Exam Revision Booklet
SECTION A- THEORETICAL EVALUATION
1A
Aspects I need to know: (the question will focus on 1 or 2 of these)
Creativity
Post Production
Research and Planning
Conventions from Real Media Texts
Digital Technology
This question requires the candidate to describe and evaluate their development of skills over the course of what they have produced at AS and A2 (where relevant to the question, i.e. Digital Technology- use of software/hardware, Real Media Texts- existing conventions followed/challenged etc)
What you need to do in your response:
Discuss with explicit detail (EXAMPLES = MARKS) on the following-
o Working in groups (distribution of workload)
o Evaluation of your own work and performance
o Reflecting on experience: skill development over 2 years
Examiners checklist for 1a
ü Creative decision making
ü Process
ü Progress over time
ü Specific examples
ü Reflection on your own development
ü Pros and Cons
Terminology: Moving Image/Print, encoding, signifier/signified, connotation/denotation, narrative codes, icons, pastiche/bricolage/ intertextuality, software/hardware, conform/challenge, hybrid, web 2.0
REMEMBER: Example/Evaluation/Analysis/Reflection
How to link/discuss creativity:
o ‘The making of the new and the rearranging of the old’- Bentley 1997 (applies to digital technology, media conventions, post production and research and planning)
o Creativity is the merging of ideas which have not been merged before. Brainstorming is one form of creative thinking: it works by merging someone else’s ideas with your own to create a new, original idea. (research + planning)
o Using the ideas of others as a stimulus for your own. (RMT)
DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY (linked with creativity)
Questions to keep in mind:
1. What software/hardware(s) were used throughout the process of creating your final product?
2. What equipment was used to capture the footage?
Software / Hardwareo Final Cut X
o Photoshop cs6
o Microsoft Office- (word, powerpoint, excel)
Web 2.0:
o Prezi
o Blogger
o Youtube
o Mp3 converter
o Facebook/Twitter
o Slideshare/Sliderocket
o Bubbl.us
o Google chrome / o Camera (canon 700D 1080p)
o DSLR (750D, Nikon)
o Attachable camera light
o SD memory card
o Apple Mac/Macbook pro
o Sony Vaio laptop
o USB
o Iphone
o GoPro
o Microphone
Equipment:
o Tripod
3. What were the technical pros and cons of the software and hardware?
Pros / Conso Enabled us as media producers to use advanced technology which in hand improved the quality of the footage/presentation of work
o Web 2.0 was highly interactive (O’Reilly 2004), not linear
o Creativity and advancements in technology allowed me as a user to become more creative with my work/ideas
o Online work could be accessed anywhere (easy access)
o Easy to save/store work
o Used some softwares in AS, familiarity and became more confident with software
o Photoshop allowed for creativity- more scope for design with a range of tools/colours/manipulation of image / o Not as experienced on softwares such as photoshop, final cut x (complex)
o Programmes crash
o Glitches, difficult to run diagnostics when the size of the file is large (i.e. editing)
o Hard to save large GB files on a portable device like a USB
o USB can easily be lost or get a virus
o Sound files often corrupt when downloaded from soundtrack pro or media converted to MP3
o When first began AS, was totally amateur to most software and hardware
o Hard to focus camera for still image and moving image
o HD quality of movie often lost due to problems when editing, had to result to lower quality resolution to upload onto YouTube
4. In what ways did the technology constrain or enable the production to be developed?
Constrained
o Weren’t able to develop quality of image for the final product
o Glitches in software didn’t allow the sequence of shots to flow together seamlessly
o Often difficult to find/download files needed e.g. images for the print ancillary task, sound effects etc
o Complexity of software/hardware difficult to get to grips with at AS and A2
Enabled
o Web 2.0 such as prezi allowed us to present our work in a new and professional way
o Annotating video tool on Youtube helpful in both evaluation tasks at AS and A2
o Functions of camera e.g. zoom were helpful of getting clarity e.g. text message
o Technological convergence: web 2.0 allowed me as a user and producer to venture out and have contact with more advanced technology e.g....
o able to take pictures with phone and use icloud to upload onto ipad, alongside prezi app on ipad,
o able to watch/download/create video on a PC,
o Able to listen/download music (itunes, media converter)
o Digital photography: photoshop/photobucket
o Manipulating footage: final cut pro
o Social networking: to promote and present (twitter/facebook/blogger/youtube)
o Desktop publishing (photoshop) ancillary tasks
Summary: ‘technological developments may well be linked to advances in the creativity of individual users’- Banaji, Burn & Buckingham (2006)
Preposition that along with technology developing and advancing, this notion provides users to progress and become more creative as there is more scope for creativity and originality.
Technology more creative & advanced = Users/Producers more creative and advanced
Web 2.0 has allowed media producers and audiences to interact with different types of media in a range of ways that allow communication between both parties, and also increase the relationship between exposure on web mediums and audience reception.
POST PRODUCTION
This stage effectively shapes the final product, and is a crucial stage when developing your video/print, so that it reaches the standard you want it to.
Questions to consider:
1. What editing decisions were made?
Ancillary / Videoo Took inspiration from existing romantic comedy posters i.e. colour scheme of white black and red
o Challenged conventions of the genre and used grey tones to highlight element of misfortune and bad luck
o Orientation of page was horizontal, to give a cinematic and professional feel, and to allow for more space to add text
o Poster was made to be a depiction of something larger than life, animated and comic to fit the comic aspect of our hybrid genre / o Wanted the editing to mirror the order of events in the script, however had to change the script as some scenes were discarded and a new order of shots was made
o Made sure that tension was continually built, lead up to climax was meant to be a crescendo of different shots
o Ripple effect in the daydream, to illustrate protagonist’s affection for the love interest
o Heavy use of music and sound effects and no dialogue to make the film original and sync w/music
2. What particular editing tools were used and to what effect/extent?
Editing used in AS / Editing used in A2o Colour correction used to create a bleak atmosphere, darkness was brought out to fit the conventions of a horror film and create a sense of mystery
o Fast forward effect used in the climax when he is abducted, overlaid with a ‘chop’ noise to suggest he has been whisked away or even had his neck chopped off (gruesome- fits conventions of a horror film)
o Sound effects- score music in the introductory titles, Harry Potter theme tune (gives a mystical feel, audience able to relate, bricolage)
o Zoom on clock, added ticking sound to escalate the silence and prominence of time passing slowly / o Colour collection used to create verisimilitude and give more clarity to the footage
o Ripple visual effect used as a scene transition between real world and dream
o Zoom used to focus on details in the frame such as phone screen, facial expression etc
o Sound effects added to enhance comical side to the production, e.g. score music (eye of the tiger- to show the challenge of overcoming laziness) (sexy and I know it- to capture the character’s arrogance in a light hearted way: Bricolage)
o (phone sounds and voicemail- adds to verisimilitude)
3. How did the post production process enhance the overall production?
o It majorly shaped our production, as the raw footage was taken and manipulated to meet the required needs of the intended narrative
o It gives scope for films to reach their potential
o It adds the creative touch to the footage that has been shot, it allows the director to apply their intention further
o Post production enables the producers to rectify and reflect on what has already been filmed, and if needed, extra footage can be added
o In AS, we didn’t have a shot of our main actor running and stopping, so we put two frames together to give a seamless illusion that he had stopped right after running.
o Editing the order of frames can change and alter the momentum, for our 2 minute trailer we needed snappy and quick editing to create a sense of thrill, yet in our 5 minute production, we wanted to give an illusion of longevity to show the extensive efforts of a young man trying to impress a date, and it all failing; and also to create a realistic scenario
o Sound effects were hugely helpful in bringing the two videos alive, giving a sense of atmosphere, one was more bleak and the other was more light hearted and comical
4. What technologies did you use to modify your raw material?
o Final Cut Pro: editing software to rearrange shots in the desired narrative order, to add titles, subtitles for evaluation work, sound effects, correction of colour etc
o Soundtrack Pro: used as a database for standard sound effects to create atmospheric sound, or diagetic sounds to add to action in the film i.e. footsteps and heavy breathing in our AS horror film, and razor, shower noises in our A2
o Photoshop cs5: was used in the ancillary task to edit our images for our magazine review and poster, allowed for a professional touch to our work
o Youtube- Final video was annotated using annotation tool for the evaluation stage of our work
& How did this change the meaning of your work?
o Editing software allowed us to create a film that encapsulated the main ideas we wanted to portray as a production company. We originally wanted to make a comedy but the narrative developed into a hybrid genre of romance and comedy. With this in mind whilst editing, this allowed us as producers to conjure up suitable score music, scene transitions, special effects etc to give our film its meaning; so that it can be communicated to our target audience and can appeal to them
o Photoshop cs6 helped us to give our raw images colour, text, and a range of special effects to make the actors look flawless e.g. blemish tool, red eye removal etc to give a professional feel to our work, and to also add images such as hearts, dark clouds and so forth to capture the genre we were aiming for.
o The YouTube annotation tool allowed us to communicate the meaning and purpose of certain shots and effects literally by annotating the video with notes that popped up on the screen simultaneously with the specific area being discussed
5. How much of your footage ended up on the ‘cutting room floor’ and why?
o Whilst filming we ensured that we got more than enough footage, with extra shots so that we wouldn’t run short when selecting good quality takes in the editing process, which is why we had a good amount of frames to chose from, and narrowed down the best scenes. Essentially meaning that there was a significant amount of footage discarded but many scenes were used and manipulated/shortened to fit the time frame. As a result of having such a range of frames, we found that our piece had become too long, which is why we opted to manipulate the frames even further and cut out anything unnecessary i.e. showing the character travelling from one part of the house to another, instead placing the two locations in which he travels to side by side, made the time shorten and made the viewing experience more fun and exciting.
o This was similar for our ancillary task and the pictures that were used, we took a wide range of pictures of the characters in different poses/locations and positions and this allowed us to trial many things such as the positioning of the images, the size, the ease/difficulty of editing and so on.
RESEARCH & PLANNING
1. What primary and secondary research was undertaken? How did it inform the production?
Secondary Research / Primary Researcho Looked at existing media within the same genre i.e. short films on YouTube and online sources
o Online research into the romantic comedy genre conventions
o Theories such as ‘uses and gratification’ ‘todorov’ ‘propp’ etc
o Read articles on romantic experiences in newspaper
o Magazine articles, agony aunt articles
o Looking at film posters from mainstream movies / o pre-questionnaires
o post-questionnaires
o audience feedback w/focus group (filmed for evaluation)
2. What were the pros and cons of primary and secondary research?
Pros of primary:
o Information was first hand and direct to the research of our product
o Useful because we got an indication of how well our ideas and selected genre was received by a small selection from our target audience
o Information came directly from the participants so was valid and reliable
o The research results were qualitative answers which were then objectified to give us results that we were able to put in a graph
o Filming their response directly after watching the product was effective as we can watch this footage over and repeat this process after improvements and note a change in opinion
Cons of primary:
o Collecting the information was time consuming,
o creating questionnaires,
o getting results,
o making graphs,
o arranging a focus group meeting and filming them,