Financial Contexts in My Project

Working with a big budget vs working with a small budget:

Working with a large budget leads to freedom of choice in how you approach certain shot ideas. For example, a large budget means the use of better equipment leading to better quality results. The makes it easier to make better finished projects that are easier to produce. Another benefit of having a large budget is the option of filming at night. This is because the expensive lighting can be easily afforded. Also, depending on how high the budget is, there is also the option of filming on a famous landmark like golden gate bridge. This can be paid for, especially with a high budget. However, the main benefit of having a high budget is not the equipment, but the travel. Travel provides an extremely important role in gaining authentic, genuine and great looking shots. Travel costs money as the equipment needs to be moved as well as the crew, however with a high budget, travel should be made a necessity in gaining the best results.

Working with a lower budget can set boundaries in most aspects of shooting for a movie. For example, travel will be minimised to almost local as the budget cannot pay for expensive travel and the moving on key equipment. Another major downfall of working with a lower budget is that the equipment will be cheap and even faulty. This proves difficult in creating the best quality final product. However, the benefit of using a smaller budget is the removing of the option to travel. This may seem like a downfall however it leads to creating the movie a lot quicker than it would when travelling. This means the product can be given to the post production workers quicker and leaves a larger amount of time to take care during editing and final touches to the project. Without post production, even the best quality shots can go unrecognised.

Sheffield Promotional Video:

We were asked to create a short one and a half minute long promotional video to entice tourists to visit the city of Sheffield.

The purpose of the project was not only to inform and educate, but to persuade as well. The video was created to inform and educate viewers on what the experience of Sheffield looks and feels like. It was created to show the best parts of the city and the experiences within it. By showing short previews of the best attractions and experiences in Sheffield entices tourists into delving deeper and actually visiting the city to experience it themselves. The main aim of the promotional video is to promote the city and persuade viewers to visit.

 

 

How did the small budget affect the project:

The small budget didn’t pose much of a problem as travel was not needed to due to promotion being only in Sheffield. However, the budget did affect the equipment. This is because the cameras could have been of higher quality with a better budget. Another minor problem with the equipment is some of it may have been faulty, e.g. the tripods. However, altogether the budget did not cause much of a problem due to the location being small and easy to reach. There was sufficient equipment and software during post production to create an acceptable promotional video for the city of Sheffield. The mindset also plays a key factor in what we choose to do with our budget. Having watched many blockbusters over smaller movies, working with a lower budget can seem near impossible. However, gaining ideas from blockbusters proves key in making a unique production. The mindset of ideas over money shows that even with a low budget, it is what the crew decides to do and the shots they produce. The mindset of ideas over money lets the crew gain ideas from a blockbuster and know how to portray them in a much lower budget, independent project. Knowing how to do this leads to making the most of the budget we have, and creating the best video we can.