Creativity Works: Content Production 2021 (WEEK THREE)

11 October 2021

Things are heating up! We have now reached the midpoint of our fourth Creativity Works: Content Production course.

Our vibrant cohort are now becoming experts in what is needed to successfully tackle a client brief, brainstorm & ideate, design moodboards, listen to their inner voices in terms of whose story to tell and how, and are now turning their hands to logistics.

Planning to shoot, actual shoot days being booked, editing using Premier Pro and how to capture and edit great audio are just some of the things are creatives have been grappling with.

Tuesday 5th October was kicked off by our friend Art Director & Creative Will Knight over at  It's Nice That. 

Will's (which is now obligatory workshop on any Creativity Works course!) WTF is Creative?  identified why it's ok to be a generalist, why not being precious and collaborating makes for better creative projects, what makes interesting content and talked the group through some of the trailblazing work the It's Nice That team work across. 

At lunchtime Will set the group a challenge with the stimulus: Nike & Tate want to do a project together celebrating the art of the shoe - how would you respond to this brief?

Within 4 hours, our bold creatives had to come up with their own responses.  Coming up with ideas within a tight deadline, can be very challenging, but this is a vital skill, as essentially the ‘client’ will expect ideation to happen in a certain amount of time in order to move to the next stage [presentation] of the development process.

 The day culminated in the group practicing their presentation skills by showing what they'd come up with back to Will and their colleagues. The results were impressive. 

Wednesday morning we had a quick 15 mins catch up with our ‘client,’ The Face for  the midpoint check in.

As you can imagine, there were a lot of questions that were buzzing around the heads of our cohort. It is essential to check in with the client before you have go into pre-production.

Just think, you create a concept, spend a lot of time and money creating the production, only to find out that your take on the brief conflicts with the style, ethos and vibe of the client! Ohhhhhhhhhhh no no no no. This is why the  Q&A check-in session with The Face (at this point) was necessary, not only to enhance ideas, but to guarantee that what our cohort are creating is in harmony with the brief! ?

Next up we had the power of the two C’s:  Chantal and Cieron! Our course tutors.

This week the focus was on Editing! Often people think editing is the last thing to think about. As in, you just shoot the footage and THEN think about the editing…. Ummmm nope.

Chantal and Cieron informed our cohort how editing should be considered prior to your shoot, it will influence your shots and the delivery of your concept. It’s not about just relying on everything to be fixed in post [after production]. You want everything to be set and of a high standard during the shoot, as the edit simply enhances, and electrifies the foundation of each clip.

Wednesday evening the group joined the wider Create Job's Alumni Social and heard from Creativity Works: Content Production Tavie Agama on what it's like to be Directing her first short form doc for Netflix. Titled Women of the Market, Tavie talked the group through getting her idea commissioned (she jumped through many hoops!) and how she responded to the brief Britain's Not Boring - Tell Us Why? The evening was hosted by Create Jobs' alummi Mariam Nasralla & Rebekah Williams and music was courtesy of DJ Mira.

 Thursday - Sound take over! ?? 

A full day of knowing everything there is to know about sound with audio extraordinaire (& filmmaker) Tommie Introna from BlackShuck Films and from Louise Allen and Mark the award-winning London based sound & audio leaders Factory.

We discovered how sound, is more than just recording clear dialogue, or sound effects, it is an essential component to immerse a viewer in the full experience, of the story conveyed.

A simple beat over an image, can tell a story just as well, if not better than having a narrator. Sound enhances the work of the camera and this matrimony is what makes Digital content memorable, whether that is having a musical score… or the absence of it. 

As we step into week 4 of the programme next week, our cohort will begin to utilise all of what they have grasped from this week and embed their learning and discovery into production stage of the films…. And we cannot wait to see and hear what they have come up with!