In order to make an educated decision for the final product of my project, I will be researching different production formats and deciding which one will best fit my chosen culture. A big consideration to make is the client and their platforms, audience, and lines of business, which are the main ways businesses generate revenue. In VICE, this is done through the categorisation of their content and targeted audiences for each platform.
VICE’s 5 Lines:
- VICE Media – the world’s largest independent youth media company, deals with the online sector (YouTube, Facebook, Instagram etc.)
- VICE Studios – a feature film and television production studio, the platform for feature-length films and documentaries
- VICE News – an award-winning division with the most Emmy-awarded nightly news broadcast for real-time updates and other information
- VICE TV – an Emmy-winning international television network that mainly handles factual shows for young adults
- VIRTUE – a global, full-service creative agency with 25 offices around the world for branding and advertising
Each line of business caters towards a specific type of business or media and are typically considered to have their own audiences although often they do cross over. For my project, I will be choosing one or two of these lines to focus on and doing in-depth research (client research post). In order to to do this, my idea has to be specific to the business in terms of tone, format, length, methods and audience as they all differ slightly depending on which platform the product is designed for. The format will help massively with this, as there are common themes for each line (as seen above) and this can help with deciding the best way to relay my idea. The following formats are a few examples of what could be done:
Short Film/Documentary
One of the possible formats is to create a short film or a part/episode of a documentary in order to portray the chosen culture. The length for each differs, but generally short films are anywhere between 2 – 20 minutes and documentaries are often long series, with episodes ranging between 20 – 60 minutes, which would be highly unreasonable to take on in the given time frame. It would be more efficient to aim for a 1-2 minute short film or 5-10 minute documentary. Depending on the genre, they often feature voiceovers, interviews and factual/opinionated information on a subject. A great place to look at examples would be the website Short of the Week or their YouTube channel where they share different videos or short documentaries. In my opinion, documentaries are an excellent way to present information in an interesting way. The visual aid would not only help reinforce a point but would also help engage the audience more than would be possible with a publication or written document. However, I believe that a short film provides greater scope for creative demonstration and would allow for deeper ideas to be explored thanks to the fewer limitations than documentaries have (e.g. the style could be more informal), so if I were to choose one of these two options, I would most likely choose to make a short film. This format fits into VICE Studios but could also be shown on VICE TV depending on the length.
Music Video
Creating a music or typography video in relation to culture is also an option, and since there are thousands of songs based on a certain culture or a specific part of culture, there is a lot of inspiration. Music videos could be filmed in-person or done via a lyric video using text & motion graphics in After Effects, both of which would provide an excellent way to showcase an important or light-hearted idea in a creative way, using colours, objects, settings and people. Another potential method would be contacting the music students at Confetti to help create music appropriate to the chosen idea. One particular benefit that comes with making music is that you can select a target audience much more specifically as more/fewer people listen to different genres and different groups prefer certain types of music, so the chosen message could be directed to a group that will be affected a certain way by it, again, relative to the idea. A good place to draw inspiration would be from VICE themselves, as they have their own music channel called Noisey. An example of where to start: Songs that Give us Hope. In my opinion, music is one of the best ways to reach people and I would use it as a tool to spread a message, raise awareness or even bring about change. However, I need to consider my capabilities, idea and available time, and a music video would not fit into any of these. If I did choose to make one, I would be focusing on VICE media as it would allow more people to view the MV.
2D Animation
Of course, there is also the possibility of doing a 2D animation about or featuring the chosen culture. There are no limits in terms of length so it could be as short or as long as necessary and it doesn’t need to be complicated, so there is an opportunity for experimentation in terms of the idea, style and perspective. Animation is quite broad, and the only limitation is really what you could think of, so it allows for a unique angle to be taken on culture. It’s also a great way to add symbolism, as the idea doesn’t need to be explicit and can be expressed in a more abstract, artistic way. Personally, this format is most appealing to me and seems to be best for the aesthetic I’m going for. An animated short video would work best in Vice Media, where there is a lot of media that teens would find interesting such as art and music. From the research that I have made, Vice Media seems to be the least factual, and whilst it is still informative, it has a greater scope for creative content and impactful messages, which is why a funny, serious, elegant, or even scary animation would attract the greatest audience and make the greatest impact there. My personal recommendation for where to find good examples is a YouTube channel called TheCGBros which has a variety of CG related content but also have many animated shorts covering a range of different genres, styles and themes.
Zine Campaign
A Zine is an independently or self-published booklet, often created by physically cutting and glueing text and images together but is also commonly produced by typing and formatting pages on a computer. The publication is usually folded and stapled. Zine actually comes from fanzine, a term that generally describes a small sci-fi publication, and started circulating in the 1920s. Zines themselves, however, were used to promote punk music in the 1970s, a time when this type of music received very little interest from the larger press music. This phenomenon spawned a new interest in self-publishing and there are now many beautiful and bold Zines out there, some so successful, that they turned into regular publications. This is another great possibility for the brief – to make a complete mini booklet that tackles the chosen culture. Since Zines are often used to inform/bring attention to underrated/generally unknown subjects, creating one provides the opportunity to aim it towards a niche market. They are also a great way to experiment with imagery and text, since there are endless possibilities about the combinations of art and information that could be put on each page, and the whole booklet could be one big, themed experience. Somewhere that you can find all sorts of interesting Zines is Dazed | Zines, where there are some awesome cultural examples. I personally think that mini magazines are a great idea, and provide another artistic outlet that combines creativity and factuality. They would work best in either Vice Media or Virtue, depending on the topic and message. Both lines of business cover online content, but one is more geared towards advertising and brand partnership, where a modern solution or innovative idea would be showcased best, whilst the other focuses on networking a large variety of media and styles, such as videos, news articles and art, where most Zines would also gain attention.
Stop Motion
An interesting choice for a product to portray a culture would be a stop motion animation or video. It is an animated technique that involves manipulating objects in small increments in between individually photographed frames to create the impression of movement. This style of animation has been used throughout history in so many different cultures, and is one of the broadest techniques in terms of experimentation, as virtually anything can be moved around or changed in some way. A few examples include clay, paper, action figurines, legos and other toys, small objects in large quantities such as buttons, fabrics and other materials. As long as it is planned, shot and combined, with the final 24fps render based around the cultural idea, it can be absolutely anything. For example, if I were to choose fashion as my subject, and look at a specific culture, I would use different materials that are used in their clothing, with significant colours and symbols, a mix of paper and fabric, with beads, sequins and other interesting textures. One thing to keep in my mind and consider is that stop motion takes a very long time and can be quite tedious because of the tiny changes made each time. The project would need to be scheduled accordingly so that there is enough time to create, assemble and edit the footage. Virtue, Vice TV or Vice Media are the platforms I would aim for with a stop motion video, because, depending on the topic, I could see the stop motion being an advert or children’s animation. I also looked into where some inspiration could be found, and whilst there are many YouTube videos and websites that look into stop motion, Den of Geek does an excellent job of explaining why each film is good in a brief, clear manner, and I would watch a few films, or even do a case study on one for inspiration, if I were to do stop motion.
VFX Sequence
The final production format I will be talking about is a VFX sequence. You could create a shot featuring composited VFX or it could be an entirely CG shot in Photoshop or After Effects, as a combination of effects and shot footage. For inspiration, I would find and watch VFX breakdowns relevant to the chosen culture, such as the Spider-Man: Far From Home | VFX Breakdown by Framestore, if you are doing Superhero culture, for example. Because there a number of different methods and techniques (CGI visual effects, green screen, motion capture) there is a lot that can be done with some interesting footage and the right program. VFX opens up a world of possibilities, where you could dabble in different genres, create interesting characters and settings, and put yourself in any location you desire. This, of course, is ideal for the culture brief, where you could depict any idea using different objects and places, yourself and other people. One example would be looking into live events and different cultures in music, capturing a band and adding cool effects on top, or even putting yourself in a festival or music event using chroma keying, all based around a specific genre such as punk. Something like this would do extremely well in Vice Media, where a lot of fans like to discover new music or be updated on relevant happenings within their favourite genres. There is of course, also the opportunity to create a title sequence or a part of an episodic series with various effects, which would work best within Vice Studios or Vice TV.
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The format that I have chosen for my project is 2D animation. I was heavily debating between that or a VFX sequence, but I decided on animation because I felt that it was more versatile in terms of my idea, which in a way, is quite abstract and hard to capture (how do you portray a connection with something that is so hard to even define?). I also felt that since my idea heavily revolves around art, an animated video would better fit the project, since it is a form of art and is a series of drawings come to life. I also thought about doing a zine because I had never heard of them before, but once I did, I was immediately interested, and wanted to try to make one myself. The problem was, that I wouldn’t know if I could fill an entire booklet, and if that was even a good idea; converting my project into mostly written work would take away from the theme of transforming and changing, and although this can be done in a zine using images and styles in a clever way, the experience would not feel as authentic as watching the character change with dynamism. Furthermore, I do not have much experience in making magazines of any kind, nor do I have tools good enough to create the art I would want to include. Ultimately, a 2D animation is the best option, and is something I feel is achievable for my skillset and chosen cultures.
