Research and Planning

Describe how your understanding of the importance of good research and planning skills developed throughout the pre-production of your AS and A2 coursework.

I think that research and planning are the most important as this will affect the production and the post production. At AS, I had to create an opening to a horror sequence and in A2, I had to create a music promotion pack, including a digi pak, advert and music video. In this essay, I will show how I used research and planning to create my opening sequence and music video and explain how my skills have developed.

At AS, I decided to research my given brief as this would give me a better knowledge and understanding on the subject. For example, what typical conventions may include in this genre, i.e villain, damsel in distress e.t.c. I researched classical horror films such as Dracula and Nightmare On Elm Street. I also researched horror specific directors such as Tim Burton and Steven Spielberg. As In the AS brief I had to create a production, I even researched horror productions such as Dark Castle Entertainment. One key part of my research was, to think about who will be the audience for my opening horror sequence. This was very important as I knew that without this then I would find it difficult to target my preferred audience. I researched particular horror films, i.e 'The Orphan', and thought about what type of audience this would be for. After analysing the film, I decided on young adults or female teenagers. After choosing my audience, I understood that I had to further research the BBFC as I didn't want my opening sequence of a horror film to be an issue. I learnt how this company gives certificates for films, 'i.e swearing throughout may make a PG go to a 12, or scenes of an unpleasant nature.

When It came to planning my AS brief, I created a story board so that my ideas and concepts of camera angles and movement was clear , making people understand what type of horror sequence I would be creating. I then took a photo of this and then attached it to my blog incase I needed this for a reference. I also created a timeline on a sheet of A4 paper of a horror opening sequence in which I had watched. This helped me understand how long I needed to show the first title e.t.c. I feel that this was really helpful as without creating a timeline sequence, my opening of my own horror sequence would not be as accurate. I also created call sheets to show what equipment I needed, which actors I requested and what location I would be in for that day. This helped my be organised and helped the overall flow of my production as it was less chaotic as it could have been. Finally, I decided to write a pitch to give me a better understanding of my characters and what I wanted to happen at the end as if it was to be filmed. Although this would help me understand the characters more, by writing a limited summary I could focus on what really needed to happen within the opening sequence.

At A2, although my brief was different, the research and planning skills I required in AS, helped me plan my music production, digi pak and advert. To begin with, I decided on what genre I wanted my music video to be, indie rock. I then did a music analysis section on my blog which gives examples of the types of shots, mise en scene and effects which are found in this genre. I have developed this research skill from my AS as I have looked into more detail about my chosen brief so that I will have a better understanding of what is required. I also developed my audience research from AS as in my A2 brief, I decided to create an audience questionnaire. I found this a much more interactive approach to my work, as well as a more interesting approach as people could reply anonymously given what people think a stereotypical indie rock band should look like and how the music videos are portrayed. Not only was the questions varied, but so was the age range as I felt it would show more precision if I asked all age groups to answer the questionnaire, making it much more accurate. I also added a post on my blog in which I found inspirational videos that I felt would help me with my production. This was shown in my AS brief with the analysis of Scream and Nightmare on Elm Street, whereas in A2 I looked at various videos and found certain techniques in which I like. I developed this skill in A2 as I thought more about using the techniques in which I found inspirational. As well as researching my given brief like I did in AS, I also did a lyric breakdown in A2 to show further detail about my given brief and what type of music they sing to, i.e sing about emotions e.t.c. I decided to research theorists also as I knew that because of creating my AS brief, I was much more confident on media jargon and equipment, therefore I understood the media theorists, i.e. Goodwin, more easily and found it less difficult to convey my production in the way that I wanted.

When I compare my AS planning to my A2, it is clear to say that I was much more confident in my A2 planning since I created a calendar as to what I should be doing on certain days. This helped me keep focused on what needed doing and gave me goals throughout my lessons. I found this extremely useful and would have found this technique a great help in AS. Although I created a storyboard in AS, I developed this skill greatly in A2 as I created a much more in depth story board of 65 shots, whereas my storyboard at AS consists of 28 shots. This also shows how much more confident I am using the equipment. In A2, I also added recee shots to help give me an idea of what my storyboard would look like more realistically. I did this in AS however I found this easier at A2 as my story board was more detailed. My awareness of what I was doing has also been noticed as in A2 I created a risk assessment of my work. This shows that my understanding of the dangers of the equipment and the actors are faced with, will be thought out, whereas in AS I didn't consider this.

I feel that by looking at my AS work and my A2 work, it is apparant that my skills of research and planning have progressed and help make the productions I make an easier way to process.

Digital Technology

Describe how you developed your skills in use of digital technology for media production and evaluate how these skills  contribute to your creative decision making, refer to a variety of examples to show how this differs over time.

I think that throughout the two years of this course it is vacant that my skills in the use of digital technology have developed greatly and show creativity throughout my chosen briefs. My brief I decided to do in AS was to create an opening sequence for a horror film and in A2, my brief was to create a music promotion. This involved creating an advert, a digi pak and most importantly, a music video. I will complete this essay by giving examples of how I made my decisions creative and how digital technology helped me make the decisions that helped me complete my work.

During pre production at AS, I decided it would be best to research the given brief of the horror genre as this would help me understand whether I wanted to convey conventions or challenge them. I looked at a few classic horror films such as Scream and Nightmare on Elm Street, as well as looking at more contemporary horror films such as The Orphan. I decided to this as this would give me a lot of variety. Whilst researching the sub genre, I thought it would be a good idea to look at horror specific directors such as Tim Burton and Steven Spielberg, as I could then find out what made these directors so memorable to the horror genre.

I also realised that it was better to collect audience research during pre production as then my opening sequence would come across more suited to the chosen genre. This also helped me in choosing what type of audience I wanted the horror film to suit, i.e teenager, young adults e.t.c. 

I decided to look at the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) ratings towards horror films as I knew that this may limit my creativity for my chosen target audience. However if this film was to have been created, I needed the certificate for it to be correct as the audience would then know what to expect.

During production of my AS brief, digital technology was used in ways to convey my creative streak. I used a variety of different camera shots and angles inclucing a handicam shot, as I wanted to create a realistic feel and add panic towards the audience. I also made sure that the mise en scene was stereotypical for the genre. Since I knew I wanted the scene to look innocent at first I decided to create the opening sequence in a park and then during the flash back, to begin inside, somewhere dark if possible. Whilst in the middle of the production I reminded myself of what type of sounds to put in, synchronous, asynchronous and even children's voices due to the location in the beginning. This shows that not only was I taking the audio part of the opening sequence into consideration but I was also showing my creative skills as I was wondering when to use them on what e.t.c.

When my production was complete, I decided to edit it in Final Cut Pro as this would not put a bigger limit on my creativity skills. In Final cut I changed the majority of the video from colour to black and white. This was to notify the audience on the flashback as such and also to signify that this was a dark time in her past. This showed my creative skills through digital technology as I had made this decision on my own, making the effect a unique take on my original production. I also add the sounds in which I thought were appropriate to my opening sequence, i.e a crows call and panting whilst the female lead is running. When I had finished my production, I uploaded it onto internet sites such as Blogger. This was to record the progression of the production as well as my research and planning. I made my blog interesting when adding all of my work on as I wanted to enjoy looking through my work. This shows that I have also used my creative skills throught my presentation of my blog.

At A2 however, I think that my skills developed more creatively. For example, during pre production I thought it would be best to do audience research again as I found this useful in AS. However, in A2 I went into more detail. I created questionnaires and got people to respond to it. This was a much more active approach and a much more interesting approach too as the results were shown in pie and bar charts and were even colour coded. This made it easier for me to understand my results as well as showing that I had developed my research skills in a way that was more creative and easier to understand.

I also researched my brief more than I did in AS as I had to chose a song in any genre. I therefore decided to research a more varied choice of music videos as this would help me understand  the sub genre in more detail as well as give me any ideas that would help in my music video creatively.

I decided that before starting my production it would also be best to collect a few music videos and label them as inspirational videos. As well as keeping me motivated, it also kept ideas at bay as the main reasoning for my selected music videos was the effects in them. I would watch the effects and think how I would apply them to my own work but with a slight twist. For example, Enrique Iglesias' music video 'I Like How It Feels' uses film burns throughout. This was a technique I really liked and wanted to add into my own work, even if it wasn't the sub genre in which I had hoped for.

During the production of my music video, I developed my use of equipment as I was more confident with how to set equipment up and how to use it correctly and effectively. I used the crane to show variations in my angles of the video and I used the track as I knew that this would make my music video look fluent. This has also developed in creativity as because I had more advanced equipment to use, It was more professional and I therefore wasn't as limited to what I could do. I added a lot of meat shots in my production as these are a stereotypical shot for my sub genre and I wanted to convey some of the original conventions of indie rock. I also decided to use colours in the props and costumes that I thought could be relevant to the song, i.e black and red gives the connotation of anger, frustration and pressure.

This concept was also used at post production as I used these colours in my digi pak and my advert to show continuity throughout my products. This also shows my creativity skills developing as although I wanted to use the colours in adverts and the digi pak, I still had to do a photo shoot with the band in the same colours.  This shows that all of the work that was put into all of my A2 brief was original fresh and unique. I also added a lot of different techniques, such as making the lead singer perform at half speed and then speeding the clip up in Final Cut Pro to make it look as if the lead singer is nervous or on edge. I even added thought beats to my music production through Final Cut Pro as this technique is a convention towards indie rock. I found this technique very effective as the fastness of the jump shot thought beats, helped also build up the tension of what the band was singing about. This therefore shows how creative I have been through the use of digital technology.

Section 1(a) - Post Production

Describe how you developed your post production skills for media production and evaluate how these skills informed your creative media practice. Refer to a range of examples in your answer to show how these skills developed over time.

I think that my development from AS to A2, is clearly visible as I have became more confident with the equipment used and now I know how to use certain programmes (such as Final Cut Pro) correctly, it was easier to create interesting and unique techniques within my work. At AS, my brief was to create an opening sequence to a horror film and my brief in A2, was to create a music promotion, involving a music video, a digi pak and an advert in a media of your choice (poster, trailer etc.). I will present my answer chronologically and will mention a range of key points in AS and A2 in how I was creative in post production and the evaluation.

To begin with, in AS I created a logo for a film production (mine being, 'Dark Forest Studios') in Adobe Photoshop CS4. This didn't appear difficult to me as I am a photography student and have already had some experience with this programme. I added a few techniques, such as changing the contrast of the image I wanted to use and cropping it. The only thing I think may have been difficult about this programme is that it is hard to erase anything accurately. I still find this hard and can say that this does take time to get used to.

To finish the logo, I created the producer's name 'Dark Forest Studios' in Live Type. This was my first time using this programme and I found it quite easy to use. I found an appropriate title that would work well with the opening sequence and changed the colour to give a distressed looking font. This type of programme was also created for the type of software I wanted to edit my sequence on, which really helped. I also made the title of the film on here since i knew that this would show a good consistency throughout the horror sequence.

I created a flashback in my opening sequence through using IMovie. Although I wanted to use Final Cut Pro as much as possible, they did not have the type of technique I wanted to possess. Whilst on IMovie I found it incredibly easy to add effects and so forth however I began to have trouble when converting it back to Final Cut Pro. Eventually I got my opening sequence back onto Final Cut and although it looked effective, I think I would try to find an alternative if I had to re-do this as one effect took up a lot of post production time. I had seen flashbacks occasionally in horror films and therefore decided to challenge this theory by adding something new to the genre.

After I had created the flashback, I wanted to make this clear to the audience. To do this I therefore made the rest of the sequence in black and white. This shows some signs of creativity as the black and white part of the sequence creates an eerie and curious mood.

Whilst in Final Cut Pro, I also made a lot of the shots jumpy and jerky looking as I had some footage from a hand held position. This mainly came into action when I had found some music to add to the shots, as I knew that this could possibly shock the audience or make their heart beat faster than usual. I added close ups to angled shots to give a distorted image. This would hopefully make the audience realise how much attention they must pay to the video.

When the majority of this video was complete, I decided to download some sound effects from the internet and uploaded them to ITunes. This was a really organised way to keep all of my tracks together and I found it easier to know which soundtracks I had already used.

I then used final cut for a third time and added the sound in. The asynchronous sounds added, help create tension throughout the opening sequence. For example, at the beginning of the sequence a crow sound is added as the main character is outside. I added this bird in particular as this bird is known for death and given that this sequence is for a horror film, I found it appropriate. By adding sounds in so much detail, this reflects how creative I have been to come up with these sounds. Although I think that I was creative in AS, I feel that I was more creative in my A2 brief.
Since I already knew how to create logos in Adobe Photoshop CS5, I found it easier than last year as the software had improved and I have also gained more confidence in the programme. I decided to call the record label, 'Time Records', in which the logo would appear at the end of the music video. As I have gained more confidence in this programme, my development is clear that I have used this creatively as I have a better understanding since I have made this logo from scratch.
I also created the digi pak and advert in Photoshop. I wanted to keep all of the colours the same as well as the fonts to show the same font throughout. This shows fluidity through the promotional pieces. As this was all my own work, Images included, this shows my creative flair and how consistency doesn't have to appear boring and bland. This shows that my creative decisions have been more thought out and have been developed from my AS work.
I think that out of all of my work from AS, my editing skills in Final Cut Pro, are the most improved. At A2, I had to lip sync the video to make sure that the male singer sang at the same pace. This did prove to be difficult at first, however, after hours of editing , it was finally achieved. This has been done creatively as the voice in which was lip synced to the male performer, wasn't his own voice. Before doing this, I had to make sure that this voice would match his original voice so it looked believable( not a female with a man's voice).
I also used programmes such as Adobe Premiere Pro and Twixtor to create one of my effects. These two programmes helped me create effects, in which slowed something down. For example, the boiling of the water or the flame on the match. I captured these small clips and then used the programmes on them to make the fast actions appear more slowly. This shows my creativity as I equipped myself with the programmes and created something that was unique and that worked well as they were connotations of how stress may be seen( water boiling- people say that there blood's boiling, a flame-someone has sparked a fuse etc.).
Throughout the production, I decided also to add some film burns in which I found off the internet. I decided to add these as I thought it may come across as slightly spontaneous and given that a flame on a match was apparent in the video, it could also link back to that. This represents another area of my creativity in this brief as I was inspired from a music video I had researched and thought that this type of effect wasn't seen as much as I would have wanted it to be in music videos in general.
OnceI had footage of the singer singing in half speed, I decided to speed it up to make it sound like the original in Final Cut Pro. After doing this I took the sound out and I had therefore created the effect that the singer was on edge and was fidgeting in this area of the video. This went with the tempo of the song, as well as the chorus. This also shows development in Final Cut Pro as this technique is not something that you can find in the effects column, but you have to create within Final Cut Pro. This represents creativity in the fact that I have sped the video up and also slowed the video down. My final thing I did in Final Cut Pro was putting the logo that I had created in as it was important to have that in. I put this at the end of the video as I didn't want it to attract a lot of attention. I have developed in my creative decision when looking back at this as I now know when the logo is appropriate, however my research from AS did suggest that the logo used there was better at the beginning.
When I look back at my evaluation from AS, I realised that I had used Prezi to present a lot of my work. I found this way of presenting my work a much more interactional method, therefore, I understood everything in which I was creating more. This also showed my creativity in AS as I had to create the Prezi from scratch, choosing which images and what texts where appropriate for my work. I also presented the remaining parts of my work on Blogger. I liked this method as I could improve this at home or anywhere, that had a computer with internet access. This shows my creativity as I adjusted settings to suit my genre and gave the overall blog, a more personal feel.
Looking back at the evaluation of both briefs, I can certainly say that it is clear in how much I have improved in A2. At A2, I used Slideshare to add calendars onto my blog to remind me what I should do on certain days. This helped me to prioritise my lessons on what needed the most attention of my work. I didn't do this in AS, however I think that if I did then this would have kept me more organised. Slideshare helped show my creativity as it was work in which I had created in my own time, using all primary sources. My blog was also much more organised in A2. I think the main reason for this is because I was more aware of the software I was using, and knew how creative you can actually be on Blogger.
I also added extra videos to all of our evaluation questions as this showed that I was confident with the equipment I was using. I uploaded these videos on YouTube and then put them onto my blog. This shows how much my creativity has developed as I have thought what should happen in these videos, as well as writing scripts beforehand. I decided to create one of these videos with Screenr also as this was another technique in what could make the video much more interesting to watch. This also helped show my creativity as I made an original video, but put a twist within it, to make the viewing more interesting.
I conclude that over the past two years, it is apparent as to what I have learnt and that I am now confident in using particular programmes as well as equipment.

Section 1(a) Creativity mind map

June 2010 Q1A

Describe the ways in which your production work was informed by research into real media texts and how your ability to use such research for production developed over time.

I think that the real media texts in which I have used over both years of this course were chosen carefully as I chose what I thought would influence my productions and what would inspire me to create my coursework production in this certain way. In AS, I had to create a 2 minute opening sequence of a horror or film noir. When I began my A2 brief, I had to create a music promotion package that involved a music video, a digipak and an advert or poster. I will begin describing how my production work was informed by my research through real media texts in AS and then A2.

At AS during pre production, I decided to do an opening sequence to a horror film in which I researched before doing anything else. I looked at when horror had became a genre, from theatre (1896) to directors who specialise in this area, such as Jack Clayton and Steven Spielberg. Whilst looking at films for inspiration and further research, I looked at classical horrors such as Scream and Nightmare on Elm Street, as well as looking at more contemporary horror films such as 'The Orphan'. This film is what inspired me the most.

I planned my film by using mind maps to think of my storyline and then created a story board to help me visualise what would happen throughout. I then created a story time line as I would then know how long each shot would be and how long it would take.

At A2 during pre production however, I knew I had to create a music video and thought it would be best if I enjoyed the song in which I chose as I thought it would make the task more enjoyable to do. Since I had already created a storyboard and mind maps in AS, I felt much more confident in using these techniques to plan my work at A2. I researched a range of music videos, from Adele to Foster The People as, I wanted to show that I had looked at other genres before ultimately deciding which genre I would prefer to use in my coursework. I think that the main thing I developed from AS to A2 was planning my music video further in a story board fashion, making a new image for each shot. This helped me understand more clearly, what my original idea was and how I wanted to shoot the production. I also think I looked at more varied videos when it came to my research as I feel that the videos watched was doubled. This therefore gave me a better understanding of the task.

At Production at AS I used the standard equipment, including a tripod and a Sony camera. I did try and use the crane, however given the location and my experience with this type of equipment, I could not put it together correctly. We added shots such as over the shoulder shots, to make the audience feel present, close ups, to amplify the emotions shown and hand held shots to name a few. We mainly added these type of shots as we wanted to make the audience feel as if they were experiencing the horror with the main character and to show fluidity through the sequence. Whilst looking back to my research I found that these type of shots appeared to be the most popular in this genre.I feel that the mise-en-scene that i used during production worked well as we used props appropriately,(rope etc.) as well as using make up to show bruises.

When I was given the brief to create a music video, I thought back to the equipment I had used before and acknowledged that this was very limited. For this brief I decided to use a Canon 550D, a tripod and a crane. The Canon camera is known more frequently in the photography world, so knowing that this camera also had a video recorder within the camera, helped give my music video a more professional feel to it. When It came to effect with the camera, I used the crane to move the camera around the media studio. By going at a certain pace, this made the camera footage look fluent, making it much easier to edit with. For the narrative part of the video, I decided to ask the singer if he could sing half speed, so that when I sped it up to double speed his actions would look jerky and fit the image I was wanting to portray. The original video to Maximo Park, also had a slight edge to the video, so I worked from that to create my own original piece. The main thing I think that I developed, was setting up the crane correctly as I now know how much of a difference that would have made to my AS work. I also think that I was more creative with the camera effects, whereas in AS I seemed to just stick to the basics.

During post production in AS I learnt how to edit correctly as well as learnt how to add effects in Final Cut Pro, such as changing the colour of the video, IMovie, creating flashbacks in my opening sequence, and creating the text in Live Type. All of these areas I had just recently learnt and I think given this into consideration, the techniques where appropriate for this opening sequence of a horror film. The techniques really helped give the feel for what I was wanting to create and I therefore think that my opening sequence, fit the genre in which I had chosen. Whilst editing the sequence in Final Cut Pro, I added genetic conventions  from modern day horror films, involving sounds such as, a child sounding eerily innocent. Other conventions I had added, included pleas, cries, deep panting and disturbing laughs. Overall I think that my AS opening sequence supported the brief although it could have been to a better standard given the quality etc.

At A2 I think that given the camera quality, the camera effects, as well as the edited effects, It was to a much greater standard and in my opinion looked very professional. The other parts of the brief, digi pak and advert, related to the music video by the mise-en-scene shown as they were in the same clothes throughout. The color of the clothes used also is shown throughout. I made the band band wear red and black as in my opinion these gave me connotations of stress, frustration and slight anger, which conveyed the lyrics within the  song I had chose.I edited my video on Final Cut Pro and added effects such as film burns. I made the production as fluent as I could, involving the performance part of the video with the narrative. In this video it was very important to make sure that the person was in sync with the song that you asked them to perform as this would tear away from the professional look. As a whole, I think that my techniques have developed on Final Cut Pro and my editing skills have became more precise as I have gained confidence from my first year and now I know the basics, it easier to expand my knowledge of the subject. I have also shown clear indication that my research skills have improved as I research into more depth to make sure I have a good understanding in what I am asked to do. My planning I think has also developed greatly as now it is not only me that will be able to understand my thoughts and ideas on the videos I produced.