Margaret Brand & Content: BTS Planning & Filming

Following a Margaret social media led International Women's Day competition (and as a introduction to Margaret Meets series) a fellow colleague and I met with the winner, artist and maker, @polly.yates to promote her ceramics on our online channels. We visited her at an exhibition she was showing in - ‘Bull In A China Shop’ at the @anyahindmarch concept store in The Village.

The creation of this media was a way to introduce Margaret London to video-based content as a new strategy to evolve and further engage our online community. This was done in a bid to adapt to the shifting digital landscape. Through my research which informed this new creative direction, I found that video content was becoming increasingly relevant across various platforms and industries, making it an essential new-age tool for businesses to communicate, entertain and successfully market.

With gathered creative references to support the conceptualisation, the idea was to shoot short videos of my colleague taking photos of our subject Polly Yates, so that I could stitch these together to create a BTS scene reel.

Collaboration

While I spearheaded the behind-the-scenes videography my colleague led the photography segment. Throughout the creation process we enjoyed feeding into one another's visions. Our partnership was complementary and we enriched each other's creative endeavors, resulting in a well-rounded and fruitful presentation to launch Margaret into the business of incorporating video-based materials and our own content series.

Capturing various aspects, including Lucy (my colleague) giving directions, Polly (the subject) posing, wardrobe changes, and anything interesting or unique moments that occurred during the shoot,

Footage and slow movements over the exhibition and Polly's artwork to feed into the visual storytelling component and guide the audience into creating a deeper connection with her work through unhurriedly delving into the world of Polly's creations,

A focus on Lucy doing the photography to capture the essence of a Margaret creative studio affair,

Moving around the photo shoot area strategically to capture different angles and perspectives,

Getting close-ups of details, textures or elements within the scene like camera settings, labels etc to highlight subtleties and capture the intricacy of subjects that might be overlooked in wider shots,

Filming from behind Lucy's shoulder or from the model's viewpoint to add depth to the video and allow for visual variety, thus making the video more engaging and dynamic.

Project Management: Organising and overseeing the entire filming process.

Storyboarding: Creating a visual plan for the shots and sequences.

Cinematography: Capturing high-quality video footage.

Direction: Guiding actors and crew during filming.

Managing Collaboration: Coordinating the efforts of the my colleague and I along with the subject who had her own ideas she wanted to contribute.

Communication: Maintaining effective communication on set.

Problem-Solving and Adaptability: Addressing issues and challenges as they arose such as the subject being camera shy and location constraints. I was able to adjust to changing conditions and needs and even use them to enrich the outcome through getting creative.

Editing: Post-production work to assemble the final video.

Technical Proficiency: Operating video equipment and editing software.

Creativity: Adding my artistic flair to the filming and editing process.

Attention to Detail: Ensuring continuity and quality.

Time Management: Meeting the deadlines and staying on schedule: film schedule-wise and as related to the release date.

Legal Knowledge: Understanding copyright laws around music usage when I was editing the video.

Research: Studying and preparing for the experience. Research from the necessity of the video to how best to creative references once I was given the go-ahead from management to facilitate the production of it.

Storytelling: Conveying a compelling narrative with clear direction through visuals.