The Big Event
What is the big event?
In this module, I will work with students from a range of courses, (Journalism and Media & Communications) within the School of Media and Performing Arts to apply the skills learned in Semester 1 in the production of a significant media output.
Working on one of a series of set, real-world briefs, I will produce a collaborative project that enables me to produce work around my interests as well as develop my professional portfolio of work.
The work from this module will be showcased in a public event which is known as the Big Event.
Meet the Client
St Mary’s Guildhall
Click the Badge…
my Groups live brief from the client
As a team, you are tasked with identifying and creating innovative ways, particularly through the use of video,photographs and written based formats (i.e. blogs) to promote The Guildhall and appeal to their target audience whilst highlighting key elements that have been included in the recent and major restoration (2022) of this medieval tourist destination in the heart of Coventry city centre.
In the third week of the module, my group and I were given the live brief from our clients. The main area that our clients wanted us to focus on was highlighting what the Guildhall was and where it was, which we had to do in a way to target university students, both foreign and local, to visit the Guildhall. St Mary’s Guildhall highlighted that they wanted to present themselves as more of a tourist destination than just another historical building that people pay to go into. Our group started brainstorming ideas as soon as we were given this live brief, and being students ourselves, this process of coming up with ideas to get students to visit the Guildhall was pretty simple because we knew what we’d want from St Mary’s if we as a group were to visit.
Week 1 of planning.
Week 1 of planning.
05/02/24: In this PowerPoint plan that my group did, I created the podcast, research and target audience slides. I did this because my role in the group was to act as writer and editor. To get the information that I needed, I had to do some research on the client and then collate some ideas together for the group. When it came to presenting this slideshow in front of the class and the lecturers I presented the majority of the slides as some of our group was absent that day so I had to step up and lead the presentation. This was good for me as it allowed me to develop my presentation skills, which will help me in future employment.
Week 2: Our Pitch to the clients
Week 2: Our Pitch to the clients
12/02/24: During this week of planning for our Big Event, my group and I had to come up with a presentation for the client as we were meeting them this week. As the main writer of the group, I wrote the audiences, our plan, TikTok, Blog and the who we need to contact slides. The rest of the group contributed to the remaining slides. As well as writing the slides I went back through the presentation to sub-edit it and make sure that grammar and spelling were correct, to make it look as professional as possible before we met with the client and showed them the slides. This helped me to develop a skill of being able to spot small mistakes that could potentially damage our groups professional reputation with clients.
Week 3: Our production week plan
Week 3: Our production week plan
19/02/24: In this week’s stage of planning how our group will achieve the live brief set out by St Mary’s Guildhall, we collated a plan together highlighting how we will spend our four production weeks (filming weeks). For this slideshow I did the timeline and the equipment needed slides, I did less in this slideshow as some members of the group wanted to do more to contribute. However, I made up for the lack of writing I did as I had to present a couple of the slides again. In turn, having to present again this week allowed me to once again strengthen my skills at presenting work to clients, which will help me in future employment. Once we presented this PowerPoint, the feedback from both lecturers and other students gave us some more ideas on how to better improve our ideas, which our group instantly took on board and started making changes that evening.
Production week 1.
Production week 1.
26/02/24: For the first week of the production weeks, my group finalised our plan for what content we will be shooting and at what times as well. In the morning we also finalised our job roles and what people we were going to get involved with the plan we created. In the afternoon my group and I went on a tour of St Mary’s Guildhall. Whilst we were there I took some starting photos for the Instagram plan as well as the Facebook posts for the Guildhall as well. The tour also gave me some information which Harrison and I have recorded on a Zoom H5 (in the audio files below), that I have implemented into my blog post which I have written for the Guildhall.
Overall, the trip to the Guildhall gave me and the group some good ideas and extra information that we didn’t know beforehand. I also thought it was valuable as I got to experience it myself instead of basing my ideas of the place on someone else’s experience, and it was this experience that allowed me to write a better blog piece.
The photos below were taken by me:
Filming day.
Filming day.
29/02/2024: Today was the day we went on location with the clients to start taking photos and videos for our live brief. We headed to the Guildhall at 2:00 pm to shoot some content for 2 hours. We successfully managed to gather all the content we needed after Daisy, Harrison, Libby, and I set up a fake wedding set for the photoshoot.
For the blog I was writing I also gathered some extra information which was needed to make the post better, from information that our client, Jayne, had given Harrison and I in a little brochure.
Below are some behind-the-scenes photos that were taken from the day of filming…
Blog for the Client.
Blog for the Client.
11/03/24: In the blog post that we have sent off to the client at St Mary’s Guildhall, group member Harrison and I finished writing about where the Guildhall is and also what it is. We originally had the idea of writing two separate posts to highlight both these topics, but due to external input, we had to cut that down, which is why we decided to combine the two posts into one, detailing what the Guildhall is, and where it is.
Harrison wrote the first 300 words, going into detail about what the Guildhall is. I then wrote the remaining paragraphs discussing where it is. I then proofread the blog to check for spelling errors and any information that may have been wrong. We then both sent this post off to be checked by a sub-editor and this piece below is the final draft which we sent off to the client.
Photos taken by Myself and teammate Lorenna
700 years of St. Mary’s Guildhall
During the 1340s, a hall was built in Coventry close to the city's religious heart and was established as the people’s base of trading, as well as being a place for holding meetings, ceremonies, and celebrations. People would travel near and far to visit this historic building the different communities building a vibrant atmosphere. The celebrations were festivals of joy and prosperity that fascinated locals with their surroundings.
The Guildhall’s three breathtaking floors have rooms such as the kitchen, the Great Hall, the tapestry, and the armoury, just to name a few. Damaged and partly destroyed during the bombing raids of the Second World War, the remnants of the original building can still be seen today, which is a testament to the early craftsmanship. Although some medieval features were unfortunately lost to modernisation, in the 19th century the Guildhall was recognised as a remarkable building and described as probably the finest medieval house remaining in England.
The religious and royal connections of the Holy Trinity are commemorated in many features of the hall, including the stunning stained-glass designs, exquisite carved stones (which are known as corbels), hand-carved decorations hanging on the ceiling, and the terrific tapestry that hangs beneath the north window, which dates to the mid 15th century and is known as the king’s windows.
Visit St Mary’s Guildhall today and you will be able to unlock hidden gems, using a brand-new interactive tour experience created as part of their £6 million renovation. You can appreciate the renowned, 500-year-old, Coventry tapestry, and explore the hall’s intricate interiors. St. Mary’s Guildhall also holds events from business parties to grand gatherings and even weddings. The hall holds up to 110 guests, meaning you have the flexibility when arranging your event. Visitors can also experience the brilliant basement restaurant; Tales of Tea, which caters to a range of occasions from banquets, meetings, and parties.
St Mary’s Guildhall is a hidden gem tucked away behind the iconic Coventry Cathedral on the cobbled pavement alleyway of St. Mary’s Street, situated west of the city center. It is only a brisk two-minute walk from the Godiva statue. The building itself can be identified by its elegant archway entrance leading into a neat little courtyard. It is hard to miss as outside there is a sign that is continuously beckoning you to come inside!
The accessibility of St. Mary’s Guildhall is second to none as the building is right on your doorstep. You need to get a Go CV card as well, entry is free! Now that the refurbishments have taken place everybody can enjoy St. Mary’s Guildhall with there being a lift to the first floor and a rising platform into the Muniment Room. There is access to a new spiral staircase to the second floor where you can dress up as iconic figures and have free 360 panoramic views of the rooms on the digital tour tablets.
final photos.
final photos.
18/03/24: For the final week before the Big Event takes place, my group and I sent off the final edited photos that we took for the Guildhall. We decided as a group to go with a more symbolic-looking photo of a wedding as the Guildhall told us that some of their weddings cost £20-£40k. Being students we can’t afford to set up a thousand-pound wedding so we took photos that we felt were symbolic of weddings. Daisy then did the final editing of the photos to make them look the best they could, and in the end, we were all happy with them so we sent them to Jayne at the Guildhall to post on their new wedding Instagram page.
The Big Event!
The Big Event!
25/03/2024: The Big Event finally came around and it was time for my group to present the work we’ve collated throughout the semester for our client. In the presentation below, I wrote the information on the Blog section, as well as being the person to present it in front of everyone at the event. I felt I presented it quite well as I was coherent and provided all the necessary information about the blog Harrison and I created for St Mary’s Guildhall. By the end of the day, our client told us that the pieces of work we had created as a group were very good and gave us some great feedback. This event has helped boost my confidence with presenting as well as strengthening my ability to work in a group to hit a live brief.
