bombs and I will take photos and videos of this, I will create a Wix page for the business and finally a logo. I may also create advertisements, posters, leaflets and business cards for the business also so it is creative, professional and it stands out from anything else in the industry.
Shown below are some images and videos I have taken from Lush's Instagram as they are what I aspire to create for my business.
For my project, I am going to be shooting short 30 second videos as shown above which may show the use of the product, the ingredients or the after effects of the product. This will be creative and professional looking which will really draw in the audiences attention.
For the advertisements and promotions, I want the images to be colour co-ordinated and creative, with the use of bright pastel colours to showcase the beauty products.
Shown below are some creative/professional advertisements that I got from Pinterest. This is what I would like to re-create for my Final Major Project as it will really draw in the attention of women aged 17-35 whom is my target audience. For my adverts, I will be using bright pastel colours to show case my bath bombs and beauty products.
Here are some business card inspirations I have gathered from Pinterest. This is what I aspire to do for my project to advertise and promote it. The business cards will be useful to hand out to customers on the different stalls I host on market locations and events I attend to.
Me and my mum create our own stalls on many bootfair places in Leysdown, Gillingham, Rainham and many more places. It allows customers to find out about us, hear more from us by the business cards I will create and also buy products from the stall. I want the cards to look professional, independent in the industry and visually stunning to attract customers. I also want the cards to showcase what the business is.
The business card on the left is one of my favourites because of how colourful and simple it looks. The feathers on the front immediately attracts my attention because of how it fills the whole side of the card and because of how colourful it is. Turn the card over and it has the business name at the top in fancy writing with the most important information on at the bottom.
The business card in the middle shown above is attractive because of the multiple colours and patterns that are pleasing to the eye. The patterns and colours are not over top, they are proportioned nicely, it is pleasing to the eye and it is creative not just plain and boring.
The business cards on the right shows professionalism. It is plain, boring, a little dull and nothing particularly special but the fact that the title is in big and has a special font that matches the rest of the text, it shows how professional and reliable the business is. However it is not too creative or colourful which would not be useful for such a colourful and smelly business that I have.
BannerCreation for Facebook Business Page
Shown to the left is a little leaflet and banner by the company Lush that I got from Pinterest. This is something I would be looking to create for my final project. A banner would be very useful to my business as I would be able set it as my Facebook and maybe Youtube background to make the business look professional.
I really like the look of the Melissa Walsh's style of font as it looks feminine, professional and unique. It is not over the top ad you can read the text unlike other fonts where it is hard to see what it says. I think the font goes really well with the job occupation she has as a copywriter as the text goes nicely together. I do not want to use this exact font for my business as that would be copyright but I would like to look into fonts that go nicely with what the business does and it would fit and look more professional.
For logo inspirations, I took a look onto Pinterest to see different companies logos and creations. However, what stood out to me the most was the simple yet creative font instead of a logo or symbol to represent the business. I think this would be more suited for my capabilities for the business as I am not overly confident with Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop to be able to create my own logo from scratch. Not only this but me and my mum have both discussed what logo style we thought would fit the company best and after we had seen the title fonts some people have created on Pinterest, it made us re-think about having a symbol as a logo. We both believed that having our own font style would fit the company best as it would show what type of products we offer and it would look the most professional on our business cards. If the font and the colours are co-ordinated well with bright pastel colours, it could look really attractive so this is what I will be looking into more in my project.
I like these fonts shown above as they fit my business genre much more than something elegant and professional looking. I still want my business logo and font to look professional and reliable but something more creative, colourful, unique and girly in a way, would suit my business much more as the font is pretty just like how the products makes the client feel.
The business cards on the left are for a business named after Tara Smith who is a lash and brow artist. Even though this business does not relate in any way to mine, I really like how detailed and professional she has made her business contact cards. The cards have all of the relevant information on them, they have a colour theme of rose gold and black to compliment the rose gold and finally, the main font and logo matches the rest of the text and information. Everything is in sink which makes her business more reliable and professional meaning potential more clientele.
For the logos shown below, I wanted to look at several logos that people had created for their own freelancing businesses. The logos I have been looking at on Pinterest are creative, professional looking and they make sense. By this I mean you can look at the logo and instantly know what the business is called and what the business does. So the logo makes sense and fit into the business. If I was to create a logo then I would want it to look elegant, colourful mainly using pastel colours, a clear title of the business name; Sudz and attractive to girls and boys.
I found this image off of Pinterest and wanted to include this as part of my research because I love the branding designs. It is colourful, it has patterns and I believe it conveys the theme of bath bombs and explosions very well. I also like how the company has their own names for each product. This may be something my business will look into in the future.
Mood Board Inspirations
Shown above, is my mood board that I initially created to show every element that I want to create for my Final Major Project. Lush inspires me due to them being in the same industry as my freelancing business. From these images, I learnt that the Lush's Instagram page is so entertaining because of how colourful they make the images and videos. I like how they have close up images to capture the bath bomb dissolving into the water and making it change colour. The videos of the bath bombs actually dissolving and being put into water is super useful, as it shows the audience the end results of the product and how it looks in use which makes the audience all the more intrigued, into wanting to buy it and like the follow the page for more. The videos on the Instagram are bright and colourful with plenty of close ups and mid shots of the water. I think creating slo-motion videos and a time-lapse would be look really good as well as professional images with a white background in the photo studio. I may also experiment with different background for the products like natural environments outside.
Initial Mind Map
This mind map shows my initial thoughts of where I want this project to go and what I wish to do for it. As a summary, I wish to create social media branches for the business such as a Instagram page, Facebook page and its own Wix website that customers can buy all new products from which can also be delivered within the medway towns radius. My inspirations was mainly from Lush but also from successful companies such as The Body Shop and pearbathbombs which is a company I found on Instagram. I will be making posters and leaflets and professional images of the products to put on the social media and website. I will also design some business cards to hand out on the boot-fair stalls me and my mum attend and finally, I will be creating slo-motion videos and promotions for the Instagram, Facebook and website as Lush also creates short videos to see the products in use. I will be photographing the professional images in the Photo Studio with two box lights one from the front and one from behind so they're are no shadows and I will be using a white plastic background that the products will sit on. I will also be using a hot shoe adapter connected to the box light at the front which will eliminate shadows for the professional finish on the photos. I may also photograph some of the products on grass as this could give a home-made natural look which might also look nice with natural lighting. In terms of a logo, I will be creating my own font to be on the website instead of a symbol as I think this is more professional and fits the business style.
Izy Hossack
Izy Hossack has her own food blog called 'Top With Cinnamon'.
I have decided to research Izy and her own business as part of my research as it will help me with multiple things for my business and current project.
The first thing it will help me with is setting up my own social media and website. It will help me build my website as I can gather multiple ideas of colours, context, layout and organisation of my business pages in a professional manor.
Secondly, she will help me gain tips and knowledge of how to run my professional business. I can get creative inspirations from her.
Lastly, with her YouTube tutorials, she will teach me to become a better photographer for my business. As I was taught from some of the first YouTube tutorials I watched, food photography is the best tutorials to learn from for bath bombs and bath products as the photography techniques are very similar. The food is usually cold when taking the photography but you will not notice this unless you are capturing a time-lapse or gif of the steam. It is all about the settings n the camera, the angles, the background and organisation, the lighting and making the product look as pretty as possible. Maybe in my case, making sure the pattern and colour of the products are shown and the setting connects with the product. I could even photograph multiple of the same products or different products together.
Even looking at Izy's page for how decorative it looks. I could definitely gain some inspiration here like the way she magically edits her photographs to create that enhanced magical look. That would fit with my bath bomb products.
Looking at her home page of her website, we can see how simplistic and natural it looks. It looks creative, it looks organised and creative yet professional. It is easy to navigate your way through her website as her pages and navigation bar is very user-friendly. She has labelled the pages Home, Recipe Blog, Food, Shop, Instagram and About where you can find the recipes, buy products and utilities, look at her photography and more.
Because my business is to do with relaxation and stress relief products, my target audience are not the type of people to understand complex technology and social medias. I have discovered that for my audience to be intrigued by my business, I would need to make things as easy, user-friendly yet somewhat creative as possible. I need my site to look pretty and colourful while also being easy to navigate. Things need to be organised and structured in a certain way to hold the audience's attention.
Looking at Izy's photography really inspire me due to the enhanced, magical feel she has given the images.
This is some of Izy's photography, the photograph above with the big cake, inspires me the most because I love the colours, the neutral background, the textures that the cake sits on making it look natural and homemade, the foreground focus, the way the cake is about to dribble, the lighting and just everything about the photograph. It is made and decorated perfectly, the shot has been organised and thought out and the image captures the most important pieces of information.
Something that all of her images has in common that I have noticed is the clever organisation between the background, the main subject and the materials and props to set the scene. It is organised within layout and colour and this really makes the difference. The editing is natural, it makes the colours pop and the subject stand out. It looks very natural but magical at the same time which is what my images could definitely do with.
Izy uses a very professional, high end canon camera whereas I use a beginning Nikon camera however, i feel that once I have studied and practiced photography a lot more and I am happy with the photographs I take, I feel that I can upgrade a later date. For now, my Nikon D3200 camera with lenses, my reflector made from tin foil and my white material I use as a back drop, does the job just fine.
On Izy's Photography and Styling page on her website, she has created multiple gif's which are moving or animated images. This is a very unique and clever addition for her to add to her website as it just adds a touch of her own creative ideas. Her images alone are amazing and unique but by having these moving images, it intrigues the audience into her business far more than just having still images. I think that I will take this inspiration into potentially creating my own gif's and short videos showing the bath bombs exploding and in use. I think this will add a touch of creativeness and may even seperate me in the industry.
If I was to create these posters for my business, I would create a poster for each of the different ranges of products I have. For example, I would photograph all of the bath eggs together and that would be a poster to show all of them, I would photograph all of the mini chill pills together, all of the bath bombs together, all of the soap flowers together, all of the soufflés together and so forth. I may create one poster with a range of different products on to advertise the business, but I think I should also have a poster for each category of products.
I like how Izy has also got the finished and ready-made product at the bottom of the left poster. You can only see a bit but I like how you can only see a part as it allows for the audience to not compare but be happy with their final product.
Pomelo Bath Bomb Trailer
It is clear to see that Izy has cae a long way and has even been able to adapt her own unique style of photographing, editing and styling. I recognise her style due to it being simplistic, bright and colourful, magical looking and unique. She usually always has the foreground separating or standing out from the background.
Shown here are two of the posters that Izy has created to introduce the ingredients and methods for creating one of her dishes.
She has used a plain black and slightly textured surface, the products and ingredients she needs to photograph, she has made sure to separate the props and ingredients so that they are sparse when photography. Finally, She has added text in an editing software, most likely to be Photoshop, and made sure that the text, headlines and title's font matches. This fills the space up on the page and makes the poster look attractive. It doesn't have too much writing on which is eye catching but the arrows leading to the ingredients, makes the food look tasty which makes you want to create it.
This video shown on the left is one of the videos that I have filmed and edited to be put onto the social media sites and website to advertise the bath bombs. It shows the bath bomb in use and the effects of it. Some bath bombs don't fizz, some froth, some don't show colour and some don't smell, having a video, shows exactly what the bath bomb is like including the colour it makes your bath. Some bath bombs end up changing your bath to a different colour than what the bath bomb was originally. This videos just entertain and intrigue the audience into buying the products as they might like what they see. I will be making more videos like these as I believe this one has turned out well.
To film this, I used my own dslr camera handheld, I used a foot spa bowl filled with hot water. The ISO was on 100, and the white balance was set to white as I filmed this outside with natural lighting.
When editing the video on Premiere Pro, I right clicked on the footage, clicked on speed/duration and set it to reverse speed on some of the clips to add an eye catching effect. I also went into the effects panel, clicked on distort and dragged over the stabilisation effect to stabile the footage as the camera was handheld. After this, I added some colour grade to make the froth and colour stand out rather than looking like dirty water. I did not want to over edit the footage so I just stabilised it, added a title, added a colour grade and trimmed each of the clips for different angles. This is what I shall do for each of my videos.
I decided to film the bath bomb in one continuous clip to make things easier and just trim and cut each bit I need to in Premiere Pro. The only trouble I had which you can see in the original footage, was that the camera would not focus. I tried setting it to manual focus to start with but the sun was too bright to see the live screen or camera so I could not focus it properly. When I set the camera to auto focus, it struggled to focus on the subject or bubbles so it took a while and kept going blurry. Next time, I will video the products in the shade and set the camera to manual focus so I can focus the camera manually rather than it losing the subject focus on auto. This will be much more professional and will allow me to have more angles and have longer videos as the footage will not keep losing focus.
Charlie Bard
How does this advertising and commercial food photographer relate to my project?
Charlie Bard's work relates to my project due to food photography being a very similar aspect and setting that I would need for photographing bath bombs. I like the style in which Charlie photographs because he sets the whole scene around the one product he is photographing. Some of these elements, I wouldn't of even thought about before. For example, the waiter pushing the glass, I wouldn't have ever thought about having the waiter in the scene of the photograph, I would have just done the same angle with the same or similar background but having the waiter there, really just sets off the image.
As you can see, he is a very different photographer compared to Izy because he likes his images to saturated, warm, really detailed looking, natural editing that shows the colours and detail but nothing drastic, he goes with professional and standard looking background, he thinks the extra mile to how he may capture steam or smoke in the frame or put cloth over the food, or even something else in the background.
I love how the foreground is in focus and the background is blurry, it really gives the photograph depth. He always has the centre of the image in focus with the surroundings and other pieces of food, blurry. Again, you can still see the background and still see the food, it just allows the eye to be led where the photographer says so.
With this image on the left, my eye is directly led to the piece of food in the centre and then it is led off on the right to the wooden bowl which makes me want to look at the green food inside it as this is in focus. I then find myself looking at the highlighted area on the left of the image where the two eating sticks are.
The trick with not only food photography but any product photography, is to make the product visually stunning so the audience is intrigued whether they like it or not. I wouldn't particularly eat this dish shown but having peppers and different coloured foods in the frame, just makes the image pop. The fact that he has chosen black bowls, red wine, a fairly black background and contrasting white material cloth on the table, suggests professionalism. The wood contrasting this, sets the whole image off as well as the colours and striking red in the food, there is always a routine and thought out procedure with Charlie, as he likes everything to be in order and matching.
I really like this image shown above because instantly, I would want to go to this restaurant. I am unsure of what the dish is or whether I will like it, but the organisation, the professional composition, the colours, the depth of field and the steam, all just sets the scene really nicely. Even though I may not like it, because the image is so creative and professional, it makes me wants to go there. This is what I want with my photographs. Yes people aren't always going to like the smells, yes the description of some of the products will not suite them, and yes the audience may not fancy a fizzy, colourful or smelly bath as everyone is different. However, as a photographer, it is my job to make the product stunning whatever the smell, colour or fizz. If I can make the product loo bright, colourful and stunning, maybe even magical, then I have done my job. People will then be intrigued and want to buy the product even though it is not their sort of bath, the photograph may have just sold them on it anyway. This is what I have learnt from Charlie's photography. I have learnt that the food don't need to taste good to look mazing in a photograph and intrigue customers.
The photographs will drive the customers to wanting to see what other food the restaurant has to offer.
As shown here, as soon as you type in Charlie Bard, a lot of options come up. These are all of his different social media accounts, photography accounts, businesses he has partnered up with, his portfolio, his website and more. It makes him more well known due to having such a big portfolio of work on various platforms that anyone can access. This is exactly what I want for mine and my mums Sudz business. I want it to be well known, have partnered up with organisations, have a strong portfolio and website and be one of the first options that come up when typing in Sudz or bath bombs.
Pinterest Photography
I found all of these images shown, by accident. I was trying to find professional Lush photographers that photograph for the website and social media. In the search of some Lush photographers, I came across these images on Pinterest.
Why do these images inspire me?
These images inspire me because I think that they would look great on the social media pages for the business.
The images look visually stunning, they look different, they look colourful and also intriguing. I was thinking of maybe using my auntie's or cousins bath as they have a nice big white bath with a tiled floor also, and maybe have nice piece of wood or something to go over the bath. I want the wood to look very light as this will look professional up against my auntie's white bath. I will then put the bath bomb or products on the piece of wood and put the same product or two in the bath. I will then photograph the product on the wood while, you also being able to see the after effects of the product in the bath. I think the images will come out really good, it will definitely be worth shooting. I will then try photographing the bath bombs and my legs in the image also to show relaxation and the products in use.
SWOT analysis of myself
This SWOT analysis of myself, is mainly a reflection for me to talk about what I have achieved and where I see my project going in the future. With the project concept I have chosen for this project, there is not particularly an end to it. Unlike most project concepts to do with making a short film or trailer or one product, there is not essentially an end product to show. I can show my best images and my online shop and business social media and logo I have created, but nothing will be perfect. The beauty of my project is that it is on-going. I have not had much experience on the manual setting at all on my beginner camera, I have not created a business website or social media before and certainly not an online shop. This is all very knew to me so I am not asking for my final products to be anywhere near professional and final as I am learning, growing, experiencing and getting better with time. The business has already come a very long way in such short time but yet, there is a very long way to go. I feel that me and the business will both grow very strongly within time, but nothing happens over night so it will need some time. This is one of the biggest downfalls to the project as I am only a beginner at all of this and their wont necessarily be a final product to show.
The strengths I had before this project was created was a passion for photography, video editing and recently, graphics design. I have done photography as a hobby for a while and the outcomes of some of my photos, I have been really pleased with. I have a good eye for photography and organisation and I was always good at displaying something whether it be in an image, on a website or even putting item in order on a stall, I was good at making things look pleasing and presented well.
In comparison to the strengths I had at the beginning of the project to the strength I have at the very end of my project, you can notice a difference. I have been able to use the camera I have at home which is the Nikon D3200 on a manual setting and the Nikon D7100 at college, on a manual setting also. I have been introduced and able to use professional lighting and diffusers, reflectors and professional back drop tables for the products. I have improved on my organisation skills further to organise and colour co-ordinate the social media pages, stalls and images I take. I have been able to shoot slow-motion videos for the Instagram account, improve on my editing techniques in Photoshop and have outcomes I am very pleased with. Finally, I have learnt to become far more confident, organised and in charge of my own stall at the boot-fair, I have more knowledge about buying and selling, how to make things look good and how to talk to customers.
The weaknesses I had before this project, was mainly lack of experience and knowledge. I have never really used a manual setting on a camera before, so that was very knew to me, I did not know what a diffuser was or know how to use one, I thought all lights was the same, I did not know about strobe lighting or a hot shoe adapter. I did not know how to set up business social media pages or a business website, I have only created personal ones. Everything was knew to me so I had to ensure to get a lot of practicing in before my final shoots so that I could have decent outcomes.
The weaknesses at the beginning of the project compared to now, has decreased slightly. This is mainly because I have discovered new techniques, new skills that I have been able to put into practice and equipment that I have made that I did not know about before. Other than this, the weakness still stands that I am at the very beginning stages of the project still. There is far more room for improvement within my abilities, knowledge and experience. There is still the weakness that my equipment I have is very old and not up to date the same as my knowledge and practice ability. This may still put me behind in the class in terms of the quality of my final products as I do not particularly have a final product due to it being a wide-range business and products and I am only starting out in this field.
The opportunities I gained before the project started, was the opportunity to have a passion and set clear goals for my future so I can aspire and set a plan out for where I want to be with my skill and project.I had the opportunity of trying something new including equipment, communicating with people, organising and layout of products on the stalls in a professional way and creating a portfolio.
In comparison to the opportunities I have now, my auntie has commissioned me to photograph, video, edit and make business cards for her blanket and baby clothes she creates. This is an opportunity I have gained from my project as she likes what I have done for my business, another lady who is friends with my mum has commissioned me to take photographs, videos and creatively make invitations for her wedding as she likes my work very much. These are the two opportunities I have coming up shortly, I have already started photographing and editing for my auntie. Even though they are small opportunities, it gains me experience with working with people, knowledge and a portfolio of what I have done not only for myself but for other people also. I would like to think I can gain more opportunities and commissions in the future. When I leave college, I plan to email and ask around for photographers who may need assistance. This will be a good way for me to get recognised for my photo and video work and I can learn a lot from this.
The threats that I had at the beginning of my project were incredibly big. I have a very old camera meaning I am limited on the quality of my images and outcomes, I do not have many lenses meaning again, I am limited on what I can do and my equipment is not industry standard. My reflector I made from cardboard and tin foil but I don't use it much, my background was purchased from Ebay and my white and black materials were purchased from a material shop in Chatham town centre. I do not have any lights, I either use college lights and diffusers and their camera, or I use natural lighting outside. The camera I own at home is the Nikon D3200 and I have a tripod that is stable enough to use for shooting videos. I do not have a video camera only my iPhone 7 and Nikon camera to use. The equipment I have is very cheap and old meaning I will not get great quality out of it and I will have to think about what I wan to do because the camera may not be able to do it.
Other than the equipment, the only threats I had is the weather as it may stop me from having great natural lighting as it is not as strong through a window and my lack in experience and knowledge. I have never shot on manual before and I never knew about lights, cameras and diffusers much. This was all knew to me therefore I will need a lot of practice. These threats I knew would have a big impact on the final products. However, I was still committed to doing this as my project as I can learn and experience new things while doing it and it may give me great opportunities.
Compared to the threats I have now, the only threat I really have now is time. Making sure I can get everything done to the best of my ability, within the designated timeframe is my biggest threat.
What have I achieved with this project?
I believe that I have achieved a fully functioning business with more customers. We started off with only gaining a £40/£50 profit on boot fair stalls, we know gain around £220-£260 on a boot-fair stall. We have two gazebo's that we now use on boot-fair stalls, we have large tables that we cover with black material, we have bowls, pots and baskets to put a bunch of products in, we have our own Sudz t-shirts and hoodies that my auntie has made for us, we have our own Sudz personalised bags that my auntie has also made for us with her business, we hang the bags on the gazebo's and we do special offers and gift sets, we also put all of our stock out for show so the stalls no longer look spars but full of our products. We have our own business cards, we are still working on a logo and big banners to hang on the gazebo, but, we look so much more professional than we did at the beginning of my project. At the beginning of my project, we did not have merch or bags or business cards, we did not have a logo, we did not have a gazebo or many tables or cloth. We used to get old white tables and put some of the products on their and it looked very spars. It did not look professional or trust worthy at all. Now we have our website up and running where people can purchase and order products, we have had a big increase in customers. I have made professional looking images for each product with a white background for the website where you can purchase the product and, I have made creative looking images with different backgrounds, props and flowers, for the social media pages.
I think I can easily say that there is a long way to go with the business, but with this project, I have made the business grow and have a stand in the industry. I think I have definitely done what I set out to do with this project which was to make it grow and for it to be successful.
Where do I see my business going in the future?
I see my business being so big on the boot-fairs that we have 4 or more lines of tables with black professional cloth, I see us having multiple industry style gazebo's for the boot-fairs, I see us having window stickers with our logo on, wall stickers, banners and flags like sweet stalls and professional businesses have. I see us having a professional looking logo, posters, advertisements and promotions, the website being big and popular looking professional and creative, see us having a generator on our stalls maybe and have a little screen showing images and videos or one video mashup of the products in use and to greet people to our company showing events and things we do. Maybe a bubble blowing machine as our name is Sudz and bubbles fit the whole bath bomb scene. This will intrigue children also, I see us having and potentially selling merch that has our new logo on. I see us having more bags and accessories with our logo and designs printed on them. We want to eventually have our own branding and package designs, all our products will be homemade, the social medias will hopefully be far more successful. I would like to build my own studio with better cameras, lights, diffusers, backdrops, stabilisers and equipment. Their could be videos of us making the products showing ingredients. I would like to think we have our own shop and maybe stalls at dagenham market or in town centre's. My mum wants to buy her own van rather than using one from her car hire business meaning we can customise it to fit our business. We may also have our own business phone where people can call and order and we may branch out and partner with various business and organisations. We can have collaborations and partnerships which will get our name out their further.
When editing, I plan to make the images like these look magical. I plan on doing this by adding my own brush for it to look like their is sparkles and glitter in the image in Photoshop, I plan to get bigger brushes with a tint of colour and add them all over the image to look like sun rays and much more. These little added features in Photoshop will allow the image to look fantasised which I think will really fit the nature of bath bombs and essentials. It will give a relaxing feel to the image which will make people want to try it out.
Today, (30/05/18) both me and my mum went to Sidcup and found a shop called Resknow. Resknow is a company that you can go to talk about web design, digital marketing, advertising and everything for you to make your business accessible. We spoke to them and asked them questions as me and my mum would eventually want our very own website designed. Not from a Wix template which we pay for but properly designed for us as well as a logo etc. He quoted us at the very least £2000/£3000 as we have so many product categories and types. He told us to right down a list of the products we have, the different type of products we have, the gifts and bundles and every category we would need for the site, get some inspirations, have some sort of vision of what we want and come back and he will give us an exact price to save up for in the future.
This is not something we are looking at right now but will be something we want to look at in the future. Ancient Wisdom which is the wholesaler where we buy our products from, do something called a drop shipping where they store the products, we pay for them as bulk and any products needed to be sent away and delivered, the wholesaler do for us. Instead of us having to store the products and ship them, we pay the company and the company ship and store. Tis is also something we really want to look into in the future when we are a little more successful and have earned more profit from the business. We would also like our own shop and photo studio in the back. This will all come later on as we would need the money to do this.
Right now, we are still focussing on getting our name out there, travelling, going to events, doing stalls etc. because this is where we are most successful. Our business is not the type of business you type in google, it is the sort of business where you walk by and it catches your attention and you are instantly intrigued by the scents, lotions, potions and colours.
Chill Pill Video
Strawberry Bath Bomb Video
I filmed and created this chill pill trailer mainly for the Instagram and the Facebook page. I gained most of my inspirations from Lush as their videos looked so professional and eye catching.
I do not like this video as much as other videos because the water is black. The water has turned black because I put two many different coloured chill pills in the same water at once. I should have done one colour at a time instead of all of them so that the water won't turn black. This has ruined the video I think as it is no longer eye catching with black water. I have filmed this on my phone also and it would have been better filmed on my professional camera.
This video is much better as it is stabilised, their are plenty of different shots and angles, it shows close ups of the water changing colour, it shows the initial reaction of the bath bomb hitting water and you ca hear the fizz. To improve, I would edit out the camera's auto focus noise and I would give it a colour grade in Premiere Pro to make the video more vibrant. I may also add a title like with the Pomelo bath bomb video I did earlier on.
This is a screen recording of me editing this video in Premiere Pro. I filmed one continuous shot and I am cutting and stitching the video together. I did not edit the colour or the sound which is where I could have improved this video.
The screen recording shows development of me editing and progressing with my video and it shows proof of me editing the video. It also allows me to reflect on me editing in the future in case I forget how to do certain things in Premiere Pro.
This video shown on the left, shows further editing techniques that I have learnt to create my final images. It shows how I use levels, the curve tool, the colour range tool and how I use blend modes between each layer I have created with different effects and adjustments on. It shows the process of going from my original images, to my final edits.
I have put two different screen recordings into Premiere Pro, right clicked on the footage and pressed speed/duration and increased the number to create my time-lapse.
This is really useful to look back and see exactly how I have created my final images using the software.
Monday 30th April
Where I am and What I need to do to meet the deadline on June 4th
What I need to do for my project
- secondary research
looking into what hashtags are why they are used why it will help me on instagram how my social media will become more popular how i know it will become more popular, other supermaket business that sells cosmetics and how it compares to my business why are supermakrets and superdrugs more popular than my business? look at body shop and different shops and online websites and images and analyse each shoot and evaluate and talk about what needs changing like the spot lights and the grey dirty background and spots in the camera, use box lights and hot shoe adapter. how each shoe has become better and why this is good for my website, why i am creating my websites and social medias. for primary research i need to do surveys and questionnaires and add it to the business cards or give handouts at the bootfairs
physical shops
online shops
social media
questionnaires
what problems ive had? lighting?
planning and reflection
hashtags/contacts
target audience - bootfairs
editing
make it all link and tie in together and make sense
To summarise, these bullet points are the thing left I have to do for my project. I am currently very behind schedule so writing out everything I need to do, will allow me to keep on track and know what I need to do next. For the rest of this week, I am aiming to complete my secondary research, research online shops and social media with analysis. This is a big chunk of my research and I am aiming to get it done this week so I can move on to primary research and photographing more shoots.
Here are some blogs I have created for my research and planning
Pre-production and Evaluation Paper work
Production Schedule
Updated Production Schedule
Project Overview
Risk Assessment
Problem Sheet
Contingency Plan
Reflective Journal
Secondary Research Overview
To summarise my secondary research, I believe that it has helped me develop inspiration and knowledge about manual camera settings on a dslr camera, setting, props and colour schemes for photography, lighting and diffusers. I have been able to see other social media pages to see how they have been able to promote their business and online shop, I have been able to research what hashtags are and what similar businesses like Lush's target audience is. I was then able to analyse this and compare it to my own.
I think the result of my secondary research, was effective because I was able to see other business social media pages to see how they have made their pages unique and professional. I have also been able to gather inspiration off other online shops to see how they have made their company so successful and popular, by getting it out their with their online shop. Because I have been able to do this with my project, and because I am so happy with my final results of my project, I think that my secondary inspirations research, was effective because it has allowed me to get to this point where I am now through seeing how professionals design their business to make it unique. My target audience, is a very wide range of ages, genders and interests. There is not a particular subject of people whom my target audience is as their are products to suite everyone. Their are products for a bath user, shower user, their are products with a range of different smells and colours, their are different sizes for different ages, their are candles and granules for your home and much more. I like that we have such a big range of products, gifts and bundles because it means more customers will be interested in a business as it suits a lot of different people.
My target helped me not only understand who my target audience mainly is (young children and middle aged adults that are women although it is other genders and ages to) allowed me to feed forward and buy new stock to entice men and old people to the business also. My secondary research mainly consists of online shops such as Lush and Bubble T, Instagram and Facebook business age research such as The Body Shop, Lush and others. Finally, I looked into the requirements of a creative media production and how I could effectively meet these requirements.
The range of sources which supported my creative media project consists of YouTube tutorials that I watched to learn new techniques and knowledge on cameras and setting,looking at online shops for inspiration and looking at Pinterest for creative imagery of baths which will allow me in the future to colour coordinate my bathroom for some lovely pictures.
To summarise my secondary research, I believe that it has helped my business a lot as the secondary research is where I gained inspirations and knowledge from. Especially from online shops.
Primary Research Overview
For my primary research, I did multiple questionnaires for my peers, I analysed my feed back and I looked at physical shops and analysed them. This allowed me to gain multiple opinions on my final images and edits. My primary research, I thought to be very useful as it allowed me to see different views of my images and presentations, it allowed me to develop for my target audience and it allowed me to develop my listening skills. If I were to build on my primary research, I would do more surveys and questionnaires to hand out. I may also create various focus groups and record the outcomes using a recorder to gain feed back on my edits and final products.
To summarise my primary research, I do not believe it is as successful as my secondary research but, it certainly has allowed me to gain feedback on my presentations and final images. If I were to do my primary research again with another project, I would definitely expand and research more in depth at maybe exhibitions, galleries, focus groups and further questionnaires.
What are constrains and contingencies?
A constrain is something that limits the teams options. The constrain may be that you do not have the right equipment to photograph the products on a certain day you need to. This would be a constrain because it limits and holds you back due to this problem.
Constrains can be used within the media industry because of tight deadlines, paper work not being done efficiently or you not having enough knowledge to be able to do a particular job within your project.
Evaluation
Illustrations linking with my evaluation:
Harvard Referencing
Analysing Audiences
This was taken from my specialist study project so it may not be 100% related to this project however, I did look back at this to know how I can find my own target audience.
The history and ethics of bath bombs was carried over from my specialist study project as it was not worth repeating the facts that I had already researched.
Contingencies are incidents that can happen at any time during the project. It may be expected or not expected but there is always a risk that the certain incident can happen so you need to plan and think ahead because of it. This is why I have made a problem sheet and contingency plan to plan forward for the risks that are likely to occur. I have also wrote backup plans incase I could not solve the risk the first time. This planning is crucial so it does not have a chance of making a huge impact on your project.
Promoting the business on my personal social media accounts:
My Personal Snapchat:
To promote my bath bomb business even further, I decided to promote the business using my own private social media accounts where my family and friends can join and spread the word. Shown to the left is my private Snapchat account where I have promoted the Facebook and the Instagram business pages. I have added links so that all my friends, family and others have to do is swipe up and it will take them straight to that page.
It is an easy link to connect to, it is user-friendly because it is not complex and, it spreads the word about my business to the public who use Snapchat.
I believe these connections will intrigue more clientele as t is expanding the circle of the people whom already know about the business. Especially on my private Facebook account where I have a lot of people on there.
My Personal Facebook:
I then decided to take this a step further and promote my bath bomb businesses social media on my private Facebook. I have put my Facebook and Instagram account on this post so that people can follow either account of their choice. Again this is spreading the word as I know I have a lot of friends, family and other people on my social media account so this will really get my business accounts noticed.
My Personal Instagram:
I have put my Photography Instagram account and my bath bomb business accounts in my bio on my private Instagram account, and I made a post about my bath bomb business. I uploaded plenty of images with colour and selection of products to intrigue the audience. This is the first thing that people will see when coming to my personal Instagram account and it may just intrigue them enough to click on the links and images.
My Business Facebook Page:
I created this post to promote my business Instagram page and I boosted it buy paying a small amount of money which allows more business, organisations and people to reach and see the post. The more people whom see it, the more customers I will gain. Bath bombs are not everyone's interests so it is important I get the word out their about my business, about the prices and quality of the products which makes me independent in the industry so that the people whom are interested, will see and get to know my business.
My Business Instagram Page:
Shown above is my business Instagram page where I have put the business Facebook account in the bio, and introduced hashtags to my posts. The hashtags allows my posts to be some more due to other accounts, business and hashtags that people may follow. Some people may find my business through the accounts and hashtags that I have attached to the posts. It allows the posts to reach more people. In the future, I will be doing plenty more hashtags on each post and I will pay and boost each of my posts to reach out to other people and businesses.
Final Products Focus Group:
I decided to finish off my project with a focus group talking about my final products. This helped my business grow as I was able to gain further peer feedback from people my age whom may be interested in the types of products that I sell.
The first question I ask the group was 'which final product do you think is the most beneficial for my business?'.
The majority of the group had said that the online shop was the most beneficial because it gives the customers somewhere to go and see the full range of products that the business sells and it allows them to see offers, prices and delivery options. Whereas the social media pages act as an advertisement for the main online shop.
The second question was 'what are the most important and successful factors of the online shop?'
9 out of the 10 peers I had in the focus group, had said the variations of the products was really useful due to their being more than one choice which the audience will like as their are variations to suite everyone, this will also make the business look more professional. So, I have learnt that multiple option is definitely one of the most successful factors to the online shop as it intrigues more customers.
The third question was 'what was the most successful factors about the social media page'.
3 of the 10 had said the creative images. The images are not plain and boring like the images have to be on the online shop so people can see exactly what they are buying, they are more creative using more materials and backgrounds to look more interesting. 6 people had said the use of hashtags was the most successful factors due to it boosting the posts to various other pages and accounts for people to see. This allowed me to note that I should keep up with the creative images and posters on the social media pages and hashtags on Instagram.
The forth question was 'what are the least successful factors about my business Facebook and Instagram page'
The majority of my peers said the lack of information given for each product and images. I could have added more details such as prices, bundles, deals, a description and other relevant information. As well as hashtags. On a lot of my images, I lacked this information due to only uploading images and forgetting about having detailed captions. Having more detailed captions I agree, would make the social media pages more successful as customers would feel more trusted within the business.
The fifth question asked 'what was the least successful factor about my online shop'.
The majority of my peers said they don't like the grey background on some of the images. This could be changed and enhanced a little with Photoshop. They also said the lack of products on the shop. I could be continuingly updating the site and adding more products and bundles on there.
To conclude, I believe that this focus group was very successful due to me being able to find my positives and negatives about each of my final products after I had shown them to my peers. This allowed me to keep on track with my project also.
https://sway.com/u7D7Hj52j2igCVKu?ref=Link
To evaluate my final presentation, I honestly believe that it went very well. I spoke with confidence, I looked directly at the audience, I looked and pointed to the screen to reference, I dressed smartly and explained each detail of my project in full.In my previous presentation, I did not look at the audience once, I kept my head down and did not reference what I was saying to the board. I also spoke very quietly, with little enthusiasm and used lots of fillers.
I am really happy with my final presentation as I was prepared, I thought my presentation was laid out well looking professional on Microsoft Sway, and I thought I presented it very well.
If I was to do the presentation again, I don't know what else I would change as I was honestly very pleased with myself. Maybe in the future I would try and make my presentation a little more creative and visually stunning with videos. I was going to show the audience my actual social media accounts and website and talk about it while going on the actual page instead of talking about screenshots, however, I was unsure if this was going to work or not. I did not want to mess up on my presentation so I decided to be a lot more safe and talk about screenshots of my final products rather than clicking on the links.