Skills

There are five skills to talk about in this section of the exam. They are:

- Research and planning

- Use of real media conventions

- Creativity

- Using digital technology

- Post-production.

Research and planning

Before I could start to create my coursework projects, I had to complete research so that I could get a better idea of the types of codes and conventions that were used in that particular media product, etc. as well it giving me multiply ideas and inspiration. I also had to plan my time as because there was a lot of work to compete, time management was essential to ensure that I was able to meet the deadlines.

For my first coursework project for AS I made a school magazine. For this magazine, I did minimal research into existing school magazine, but enough to get a rough idea of the features used and the general layout and format. I did not plan my time in this project as it was only the preliminary task which was completed in a short amount of time so there was no need. The main coursework task for that year was to make a music magazine. For this I has to create a front cover, contents page and double page spread. Before I began to produce my magazine pages, I analysed 5 existing music magazines in a similar genre to my own. Doing this enabled me to see the typical codes and conventions used within meaning I could then use and develop them in my own magazine. When analysing the magazines I looked at the colour schemes used, mise-en-scene in the photos, layout, fonts, camera angles, size of photos as well as others. I predominantly focussed on looking Q magazine as this was very similar to the type of magazine I was going to be making. In this project research was essential as without it my product would not have been marketable or similar to any existing products. For this project I also planned my time. As I had 3 pages to make I had to plan when I was going to take the photos included in my magazine as well as organising models to be in photos. Before I could begin taking the photos, I had to plan what types of shots to take as well as how I wanted the models to look. I also had to plan when I would create each page so that I had enough time to produce the three separate pages. I planned my time so that I was able to meet each deadline.

For my A2 coursework, I had to work within a group of 4 people and we have to create and music video with a digipak and advert to go with it. Once we had chosen a song to make a video for, we began looking at existing music videos and digipaks from music artists in the same or similar genre to the song we had chosen. We choose the song The Face by The Kings of Leon. We analysed these videos and adverts/digipaks so that we knew the typical codes and conventions that were used. Doing this meant that we would know what types of conventions to use in our project to make sure it fitted with the genre it was from. As well as looking at music videos we looked at stop motion art videos as we knew we were going to use stop motion in our video. Looking at these videos meant that we could see how to construct stop motion footage well. Stop motion is a feature not regularly seen in music videos so it really went against the typical conventions we had previously seen when analysing music videos. Because of this our video became a bit more unique and different to other videos within the same genre. We also completed many mind maps consisting of different initial ideas for both our video and digipak/advert. Doing this meant that we didn't forget any ideas we had and then we could go back adn expand on them further on in the project. We also had to plan our time very carefully. As there was limited time to the tasks set, I had to create a planning timetable which included each deadline and when we were going to film, edit, take photos, etc. Doing this was extremely important as we had to organise when the whole group was free and make sure we spend enough time on each part so we were not rushing towards the end of the project.

Use of real media conventions

Through analysing existing music magazines during the research and planning stage of the project, I already had a good idea of the types of codes and conventions seen on magazines of a similar genre to my own. In my music magazine I used the conventions of a colour scheme, title, rule of thirds, columns, quote in the middle of text (on double page spread), as well as others. I used a colour scheme consisting of blue, white and black throughout the whole of the magazine. Doing this showed the magazine was linked and gave a familiar sense as you were reading it. Q magazine also do this, as they use a red, white and black colour scheme. I did not go against any real media conventions in this piece of coursework, apart from the hand writing seen on my double page spread is quite different I think it still conforms to the conventions used within real media products.

Analysing existing music videos and digipaks/adverts was helpful for my music video project as I knew the conventions seen in real products, so could then use them in my own. We used conventions such as variations in shots, edited to the beat and close-ups of band members in the music video and in the digipak/advert we used a colour scheme pictures of band members and track names. Through looking at existing products in the research stage of the project we saw that these conventions needed to be included in order for it to be successful. For this project we did subvert conventions. For example, the condensed narrative at the beginning of the song isn't usually seen. In a music video the narrative usually lasts throughout the whole of the song, whereas in mine it is all seen at the beginning of the video. We also subverted conventions when using a paint theme and stop motion drawings. These two features are not very often seen in music videos which is why our video is very different to real media products in many ways.

Creativity

As a whole my music magazine was fairly creative. The front cover was probably the least creative page, although it does feature the information banner along the bottom which is quite creative. This banner informs the reader some of the artists and bands featured inside the magazine. As it is compact and easy to read, it allows the reader to easily see who is featured so they can decide whether it appeals to them or not. The contents page included mini photos of other pages which were meant to be included inside the magazine. This idea is quite creative as it is an unusual way of telling the reader what they can find inside. The double page spread is the most creative page in my magazine. The hand written writing around the girl is quite a unique feature which is not regularly seen within music magazines. It is very visual to look at and draws the reader in. As it is across two pages it makes it seen more exciting and the bright colours really draw in the readers too.

My music video and digipak/advert are very creative. The use of stop motion and paint theme in the video makes it very creative and it is something not regularly seen making it quite unique too. The stop motion painting are creative and they also show parts of the story/relate the lyrics in the song as well. The paint dribbles and writing on the walls is also very creative.

My creativity has progressed throughout all of the coursework projects I have completed. I think it has increased a lot over the projects, as looking at the first project I completed (school magazine - AS preliminary task) and the last (A2 music video, digipak and advert) you can clearly see how I became more creativity as time went on.

Digital technology

For my music magazine I used different types of digital technology. During the research stage I used the internet to look at existing music magazine so that I could analyse them to see which codes and conventions they use. I also used the internet to access Blogger, the blogging site I used to record my progress throughout the project. I also used Photoshop to construct my magazine pages. On Photoshop I used the lasso tool, changed the brightness, added colour and text, made new layers as well as other tools/features. To take the photographs that I then used and edited on Photoshop, I used Digital SLR cameras. These cameras enabled me to take profession looking photographs. I look varied shots so that not all the photos used within my magazine were the same.

For my music video and digipak/advert project, again I used many different types of digital technology. I used the internet to look at existing videos, digipaks and adverts so that we could analyse them to generate ideas and see the codes and conventions used within them. I also used the internet to record the progress throughout the project on the blogging site, Blogger. Another site we used the internet for was Slideshare, we used this to upload our pitch too so that we could put it on our blog. We also used programmes on the computer including Photoshop (used to create the digipak and advert - used tools such as contrast, text and lasso), Adobe Premier Pro (used to create the rough and final cut of the video as well as the evaluation videos - used tools such as cutter and fade effects) and Adobe After Effects (used for the evaluation videos and to create the final scene of our video). We also used the green screen for our evaluation videos so that we could edit them to have photos and videos in the background that related to what we were saying. We used video cameras and Digital SLR cameras too, to shoot the footage for our videos and take photos for our digipak and advert.

Post-production

For my music magazine my post-production skills were still quite basic. This is because I had only had brief practice using the programmes when making my school magazine (AS preliminary task). I used Photoshop to edit the photos I had taken and to construct the pages trying to make them look like they belonged to a genuine music magazine.

For my music video project, my post-production skills had developed. After filming the footage for the video, we edited it in Adobe Premier Pro, splitting the clips to shorten the lengths making them much more fast pace, meaning the story moved on quicker. On Premier Pro we also added effects to the footage such as changing the speed of the clips, fades and making them black and white. Doing this changed the way the footage was seen to the viewer. We also used Adobe After Effects for the final scene of our video. We wanted the video to fade to black then stage on black for a brief moment before ending. This was achieved through editing the footage on After Effects.

For my music magazine, I used some post-production skills but not as many as I did in my A2 project of making a music video, digipak and advert. Through looking back at the post-production skills I used you can see how they have developed over the course of the projects I have completed.