Problem Solving
Olivia Day

Cost/Finance
My overall aim in terms of outgoing funds for my FMP is to be as cost-efficient
as possible (spend as little as I can). I believe that I have a lot of recourses
available to me already so as far as I am aware currently, I will not need to feel
cautious of spending large amounts in the production phase. I am certain that
the costs for my project will not exceed £50. This is because all I am concerned
about purchasing for my project is empty makeup products/packaging that I will
later edit to look authentic to my brand. Depending on where I shop the prices
of the packaging will vary. However, the online shop SHEIN sells empty makeup
containers for very cheap (£0.95p - £1.35 per container). The main attraction
of my advertisement, and the ‘latest release’ to my makeup brand will be a
valentines day set containing 5 products. Therefore I will be spending no more
than around £10 (including shipping) on the products themselves.
In terms of technical costs such as camera/s and lighting, I have those recourses
available to me as I already own a high-quality camera and I will be borrowing a
photo light from a friend.

Cost/Finance
In terms of travel costs, I will be shooting all videos and photos in my own
home/village and therefore the costs will be entirely free for me. This also means
I will not we expensing any funds on a set either. I plan on using the college
media studio to shoot product images and model shots so the only thing I need
to worry about in that department is booking a slot (free).
All actors in my advertisement are volunteers and so I also do not need to worry
about the costs of casting actors or anything of that sorts. The actors in my
advertisement will be either family members or friends.
In regards to editing software, that I will need to produce my work, such as
Photoshop and PremierPro costs, York College has given me access to both of
these applications for free. However, I am aware that my college schedule will
not grant me enough time to edit to my full potential. For this reason, I pay a
£9.98 per month subscription for Photoshop so that I can work. Therefore I will
try to edit my video footage, using PremierPro, at college and catch up with
Photoshop work at home to make the most of my monthly subscription.

Cost/Finance

Lighting
An important aspect to photography and videography, which are the main elements
of my production, is lighting. I will be using natural lighting for outdoor scenes in the
advertisement and using a handheld LED light to ensure that the videography of
the advertisement is cinematic. In addition to this, the media studio in York College
has really great professional studio lights which will be perfect in ensuring that the
images of my makeup products, which will be featured on the website, appear as
realistic and professional. The lighting of my photos and videos will remain ‘natural’,
meaning close to no shadows and face-on.
Examples:

Camera angles/shots
As I will be filming and directing an array of footage for my advertisement, I need
to take filming techniques such as camera angles and shots into account. I
intend on my advertisement for the valentines day makeup set to be set out as if
it is telling a story. Therefore, I will be researching cinematography techniques
used in the film industry so that it appears as if it is a (very) short film.
Since I am advertising makeup which is very
‘face focused’, I am aware that many of the
camera shots will be close up to the actor’s
face. However, I will alter between ‘medium
full shots’ and ‘medium shots’ to ‘medium
closeups’, ‘closeups’ and ‘extreme closeups’.
This is because the storytelling element of
the advertisement will require a larger
camera range as the audience will need to
be able to see the setting and the
movements of the actors.

Camera angles/shots - examples
Tilt Shift Close Up Shot
“A tilt-shift lens rotates perspective within the lens and
emulates selective focus. It can make parts of your image
appear in sharp focus while others are out of focus.” “The
close-up shot size is near enough to register tiny emotions,
but not so close that we lose visibility.”
Medium Close Up Shot
“The medium close-up camera shot size keeps the characters
eerily distant even during their face-to-face conversation.”
“The medium close-up frames your subject from roughly the
chest up. So it typically favours the face, but still keeps the
subject somewhat distant.”
Tilt Shift Medium Wide Shot
“A medium long shot frames the subject from roughly the
knees up. It splits the difference between a full shot and a
medium shot.”
https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/ultimate-guide-to-camera-shots/

Contingency Plan
Potential Problem Effect on Production Control/mitigation
Camera runs out of charge. Unable to film/take photos. Ensure I have backup batteries and
keep a battery charger at hand
Lighting breaks. Image quality will not look as
professional and appear more grainy.
Use backup options – phone
flashlight or natural lighting.
Shipping delay with ordered items
(product packaging).
No props for photos and
advertisement video.
Order with faster delivery or
compromise with makeup products I
already own.
Actors/ models become unavailable
to shoot.
Lack of actors/models for my images
and advertisement which corrupts my
initial vision for my work.
Compose a schedule that all actors
can adhere to.
Have backup options if needed.
Bad weather. Ruins the tone/aesthetic of the
advertisement I have in mind. Causes
problems with technical equipment
e.g. camera and light.
Check weather forecast prior to
saving the date of filming. If forecast
is wrong, film indoor scenes and try
again another day for outdoor scenes.
Not having a shot list/ script. Causes me to feel unprepared and
could make the filming process more
chaotic than it should.
Ensure that I create a storyboard for
my advertisement so that I can
prepare which days will be set for
each scene.
Not end up with enough footage. Shortens the length of the advert and
could turn out choppy.
Film extra shots/scenes so that I
have backup footage to include.

Experiments plan
In order to test my capabilities in creating a makeup product from scratch, I conducted an
experiment where I could try out editing techniques which I will apply when I end up using
photoshop during production. I designed a product concept for a lip gloss design. I started with
a base lip gloss png which I found on google images, which I am struggling to find the original,
and then thought of ways I could try to make the products original to my brand. In order to
make them appear more realistic, I added shadows and highlights to the packaging using the
paintbrush tool and blending darker tones with lighter tones, using the smudge tool. In addition
to this, I tried to make the product logo appear sunken into the lid of the lip gloss. I did this by
toggling with the Bevel & Emboss tool and altered the shades and tones to my liking. As for the
gloss on the lip gloss applicator, I turned down the opacity of the paintbrush in order for it to
appear slightly transparent and then adjusted shadows using the burn tool and dodge tool. I
would definitely improve this product by making the logo larger and maybe more complex so
that my products are more unique and distinct to my brand.

Fonts and Colour Palette
The fonts featured on the packaging of the cosmetics products will remain minimalistic and
‘clean’. This is because I intent to ensure that the products themselves do not appear as too
distracting, however the boxes in which the products will be packaged in may allow me to
explore more complex text designs.
The logo of the brand will also be minimalistic however will be more visually pleasing as it wont
be just plain bold, it will subtle features such as curvature to the text.
Brand logo Font – ‘Beckan’ Packaging Text Font – ‘Fidena’
The colour palette for the website will focus on monochromes such as grey, white and black.
This is so that when the products are displayed on the screen, they catch the eye of the
customer.
The colour palette for the advert will focus on summery, romantic, retro tones, such as yellow
orange, pink and red, as I will later edit the footage to appear slightly dated.