QUESTION 1a SKILLS AND PROCESSES
CREATIVITY What features of your work would you say are original to you? Which media texts and producers have influenced your creative decisions?
How successfully does your work engage its audience and provoke its interest?
Consider some of the creative choices you had to make during the course of your production?
How did digital technology/real media texts/research and planning/post production give you an opportunity to express and stretch your creativity?
... CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA TEXTS “Explain how you have used, developed or challenged conventions of real media products in your coursework productions” Throughout media studies I have been inspired by other media texts and used generic conventions from these. Using these conventions has targeted my audience as they can identify with the genre and style I am going for and they keep the audience hooked as to see what will happen next and see if I will follow generic conventions throughout. But during the A level I have also tried to develop and challenge conventions to be more creative and put my own touch on the two films I have made. During the early stages of production of my thriller, I was inspired by real media texts. In class and for research and planning we looked at film noir, and the effects it has on the audience and how we could apply it to our planning of our production. I used the convention of tilt shots, to make the audience feel disorientated and emphasise the enigma code throughout the opening. I also put the scenes of the male character in black and white, to create a feeling of uneasy about the character. To emphasise these shots even more I added contrast to the black and white in post production, which was very inspired by Goddard's early New Wave films.
Comment: Make it clear that this was your Year 12 production Comment: I used the convention of tilt shots, as seen in The Third Man and other 1940s film noir, to make the audience feel… Comment: What effect were you seeking?
For research, I also looked at Psycho, which uses a lot of powerful and effective close ups. In the shots of the girl in the dark room, I used a lot of close ups of the hands and eyes to grab the audiences attention and make the character mysterious. Furthermore, Psycho used claustrophobic locations to reflect this feeling of being alone and danger and unease, for example the toilet scene where she is hiding from the police. In my thriller opening, this really inspired me, and is why I chose the dark room location, a small, shadowy confined space to reflect and enhance this feeling. When watching thriller series on TV, such as 'Spooks' I noticed the use of music to enhance the mood they are trying to create, for example, a chase scene would have fast pace music. In post production, I had to decide on a piece of music which reflected the tense and mysterious mood, which is why I chose a dramatic and spooky track from the classical genre. Throughout the thriller opening, I also challenged conventions of the genre. Within the thriller genre, the males are usually the dominant character and the women are 'femme fatales'. I created ambiguity around the characters in my film, as to who was stalking who. Was the girl in the darkroom taking pictures of him, or was he getting in every shot because he was following her? This worked well in creating mystery and making the audience feel disorientated. In year 13, I made a music video for an unsigned band. I feel as though I really progressed from year 12, where I was less ambitious and didn't particularly challenge conventions so much. I created a music video for an indie pop band. I wanted to challenge conventions by not just having performance shots, like many Arctic Monkey videos, but by combining performance and narrative. Usually in Indie music video indie boy bands are portrayed as 'cool', through the playing of the instruments, dress sense and general presence in the video. However, I used humour in a post modern style to celebrate the band 'geek chic' style. I did this by having shots of the lead singer singing in the bath with bubbles, him playing scrabble with his grandma, and working in the supermarket singing to himself. I got inspiration to create this post modern, fun, colourful video from similar bands such as Metronomy and Beck. Moreover, I used conventions of the genre too. Arctic Monkey's most recent album cover uses a warm old fashioned colour tone for the photo of the band. This inspired me to think carefully of post production techniques such as this. I used this colour scheme in my performance shots. To enhance these shots, I used a fish eye lens in front of the camera to make the room seem bigger and with the cutting between fish eye shots and non fish eye shots, I created a feeling of disorientation and added the quick cut pace of the video. These conventions worked well. Over all, since year 12, I feel I have developed my understanding of how to use and challenge conventions, and how to be more creative and ambitious in my filming techniques. There is still lots more to learn, but I feel I have progressed a lot from year 12 through pre-production, production and post production.”
TEACHER COMMENTS Good focus on progression, and you focus well on specific creative decisions you made. I’d like to see you discussing more ‘real media texts’ when discussing your music video. Also, discuss how you shot the performance element (this was highly unconventional), compared to the narrative structure (which was more conventional) Explanation/ analysis/ argument – 7 Examples – 7 Terms- 4 Total – 18 B
Comment: Well structured; good focus on progression
Comment: One word (ignore Microsoft Word’s illiterate spellchecker) Comment: colourful video from similar bands such as Metronomy and Beck, where the geeky humour adds a quirky appeal to the artists.
Comment: Not needed – it adds little to your essay
... RESEARCH AND PLANNING “How did your Research and Planning inform your production?” Introduction: ● How and why research and planning was key in y12 and 13 in the two film productions ● How I feel I progressed in two years – briefly Paragraph 1: ● what types of research did I do, why? And how I have progressed ● pros and cons of primary and secondary research ● accessibility, time, reliability, accuracy, bias?, validity, usefulness...? Paragraph 2: ● how I documented all this – did I complete blogs, did I use blogs more? ● what skills did I learn about organising and referencing materials? ● How did my skills of organising and time keeping develop? ● Organisation skills and planning, drafting, feedback – how these skills can help me in the future – how digital technology helped me Paragraph 3: ● working in groups and on my own ● pros and cons ● main things I learnt Conclusion: ● over all progress and how I can improve in the future ● over all evaluation of working in teams and alone ● how these skills I have learnt will help me in other tasks Throughout year 12 and 13 media studies, researching and planning have been a key element of planning our coursework, from the thriller opening in year 12 to the music video in year 13. I feel as though I have improved and become much better at organising and planning my time better since the year 12 production and that researching and planning has allowed me to make the most out of my productions. In the two years we have done various types of secondary research (Google and IMDB research, note taking in lessons and researching into institutions) and primary research (textual analysis, audience feedback and video interviews). Research into genre was essential in year 12. Being given a genre of 'thriller', we had to research into to films to pick out the key conventions and see how we could use and apply these and also develop and challenge this generic conventions. I felt this contributed to my work through the use of camera angles and use of the enigma code. I also felt I challenged conventions by the choice of characters and the mystery behind the female and the male. We also researched into our target audiences for our thriller film. I collected a lot of information through questionnaires, and created graphs and analysed these well. However, I don't feel I got as much information, or variety from audience responses as I maybe could have done. I didn't ask enough people to get a accurate, non-bias opinions. This is where I progressed in year 13, where my audience research and feedback was clear, non-bias and reliable as I got my research from several different sources. I used video interviews and a screening of my music video to get clear opinions and views, questionnaires, and Youtube viewings and comments to analyse. I feel as though I understood the point of research more in year 13. I now see the pros and cons of secondary and primary research and have found sources which are trustworthy and useful.
Comment: This is good – evaluative and self-reflective.
I used Blog Spot, to document my research and planning. Documenting my work on the blog gave me lots of skills. I have learnt how to organise and show my referencing materials in an orderly way. Thanks to digital technology and this website it was each to complete my preproduction posts, such as scripting, storyboarding, shot-lists, and shooting schedules. The planning for year 13's music video was much more thorough than in year 12, where I was less organised and prepared. In year 13, I completed all of my planning before shooting, giving the cast each a copy of my planning so I could keep as much to the timing schedule as possible. The planning, drafting and feedback stages gave me skills which will help me improved more and more with time keeping, planned shots and better shot films in the future. I felt I met deadlines, improved in communication and utilised digital technologies to get detailed planning, which helped my music video become more professional. Although my overall opinion is that I became much better at research and planning in year 13, I feel as though working individually had a big effect on my production when making my music video. When working in a group in year 12 for my thriller opening, we shared out roles, such as lighting, camera work and directing, which was very useful. Although at the time, I found communication and organising very hard, it was good to have more people helping than trying to to it all on your own. The main things I have learnt through year 13, about working alone, is that it is very hard to organise actors and locations and try and film a professional video on your own. However, I also felt my work was more organised as I didn't have to rely on anyone else, it also meant I constantly asked for audience feedback so I could make it to the best standard possible, so in that respect I was much more thorough than in year 12. All in all, I feel I have learnt skills throughout year 12 and 13 that I will use for the rest of my life, time keeping, organisation, and communication. I feel I have come a long way since year 12 and have improved a lot, and even though there is still so much for me to learn and experience in film making, this course has helped my progress in key skills to making professional looking productions.
TEACHER COMMENTS You take a good evaluative and self-reflective approach here, and I like how you question the usefulness of methodologies/ research etc. I think you need more on the planning process: what was the process you went through, and how did you adapt this process in Yr13 to make it more effective for your music video production? Explanation/ analysis/ argument – 7 Examples – 6 Terms- 4 Total – 17 C
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Comment: One word Comment: One reason we use blogspot is because it can integrate all sorts of other technologies/ websites (prezi/ youtube/ powerpoint/ images). Compared to other ways of doing coursework (e.g. all bty powerpoint; all by printed work), this is much more multi-media, enabling creative freedom across media (transmedia)
DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY “Digital technology turns media consumers into media producers”. In your own experience, how has your creativity developed through using digital technology to complete your coursework productions? Introduction: ● state two productions (thriller opening vs music video) ● how improving technologies means more opportunity for consumers to become producers/allowed me to experiment and become more creative ● lots of positive elements from the use of digital technology through the coursework
Paragraph 1: ● Preproduction: web/research/blogging/easy and fast ● progression, more understanding, allowed me to be more creative in year 13 ● helped me capture my ideas by planning and now having to hold back ideas due to lack of technology Paragraph 2: ● production ● digital having more benefits than analogue, quick and easy, more time to be more experimental and cut and throw away footage easily that we don't want ● camera and editing programmes (premiere etc.)
Paragraph 3: ● distribution feedback and portfolio ● easy to publish work ● getting feedback was fun and easy ● people around the work can see it, not limited, lots of feedback, less bias Conclusion: ● I would argue that digital technology doesn't turn people into producers, but it gives people opportunity to be creative and have more choice ● how I am part of a wider phenomenon ● enhancing my creativity ● empowering amateurs.... With digital technologies improving all the time, it has allowed me to make creative and interesting productions of my coursework in year 12 to year 13. In year 12 I made a thriller opening for my main piece of coursework and for year 13 I made a post-modern colourful music promotion package for a local unsigned band. Digital technologies have aided me in creating professional work, and is enabling consumers to have the opportunity to do the same. During the pre-production stage over the 2 year course I feel as though digital technologies have helped me to create thorough and clear planning for my film productions. For example, primary research like textual analysis and audience research, keep an up-to-date blog on Blog Spot, and secondary research through research into industries and media texts, like IMDB. The Internet has been a vital source throughout the two years and I feel I have improved in my techniques of planning and researching before I make my productions. I have found in year 2 I have found much more reliable sources for research and been able to get less bias opinions on other texts and reviews of media texts which has helped my research and planning to be accurate and clear.
Comment: Great intro
Comment: Been a vital source throughout the two years as it has allowed me to have instant and easily navigatable access to resources to aid research and planning
Improving quality, price and availability of digital video cameras and editing software is empowering amateurs to be creative and start to make films. Using a mini DV camera through year 12 and 13 was a good experience. I found I became more adventurous with my choice of camera techniques and style through year 13, in my music video. Such as 360 shots, close ups and high angle shots, which made my video much more interesting, compared to year 12 where it was mostly close up shots and long shots, with little variety. Throughout post production, I feel I was also more experimental in the music video. Having experience not filming enough for some shots in year 12, I learnt to film too much, so had more choice to edit from in year 13. This was helpful as it meant I could have lots of shots for the performance and make it fast paced and have a variety of shots. Furthermore, I used a variety of editing techniques in the music video, including jump cuts, changing the colour tone of the filming I had done, and transition effects compared to simple cross fades and dips to black in year 12. Thanks to digital technology, editing on Premiere Elements allowed me to explore my creativity to make a vibrant and entertaining music video. I have used the Internet a lot to distribute my film for audience feedback. I have been able to distribute my film easily and quickly through sites such as Youtube, Facebook and my blog. My audience feedback wasn't clear or precise in my overall review of my thriller opening. I felt I improved greatly in year 13 where I collected various audience feedback in different ways to get a non-bias and accurate review. With the help of technology, I held a screening of my music video which I filmed audiences reactions and opinions. I also got feedback from the band and people on Facebook, via questionnaires. I also got feedback from a local band promotion group through Facebook asking to use the video. The Internet has also allowed me to profile my work for universities to look at as my portfolio, and for friends and family to view. I would say that digital technology isn't turning people into producers, but it is giving amateurs opportunity to be creative and have more choice in editing and filming. With digital technologies improving, it is closing the gap between producer and consumer, which shows that I am part of a wider phenomenon, as everyone can start producing their own work. Through the two years, I feel I have developed my skills and creativity through pre production, to production to post production, with the help of digital technology, a lot compared to when I first started the course.
TEACHER COMMENTS You understand debates about digital technology/ empowerment, and use this well in your essay. Don’t feel you have to cover R&P/ AND Production AND PostProd AND distribution AND everything: perhaps do more on post-production (and the creative decisions which were enabled by using digital tech) and less on R&P/ distribution. Explanation/ analysis/ argument – 7 Examples – 7 Terms – 4 Total – 18 B
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Comment: Which of your points here are due to digital technology, and which are actually to do with cinematographic experimentation? Keep focused on how digital technology has aided your development as a media producers (one way is that it’s cheaper, so we can buy more cameras, so you can use the camera more and experiment more) Comment: What specifically is it about editing software that aided creativity? Discuss the way it enables you to change lighting/ contrast settings; how you can reedit bits and try/ experiment/ undo; how you can work in a non-linear way (e.g. edit the end, then the start, then the middle etc)
Comment: Nice effective conclusion.
POST-PRODUCTION Discuss the decisions you made during post-production of your coursework Introduction:
the importance of post production intro to how I developed from thriller opening to music video in editing techniques
Paragraph one: How much of my thriller was 'created' in post production (working to the 2 min time limit and not giving too much away in the narrative) How I developed through to y13 and music video (how I created a similar narrative in post production but my editing techniques were more creative and experimental) Paragraph two: Creative techniques within my video: jump cuts, editing to create narrative, and colour tone, slow motion shots , transitions and cross cutting. Pacing, structure, and juxtaposition How I have become more adventurous in my editing from y12 to y13 What I did in y12, black and white sections, cross fades and dip to blacks (generic rather than experimental) Paragraph three: How I filmed too much for music video to edit and had more to experiment with compared to year 12 when I didn't film enough for some sections why etc. Conclusion: How have I improved in my post production skills, in techniques and creativity, and how I could continue to improve...
TEACHER COMMENTS This plan works well, and covers the points you need to cover. You’ll need to be specific in your discussion of the creative decisions/ techniques you used, and the terms you use (e.g. para2) are exactly what they want to see for this question
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