Mill Meadow Research
- Nov 9, 2019
- 4 min read
Mill Meadow Research
In this write-up, I will explain what my role as director of photography means for this project, and how I will use my skills to capture the content Mill Meadow has requested.
I began my research by looking up similar videos to the one Mill Meadow has asked my group to create. The main video idea we have been tasked to develop is an informational video about the facilities at mill meadow, such as the hot tub, heating and other facilities we have not yet been briefed about.
However, I have already started my research, and the first place where I thought would be a good idea to look was the Centre Parcs YouTube channel, and it is safe to say I may have hit the jackpot, the first video I saw on their channel was all about hot tubs!
Here is that video:
You can see at the beginning of the video there are some exciting words about the hot tubs and the video, all together this includes some really cinematic shots, probably filmed on a gimble, while overlaying some text describing the setting of the location for the hot tub. With some more soothing words, then the video ends with the Centre Parcs logo, the text seems to be tracked, something we can replicate in our edit if we were to use text like in this video, we could also go the extra mile and animate the Mill Meadow logo on Adobe After Effects, something I have learnt how to do during my time on industry placement at Moonraker VFX.
Overall this hot tub video style is one I could technically replicate, cinematography and editing wise while adding a voice over for the hot tub itself. This video for Centre Parcs also seems to be shot with a high frame rate perhaps 96fps? This is something I could also replicate on my camera the GH4, however we could need extra light as when shooting at a high frame rate the camera needs more light or the image will be dark and grainy, so we would need to bring our lighting gear or shoot on a really sunny day, but as it is now winter, the light is quite scarce.
My final explanation on the hot tub video we will create, is that we will add our style to the film, it will not be a carbon copy of the Centre Parcs film. In our film we will have a voice over and possibly have a demonstration of an actor using the hot tub controls, as the video that we are creating is less of a commercial advert but rather a tutorial, this we would also like to look cinematic and well produced.
The next videos I looked at were actual hot tub tutorials. Although most of these videos were shot by a person holding a cell phone, there is still a thing or two that I can learn from these videos.
Here is one of the videos I looked at when researching:
This video is commercially used by a Company like Mill Meadow, called Heavenly Starlight Skyhouse based in the USA, that also rent Lodges that include a hot tub. In this video there is a man perhaps a caretaker or the owner that describes firstly how to unlock the hot tub, using a combination lock, if there is a lock like this at Mill Meadow we should show how to use it too, however the reasoning behind using the lock, in the Heavenly Starlight Skyhouse’s video is to prevent wild bears getting in! I do not think Mill Meadow would have the same issues in Taunton, well not at least to my knowledge!
Next the man in the video describes the process of removing the hot tub cover which is a reasonably straightforward process, the hot tub at mill Meadow most likely has a lifter on it, which assists the process of opening the hot tub and overall makes it a much easier job, compared to taking off the heavy covers completely. We could probably show this process using a wide-angle shot in our video.
Then finally the man shows how to use all of the controls on the hot tub, with and close / mid-shot of the control panel, he goes through the process of turning up the temperature, and what setting to leave the heat on before the guests leave, so it is ready for the next guests. The man then goes through all the jet options, the various jet speeds, the light settings, including how to dim the lights the pressure knobs and how to use them and also the control that adjusts how much water comes through the waterfall. Finally the last thing that is talked about is the chlorinator, I little bobbing float that contains the chlorine to keep the hot tub fresh and clean, the man explains you can remove it while you are in the hot tub or keep it in, however if you do take it out, it has to go back in when you are finished.
Finally, the man leaves some contact information if there are any problems with the hot tube and then shows how to close the hot tub, with the lifters which is again a straightforward process.
The last thing I wanted to talk about was one of the other optional videos we had been asked to create which was an animation of a character, around Mill Meadow perhaps a badger? Chris (the General Manager) said, if we did have the time to make a short animation, we could. I happened to have come across a similar video to the one we could create utilising Dan Clark’s VFX editing skills on Adobe After Effects which are leaps and bounds ahead of mine.
Below are the kind of animations Centre Parcs have created in the past, they show a child’s story of their visit, and maybe we could create a similar video if we had the time, I believe this could be possible.
Here are the Videos:
Video 1:
Video 2:
Overall though, this research has been beneficial to the project I am working on, and hopefully it will benefit our final piece. I am thoroughly looking forward to seeing what we could create on the animation side of things, as I believe this would be an enjoyable extra project for our whole group.
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