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FINAL PORTFOLIO

Bastiaan Slot IMEM 122341

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TABLE OF CONTENT

DESCRIPTION

Personal Student Information 3

Start and ending date of my placement 3

Company 3

History of the company 4

Products and target group 4

Clients / customers 5

Organization Chart 5

Description of the activities 6

Link with the M&E industry 8

Other Arrangements 8

COMPETENCE DEVELOPMENT REPORT

Self-Assessment 9

Competence Development / Final Interim Report

Competence 10 10

Competence 9 11

Competence 8 12

Competence 7 13

Competence 3 14

NHTV Assignment 15

ASSESSMENT FORMS 18

APPENDICES 26

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Placement Plan

DESCRIPTION

Name Bastiaan Slot

ID Code 122341

Mobile phone number +00 61 4 26 51 32 23

Address I will be staying Scott Street 36, unit 6

3184 Elwood

Australia

START AND END DATE OF MY PLACEMENT

Starting date: 22/09/2014 ending date: 23/01/2015

COMPANY INFORMATION

Name of company: Ed Reiss Film

Address: 4 Killeen Avenue Brighton East 3187

Melbourne, VIC, Australia

General contact: Tel: +00 61 4 35 71 74 37

http://vimeo.com/edreissfilm

edreissfilm@live.com.au

Placement Supervisor: Ed Reiss

Director/Cinematographer, Company Owner

Tel: +00 61 4 35 71 74 37

edreissfilm@live.com.au

Working days: Monday - Friday 9-5

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HISTORY OF THE COMPANY

Ed Reiss Film was founded in 2011 in Melbourne by Ed Reiss, who started off with a passion for

all areas of video production. Before starting his company, he was managing multiple bands

where he began creating a network in the 'metal' world as he already had an association with

the genre and had a small clientele platform to launch off. He began building trust with these

clients who gave him this opportunity and has been progressing forward ever since. Right after

starting the company, with his limited equipment he began building a solid rep and client base

which resulted in work beginning to flow in regularly. With the quality of his work and the niche

he cut out for himself, the size of his client list and building repertoire, the budget for his

projects escalated. With the surge of work coming in, Reiss then went to hire additional editors,

directors and producers. From having started at the bottom and cutting out a career for

himself, Reiss has continued to work nationally on projects, as well as venturing out with

international clients. Ed Reiss Film has recently merged with Haus Party in creating a media firm

that aims to cover the music video business nationally in all genres of music. Chris Elder, owner

of Haus Party, was a significant mentor to Ed and now that both companies have multiple

connections and networks, together they will be worth a lot more. The company has recently

bought new, expensive gear from RED (http://www.red.com/store/cameras) as they are now

looking into expanding and having teams set up in all states of Australia, with future plans to

venture into international waters.

PRODUCTS AND TARGET GROUP

The company focuses on music videos, with metal and rock currently being the primary

genre/target group. Clients of the company are generally under the age of 30. Focusing on this

genre has allowed the company to specialize in this field which puts them above a lot of the

competitor media companies looking to approach these acts. Due to this specialization, clients

will work with a company that fully understands the industry and can offer a lot of insight and

experience to create products that the bands and public would enjoy. The company works

closely with its clients so that both parties get the outcome they want. With the large demand

of bands in Australia trying to make it big, Ed Reiss Film offers top quality videos at an

affordable price which further helps them stand out. Although being a newer and fresher

company, Ed Reiss Film is a company that has bands lining up to get him to direct and produce

their projects. They now look to expand their company where they aim to cover more genres

while still specializing in metal.

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CLIENTS/CUSTOMERS

All clients of Ed Reiss Film are national acts, as well as international touring acts in Australia. The first client of the company is "Storm the Sky", which to this day is still on Reiss' client list. Storm the Sky, founded in 2009, is a metal band based in Melbourne that has toured around the world. Ed went with the band in 2014 to film their hour long DVD in America which is to debut early 2015. Since starting with them, the company has completed 5 music videos and a DVD for them in the time span of the business being operational (since 2011). During my internship I worked with this band the most where I helped with production and editing for music videos and the DVD. Since having this band as one of its first clients, the company has now worked with over 30 different clients, many of which are still ongoing partnerships that have a similar story to Storm the Sky. Spread around Australia, the company has made videos for up and coming bands such as Dream on Dreamer, Prepared Like a Bride, Glorifide, Sierra, Hellions and Earth caller, and continue to maintain a good client partnership. Some of the clients that the company has worked with can be seen on the vimeo website: http://vimeo.com/edreissfilm/videos Clients that I have worked with within the company during my internship are Storm the Sky, Left for Wolves, Far West Battlefront, Sentinal, I valiance and Prepared Like a Bride.

ED REISS FILM ORGANIZATION CHART

There are a total of 6 employees that work on all projects, plus many more which Reiss brings in and hires himself when needed that work part time. This chart displays the organizational structure of Ed Reiss Film and his employees. The positions are fixed, however everybody is involved with each other within the company. Reiss constantly updates his employees directly and encourages them to share their input and output with each other. One note I should add is that Chris Elder does not work under Ed Reiss, but is equal to him as he has put investment into the company as well. My position in this chart was working below Ed and Chris, but mainly learning from Ed. I learned all aspects of what goes on in the company by learning from the other employees so that I was able to get a full understanding of the different areas within the company.

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DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITIES

What were your responsibilities?

investigation & research: When working on a new project or new clients, it was my responsibility to help with the investigation and research. This meant finding out what needed to be done, if we could do it, how long it would take, where we would do it and so on. This mainly means the preparation that needed to be done before we actually started. It also means researching optimal ways of doing tasks, which could mean looking at tutorials, asking colleagues for aid and just doing research that would help me work at my full potential.

Preparation for shooting: Before we shot our footage, a lot of things needed to be prepared and my responsibility with this was doing what I could so that the shooting days ran smoothly. As the company owns the basic equipment to shoot, I had to see that these were ready for use on shooting days. I had to test everything and keep track of everything. The equipment the company did not own had to be rented. It was necessary to make a list of what we needed and find means to rent them as well as get them to the location, while keeping track of the budget. There was a lot of equipment that we used and keeping track of them with a list is how I learned to be responsible. Not just equipment, I had to make sure that all parties involved were able to shoot on said day. This required making appointments and emailing constantly with people to arrange things. Arranging small things as well such as lunch on the shooting days was also one of my many important responsibilities!

Shooting days: On shooting days, I often got the opportunity to shoot the footage. As it is an expensive camera, I slowly received more trust and freedom to use the RED Epic Dragon, however most of the time I stuck to the DSLR. On days I would not shoot on shooting days, I would work on other parts of the set such as the sound board, manage the lighting, smoke machine or just pay close attention to the tasks that the other employees were doing. On shooting days it was also my responsibility to help set everything up so I knew where everything was and got a thorough understanding of the roles that everything played. At the end of the day, I would then help pack everything up and get all the props and equipment back to where I got it from.

Editing: Another main task and responsibility was editing. I would be given a project and get it done within a time frame. I had to take it upon myself to get the information required to edit and learn how to be good at it. This meant learning from my peers and from the internet. I had to communicate well with the clients and my peers about what we wanted to achieve and make sure I execute it. Ed, Joe and Alex were my main mentors when it came to editing.

Website: During my internship, I was given a task of making a proper company website. I used my NHTV knowledge and researched the internet on how to make one and was able to get a good start on it by using wix.com. Although it was not finished during my time at the company, I was able to learn and work a lot on it.

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WHAT WERE YOUR MAIN TASKS?

Being the first intern the company had ever taken on board, there was no set program for me

to follow and I had to take it upon myself to sometimes set my own tasks. Having so many

responsibilities, there was lots of work at Ed Reiss Film that needed to be done, meaning that

the main tasks I did from week to week varied, however I was often working in the different

stages of production for projects. The employees often taught me things and took me under

their wing. Mostly I worked closely with Ed and the other employees but I slowly got more

independent to the point where I knew what needed to be done. A large part of my work

placement was editing, where the editors at the company as well as Ed taught me editing and

then set tasks for me to edit.

I was also in charge of some design work which included creating a website and business cards.

The website was something the company had wanted to do for a while and it finally had a

budget for me to work with where I could design one with the domain name. Although I did not

finish the website, it is close to being operational. As for the business cards, we had a thousand

printed which should last the company a long time!

For shooting days, I did all kinds of tasks before, during and after, which are explained in more

detail under my responsibilities on page 5. Being a location scout was an important task in pre

production and once we had the locations, I started preparations for all kinds of things for the

shooting days with the other employees. This includes making a storyboard, shots we would

use, arranging dates of shooting, props and equipment.

Reiss also gave me the opportunity to work on my own personal projects. Giving me this

opportunity, it brought up a lot of tasks and responsibility where I got to create something I've

always wanted to do. I ended up writing scripts using celtx.com where I wrote various scripts.

WHAT WILL A TYPICAL WORKING DAY LOOK LIKE?

As discussed with the company, a typical working day is very hard to describe as it always

varied. What ended up being a typical working day is coming into work, seeing which deadlines

were nearing and work on a said project. I would spend my working days in any of the three

production phases; pre-production, production and post production. As stated in my

responsibilities, when working on pre-production, I performed the steps that were needed to

be able to shoot. This often took up multiple days of just preparation, where I often had to

travel. For production a typical day was being out in the field setting up, shooting and packing

up. We usually had one day a week where we would shoot as we sometimes got hired only for

shooting and the editing was done elsewhere. Mostly however a typical day for me would be in

the office editing, learning or making arrangements to shoot. The goal of the company was for

me to accompany the whole production process. I was planned in to fulfill tasks that arose

suddenly, meaning to help out wherever required. One day I was out all day location scouting,

another editing music videos, interviews or short stories, another on websites and scripts or

even spending time learning about the software and equipment that they use at the company.

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LINK WITH THE M&E INDUSTRY

The work placement I did with Ed Reiss Film provides a strong link to the Media and

Entertainment industry. With its specialization in music videos, I was able to gain knowledge

about the structure and procedure of production. The company offered me an insight into the

different production phases and allowed me to contribute to each of these stages with my

skills. From content development, preparation of shootings to the editing – all the tasks I

worked on stand directly in connection to the creation of a media product and therefore to the

M&E industry.

OTHER ARRANGEMENTS

I was not paid for doing this work placement and I arranged my own accommodation for the

five month period.

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COMPETENCE DEVELOPMENT PLAN Bastiaan Slot

122341

Self-assessment Placement Preparation Document SC2

Motivation

Back in year one of my studies, having had previous experience in economics and business economics, I

thought that I would see myself in only the business side of media. While having this knowledge, my

passion really lies more in the creative side of media and having had this internship opportunity with Ed

Reiss Film allowed me to explore and contribute in all aspects of that. Being able to work closely with

the head of the company and learn from him and all his employees not only taught me about content

and production, but manage a business as well. Working for a company which consists of people in their

20's, really showed and motivated me that this is something I can do once I graduate. Although this

internship might not be the exact direction I want to go in, I see it as a place I really learned from and

had fun while doing it. Also being able to travel all over Victoria to shoot music videos and meet bands

was a great opportunity for me.

Achievements

I have always had a passion for creativity and video production which started with my YouTube channel,

TheBumShow, when I was fifteen. I have made over twenty videos and accumulated over three and half

million views, some of those videos actually being music videos. From script writing to filming and then

editing, I was purely self motivated and received many awards for my videos and was even flown for an

all expense paid trip to London where I stayed in the Hilton hotel. Now having had this internship with

Ed Reiss Film, I used my experience to help the company while developing my skills. I saw this internship

and what I was doing in it as one of my achievements. Working on the DVD for Storm the Sky has been

one of the biggest projects I have ever worked on and once it is done, one of my greatest achievements

at this company. It is an hour long DVD which shows the recording process of the band, interviews, live

performances at Pony Music as well as the music videos. I was not involved with the pre production and

majority of the production for the DVD, however I was involved in putting it together and finalising it for

its release in January. I have had lots of experience at the company with pre production and production

as well though, where we shot footage of bands for a music video.

Strengths and weaknesses

Strengths Weaknesses

- Good communication skills in English - Work better in the evening/at night

- Editing and production experience - No previous knowledge of industry

- Flexible - Tend to procrastinate occasionally

- Positive attitude

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Competence: 10 (self-management)

Goal and explanation:

I have a tendency to not get on with the job at hand directly and will ponder on the tasks I am given

until the deadline approaches. This leaves me stressed and means I have little time left to complete the

task where initially I had been given more than enough time. My approach to tasks and time-

management need to improve so it will help me stay on top of things and put me at the same level of

work ethic as my fellow students at the NHTV as well as my coworkers.

My goal during my placement in regard to self management is to create a work ethic that is punctual,

scheduled and appropriate to be able to work at this professional level. Although this internship is still

part of my study, working in the real world has consequences on all scales and requires me to properly

manage my time. With this, I hope to discover what it is that I am doing differently so that I can work at

the same level as my co-workers by asking their opinions and if my work and attitude is up to their

standard. I want to be plan my week ahead so that I am constantly informed and on top of tasks.

Specific Improve time management. I will approach future projects by improving how I manage my tasks and work ethic by making weekly plans by discussing it with Ed Reiss so I know what I will be doing and by when it should be done.

Measurable I will request feedback from my colleagues at Ed Reiss Film and implement these to how I work. I will show my weekly plan and make sure it is acceptable for me to thrive. This will show improvement.

Action The internship is a learning experience in many ways and my main goal is to see how work is approached and executed by my colleagues. I will observe them closely and ask them on insight on how they work with time management. I will implement these tips into my projects and tasks and aim to imitate my colleagues in this perspective.

Realistic I do believe this to be realistic as I initially knew this was a problem I already had. Being willing to change this to improve my self-management, I feel it will benefit me greatly and put me at the level of work ethic that is required by the NHTV as well as the company.

Time bound

I will complete my internship on January 23rd 2015 which will be when I will measure my change. By having collective talks with my colleagues, I hope to achieve a proper work ethic as soon as possible and maintain that for the remainder of my internship.

Reflecting with STARR

Situation When given projects to work on and tasks that need to be completed, I wanted to improve my time management and work ethic so that I would not be overwhelmed with work. With the various projects we were working on, it required a tight time planning.

Task To complete all tasks in a professional and timely manner so that they were completed before the deadline. This included Preparing for shooting days and editing.

Action When being given tasks it became necessary to make a plan and make sure I stuck to it. When preparing for shooting days I made a plan of the equipment we needed and had to make sure that all parties involved were present. For editing, I received insight from colleagues about how long projects took to edit and made sure to plan accordingly.

Result All shooting days ran very smoothly except for two occasions and with editing I was always able to complete the task before the deadline.

Reflection Luckily with so many professionals around me, I rarely found myself stressed with self management as we always wrote up a weekly plan so that I was constantly informed and stayed on top of tasks. As I understood more about the equipment needed for shoots and how to edit, I was always able to properly plan my week and stick to it.

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Competence: 9 (Social and communicative competency)

Goal and explanation:

By having this experience to work in a company at a professional level, I have the opportunity to learn

how to interact with clients in the real world. I find this competence to be crucial for my future as I feel

it closely correlates to the success of many of my other competencies.

I feel I have always been good at communication when the topic interests me or when I am confident in

what I am doing. Especially when I am have good relations with those I am communicating with, I really

shine in being able to get my point across. When it comes to things I am unfamiliar with I tend to

hesitate and communicate with confidence, sometimes even ignoring the task at hand completely. With

this competency I aim to improve my communication skills to a professional level that works well in the

industry, even with topics that I may not be comfortable with. This means talking to clients in a

professional way that is both polite and direct and maintain constant contact with these people to show

my interest and professionalism.

Reflecting with STARR

Situation Working with various bands and record labels, there was lots of communication that needed to be done to make sure that everything ran smoothly. This included preparing for shoots and then communicating to discuss editing and the steps after that.

Task To communicate with clients to let them know what would be happening on shooting days and other things such as costs and requirements.

Action I communicated with clients through the phone, mail or face-to-face, whichever was most convenient for the client. When talking business, this was usually done through mail so that we both could keep records of it and as shooting days approached, we would usually talk over the phone so that we could receive answers instantly.

Result Communication was sometimes an issue with some clients as they were slow to respond, however I made sure to always act professionally that was both direct and polite. Initially I had to learn the proper etiquette for communication within this industry and in the end I felt confident with how I handled things.

Reflection My colleagues were impressed with how I handled communication, even when the clients did not make it easy for me at times. I did blunder at one point at the start of my internship, where I should have made phone calls when I received no reply from my e-mail. This was when I learned to be thorough and stay up to date with communication.

Specific Improve my social and communicative skills in an international environment to a level that is expected at a professional level when communicating with clients.

Measurable I converse with clients a few times a week which is monitored by my company supervisor. His feedback and input will tell me if I have reached my goal of being able to communicate with clients at a professional level.

Action By learning from my colleagues on the proper etiquette when communicating with clients, I will learn how to communicate at a professional level. I will ask my supervisor on his insight in this regard and then apply it where needed.

Realistic Yes, to improve my social and communicative competency is one of my main goals in this internship and is easily obtainable as I am surrounded by professionals at the office and will communicate with clients by phone and mail weekly. I can ask for help whenever needed and will improve in this competency every time.

Time bound

By the end of my internship on January 23rd, I aim to complete this competency and be able to communicate to clients at a level required in this industry.

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Competence: 8 (Developing and maintaining networks.)

Goal and explanation:

Ed Reiss Film is a company that is in a niche market and once you join the industry, you get to know a lot

of people very quickly. This does not just include the company, but clients as well as other companies

and free lancers that work within the industry. By implementing my competency goals (9) I will try to

create connections with people within the industry here in Australia, so if I were to ever return, I would

be able to start somewhere. This would also help me no matter where in the world I would be, as I

would create connections that could possibly lead to work opportunities later on. The way I aim to

maintain these relationships is to assess which ones are worth keeping in touch with and then get

involved with their facebook page. All our clients have a facebook page and liking it and regularly be

involved with the content they post will let them remember me and see that I show interest in them

and/or their business. Although I meet a lot of people during my internship, it is necessary that I only

stay in touch with the big names, so that if I ever return I can quickly get back into the scene by utilizing

those connections. On top of this, I will also start creating and maintaining networks elsewhere in the

world with previous people I have met and/or worked with as at the time I did not do this.

Specific Create and maintain a network with the contacts I will be making over the course of my internship and previous associates I have met and/or worked with.

Measurable I will use social media such as Facebook and linkedIn to measure this, as well as business cards, saving email addresses and phone numbers. Afterwards, I will to assess the quality of those relationships by asking my colleagues to see if these connections are reliable and worth maintaining through facebook.

Action By learning from my colleagues and staying in close contact with them, I will learn how to communicate at a professional level to build these contacts. I will ask my supervisor and colleagues on their insight on who are good people to stay in touch with. I will need to adjust to a more personal approach in Developing good connections.

Realistic Creating and maintaining a network will be a hard to assess, since I think a lot of the experienced people in the industry will see that I am only in Australia temporarily. I will therefore mainly focus on broadening the network, rather than deepen the relations themselves.

Time bound

By the end of my internship on January 23rd, I aim to complete this competency, where I create many networks. I will aim to maintain the ones I deem worthy.

Reflecting with STARR

Situation During my internship I communicated with various clients, partners and other companies. It offered opportunities to get close with these companies and be able to create networks.

Task I had to communicate lot throughout my internship with clients and set a task for myself to see if these were people I wanted to create and maintain a network with.

Action I asked my colleagues and did research on people I worked with to see if they were worth creating a network with. I then asked them if they use linkdIn or Facebook so that I could keep in touch with them for if I ever decided to come back to Australia and potentially work with them again. I then liked their Facebook page and began regularly commenting on their content. To maintain these connections I will continue to be involved with their endeavors as it will be a long time before I might return.

Result I met many interesting and respected people within the industry who I let know that there is potential to work again with in the future. I made myself known as much as I could.

Reflection It was good to be treated as an equal and have others respect your work and want to work with you again. I know for sure that if I return I can easily get back into the industry.

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Competence: 7 (Marketing a concept, product or service)

Goal and explanation

One of the tasks that was given to me before even starting at Ed Reiss Film was to create a website for

the company, as well as get involved with social media. Up till recently, the need for marketing was not

a priority as clients are lining up to work with our company. However with the task set by the company, I

aim to reach a level 2 competency where I will be able to analyze a marketing concept and take the right

approach to advertising our services. When looking at the style and theme of our service, I want to make

it that the target group becomes commercially interested when they visit the website and social media

and will come in contact with our company because of how the marketing concept was executed. I will

also create business cards for the company that the company will distribute to existing and potential

clients. As long as I can make something the company would be proud of which creates interest by the

target group, I will have obtained my goal.

Specific Create a website and work with social media to help promote the company in a positive way. I want to implement my knowledge from NHTV and use marketing techniques that will impress my colleagues. Also create a business card to help market the company.

Measurable My work will be measured by the feedback I receive from my colleagues and supervisors. Feedback from the target group on social media will also measure my progress.

Action I will implement my marketing and website development knowledge to create a website and social media to help attract our target group. I will implement feedback from my colleagues over the course of making it so that the marketing concept aligns with the companies values and attracts our target group. Same goes for the business card.

Realistic Maybe, I was told that this is not something the company prioritizes and that I can take my time with it. The company has more than enough work as it is, and if we market our service successfully and attract clients, there would not be enough resources to fit the demand. However, the goal to create a website the company can be proud of can definitely be achieved. Making the business card is also easily done.

Time bound By the end of my internship on January 23rd

Reflecting with STARR

Situation The company wanted to market its products and services and asked that I help them.

Task To make a website which talks about its products and services, create and maintain a facebook page which does the same as well as create a business card that the company can distribute to its existing and potential clients.

Action For the website I was given the domain name and used wix.com to create it. I regularly showed my progress to Reiss and received feedback which I then implemented. For Facebook, I had to regularly post updates on the current events of the company and information that potential clients would be interested in. For the business card I used photoshop to design it and then called up a print shop to get them made and delivered.

Result Unfortunately I was unable to complete the website before the end of my internship, however the basics were all done and I brought people up to speed on how to complete it. The company was happy with what I was able to do however and were glad they did not have to hire somebody to make one. For Facebook I was able to create a lot of awareness for the company with nothing but positive feedback from viewers. Finally as for the business cards, they arrived mid January and the company was happy with how they turned out and that I was able to find a print shop that offered a special discount.

Reflection I was disappointed that the website did not go live by the time I completed my internship but due to my priorities the company did not mind at all. At least I am happy with the fact that I did well on the Facebook page and created the business cards.

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Competence: 3 ( Developing a media product or marketing plan)

Goal and explanation:

In my internship we work on many projects simultaneously, most of which are developing a new media

product (usually a music video). I will get the opportunity to work on all aspects of production, including

the pre and post production process. The company specializes in alternative music videos and I will get

to help create these types of videos as well as work on my own projects. My goal for this company is to

create five media product either by myself or within a team that the company can use and be proud of.

This will give me a deep understanding of the industry, as well as vastly improve my skills in developing a

media product. I want to have a deeper knowledge of the various options available to develop this

entertainment concept further.

Specific Create five new media products, where I want to learn about the music video industry and improve my skills in the whole production phase to a professional level.

Measurable This goal can be measured by my company supervisor and colleagues during and after the media products have been made. After completing at least five media products, I will ask them if I have reached my goal.

Action I will strive to take on big roles in the projects where my input really makes a difference to the end result of the media product. I will apply more than one of the various options to them to rapidly develop a music video.

Realistic Yes, this is realistic because I already have some skills necessary to create a media product and I have colleagues around me that can guide me so I receive a deeper knowledge to develop. I need to prove to the company that the quality I can offer is that of a professional level. Yes, since I have the skills in my arsenal , I will just need to prove that those a good enough to provide quality work on a professional level.

Time bound

By the end of my internship on January 23rd, I aim to complete this competency, where I will create as many media products with my colleagues over the course of my internship and be treated as an equal.

Reflecting with STARR

Situation The creation of various media products (Alternate music videos) together with my colleagues and some free-lancers to be released on the internet and in some cases on television channels such as ABC and SBS.

Task To help with all stages of the production process to create media products.

Action For pre production I had to help write up a storyboard together with my colleagues and clients and prepare for the shooting days. On shooting days I helped with various things such as shooting, lighting, directing and producing. Back at the office I would then spend many hours communicating with people and editing to have the final media product finished in time for its release.

Result In the end I was able to help create more than 5 media products where I helped in all areas of production, most of which were released for the public. Some are still awaiting their release date and ultimately all clients were happy with the work we had produced.

Reflection The company was more that satisfied with the work that I had done over the course of my internship, especially in this regard. I feel proud of what I have accomplished at Ed Reiss Film and looking back there are very few things I would have done differently. Possibly more preparation with the storyboard and thoughts on shots we would use would have saved some trouble and time on shooting days, however it was an all out success where I can safely say I completed my goal in creating media products.

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NHTV ASSIGNMENT - Bastiaan Slot

What are the current trends in business developments and how are these reflected within your work

placement company?

Who does the company create value for?

Ed Reiss Film is a growing music video production company which produces music videos for bands all

over in Australia. Currently focusing on the metal genre, by combining with the company Haus Party,

they look to expand to making videos for all genres of music. This creates value for Haus Party and will

create value for many new record labels, bands and the audience the videos will create. The company's

products which are mainly music videos, create value for record labels by avenue raising through

YouTube advertising. The audience will view the ads on the video which creates revenue.

The company also creates value for the bands themselves. This is where the client experiences the most

value as through the production of music videos where the bands benefit the most. Music videos in

itself are large advertisements for the band and record label.

The company also features its content on a TV show 'Warriors of the Mongkon' by Chris Elder which

creates value for the TV show. This keeps the audience watching and allows the TV show to receive

higher ratings and makes it able for them to sell advertisement slots.

Who are the partners and suppliers the company works with?

Storm the Sky is the primary band I have worked with over the course of my internship and are Ed Reiss

Film's main client. The company works with them on a regular basis, as well as many other bands such

as Prepared like a Bride, Far West Battlefront, Left for Wolves, Sentinal, I Valiance and many more. For

these bands, the company will follow them through all of the production phases and create music

videos the bands will be happy with.

As mentioned earlier, Haus Party is a company Reiss has begun working with and have already begun

working on a show reel which will be released when the merge is finalized. Chris Elder, owner of Haus

Party has worked with Reiss already for many years and has been a mentor since the companies early

days, offering them insight on the industry, connections and networks as well as collaborating on past

projects.

Ed Reiss Film has worked with many record labels such as UNFD, Taper Jean, Artery, Faction/Sony Music

and Electric Sun Studio. Bands which are signed by these record labels will collaborate with Ed Reiss Film

to make sure what the company does for the bands is in its best interest and will also work closely with

them throughout the production of the music videos.

Although the company has many of its own equipment, for almost every shoot there is equipment

which needs to be rented. Equipment rentals are a regular partner of the company and will rent from

places that are most convenient to the shooting location. Some of the usual places the company hires

from is Bens Camera Hire, Dragon Image and Crisp Image Hire.

Finally, on a smaller scale, the company gets its stickers, posters, business cards and other printed

material from Sticker Mule.

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Through which communication and distribution channels does the company reach their markets?

Ed Reiss Film reaches its market, the fans, with its content through YouTube and Vimeo. Here the

audience can view the videos made by the company with ease by sitting behind their computers.

Contact between the company and the end-consumers can then be done through social media such as

Facebook and Twitter. There are also some other websites such as australianhysteria.com and

vmusic.com which do premieres of music videos which occasionally feature the company's content.

The company also features its content on television on channels such as Channel V and ABC. A popular

radio station Triple J also has a segment called Short Fast Loud, where DJ's will communicate with the

market about a band's recent music video which was made by the company. All this is usually done

through the bands and although the company does not work directly with these distribution channels,

the content that was created ultimately reaches the viewers which creates publicity.

When communicating with clients and record labels, the company communicates in whatever form is

easiest for both parties, meaning face-to-face, phone or email. Email is used most often, especially when

working with record labels that want to have proof of communication.

Are there specific elements of Media & Entertainment in the market in which the company operates?

As a music video production company, Ed Reiss Film is responsible for the budgeting, scheduling,

scripting, shooting and editing of alternative music videos. Pretty much all steps that go from accepting

a job to the final completion of the music video will be done by the company. Once the video is

complete however, the company is not responsible for what is done with the video as it is then up to the

band or record label that decides how to distribute it. The market in which the company operates by

creating music videos for clients definitely has a link to the Media & Entertainment industry.

What are recent trends and developments within the company and their market?

One of the recent trends found in making music videos is storytelling. Music videos have to resolve

around the concept of the album and many music videos are done in sagas. We have found that this

way, people get more involved and will feel the need to watch all of the content. When stories can be

told over a longer period of time, fans feel more involved in watching a story progress and will discover

more about the albums concept which helps the band bring its message across clearly.

Visual effects is also in high in demand with clients, often asking for CGI and slomo in their videos. The

CGI trend has stemmed from Hollywood films and with the general public being accustomed to having it

all around them, it's become expected/the norm. This then leads to difficulties in visual effects by it

being expensive, time consuming and often the inability to meet their demands.

Another trend is that three years ago, smaller bands didn't get music videos and now almost any band

can get one. At first it was rare for bands to want them and it was uncommon. With the emergence of

the DSLR cameras, it became a lot more accessible for amateurs to produce music videos or videos in

general. This lead to an influx of content being created for bands and for music videos to be more

accessible to smaller artists. Ed Reiss Film had an early lead so the company was able to create a name

for himself before anybody else, which gave him an edge. Having more experience under his belt,

allowed Reiss to be seen above some of the other amateurs and grow quickly as a company. With the

increased number of music videos being released constantly, bands realized how marketable they were

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thanks to the internet and how having a music video become a necessity. Not having one these days can

have a negative impact on the band and release of an album, as consumers will not think highly of them.

Back in the MTV days when the TV channel constantly played music videos, MTV videos used to be

short, fast and in your face. This has continued to the modern day, where videos still follow that trend,

but each video is still trying to outdo the last, making it hard to derive new concepts or images that will

keep the audience entertained. This means that in the future, it will constantly become harder to outdo

what was previously made. Bands will almost always want something new or big that will put their video

above the rest, making it difficult for the company to constantly improve and give the clients what they

want. Recently the company shot a video with a five storey bonfire in the background which will only tell

you how extreme the next video must be and the one after that.

For the outcomes you are asked to: analyze the current situation of your company (this refers to a

situation analysis) come up with improvements for the company including motivation/ recommend

how the company can improve their products or services.

Ed Reiss Film is a small but growing company which have been very successful in what they do. Despite

this, I believe that there are some improvements that can be made to the current situation as well as

some possible suggestions they could implement as they expand their company. I took some time to

speak with the other employees as well as the boss about this topic and they all had similar things to say

on how the company could improve.

One of the main things the company is currently missing is a proper company website, one that is

constantly updated. Although I made a good start with this, it is near its completion and once finished

will make the company a more prestigious one. As well as this, engaging with more people through

social media and jumping the band wagon with the current trends will vastly improve the marketing for

the company and give its viewers what they want. I spent some time doing this for the company,

however once I leave, the company will need to bring somebody new to continue this.

Another improvement is to constantly stay ahead of the competitors by using newer technology. The

company already does well with this by the purchase of the Epic RED Dragon camera, however updating

the rest of the equipment such as the aerial drones will allow the company to do a lot more. Also the

purchase of more RED cameras will allow more camera's to be rolling simultaneously, rather than just

the one. Once this can be implemented and then marketed, rather than clients seeking the company's

service, the company should get in touch with larger clients instead to really put its name out there. To

do this however, something the company is really missing is a permanent VFX/CGI artist. Currently the

company works with freelancers but with the current trend of clients wanting this, having a full time

employee would be a great benefit to the company as they could then constantly work closely together.

Having these things will enable them to create new partnerships with record labels and bands and will

allow them to focus more on the international side to really make their company expand.

Having a sister company and branding themselves with a different name will allow the company to do

more corporate work. This will create more revenue for the company which means they will be able to

spend more money and time in the music video side of the business and will also mean they will have a

bigger budget to work with. With the trend of each video needing to be better than the last, doing this

will give the video a higher production value which in turn creates more interest in the business to

enable them to get those larger clients.

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APPENDICES

Gear rental example

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Example Invoice

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Rough story line

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References

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Mail UNFD

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Business card made for the company

Back

Front

Some links to media products

Unify Gathering Teaser

http://vimeo.com/117582421

Storm The Sky - Same Graves (Official Music Video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mFk3VhnTH4

Emberville - Amethyst (Official Music Video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0u0XujUcSs

Proof of creating networks.

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Posts posted on Ed Reiss Film's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/EdReissFilm?fref=ts

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Company website