My Video Report

Codes and Conventions of
Corporate Video

A corporate video is a video commissioned by a corporation or organisation. Every corporate video has a purpose, no matter whether the purpose of the video is to make money, promote political ideology, raise awareness, strengthen a brand's identity, or document a specific event. In this report I am going to identify the purpose, codes and conventions of five different corporate videos. The mise-en-scene of the corporate video will often reflect the purpose of the video and will also reflect the brand/organization's identity. 

The following advert for the music provider Spotify featured a use of classic advertising techniques, however its purpose did not override its visual credibility. I thought the use of its graphics to impart information in a stop-motion style seemed fresh and light-hearted, which of course complimented the music bed. The video also did not promote its premium service, instead concluding the slogan “instant, simple and free” I suspect this was because at the time of its release in 2009 they were still establishing themselves as a music provider. The video starts out from a point of view perspective from a man drawing with a pencil, then animation follows and so does text while their trademark jingle plays underneath. I would say the video is simple, brief and clear the main purpose of this video is to establish and promote their service using convergence methods by posting this video via their website, Facebook page and YouTube. Facebook now promote Spotify and now people can share playlists via their Facebook page.  The purpose of this corporate video is to effectively market their service through an internet based medium. The company relies on advertisers and investors to fund their marketing ventures. Their popularity as a music server has grown as of 2012, Spotify was said to have 20 million users. I'd say the target audience for this corporate video appeals to 16-36-year-olds. 

The next recruitment video for internet search engine to business tycoon Google uses very different codes and conventions for the purposes of recruitment within their organisation . The video is presented by Google's engineering director Jen Fitzpatrick, the focal point of the video is to demonstrate and detail the methods and training the company use when recruiting new employees. The video's scenario is a reconstruction of conversation, from engineering director to employee it's set in a way that the message is clear on emphasising their most recent success. The presenter uses face to face interviews featuring carefully composed questions, the use of language is very professional and mostly informational, many of the questions reflect the employees standard of living, promotional opportunities and innovations they've achieved as employee at Google. The video's music score is a selection of quiet lounge music, this is because the video relies heavily on speech, training methods and presentation. The video has a moderate  use of graphics, a professional environment (which adds to the video's mise-en-scene) unusually the video doesn't use titles to introduce the employees instead they use cutaways where a voice over from narrator Jen Fitzpatrick feeds the intended audience the information. There is also little use of Google's logo, the video seems very professional, particularly in approach to presenting its employees and promoting the quality it strives to hire. I would say the video appeals to post-graduates who have previously had experience in the industry who want to cooperate by offering fresh innovative ideas to expand on as an employee for Google around the ages of 21-45. I would imagine Google would also air this recruitment video on a show reel at company conferences and internal training days in order to reinforce a sense of brand identity, striving to employ the best they can in the industry, those who would use their positive work ethics and work environment to create and produce as part of a team some of Google's greatest online additions as the world's most popular search engine. I believe the video could have been just as effective given half its duration, its choice of presenter and key contributors are chosen carefully to ensure stakeholders their company is being regulated properly in approach to employment within the organisation.

My next example for the conventions of corporate video is a most recent NHS awareness advertisement on the damages caused by smoking and to promote a smoke free campaign. The advert uses visual graphics and bleak statistics from extensive research into the hazards smoking brings. In awareness raising advertisements, it is commonplace to use shock tactics, to grab the viewer's full attention. This video's mis-en-scene makes no distinctions and promotes its smoke-free ideology in a stark and shocking way. In this particular advertisement released in January 2013. It begins by showing a man as he smokes a cigarette outside while drinking a cup of tea, all a common sight until an extreme close up identifies a tumour like manifestation on the cigarette. A narrator reveals with a voice over, a shocking fact that every 15 cigarettes you smoke, the chemicals cause a mutation in your body, concluding "if you could see the damage, you'd stop". There is a generalisation made in the video, the man smoking appears to be a typically rendered working class stereotype. The purpose of this video is to raise awareness on the damage smoking causes and to encourage more people to quit.

The next video is a short video produced and directed by Pitchfork subsidiary PitchforkTV. The purpose of the video is to  to document event coverage from Austin Texas festival SXSW in 2009 and also promote Pitchfork as a source for fresh and independent music. The video is presented by then lo-fi noise punks Wavves which consists of frontman and guitarist Nathan Williams and drummer Ryan Ulsch. They were tipped to play at the Levis Fader Fort stage. The concept of the programme is that of a short fly-on-the-wall documentary, they follow musicians as they walk around, see the bands they want to see and do whatever it is they enjoy doing at festivals (usually smoking and drinking beer). The video's approach is laid back with plenty of leeway for creative expression, it features interviews, live music from other acts as well as two live performances from the band Wavves. Pitchfork as a music publishing medium, are always wise with whom they wish to feature, follow and praise. This has set them apart from other music publications, not choosing to follow the status quo but instead shining the light on some of the best music from recording artists around the world, whether they're big name acts or the next big thing emerging from the underground music scene.     

The fifth and final video is The Liberal Democrats Party Election Broadcast of 2010, the central figure of the broadcast being Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg. He is portrayed as a younger, well-spoken, utilitarian. I think this video is a good example of how simple but selective techniques can make for an effective party broadcast video. The video begins, its soundtrack Brian Eno's Another Day looms in the background. The first shot shows a flier in mid-float stuck to an iron gate with a quote from the Labour party 'Student Tuition Fees Scrapped' a pattern follows featuring numerous other fliers with policies promised by other parties that never seen the light of day. The shot then moves to Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg walking past Westminster Hall, in an empty almost dystopian London setting. He opens with "Broken promises, there's been too many of them" he continues to condemn the lost policies both Conservative and Labour, proclaiming its time for fairness and change. He details his party's policies in his testimonial promising, lower taxes, better education, better housing, access to renewable energy and stricter political regulation. His party promised to cut tuition fees, the irony was once they made it into Government they went back on this policy which was possibly one of the most important policies for young Liberal Democrat voters. This is now seen as the catalyst for the 2011 england riots, which was one of the worst riots the country had witnessed in recent decades. The purpose of this video was to promote their ideology and policies as a political party to the general public. And also to reassure their funders and supporters while strengthening their campaign on the run-up to the 2010 general election.