Video Prototype: Boost

Design

For this assignment, I was to create a two-minute video to demonstrate a concept for a product, service, or app in a health and wellness category. The video would demonstrate the concept with a scenario-based user case of the product. The health and wellness categories to choose from were: Activity/Fitness, Nutrition, Sleep, Mental Health, or any other form of health and wellness.

After brainstorming a few ideas and getting feedback on them, I narrowed down my concept idea to the theme of mental health. I came to this decision by thinking about a service that I wanted to use. The concept I decided to represent in the video is a service/product that provides activities meant to uplift people, based on their schedules and mood. The app/service would track the user’s schedule, and would prompt them whenever they have a break, to describe their day in three words. Based on the time of day and the user’s mood, the app/service would give them an activity to do that may help them take some time for themselves in different ways (relaxation, creativity, self-care, etc.).

The Video Prototype

[embed]Final Video Prototype

To create my video, I filmed with my iPhone 14 Pro Max camera, and I used iMovie to edit the shots and to add sound effects, transitions, and music. I had used iMovie in the past, so I was able to edit the video without much trouble. The main challenge I faced was timing sounds, without them overlapping.

Screen shot of editing process in iMovie

For the design of my video prototype, I mainly considered desirability and impact for the design. For feasibility, I wanted to make sure that the video would convey the concept clearly. For desirability, I wanted to make sure that the concept in the video would be relatable, and something others could benefit from. This idea also relates to my design decisions related to impact.

Storyboards and Shot List

Before going into filming for the video, I planned the plot, the types of shots, and the order of shots to make sure that the filming and editing process could go smoothly.

The storyboards I created followed a character named Ariana, who has a busy work schedule. The first day, she barely has any breaks in between a long day of work. The “Boost” service then prompts her to give her eyes a break by listening to a guided meditation. The second day, she has a longer break and more energy. The “Boost” service prompts her to draw her favorite part of her day.

The shots are ordered with the numbers in the top right corners of each shot.

First half of storyboard

Second half of storyboard

Then, I created a shot list, to provide more structure to my planning, and to describe each shot with more detail. This made it easy for me to visualize the shots, and to film them in the right order.

Shot list on Google Sheets

Analysis

After finishing the video, I was able to get critique from my peers, who also created video prototypes of their own. One thing mentioned during the critique was that the concept is new and unique, and that it is nice that the user can engage with the product/service, and that the product/service engages back with the user. In addition, one peer mentioned that they enjoyed seeing the various use cases and features included in the two minutes.

One peer mentioned that I should also consider how the product would be used in public, as a user could get embarrassed if the app creates noise or speaks about their personal information in public. They mentioned that it would be nice to have an option to enter their words with a button. I agree with this piece of feedback, and would incorporate it if I were to make another iteration in the future.

Then, I talked to a few people outside of this class. I showed them the video prototype, and then I asked questions after:

1. From viewing this video, how would you describe the concept of the app / service that you see?
2. If you were to match a health and wellness theme out of Activity, Nutrition, Sleep, or Mental Health, what theme would you say this app/service aligns with best? Why did you choose this theme?
3. Are there any ways that the theme of mental health could’ve been conveyed more clearly?
4. Were there any elements or aspects of the video that you found confusing? Why?
5. On a scale of 1 to 7 with one being very unlikely and 7 being very likely, how likely would you be to incorporate an app / service like the one in the video into your daily life? Why did you choose this rating?
6. What did you like least and most about the concept of the app / service
7. What did you like least and most about the video?

With this protocol, I received some valuable feedback about what I did well with my video, and about possible areas of improvement.

Each person seemed to appreciate that the product/service would check in on you to give you activities to either recharge you, or to help you unwind, depending on your day and your mood. They understood what the service is meant to do, so my video met my initial feasibility goal of conveying the concept clearly.

A couple of the people felt that an improvement that could be made in the beginning of the video is indicating in some way what the video would be about. While they each understood the concept by the end of the video, it took them some time to figure out what to pay attention to. I agree with this piece of feedback, and would consider labeling the beginning shots in a future iteration.

When it came to choices of shots and editing, each of the people I talked to enjoyed different things. For instance, one person really liked that the placement of the watch was the same every time, as it was clear the watch was the thing to pay the most attention to. One thing they noticed is that the lighting did not change as the timings of the day in the video got later. While this was mainly related to time constraints for the assignment, If I were to create another iteration, I would make sure to film the daytime scenes during the day, and the night-time scenes during the night. Another person really enjoyed the music/sound effects and the variation of the shots in the video, as these elements added an element of professionalism. They also mentioned that one improvement for the concept would be for the product/service to schedule or recommend more breaks throughout a long day. I agree with this piece of feedback as well, and think this would make the service more impactful for a user.

When it comes to desirability and impact, the people I talked to said different things. One person mentioned that they would love to use an app/service like this, as they often struggle to give themself a break. The other person, while they liked that the service would provide uplifting activities and would match your energy, felt that they would be less likely to take the time to use this app, as their lifestyle is not very consistent. They felt that with a more consistent lifestyle (moving around less, having more access to materials for the activities), they would be more likely to use it.

While each person had different views about whether they would use the app, they recognized the possible impact of the app on people who would like to improve their mental health.

Reflection

I enjoyed this form of prototyping, and I had fun experimenting with different sounds and shots when filming and editing the video. It was interesting to see how my story developed from step to step — from the storyboard, to the shot list, to filming. While the story remained mostly the same, I found that I was able to more clearly convey my ideas with each step.

I chose to create the video with this concept because it was something I could see being helpful for me, as I have a busy schedule as a college student in engineering. I often find it hard to take breaks for myself, without feeling like I could be doing more work. With an app/service like “Boost”, I think I would enjoy having the breaks recommended to me, and tailored to my mood at the time of the break. In addition, I would appreciated having a wide variety of activities to do during these breaks.