Xbox One Cinemagraph Case Study
Attention Marketing Professionals
My clients consist of Video Game Marketing designers, & Big name Gaming Companies.
My clients love to communicate their messages through visuals, and encourage artists that they hire to create scenes through products.
When setting a scene one tends to create a world through the photography they take of the product.
Cinemagraph Product Challenges
For this assignment I had to render a cinemagraph to help create a poster to celebrate a large accomplishment by Microsoft. In the year 2021 Microsoft has sold at least 51 million copies of the Xbox one consoles. In order to commemorate the event.
The goal was to create a cinemagraph of the product of our choice being used. We will then post this media on our brand’s Instagram Page. Keeping big name brands in mind, they will primarily look for someone who can utilize the setting strategy to create an enjoyable/comfortable environment for the product to be displayed in; While displaying information about the brand’s accomplishment.
Although there have been instances where Xbox have made new records for sales and celebrations for them, they do not have a deep record of utilizing posters to help show the record. Especially in the format in which they’re looking for. My expected outcomes are to see ideas and concepts that I’ve come up with, and choose my favorite. From there I will continue the project by developing plans on how I will set the scene, and figure out times in which I will start shooting my product.
What is a Cinemagraph?
Origins
Cinemagraphs can be manipulated and used to test the audience’s perception. The ability to highlight subtle movements and elements provides increased possibilities for artists to explore with their work. History of cinemagraphs
Origin of CG’s
History of cinemagraphs The first cinemagraph was composed in 2011 by Jamie Beck and Kevin Burg, two fashion photographers; the term was coined by the two men in March of the same year. Beck and Burg wanted to capture unique living moments in their fashion photography.
Effect/Value
Cinemagraphs have proven themselves as a powerful marketing tool. Working a moving picture into your social media strategy, for example, can increase engagement up to 110%.
Cinemagraphs offer a designer or business an intriguing visual that they can utilize on their websites.
Customization Process Solution
I approached my challenge by taking a look at their slogan for the Xbox One. “Jump Ahead”
I also remember they love to showcase their products being used. And what better way to showcase a lovable setting for the product than a college dorm with snacks and drinks and with controllers to match.
Although I had familiarity with the Xbox Products, I had to do a bit of research for the creation of the scene, the xbox one Slogan, and the concept for how to experiment with the cinemagraph. I used image references of the products to base my sketching concepts on. Those sketches were then given critiques by peers and other designers I came into contact with. I created sketched mockups and prototypes of what I wanted the scene to look like and what elements were going to set the scene.The Scene: A rule of thirds shot of the Xbox one would be showcased on a wooden platform covered in a red blanket. The console is surrounded by items resembling an inside hangout i.e chips, soda, controllers. The cinemagraph portion would be the game disc being inserted and exported out of the slot.
(Product) Coca-Cola Value statement:
“leadership, collaboration, integrity, accountability, passion, diversity, and quality.”
(Service) Nokia Value statement
Our people strategy is anchored in and linked to our company purpose. At Nokia, we create technology that helps the world act together and our people are at the heart of how we achieve that and deliver on our commitments.
The new people strategy is built on four pillars: Growing together, Leading Lights, We belong, and Experience is everything.
(Public) BP Value statement
our guide to doing the right thing in business. It is founded on our values and clarifies the ethics and compliance expectations for everyone who works at bp. Our code reflects a principles-based approach, where rules are not stated explicitly and everyday business decisions will be guided by our values, with reference to other resources where relevant.
Cinemagraph Miro Tips
These notes on Miro about cinemagraphs helped shape the ideas that I had for my client’s products. They taught me
what makes an effective cinemagraph, and how I can incorporate the slogan into it to help further the message towards
the target audience
Sketched Concept
Tools
I utilized a few items to help capture, edit, and configure my cinemagraph together. I used (PowerShot SX40 HS Canon Camera/ Adobe Bridge/Adobe Photoshop)
My first CG
My first Cinemagraph was going to be based on the Xbox One console. I had an idea to utilize its disk slit to create my graphic with. As for setting the scene I was going to include items that you would normally bring to a hang out session with friends. (Chips, Soft Drinks, Controllers)
Approach
In order to get the ball rolling smoothly I had to plan out my events accordingly. This would include getting the items I would use in the scene, figuring out what room I was gonna shoot the scene in, if the room was gonna be available for me to use for my photoshoot etc. After that, I had to make sure my files were shared to a computer and through a software so that it could save it for later when I needed them.
Sketches
My sketches consisted of the props, console, the angle of which I was going to shoot the scene, how many props I was going to use, and what was going to be used for the cinemagraph portion of the video.
First discoveries – regrets
I unfortunately had to devote more days into the photography portion of the cinemagraph because I thought that I didn’t have enough props for the scene. Tip #1 for me would be to keep the scene relatively light as far as props, in the end if you want this to be a decent size for social media, you’re gonna want the cropping size small. so there won’t be enough room for extra and unnecessary items.
Digital Mockup
There were 2 things that I had to keep in mind when shooting; The angle of the xbox and the lighting. I decided to limit the amount of props shown because the finished product was going to be cropped due to the instagram scaling settings. So the majority of the shot had to be the Xbox console. As far as the lighting goes, I chose a great lounge/study room in a dorm at New England Institute of Technology. This offered me good lighting that I would need to get a good glimmer off of the product.
When I felt comfortable enough to take pictures I moved on to the video portion. To move all the video files to my computer I simply just removed the SD card from my camera and inserted it into the Macbook. Those images then opened up in a file on Adobe Bridge, where I then opened them in Adobe Photoshop for the editing process.
Final Production
For the final product I created a PNG for my Cinemagraph and then so that I can mask the particular portion out that I want to move. The rest was trying to find a good typeface for the Accomplishment detail and the company logo. Once I was all set with the design, and the masking, I set the dimension size to 1080×1080 and saved it as an mp4.
