1. Take-away food delivery services

I decided that researching food delivery services would be vital in order to understand how they operate, so my food delivery service can work in a similar fashion to the various competitors which currently exist.  Researching these would also be important for understanding why the main competitors in the world of food delivery are so successful; I may be able to adopt some of these strategies and portray them in my own advert.

The majority of my research was sourced from:

• The Uber Eats website 
• The Just Eat website
• The Deliveroo website
• The respective Wikepedia pages of the companies listed
• The Just Eat 2014 Annual Report 2014

All three of the main food delivery services, Uber Eats, Deliveroo and Just Eat alongside the others based in America and Western Europe all advertise their service digitally, through an app, website or both.  The emphasis on smartphone technology appeals to their younger, 'tech-savvy' target audience.  All three of the main services have their applications available on the Google Play store and the Apple app store which their target market is mostly able to access.  This is expanded by their activity on social media platforms, like Twitter and Instagram, which contribute to their customer base and expands their appeal beyond their websites and apps.

The services also incorporate some element of regionality into their website or apps; they request a postcode or location in order to their experience to the customer based on where they live.  This influences where they can order food from.  Another feature would be tracking and rating systems.  Customers are able to track their delivery from the kitchen all the way to their door; following on from this they can rate their delivery and food, improving the relationship between the restaurant and the customer as well as the 'middle-man' being the delivery service.

The food delivery industry is vast, constantly expanding and is predicted to expand in the years to come.  The food delivery industry is estimated to be a £18 billion market and is predicted to rise to £29.4 billion (a 16% increase) by 2022.

Just Eat

'Just Eat' is a food delivery service, which targets 18-34 year olds. The company works as an aggregator in the sense that they collect data from the restaurants which commission them.

Just Eat was founded by 5 Danish entrepreneurs in the year 2000 (in Denmark) and was launched in 2001.  In 2005, Bo Bendtsen bought out the the founders and moved the company to the UK.  Jesper Buch and David Butress then launched the company in 2006.

Just Eat accelerated their success in the UK after 2012 by:

• launching their 'Dont Cook, Just Eat' Campaign with 'Mr Mozzerela' showing the fun in the brand.
• introducing the #minifistpump campaign in 2014.  This celebrated the victory of getting a takeaway and appealed to their target audience on social media with the hashtag.  Reflected their brand values of fun and rewarding.

The company has had a high amount of economic success, with 87,300 restaurants worldwide and a top 100 place on the FTSE 100, being worth £5.5 billion in 2017.

The company makes revenue through:

• An initial connection fee to sign up to the restaurant.  This varies at around £699.
• Commission fee based on the funds made from successful orders via the app or website. 
• Fees from card payments.  Restaurants have the choice to pass this on to the consumer.
• Other forms such as restaurant requests for being promoted near the top of the website.

Just Eat has received a positive reputation in recent times, especially among their target audience of young professionals and families.  This has been done through events such as the 'Just Eat Street' in Dublin, where food from all over world was sold and workshops were held.  They have also sponsored bikes in Edingburgh, which are now known as 'Just Eat cycles', giving them a representation of a positive and environmentally responsible company.  However, it has been reported by various restaurants, particularly in Oxfordshire, that the commission rates are unreasonably high.  This has resulted in local business making their own commission-free food delivery services such 'Oxford Orders'.

By researching Just Eat in addition to food delivery services in general, I have gained a greater understanding on how food delivery services work, who they target and why they are successful.  Just Eat in particular has shown me the importance of memorable marketing to promote a service, which I can adopt in the production process.                                        

The Big Issue Cover Task Evaluation

WWW:  I was successfully able to select a transparent image of myself onto the blue background, in order to create the effect which I intended to have.  I was also able to create a neat box for the other featured topics in the magazine.

EBI: The cutouts were not very neat and somewhat jagged, so more time and accuracy should have been put into this process for a more professional look.  The 'also' box also does not contain content that synergizes well with the theme of the magazine.  More thought could have been put into this, prior to making it.  Finally, the colour of background does not appear to be very representative of The Big Issue brand.  These could have been contrasting in order to make the cover more visually appealing or 'eye-catching' and this would additionally work to reinforce the brand image.

Disney Trailer Analysis: Tomorrowland

'Tomorrowland' is a Disney adventure movie which tells the story of a former 'boy-genius' (Frank) as well as a gifted teenage girl (Casey) who are tasked to explore a land caught in between time and space as well as save the future of the world.

The first shots of the trailer use low-key lighting, as well as a voiceover of Frank, immediately stating the disruption of the narrative: "the future is running out."  The use of low-key lighting connotes the possibility of a bleak or dystopian conclusion to the story, assuming the disruption is not dissolved.  This emphasises the magnitude on the disruption, implying that it plays a significant role in how it influences the characters make decisions or tackle challenges ahead in the film.  Furthermore, this can also relate to Barthes' enigma code as it causes the audience to question why the future is "running out" or why Frank is staring at his Nixie tube timer rather than changing the future which hands in the balance.

On the other hand, the shots featuring Casey afterward contrast the negative mode of the previous shots with Frank, as these appear as more hopeful and optimistic.  The scene in the car in addition to the montage within 'Tomorrowland' use genre signifiers such as the flying vehicles and hover-boards to indicate that it is an adventure movie.  As a result, it may become appealing mostly towards adolescents and tech-savvy adults who are interested in Computer Generated Imagery (CGI).  The montage also includes a contrasting narration to the first where Frank hints to a place which has no limits.  This can be linked to Barthes' symbolic code as it raises the question as to whether a 'utopian' society can actually ever be created.

As the trailer progresses, the cuts between shots become more frequent, dialogue becomes shorter and there is a larger shot variety.  This connotes the spontaneous and epic nature of the film.  It also demonstrates to the audience the action or sci-fi influences within the movie, as the remaining scenes showcase the antagonists who are constantly trying to thwart the progress of the protagonists with gadgets and weapons they would associate with 'the future' presented in the media.

At end of the trailer, the non-diagetic music reaches it's climax; the soundtrack is dominated with percussion, implying the dramatic or 'epic' ideas which stem from this movie, such as saving and changing the world.  The final shot reduces the pace of the trailer and relates back to the main genre of the movie: adventure.  This is in order to return back to the core themes of the movie such as exploration and innovation, as well as return it's appeal back to the adolescent audience who are attracted by the traditional adventure theme which Disney usually emphasises the most in their films.

Continuity Task 2 Evaluation

1. What was your role in the task and what did you actually do?

In the task, my primary role was to film the actors or monitor the sound for other members of my group whilst they were filming; I took up the role of camera operator and sound operator.  I also partook in editing some of the video in post-production as well as contributed some shot ideas alongside the rest of the group.  During pre-production, decisions were made collectively, for example the order of our shot list or the when and how we were going to cut to our master shot, since the brief requested it was to be included.

2. As a group, what factors did you take into account when planning, filming and editing?
During planning, we took into account the shot types we needed if we wished to have full continuity, such as the master shot and eyeline matches on the extreme close-ups.  When filming, we had to continue to consider how we would get full continuity, such as obeying the 180 degree rule and keeping the set / props in the same condition for when we filmed from different directions.  In the editing process, our group had to think about how effectively we could maintain the narrative flow and tell the narrative with the rushes which we had available.  This was not just for continuity purposes, but so the audience would understand what was going on.

3. How successful was your sequence?  Did you fulfill the demands of the brief?  Did you manage to demonstrate match-on-action, shot-reverse shot and 180-degree rule?  Did you achieve continuity overall?
I would say that our sequence was quite successful, as we met the demands of the brief.  Sadly, we did not reach maximum continuity, as a result of the change of time on the clock in the background between two shots.  Furthermore, filming did overrun by approximately 15 minutes, which meant that we did not succeed in filming all our shots in the time allocated.  Besides this, match-on-action and shot/reverse/shot was successfully achieved during post-production.  Also, the 180 degree rule was not broken when filming.

4. What have you learnt from completing this task?  How might this learning impact on future video production work?
From completing this task, I have learnt to pay attention to fine details in order to gain full continuity (for example the clock in our video).  I have also become more competent in filming in order to meet a brief and this experience will increase the efficiency the production process and will ultimately make sure that we complete filming within the time allocated.  Additionally, I have increased my skills in editing on Adobe Premiere CC and this will help me feel more confident when editing, exporting and uploading projects in the future. 

Continuity Task Evaluation

1. Explain the story of your video.

In the video, both characters are sitting at a table; one of them (Megan) asks for a pair of scissors to cut an image from a magazine.  The character who is asked agrees (Hugo) and recklessly throws the scissors directly through the girl's hand.  Megan screams at the top of her voice and Hugo curses, realizing the damage that was done. 

2. How did you attempt to create 'narrative flow' (continuity)?
We tried to create continuity by abiding to by the 180 degree rule, so the conversation seemed as if both characters were looking at the same thing.  The use of the establishing shot at the beginning of the video was used to increase the audience's sense of place as well.  Finally, an eyeline match was established throughout, making it seem as if both characters were looking at each other.

3. Did you achieve full continuity?  If not, why not?

No, we did not achieve full continuity.  The lighting change can be noticed between shot 2 and 3.  This makes it seem as if the shot was at another time or in a different setting, making it seem slightly confusing for the viewer.  The 'jump cut' created was an attempt of a match on action.  This failed as the 30 degree rule was violated.

4. In hindsight, what would you do differently to improve the narrative flow of your video and tell your story more effectively?
To improve narrative flow, including a master shot with both characters would be good for the audience, as it would give them a better view as to what is going on, besides from just the establishing shot.   This also may apply to the constant use of mostly mid-shots and close ups; a greater variety of shots would also solve the problem of the audience's spacial awareness.  Finally, re-shooting shots 3 and 4 would rid of the lighting change as well as rectify the match on action.

Reflection on Practical: TV Drama Still

The second shot in the storyboard (which became the still below).

• For this practical, it was decided collectively to conform to the 'western' sub-genre.  This would make up a series of 4 TV Drama stills.  Ideas concerning genre signifiers of the western theme were taken into account, as well as shot types and locations which we could use in order to encode information for the audience.  A storyboard was then developed which was constantly referred back to during the production process. 

A shot of both characters looking into the horizon.

• The medium long shot captures both a cowboy and a cowgirl standing in the shade of a tree in front of a saloon. The man is pointing forward, as they appear to be witnessing the horizon ahead.  Natural lighting was used to convey the active and outdoor lifestyle of those in the 'wild west'.  In reference to mise-en-scène, the characters take up the middle third of the frame, implying that their role or actions is somewhat significant to the events which my unfold.  The shot features genre signifiers in the form of props, for example the pistol in the man's pocket or the traditional cowboy hats they're both wearing.

• From this shot, I wanted the audience to feel as if there was a connection between the characters in the frame.  However, I also wanted to create a subtle sense of juxtaposition between the female character, who appears possibly cold and uninterested with the male protagonist who seems thrilled and invested in what is in the distance.  Therefore this shot attempts to capture what could be an equilibrium or the beginning of a disruption within a narrative.

• In relation to Barthes' narrative codes, the shot is meant to provoke the audience to ask themselves what exactly the two characters are looking at and why they have different reactions towards the subject; this would be the enigma code.  In this shot, I was also trying to communicate the idea of deception. One could possibly connote from this shot, due to the cowgirl's  facial expression being similar to a 'poker-face', as it comes across as solitary and unreadable.  This would be classed underneath the semic code, as the audience or viewer would have to infer this information.  In the still, the female character is symbolic of a femme-fatale, who possibly causes the downfall the male protagonist next to her.  The symbolism which is encoded in the still would belong under Barthes' symbolic code.                                                                                
• I would say that the props and costume were successful in this shot, as they worked well in being genre signifiers; they explicitly portrayed what we were attempting to get across.  In contrast, if I was to repeat the activity, I would focus on changing the shot type.  Instead of a medium long shot, I would make it a two-shot as it would focus more on the expressions the characters have on their faces, enhancing their symbolism.

TV Drama Still Analysis

The still from the crime-drama 'Gotham' portrays the character, Edward Nygma's maniacal sigh of relief after succeeding in committing his first murder.  The character is captured in a close-up shot, dominating the frame with his body, suggesting that he is exuding confidence as he accepts and embraces the new, insane path which comes after murder.  The knife which he is staring at is stained in blood, as well as central of the frame.  This may connote that the idea of blood-lust and violence are going to have roles within the character's future or may simply represent the importance of his act.  The character's costume and hairstyle are rather 'out of place' which contrasts with his large glasses, which we commonly relate to intellectuals.  The still distorts the perceptions most of the audience would have of intellectuals and provides them with a bleaker and more gruesome image of what one could be like.