1A - Research and planning

Explain how you research and planning skills have developed over time, and how this has contributed to your media production outcomes.

My research and planning skills have developed significantly over the two-year course which has involved the planning and research behind my AS film opening and A2 music video. When starting the course my skills were very limited, over time i learnt the importance of research and planning and how it impacted my work which improved in A2 because of my developed skills.

The research and planning in AS for our film opening was mainly focused upon the genre of film which was teen drama, we looked at similar genre films to analyse what makes a good teen drama film and how it captures its target audience, we looked at perks of being a wallflower. We also done research into the titles this involved researching the length and style of titles. To develop our skills we carried out practise tasks such as creating a short sequence of titles which helped when it came to the film opening. We also carried out research into genre and how elements such as mise en sense were used to create a teen drama we looked at costumes and took inspiration from other films into our own. However when reflecting on this the overall research and planning was quite basic, therefore when it came to the A2 music video we carried out intensive more developed research. We done lots of research into the genre of our music which was pop/R&B. We looked at music videos from artists such as SZA and Rhianna which we found had narrative based videos, we wanted to create a performance style so we began looking at other pop artists such as Dua Lipa and Miley Cyrus. We took inspiration from their videos such as the idea of 'Star image' in Dua Lipa's video New Rules, she is made the centre of attention through the use of low angle shoots looking up at her and zoomed in shots, we then mirrored this in our own music video to create our artist Nova as the star image to the audience. 

When it came to planning our film opening we used a storyboard this helped us to plan the sequence, the storyboard was quite basic which meant we only included the characters and what we wanted to happen in the scene. However this meant went it came to filming we still had to decide what shots and angles and how long we wanted them to last. Therefore when it came to planning our music video in A2 we used a voiceover on the storyboard so we could go into specific detail, we included the specific angles of shots and how long they would last, we also included the locations and the outfits our artist. This was a significant improvement from AS as when we came to filming we were more productive and efficient as we knew exactly what we were filming, therefore our time management improved  meaning we had more time to edit and focus on our other media products such as the Digipak. Overall improving the outcomes of our production. 

For our ancillary tasks in AS which involved the making of a website and film poster we carried out very little research this made our outcomes basic and look unprofessional. We did not do any research into the elements of synergy therefore the media products to go with the film did not carry the same synergy meaning that each product looked different and carried no correlation to the actual film opening. As a result of this in year 2 we made sure we done more in depth research into synergy in order to make our products flow and fit the style of the music video. We carried out research into the synergy of Miley Cyrus analysing how her music video linked the website, album cover and merchandise and then used this to help us develop the synergy of Nova. As a result our media products in A2 showed clear synergy in contrast to those in AS, portraying how our research and planning skills had developed and improved our productions.

In conclusion throughout my 2 year media course i have learnt how important the research and planning stages are and how they have an impact on the work i produce. 

1A - Post Production

In your experience how has your understanding of conventions developed through creating your productions?

Post Production Essay

Throughout my two-year media course, I have used a variety of post-production techniques which have significantly developed.

In the first year of coursework my post production skills were limited and basic this was shown throughout the year 12 practice edit tasks which involved creating a sequence of dancing animals on Adobe Premier Pro. This was my first time using Adobe Premier pro therefore my editing was very basic and not creative consiting of simple swipe and dissolve transistions aswell as basic cuts. The final task in year 12 was creating a film opening (Untamed). Firstly as a group we had not done enough reaserach and planning into the genre of our film, therefore when watching it back we had no obvious props or editing techniques to portray the overall genre which was teen drama. The editing was aslo limited as we were unexpereinced and had no knowldege of profesional editing techniques, therefore the editing also consisted of basic cuts and transitions with the titles simply put on as text over the moving image. The quality of the video is also quite grainy and of poor standard  as we filmed outside in the dark and did not know how to change the camera setting to create a more visible image. From this i learnt how the importance of good lighting is crucial to create a proffesional looking outcome as it improves the overall quality of the video to much a higher viewing standard.

Although the film opening was simplistic, it was an improvement from the dancing animals task as we had more freedom and creativity within our production, which meant we could play around with effects such as black out, colour correction and importing text. This helped me gain experience on Adobe Premier Pro and improved my confidence and ability on the software which later help me in year 13.

In year 13 my editing skills developed further throught the preliminary music video task and the final music video task. In the post production of the prelim task we used more advanced editing techniques on Adobe such as using Blur Gallery and defining a focal point and warp stabalizer aswell as colour correction these more advanced techniques used shows the progress i had made from the start of year 12.  In the final Music video task the editing had dramatically improved, we now felt confident and experienced in our editing abilities to create a music video that was almost at a professional standard. The editing techniques used included the use of motion (zooming in and out of the footage), warp stabaliser, pink colour correction, reverse and different speed durations.

In year 12 we had created a range of other media products to go with our music video this included a website and film poster. When we creating the film poster we used Word as we felt familiar with the programme as it is easy to use.  Looking back the film poster is vety basic and at at an ammature level using Word meant we did not callenge ourselves and did not get to experience a professioanl editing programme. We also created a Website for Untamed on wix, the website was very basic we chose a simple layout and made minor changes which made the outcome vey simple and not attractive to a user.

In year 13 we also created a range of products to go with our music video, we focused on trying to create synergy across our products by creating a strong colour theme and a recognisbale image of our artist which was both used extensively across the media products. In year 13 we used photoshop to create our Digipak rather than word as we felt this would help us achieve a more professional oucome  as we could use precise cutting and cropping techniques on Photoshop.We used youtube to watch tutorials and gradually got use to the software. For our website in year 13 we also used Wix, however we used a more complex profesional layout and made more modifications to it in order to create synergy. We made sure all our pages worked and that the website was easily accesible to its users by creating links and tabs that worked, this also made the outcome look very professional compared to the website made year 12.

1A - Digital Technology

PLAN- Describe and evaluate the skills development over the course of the production work from the film opening to the music video.

Introduction - Introduce Both tasks AS and Alevel. Explain what level of skills you had at the beginning of the course and compare to what you have now at the end of A2

Paragraph 1 - AS film opening - Prelim Music Video  (Stages of progression)

Paragraph 2 - Nova Music video - how digital technology skills developed 

Paragraph 3 - Main Technology used and how it impacted our work and helped us to develop 

Paragraph 4 - Overall Conclusion  

Points - Make sure you use HOW and WHY and HOW EFFECTIVE  throughout and support your points and say how your skills enabled you to improve. Show reflection on your work. 

Explain how your Digital technology skills have developed over time and how this has contributed to your overall media outcome?

Throughout the duration of my two-year media course, the skills I have developed within digital technology have advanced significantly. When I initially started the course my skills were very basic and limited I had no prior knowledge of editing or using software such as Adobe Premiere Pro.

The first media task in year 12 consisted of editing footage onto Adobe Premier pro the task was simple it consisted of importing video footage onto the software and creating a sequence, looking back the task was very basic but at the time it was a significant starting point for my editing abilities as it allowed me to play around with transitions and cuts on a professional editing programme. It was a good introduction to Adobe Premiere Pro. The second task involved copying the open sequence to the film 'Juno' which involved filming as well as editing. I used the school camera (what it called) to film the shots the camera was straightforward and easy to use, however, the quality was grainy and I found it difficult to focus the camera. In contrast when filming the Music Video and film opening I used a more advanced camera the Canon 750D, this made a significant difference to the outcome of the footage as I was able to gain experience using different angle exposures, colour modes and different lenses to capture the perfect shots this showed progress in my work as the outcome in year 13 looked more professional and of higher quality.
When editing year 12 Juno task it was not very challenging nor creative as we were just copying, the editing which consisted of basic cuts and transitions.
In year 13 my digital technology skills really began to improve, our first task was a music video prelim, this made the editing much more challenging and complex as we there was quicker cuts and transitions which had to match in time to the original music video. My skills were then advanced in the 'banana phone task' where we were advised to use a variety of editing techniques, such as reverse, three-way split screen, mirroring etc. This task was much more creative than the previous tasks in year 12 giving me the opportunity to really experiment with editing and try professional techniques improving my confidence and ability on Adobe Premiere Pro. This had an impact on the final music video which had an outcome that looked almost professional.  The music video I created was at a fast pace which meant lots of quick cuts, within the first minute there are 57 cuts with a variety of angles and shots, this is a huge difference from the editing of 14 cuts in the first minute of the Juno task i year 12, highlighting the progress in my editing abilities. In the music video, I used more advanced effects such as colour correction and warp stabiliser to achieve stable and smooth footage as well as other effects I had learned to use through previous tasks such as reverse, speed, and mirror.

Throughout the media course, 'Blogger' was the main platform for publicising our work, the standard of my blog has improved from being basic in year 12 too much more in-depth and detailed posts in year 13 including the use of relevant labels and easy to view layouts. I have also used more presentational sites this year such as Emaze and Prezi rather than just writing blog posts, this helps to show creativity and can be embeded on to the blog.

I have also used a number of other digital platforms such as Photoshop and wix. In year 12 when creating a poster and advertisement for our film opening, i would have used Word as I was familiar with the software. However, in year 13 I challenged myself to use more complex and advanced programmes such as Photoshop which was used to edit the Digipak and magazine cover. Wix was also used to create a professional website for the artist of our music video.

Overall the skills and techniques I now possess are far more advanced and significant than the limited knowledge and ability I prior had, which has clearly been shown through the outcomes of the tasks across year 12 and 13.