Video Production Company Website Analysis: BRUIZER

Having looked at the bigger picture and interesting and ground-breaking websites from all over the web I also wanted to focus more directly on a few from companies operating in the same field. I looked at a great variety of video production web-sites and companies as well as the services they offer to see how others are promoting themselves to glean ideas for my own online presence. I am going to look at a few of what I found to be the most interesting, creative and user friendly and how I feel I can use and develop various aspects of them. I will be looking at the marketing and how they promote themselves through their websites as well as the design and content and information on the sites and who I feel the audience are. The first of these I will be looking at is Bruizer.

BRUIZER: http://bruizer.co.uk/

Bruizer are a video production company based in Rendlesham in Suffolk, although on their website they say the UK. They promote themselves as a "Creative Film & Video Agency" and offer a variety of video services. The logo (above) demonstrates a lot about the company it has a real sense of fun and does not look overly corporate but does however create a familiar memorable identity. The cartoonesque face whilst portraying the knockabout, school playground and comic book bruizer does so in a non-threatening way. The black eye, mangled ear and and almost smile in a very clean logo with no fuss are certainly memorable. As is the name BRUIZER, replacing of a s with the z for more quirkiness is in bold all capitals, strong serif font and alongside the logo represents a a real strength. The colour palette is small on the logo I have included here and a simple B/W except for the black eye of the character. As the company name does not really suggest what the company does in a smaller font underneath the name it makes this it clear that they are a "Creative Film & Video Agency". The whole thing suggests power, strength, fun, fighting to do well, it also has obvious real male undertones but does make it clear what they do.

WEBSITE TYPE?

The website itself and the content is purely a vehicle for showing off the work they have done and giving insight into the services they can provide. It is basically an interactive brochure for their wares and provides lots of information about the company for prospective clients. There is a slight content sharing element but only one way with them sharing their content with the user and a little social media element too with posts, tweets etc from clients and them about work they are doing or have done. The home page above is simple but contains a moving image background of 4-5 clips that are used to illustrate the type of work they create.

The copy giving information on the front page of website home page states.

MAKING FILMS THAT GET YOU SEEN, HEARD AND FOUND!
Bruizer are an award winning creative film and video production company based in the UK, providing video solutions that transform your business. Change the way you speak to your customers through creative and powerful video production.

This states clearly what they do as well as promoting the positive aspects of using video content linking it to the all important "customers" and "transforming YOUR business." I will need to come up with my own "mission statement" and selling couple of lines intro for my website

Alongside this and all of the other clips of their work there is a news section where they will discuss and write on themes concerning moving image often topical ones. These include features analysing good opening sequences, best music videos from the BRITS and also 360 degree moving image. I like this ideas and it not only explains moving image ideas and concepts but gives insight into the company and just is good and interesting content. It is one I may seek to embrace on my site.

WEBSITE LAYOUT AND STYLE?

Style Appropriate to Purpose?
Yes to all of the above. There is plenty of content and examples of Buizers work and clients which is likely to be what clients are really wanting to see. There could be more details on the client, days shoot, concepts, making of etc profile on all of the individual pieces of work but there is a brief overview of these projects. The website is easy to use, interesting but could possibly sell the idea of why video is so important to a company more.

Simple, Busy or Cluttered?
The style of the website is pretty simple and clean. The use of text is minimal and where possible images are used as content descriptors or buttons to access content. The content is obviously video based and examples of the types of work they have created for clients. This is an area I will need to develop for my website as this content is what will appeal to prospective clients as it shows a variety of work and clients worked for as well as creativity and therefore a strong track record and a reputation built on past success.

Use of Colour & Text?
The use of colour is limited and is often of a darker or muted palette and are generally images/photographs are often abstract or ECU of examples of the work or iconography from the video/film production process. The images are used as buttons with a strong still image from the video clip they link to (see below) or often section separators (see above) for the content. this is where the colour is injected into the site usually on a white background. The only other shot of colour is orange which is used on the dates for the LATEST AND SOCIAL area of the site and also on the Newsletter sign up at the bottom of every page. This adds an interesting shot of colour and also highlights key information on these elements. See above for examples of this. Roll overs and selected content also are highlighted in orange.

I have covered the log and font above but the use of font on the site is consistent throughout and is of a Helvetica style and very clear and corporate. On a dark background it is white and on a white background it is black and headings and titles are in all capitals.

Web Images and Video Optimized?
The web images all download pretty fast in Google Chrome and there were no issues in the images not appearing quickly. The video for the site is all embedded and links to what looks like Vimeo which is basically  a more professional version of Youtube used by video professionals. It enables higher quality video to be streamed keeping the professional high end look to the work. the compressional on most of Youtube is inferior.

FUNCTION, NAVIGATION & INTERACTIVITY

Menu/navigation Simple and Clear?
The navigation is very clear throughout and the navigation bar clearly indicates what is going to be in each of the areas. HOME IS home, NEWS contains features about interesting topics (could be more), WORK is the work they have created and SERVICES is all of the services they can provide.

HOME
The home page features moving image content in the form of a short showreel that gives examples of some of the best of Bruizers work alongside some video production shots from the sets they have filmed on. the copy underneath states as mentioned earlier...

MAKING FILMS THAT GET YOU SEEN, HEARD AND FOUND! Bruizer are an award winning creative film and video production company based in the UK, providing video solutions that transform your business. Change the way you speak to your customers through creative and powerful video production. Film & Video Production If you’re reading this, you probably already know how important video is for your business. We’ve got the ideas for films which grow your business and transform your brand, collaborating as closely as possible with you, and working in small teams on big challenges. So if you’re looking for new ways to connect with your audiences, why not take a look around, and see how we can bring your project to life.

Underneath this there is some scrolling L-R video content covering all of the areas that Bruizer provide services in. These are Film, 360 degree, Post-production, Animation, Time-lapse,and Ariel. This clicks through to a page with text explaining all of these areas in more detail and the services they can offer. The news page next is also at the bottom after a click through to contact them about anything the user may be interested in. This works well as it directly links to their services etc from the very first page.

NEWS
The news page has been mentioned earlier and its full name is latest news and social and this where they will discuss and write on themes concerning moving image often topical ones. These include features analysing good opening sequences, best music videos from the BRITS and also 360 degree moving image. I like this ideas and it not only explains moving image ideas and concepts but gives insight into the company and just is good and interesting content. It is one I may seek to embrace on my site.

WORK
The work page provides links and button to all of the clients, businesses etc that they have created work for. There are a couple of ways to look for this the first being a search box to type in clients or types of work that will then select from the database examples of this. The second is a way to select the type of content you are after from a list. This areas on this list are Featured (best/newest), 360 video, Animations, Brand & Commercial, Corporate, Educational, Entertainment, Showreels and Viral. Again this selects the chosen areas and puts up graphics of the relevant areas. Clicking though from here takes you to a page with the completed video work embedded and the client and brief, a short overview of the project and the aims, objectives and concept. this is really well laid out but could possibly have more detail in the text. Putting no dates on them is a clever idea so you do not know how recently they were done.

SERVICES
The services section covers all of the services and facilities that Bruizer can provide. This is the same as the scrolling L-R from the home page but as tiled images and buttons rather than the L-R scrolling on the Homepage. These are Film, 360 degree, Post-production, Animation, Time-lapse,and Ariel. This clicks through to a page with text explaining all of these areas in more detail and the services they can offer. The content here is a little flat and again the text could be fuller but alongside the home page it dies provide a belt and braces approach to everything that Bruizer offers.

There are also links at the bottom of the page for CONTACTS US and ABOUT US. Contacts clicks through to a page with company address, email and phone numbers and about us gives a very short potted history of Bruizer thus.

A Little Company History:
Born 15 years ago, Bruizer started out as the winning combination of an editor with a love for technology, and an experienced BBC cinematographer. Since then, we have grown into a thriving film production company with a close knit team of twelve producers, editors, animators and camera crew.
How We Think At Bruizer:
We thrive on creativity, and are constantly on the look out for new opportunities to come up with original and exciting concepts. No idea is too big, too small, or too challenging for our team. We know it’s the films that are unexpected and original that provide an emotional response and maximum impact, and we have experience of creating video content in every style imaginable.
Our Experience:
Over the last 15 years Bruizer crews have travelled the globe, involved in a whole range of incredible productions from feature films in Amsterdam to documentaries in Bangladesh. We produce it all from our fantastic fire station base, where we’ve got everything and everyone you need under one roof to write it, shoot it, edit and animate it for you.

All Links Working? Any Cul-de-sacs?
Links all working and no cul-de-sacs but at times navigation could be simpler especially on the WORK pages from completed projects where if you click back you lose your search selection.

Elements of Sharing?
Not huge amounts for sharing. However users and given loads of opportunities to contact Bruizer at the bottom of every page. There is lots of access to Bruizers content though throughout the site.

Sticky and/or Regular Fresh Contact?
The content of the projects that they have completed looks very up to date. The news area looks really thin and could be fuller with content on current projects, shooting details and updates etc. also the features idea on areas of the moving image is good but has only had 3 entries up to July in 2016! More fun elements to do may be good also such as a quiz, process to creating, behind the scenes etc.

ACCESSIBILITY and SEO

Accessibility?
I tested the website in Google Chrome and Safari and there were no issues in either. I did not try it on a tablet but on a mobile phone the version was clear and easy to use. This is hugely important as a huge percentage of surfing and browsing is now done on mobile phones and is an area that I must also really consider.

Contacts Area?
Contact options are plentiful on the site and uers are regularly encouraged to do so. There is  after every feature on the work pages a simple click though to CONTACT them to discuss ideas for work. also there are links to sign up to their NEWSLETTER at the bottom of every page and also a live CHAT (not working when I tried it). they also use social media by linking in a twitter feed to their NEWS page. There are also links to twitter, facebook, instagram, google+, vimeo and at the top of the page.

SEO ranking?
If you search for Bruizer it comes out at number one on Google. If you search for Video Production Companies Suffolk it appears at number two. However you search for Video Production Companies East Anglia it does not appear until page 5! Could be stronger but OK and again areas i will need to consider.

OVERALL
A very well designed and professional looking website that perhaps conflicts a little with the fun name and logo of the company. They exude professionalism and big clients and there is lots of video content on the website to promote their skills, creativity and nature of their work and this is an area I must strengthen on my website. They look like a larger company and state they employ about 20 members of staff and this expensive but top class feel to the company comes across on the website. For my website I love the professional feel but want to aim to have a less corporate and more friendly approach and personal feel. There is no mention of staff or being looked after and the Bruizer site is a little faceless and lacking the human touch which i feel will be a strong selling point for me,