Corporate Video Analysis (Part 2)

Holmefield Vets:

Holmefield Vets are a small, local company that appeal to a much smaller demographic of people than Apple (a world wide corporation). However, this doesn’t mean it’s any less important to those who require their services. In comparison to Apple’s recruiter video, the budget is undoubtedly lower, but is still professional and relatively well shot.

Following the logo of the company, it begins with an interview from Homlefield’s director, Louise Davison and then goes to an establishing shot of the clinic (also features a sign of the company’s name).

The pace of the video is slow and the majority of the shots are basic (and handheld). I did notice the use of a panning shot, but other than that they are all practically stationary. I therefore believe they could have been a bit more creative with the style and variety of shot types. Although saying that, simplicity isn’t always a bad thing. The primary use of mids and close ups, draws your intention to the content; lots of visuals of staff members, vets in practice and of course, pets. I mean, who doesn’t love cute animals, am I right? An important thing to note is that a viewer’s interest will be determined by the subject matter and if you throw in some images of cute, fluffy animals they’ll be pretty content (I was).

The environment of the work place is presented as relaxed, whilst the staff embodies friendliness and positivity. Which are all important aspects to consider when searching for a good animal practice. Overall it encompasses an honest and personal feel. Being a local-based company means the target audience will be the people within that area; reassuring those who have previously experience their services, whilst simultaneously seeking new customers.

There are two pieces of music used for this corporate promo, both have a up-beat, happy feel. After the introduction of the second song (1:07), the tone changes slightly. It becomes somewhat more dramatic as the interviewees begin to speak about being inspected by the ‘Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and the College of Animal Welfare”. As well as stating that they are “working at a high standard”. This shows professionalism and that the employees take their jobs seriously. “Our principle is to be open and honest, to give a genuine professional opinion, but at the end of the day, we are all pet owners ourselves, so we’re all passionately involved with our own pets and we know what we would want for them and we try to give the same to our patients.” – Louise Davison. This and other content from the interviews, show that these people genuinely care about the service they offer to these animals and their owners. All other sounds are diegetic. 

Lots of kind lighting makes it easy to look at, as well as the simple and uncomplicated editing.

This corporate promo suggests that females heavily dominate the veterinary industry as only one male surgeon is featured through out the entire video (0:41, 0:52 and 0:55). The veterinary profession was traditionally male dominated; however in recent years, studies show that there has been a dramatic shift. “The recent ‘2010 Survey of the UK Veterinary and Veterinary Nursing Professions’ (RCVS, 2010) highlighted that fifty-four percent of respondent veterinarians working in practice were women; furthermore, eighty-four percent of respondents in veterinary practice were employed within clinical veterinary practice and fifty-seven percent of those were women.” (Source: http://cdn.intechopen.com/pdfs-wm/28664.pdf). Despite the increase of women veterinarians, Holmefield’s should statically have more than one male veterinarian representing their company. Furthermore, they should of included male employees when they conducted the interviews, as the only two that are incorporated are both females and are both middle-aged (Louise Davison, Company Director and Helen McHugh, Practice Manger). Not only this, but they should of organised more interviews to begin with. I understand that when creating a corporate promo, you need to include as much of the important information as possible, without it becoming too boring and too lengthy. However, I personally believe it would of given a much more well-rounded and genuine representation of the company, if they were to offer more of an insight as to the types of people who work there. Doing so would have showcased the diversity of the company, whilst also discouraging the idea that this particular profession is only for a particular type of person. 

Other additional forms of representation that are relevant are variety of ethnicity and age. With regards to the representation of ethnicity, we only see one woman who doesn’t appear to be British (possibly East Asian). This is again, a relatively poor representation of race in this industry. I gathered that the general age of employee’s ranges from 25 to 40 years of age. Sexuality and class offer no significance.