G325: Sec A: Theoretical Evaluation of Production

SKILLS DEVELOPMENT FROM AS to A2: 

• RESEARCH  

 

Blogger > improved graphics and user-friendly layout) 

Infographics (Piktochart, Infogram), 

Presentational tools (Emaze, SlideShare, Prezi >....), NewHive, 

At A2, I found the interactive organizational tool Trello useful to create 'to do, doing and done' lists. Trello lets me move a task from the 'to do' column to the 'done' column like a magnetic clipboard.

Google Slides is an online, collaborative program like SlideShare which I used to present analyses of trailers. I included gifs of my chosen film to bring it to life.

I used Pinterest to develop one of my central characters who we based on the outre fashion designer John Galliano. It was essential tool for visual imagery such as Galliano's outfits, mannerisms and fabric choices such as animal prints.

At A2, I used Scoop.it, the online collation tool to research film openings and genre codes and conventions. Scoop.it collected all my internet bookmarks onto one page and, as it is interactive, it made suggestions based on my key terms. This was useful as it introduced me to film openings that I had not seen. I used Scoop.it at A2 to curate pages on Film Trailers, film posters and film magazines. It is also useful as it has an 'insights' dialogue box that let me post my textual analysis immediately under the example that I had scooped.

At AS I used YouTube as a research tool, such as studying material from The Art of The Title to investigate genre codes and conventions. Other sites included the FDA site on film distribution, academic work such as David Gauntlett's, theorists such as Barthes, Dyer, Mulvey (you add to this!), practical film-making sites such as 'Every Frame A Painting', film websites of the genre that I planned to work in (and so-on).

At AS, I used Vimeo which is a video sharing website where I researched short films and film trailers 
at the start of the course of my project. It allowed me to gain inspiration and ideas of niche 
market footage that were more realistic for me rather than a Blockbuster film.  

• PLANNING 

At AS, to communicate efficiently with my group and to work collaboratively outside the classroom, we set up the platforms GoogleDocs, What'sApp and FaceTime. At A2, we continued with these platforms because GoogleDocs was still very effective for detailed planning like the Shot List and What'sApp instant, free and user-friendly for our group who are all heavy smart phone users. At A2, we also used Skype when we needed to discuss and debate during the planning process, such as when we were having heated debates about finalizing the treatment. GoogleDocs came in once discussions resulted in concensus, allowing us to record our agreed outcomes.
For A2 at the planning stage, I used Bubbl.us the mind-map tool to capture and organise ideas such as key themes and the narrative flow.

At AS, I used Twitter to follow key institutions, thinkers, teachers, industries and individual sin the film and media industries such as our chief examiner Pete Fraser (linked to his blog). By A2, we made Twitter, Instagram and FaceBook accounts for our fictional film characters as part of my marketing and distribution strategy. For example, my protagonist Daisy is the sort of person who would be a heavy user of social media herself and I could use the fictional Instagram account as props in my film.

• CONSTRUCTION

At AS, I used the internet social network Streetlife to source props such as hospital gowns and masks. Streetlife is a neighbourhood social network that thrives on the trust that local people have in each other. Often, goods are offered free or for loan, At A2, I widened my searches by using Gumtree to source props a bit further afield. 

At AS, we used YouTube to host additional poduction material for character development by scripting then filming our protagonist being 'hot seated' in an interview. By asking our protagonist a series of searching questions, we could direct him with more confidence as we knew his motivations. This was important in  our thriller film where we present a character that develops paranoia and becomes a dangerous control freak. 

VIDEO: Canon 650 D camera, Manfrotto tripod, Glidecam, Dronecam
Editing in iMovie, Final Cut Pro; production company ident in iStopMotion, After Effects, Blender

Editing skills development: simple sequence in Preliminary Exercise of three shots to stitch together, including shot reverse shot (eg. ... ). I used a Manfrotto tripod which I balanced using the bubble. By AS, I included a small amount of handheld camera work and at A2, I used both a Glidecam and a Drone cam in order to get shots of....I also used a GoPro in order to ....I used a fish eye lens because....

At AS which was a longer challenge of continuity editing, I used an establishing shot (of ....),  ellipsis (eg. ... ), close-ups (such as....), reaction shots   (such as...) and incorporating titles (such as director, film title). Motivated edits included...

At A2, making a trailer, the number of edits increased to 40+, because trailers require a high number of hard cuts to cover the whole narrative arc, which in my film Name Here involved a plot in which...

At AS, I used the editing equipment to create special effects such as filters that lent the impression of viewing through a camera lens, to create a stalker's POV. I used slomo in order to...as well as speeding up the film when...

At AS, I used overlay filters in order to suggest my young protagonist's feelings of mental pressure when his father tries to force him down a rugby career path rather than follow his dream of being a musician. The double vision combined with the use of slomo creates his experience of being overwhelmed.

At AS, I made a production company ident using After Effects in which I distorted a complex black and orange cloudscape that moves towards the viewer as a spinning disc emerges from low right to take up a central position and pause to showcase the company title Sabre Productions. 
  
I used Final Cut Pro to create my ident for Roma Productions, using tools such as the Blade in order to create the effect of swirling in a three-dimensional way as if moving through space.

PRINT and INTERNET: 
At AS, I exceeded the brief by creating a range of materials as part of my strategy for attracting and addressing my audience, so I used print and internet skills early on, which I developed further at A2. For example, at AS I created a film poster in PhotoShop as well as Instagram pictures, a Twitter feed and a FaceBook page on which I posted images of my film work as it progressed in order to stimulate audience interest.   

I used collage tools Fuzel (Moldiv) to create composite pictures that also had text, such as when I created an Audience Profile, based on NME's audience profiling, that showed my audience's tastes, habits, clothes, new technology preferences, favourite film and TV programmes, in fact, all the means by which I could profile my viewers.

At A2, in addition to a film poster, I also made a film magazine cover, experimenting with Adobe InDesign, Photoshop and a variety of fonts. My film poster showed vastly more sophisticated levels of skill as it used many more layers. For instance, I took a set of photos during a photoshoot for the film poster and magazine cover, then cropped them / used the magnetic lasso tool / the selection tool in order to combine them with text layers such as the billing block, social media symbols and 'puffs' from critics. I also added bar codes and QR codes.
  
A huge part of the design of a magazine cover and a film poster is the title. I designed a unique font for the title of my film Name Here which looked like.... in order to convey...

One challenge in print layout is ensuring legilbility, which meant that I had to alter the saturation and hue of strong or dark background areas behind text in order to keep it legible. 



 

• EVALUATION  

At AS and at A2, I used YouTube for uploading my production work in order to make an annotated version. At A2, I also invited feedback during the construction progress as well as Instagram by inviting responses to our work in progress.

____________    ......    ____________ .... ____________ ...._____________ ...____ ____

June 2014
1a)    Describe the most important post-production decisions you made for your different media productions and explain why these decisions were significant. Refer to a range of example in your answer to show how your skills in post-production developed over time.
b) Apply the concept of genre to one of your coursework productions.

January 2012

1a)    Describe how you have developed research and planning skills for media production and evaluate how these skills contributed to creative decision making.

b)   Analyse media representation in one of your coursework productions.


June 2010
a)    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
b)   Analyse one of your coursework productions in relation to genre.


January 2011
a)    Describe how you developed your skills in the use of digital technology for media production and evaluate how these skills contributed to your creative decision making.
b)   Apply theories of narrative to one of your coursework productions


June 2011
a)    Explain how far your understanding of the conventions of existing media influenced the way you created your own media products
b)   Analyse one of your coursework productions in relation to the concept of audience.

January 2012
a)    Describe how your analysis of the conventions of real media texts informed your own creative media practice
b)   Analyse media representation in one of your coursework productions

June 2012
a)    Describe a range of creative decisions that you made in post-production and how these decisions made a difference to your final outcomes.
b)   Explain how meaning is created by the use of media language in one of your coursework productions

January 2013
a) Describe how your research and planning skills developed over time and contributed to your media production outcomes. Refer to a range of examples in your answers.
b) Analyse one of your coursework productions in relation to narrative.

G325: Sec A: Theoretical Evaluation of Production

The purpose of this unit is to assess your knowledge and understanding of media concepts, contexts and critical debates, through your understanding of one contemporary media issue and their ability to evaluate your own practical work in reflective and theoretical ways.
The examination is 2 hours. You are required to answer two compulsory questions, on their own production work, and one question from a choice of six topic areas. The unit is marked out of a total of 100, with the two questions on production work marked out of 25 each, and the media theory question marked out of 50.

There are two sections to this paper: Section A: Theoretical Evaluation of Production (50 marks) Section B: Contemporary Media Issues (50 marks) 

Section A: Theoretical Evaluation of Production

You answer two compulsory questions. The first requires you to describe and evaluate

your skills development over the course of you production work, from Foundation Portfolio to Advanced Portfolio. The second asks you to identify one production and evaluate it in relation to one theoretical concept.

Question 1(a) requires you to describe and evaluate their skills development over the course of their production work, from Foundation Portfolio to Advanced Portfolio. The focus of this evaluation must be on skills development, and the question will require you to adapt this to one or two specific production practices. The list of practices to which questions will relate is as follows:
    Digital Technology  Creativity     Research and planning  Post-production 

    Using conventions from real media texts In the examination, questions will be posed using one or two of these categories.
Where candidates have produced relevant work outside the context of their A Level media course, they are free to additionally refer to this experience.