OFFSHOOT FILMS: http://www.offshoot-films.co.uk/
Offshoot films are a small video production company based in Sudbury in Suffolk. Unlike Bruizer they do a variety of works a lot of it in the middle to low end of the market and incorporating a lot of courses, educational and film club types work alongside some corporate work with institutions. they will provide an interesting comparison with Bruizer as these are some of the areas I could potentially work in too. The logo is very simple and just the name of the company within a blue square slightly off-centre perhaps mimicking the Offshoot in the title of the company. The logo although basic has a slightly professional edge not giving much away and the blue is of a light shade suggesting refreshing and energising. The company tag line "Create, Inspire, Enthuse...." obviously demonstrates their leanings towards education work more than corporate work.
WEBSITE TYPE?
The website itself 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 services and provides lots of information about the company for prospective clients and perhaps too much information. As you can see from home-page illustrated above there is a lot of copy and the company focus is illustrated as Commercial, Educational and Film Club. 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.
Further copy on the website announces "Welcome to Offshoot Films. We are a Suffolk based film production company that delivers high quality films to both commercial and education organisations. Our modern approach has allowed us build a broad client base that includes Suffolk County Council and London Overground." This outlines again their aims and stresses high quality and commercial and organisation work and a modern approach. It also mentions a couple of big'ish clients that they have created work for. Lower down there is a slideshow of images demonstrating the type of work that has been undertaken all very much of an educational nature.
WEBSITE LAYOUT AND STYLE?
Style Appropriate to Purpose?
The style is pretty appropriate for purpose and their is lots of information about what they do but there is far too much text and not enough video. However they do communicate what they do pretty well. There are examples of the work they have done and testimonies from clients to illustrate their happiness.
Simple, Busy or Cluttered?
The website is pretty cluttered and whilst not disorganised the layout is more school notice board than professional and clean. It is all a little "bitty" with often too much information on the screen at once and the eye drawn to nothing in particular and left to wander over the pages. A little too busy and cluttered which gives it less of a slick high end feel more like a cottage industry. For the work they do they are obviously trying to attract different clients to Bruizer and this may be appropriate but the design could be stronger
Use of Colour & Text?
Lots of use of the bright blue which as mentioned earlier suggests refreshing and energising. It is a little bright and unsubtle too and has undertones of childlike quality which diminishes the professional feel of the site a little but does make it seem bright a friendly. The images are less photos and often just stills for the video before they start playing but they do inject a little more colour into the website. In some places there are B/W and colour images used to show various shots of students and young people working on projects and the kit that Offshoot has access to. The font used is a variation on courier and for some of the headlines a different font is used in capitals. Lots of blue on the headlines and headers and overall a simple and friendly font that is not click and does not scream high end but this suits the company.
Web Images and Video Optimized?
The web images all seem to be optimized and load quickly. The video is all hosted on Vimeo which is a professional streaming service and designed for more high end use and high definition video as opposed to Youtube which is not as well suited to this.
FUNCTION, NAVIGATION & INTERACTIVITY
Menu/navigation Simple and Clear?
The navigation is at the top of the page in a blue banner and is clear and present across every page making navigation simple and the naming of these makes the click throughs very clear.
It is complicated though by the numerous drop down options on a few of the buttons which at times are a little untidy and overcomplicated. A good example is the education one where there is a huge sub-menu. It is clear so no issues there but I cannot help feel there may be a better way to do this.
Overall though it is clear, the navigation does work it could perhaps be a little simpler.
HOME
This has been analysed above so I will not do so again but it seems to be a bad idea to have the social media links at the top of the site as instantly users can click off of the site and go elsewhere. Best to have them at the bottom to make this happen less and your content to be looked at first. The ticker-tape at the top with a news feed of projects underway and news is good though it is moving and gives this page an up to date and live energy.
COMMERCIAL
A really flat and uninteresting page linking to more of the same. It does say the services they can offer and has a video clip but the layout could easily be stronger. It is all a little confusing in here with in my opinion too many areas and click throughs. streamlining would improve as it all seems cluttered and a little disorganised.
EDUCATION
This is the page where there are multiple options on a drop down before you get to the main education area. There is a good eye catching piece of video as the page loads that demonstrates one aspect of the companies business but as above there is simply too much going on. Cleaner less cluttered pages would be better. Far, far too much text too documenting the work and what was done exactly. Let the work speak for itself and keep the words to a minimum or have a click through page for each project.
YOUNG FILMMAKERS
Very much the same problems as previously mentioned. Too much content, too much text not enough organisation and design. Not all that user friendly or engaging.
OTHER
This simply covers other services they can provide. Birthday parties, hen/stag parties etc.
ABOUT US
This contains the company mission statement “WE STRIVE TO EMPOWER STUDENTS, BY GIVING THEM THE NECESSARY SKILLS TO FULFILL THEIR CREATIVE MINDS AND AMBITIONS.” Which shows the definite slant to education. It also has brief biogs of the two people involved in the company. Again lots of text, images of the players would have been good. Also there are client testimonies which is a nice idea but wierdly lots of logos with what I assume are previous clients that do not link to anything.
NEWS
This details projects, workshops etc coming up "Very parish notices" and also reflects on successes and prior work.
CONTACT US
The usual and a very basic page of contact details. No email box to fill in for ease though.
All Links Working? Any Cul-de-sacs?
All links were working and I could find no cul-de-sacs so all good here.
Elements of Sharing?
Yes through the social media icons at the top of the page. Pretty much one way traffic from what I could see though and not much socila media updates and posts from Offshoot themselves.
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. 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. On a mobile phone the version was Aa little clunky and the layout confusing. it id work but was not a hugely user friendly experience. 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 and make sure I get right.
Contacts Area?
The contacts page is basic and would benefit from a built in email box but does the job. They also use social media with links to twitter, facebook, vimeo and youtube at the top of the page.
SEO ranking?
If you search for Offshoot it comes out at number 5 on Google but is on the pop up advert to the right of the page. Offshoot Films and it is number one though. If you search for Video Production Companies Suffolk it appears at number three. However you search for Video Production Companies East Anglia it does not appear in the first 10 pages then I gave up! Could be stronger but OK and again areas I will need to consider.
OVERALL
Nowhere near the high end polish of the Bruizer website but the company is a very different beast specialising in education primarily. the layout and design is as I have mentioned throughout cluttered and confusing. Given that high end clients are not essentially what the business is all about and it having a friendly feel is OK but it is a dull website that would be better stripped right back. Less is more. However it does throw up other business models and plenty of ideas to pursue but the Bruizer way is the way to go I feel.
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