In Year 12 we explored British Social Realism films and produced an opening sequence based on our own creative idea. This blog post will be a discussion on how I improved on 5 key skill areas during Year 12.
Research and Planning
During my pre-production process, I improved on different research techniques to help me understand my target audience. I used vox pops for the first time to help me receive an opinion from my target audience so I could consider their thoughts for my production plan. This enabled me to film my opening sequence under the preferences of my target audience , which inturn made my production much more effective towards their liking. ( You can view my blog post on my use of vox pops here ). A common question I asked my audience was based on my research I did on the news. I research different new articles which helped me shape an idea on the storyline for a film that my opening sequence would enlighten to. Here, you can view the presentation I made on this research.
After conversing with my target audience , I decided to form a fact file based on my target audience which helped me pitch my idea to my classmates and to my teacher as I showed a clear link between my production and my audience. Therefore, I was able to improve on being able to clearly show how my production would be sold to my target audience.
To help me understand my task more , I decided I needed to be able to research more into this genre and past examples to help inspire me further. One way I did this was by evaluating past students work which helped me understand how an examiner would mark an opening sequence. This set the basis of how I needed my work to exceed past standards whilst learning from their mistakes as well as their success. This helped me develop my work much more effectively as I was able to understand the marking process much better. I also improved my skills on presenting data as I created different representations of my feedback from my target audience i.e qualitative data analysis. which you can view an example here .
Another way I researched into my brief was by finding out more information about the institution and the type of cast and crew. Below you can view the commissioner fact filed I created which helped me develop skills in understanding the industry and innovation side to my media rather than just the production ideas itself. Nevertheless , I improved on being able to provide more depth to my ideas by research into different BSR themes and conventions, which you can also view below.
After conversing with my target audience , I decided to form a fact file based on my target audience which helped me pitch my idea to my classmates and to my teacher as I showed a clear link between my production and my audience. Therefore, I was able to improve on being able to clearly show how my production would be sold to my target audience.
To help me understand my task more , I decided I needed to be able to research more into this genre and past examples to help inspire me further. One way I did this was by evaluating past students work which helped me understand how an examiner would mark an opening sequence. This set the basis of how I needed my work to exceed past standards whilst learning from their mistakes as well as their success. This helped me develop my work much more effectively as I was able to understand the marking process much better. I also improved my skills on presenting data as I created different representations of my feedback from my target audience i.e qualitative data analysis. which you can view an example here .
Another way I researched into my brief was by finding out more information about the institution and the type of cast and crew. Below you can view the commissioner fact filed I created which helped me develop skills in understanding the industry and innovation side to my media rather than just the production ideas itself. Nevertheless , I improved on being able to provide more depth to my ideas by research into different BSR themes and conventions, which you can also view below.
It was important that I was knowledge about the conventions of an opening so my work would tick all the boxes. I was excited to do this as I was able to use my favourite film as an example! This helped me improve my understanding of an opening sequence, regardless of any genre. Research this thoroughly in a task has helped me become more successful in producing work to the very best of my ability that uses all of the conventions appropriate.
Logistically, I improved on knowing what there is needed to direct such films such as a shooting scripts, call lists and more.
Finally, to complete my research and planning, I created a final treatment ( which I have embedded below ) that helped me develop my skills in being able to pitch my ideas,inspirations and content. This has been a big improvement for me as I was able to explain rather than just state my ideas, which is needed for A Level Media Studies.
Conventions
Throughout AS Media, I had collectively gained more knowledge on the conventions that are used for a successful media production.
One way I improved on my camera and editing style was by learning how to use continuity editing. This first began by a mini practice exercise which I made a full plan for here and evaluated here. This developed my understanding on how continuity is used in real life films and TV Dramas , as well enhancing my skills of different types of editing for a much more fluent finish. From my first practice , I was seemingly amateur at the approach of continuity editing , however, looking at my finish BSR opening sequence, I had improved as the editing was very fluent, with the exception of the very beginning of the video which was edited with jump cuts to set the chaotic mood initially into the mundane mood with fluent editing. From Year 12 I have improved massively on my editing as well as filming and I look forward to doing more of this in future productions.
2) Themes & Narrative
One theme I had developed working with was feminism. My narrative was based on the emerging ideology of women
being discriminated against, in the work place and in society. I explored this theme in my BSR opening as we
witness the protagonist taking medication, creating enigma as to why. I showcased
the vulnerability a woman endures when they’re corned in what is deemed a ‘mans
world’. This helped me improve on
understanding Media Studies on a more cultural and theoretical level as I was able to identify how a piece of
media communicates a message.
3) Mise-en-scene
One area I had improved on massively during Year 12 was on location. Prior to filming , I decided to produce a location list and produce a presentation of location reccies to help plan my use of locations before going into production. This was a new skilled I had developed and it helped my production run seamlessly as we had the location booked rather than being unorganised and having problems filming where we wanted to. I also decided to go beyond the usual location of my school building and had ventured out into Central London to further emphasise the work place environment and also make my opening sequence much more sleek rather than in an amateur classroom altogether.
4) Sound
Prior to Year 12 , I had always been aware that we have to use royalty free music in our productions to avoid any copyright issues. However, this year , I had improved on this knowledge as was able to gain access to this song by emailing the producer. This improved my mindset on how other big industries are able to use other peoples creations in their own productions.
Following the theory of Csikszentmihalyi , the symbols of my given domain was my brief and exam board requirements. From there I developed a new idea which was adapted from my inspiration of sharing a clear message across my production on feminism and equality. My creative idea was selected by the appropriate field for inclusion when my teacher approved and agreed it was conventional for my BSR opening as it was a representation of British society. I had exceeded myself with my creativity as I used different camera and editing techniques fused together, such as the jump cuts and continuity. This can be viewed as creative and unusual because most editors decided to stick with one style to make the production fluid, however, fusing together two styles made my production seem more edgy and also fit the mood and feeling of the message.
Prior to Year 12 , I had always been aware that we have to use royalty free music in our productions to avoid any copyright issues. However, this year , I had improved on this knowledge as was able to gain access to this song by emailing the producer. This improved my mindset on how other big industries are able to use other peoples creations in their own productions.
Creativity
Following the theory of Csikszentmihalyi , the symbols of my given domain was my brief and exam board requirements. From there I developed a new idea which was adapted from my inspiration of sharing a clear message across my production on feminism and equality. My creative idea was selected by the appropriate field for inclusion when my teacher approved and agreed it was conventional for my BSR opening as it was a representation of British society. I had exceeded myself with my creativity as I used different camera and editing techniques fused together, such as the jump cuts and continuity. This can be viewed as creative and unusual because most editors decided to stick with one style to make the production fluid, however, fusing together two styles made my production seem more edgy and also fit the mood and feeling of the message.
Post Production
During Post-production, I improved in the following areas :- Video, Graphics, Sound and Images.
One way I improved on video was by improving my style of editing which I have already discussed in this post. I even learnt more techniques such as parallel editing ( a technique whereby cutting occurs between two or more related actions occurring at the same time in two separate locations or different points in time. D. W. Griffith is often cited for this )
In terms of graphics , I learnt the key conventions of graphics in a BSR opening. I researched into this and made a post based on the credits used in This is England which you can read here. I improved on my graphics tremendously as I made the credits move across the screen rather than just being still images.
Last but not least - Images. When editing my work in iMovie, I was aware of the stabilizer tool that could help me stabilize any shaky camera movements in my work.
This helped me improve the final presentation of my production as well as highlight my knowledge on using iMovie as an editing software , which AS Media has helped me in greatly. iMovie also has an option to change the colour palette of your clips, but I manged to have the lighting I desired and did not need to change anything like this.
Digital technology
I have improved my digital technology skills within Year 12 which has helped me become a better director and editor. The three areas I had improved on were on a hardware level , a software level and an online level.
Hardware ~
Software ~
Online ~
I have improved my digital technology skills within Year 12 which has helped me become a better director and editor. The three areas I had improved on were on a hardware level , a software level and an online level.
Hardware ~
In terms of Hardware, I had improved my camera skills because I have developed my knowledge on different camera angles and how they convey meaning. For example , in my BSR opening, I used a high angle on my protagonist to paint the picture of vulnerability and how she is being looked down upon by her male boss. I had improved on my camera capability as I personally feel more comfortable filming and have felt improved in myself. I am more of the digital equipment we use in production due to my learning in Year 12.
Software ~
A new digital programme I had learnt how to use during Year 12 was final cut pro. Prior to AS Media, I had never used this editing software before, so I have gained more knowledge in editing and in this software programme. I also improved on my compability in iMovie as I improved on my speed of editing as we had more deadlines in year 12.
Online ~
The web-based technology I used primarily, was blogger. To show case all my work from Year 12 AS Media , I used blogger to post my progress which has helped me reflect on the skills I had learnt through out the year. I had also developed new skills in other web-based technologies such as e-Maze ,which you may recognise as being used in this post already when reflecting back to my work. Year 12 blog work has improved my blogging expertise massively and has helped me become a better Media writer as I am more aware to use terminology and also aware of representing progress when producing a video. The skills I can carry with me to my further media work placements if I am needed to blog efficiently.
No comments:
Post a Comment