Meantime Brewery: Video Content Analysis

Meantime Brewery based in Grenwich, London is a growing medium sized brewery specialising in the craft beer market. They are very proud of the London heritage of being the brewery capital of the world at one stage as well as using the best ingredients, brewing real beer and the time and love to make their beers. As with the other examples of brewery video and moving image content I have looked at I am analysing it in terms of being indirect competition and to see what other breweries are doing. I am aiming for inspiration but also to see how I can create a more creative and interesting approach for Bishop Nick.

The first video is an introduction to the brewers at meantime Brewery. It is just under 2 mins and highlights the brewers and their philosophies on brewing great beer.

The promo is a visual mix of graphical typography, imagery, lower thirds introductions and stills of the brewers they are talking about. The images are frantic and kinetic themselves constantly on the move, jumping, zooming, jump cutting to reveal variations on shots and type. It is the types of techniques pioneered by for the Se7en film opening sequence making it look like bumped film in shutters and gates, hairs on film and over exposure. This is done as white on black and distorted colour layers as flash-frame edit transitions too. The music is uptempo and with a heavy guitar riff and drum beats to appeal to a younger target audience.

Before we meet each of the brewers their surname appears on the screen in capitals on a black background. Then accompanying the photos of the brewers at work we have first a lower third type introduction of them all for instance "Jenn Merrick" and where they were born, then where they live now followed by their philosophy such as "never accept pasteurised beer ever" and "remember tradition, accept technology.

It is a really interesting piece and dissimilar to their other video content being upbeat and a little in your face using very contemporary image and editing techniques. It does work fairly well but does somewhat rescind from their time, time, time philosophy and give a very modern approach to a brewery that does not feel like it wants to be over modern. the trading in tradition, London and the first large brewery for over 80 years does not sit really easily with the promo. It is well put together though and does catch the attention and highlight the passion of their brewers and there differing nationalities and skill-sets.

This second video links the brewery to it's proud heritage and tradition of brewing in London. It explores the links of the capital city with the brewery trade and how they are re-igniting this.




The last video is a really interesting piece of kinetic typography playing with the concept of time and the breweries philosophy of it taking time up to 6 weeks to brew a decent beer. This promo lasts one minute 55 seconds.




The time concept is played around and a demonstration of life is so busy and full on BUT that you need to take time. A play on the fact that the brewery is called Meantime and is based in Grenwich the home of the international dateline is hard to miss. The promo relates to the company philosophy to try, practice, fail, wait, perfect and reflect etc. The voice over is of a very London Ray Winstone type extolling the virtues of not rushing and taking time. The visuals are kinetic typography throughout but angrier and faster plays on time with the letters TIME in black on  ares background and pacify edited. The VO is urgent and angry and stressed and a drone peaking at a screeching in the background that drops out entirely when a different type of time starts being discussed. the work time moves in slowly from off screen and moves into the middle of the frame during this and then settles.

Next the background sound cuts out to leave just the voice now slower and calmer and more laid back. The visuals are all based around the word TIME in big red letters on a black background with words in white from the VO emphasised over the top each one incorporating one letter from the work time which is the constant on screen. The T of time is used by the letters HINK to the right of it smaller and in white to spell out THINK for instance. This does not change until near the end when the work MEAN comes in to meet TIME thus spelling out the name of the company. The animation ends with the Meantime Brewery logo.

The piece is very effective and whilst not being explicit gets its message across well and really plays on the company idea that it takes 6 weeks to make a good beer. It aligns itself with the craft beer movement, non-multi-national conglomerates and great ingredients that it hope drinkers will buy into. The interesting thing is that beer is never shown adding to the mystery of the brewery and its beers.