Examination Preperation

AS Coursework Reflection

Read through your AS Blogs and reflect on your coursework using the following questions to help you analyse what you did last year:

•          Digital Technology

• How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

YouTube was particularly helpful in researching in the beginning of our research stage as it allowed us to access a wide variety of opening minutes in multiple different genres that could we could analyse and learn from. It was also helpful in the planning stage as we could use it for tutorials on the editing software to learn more about it so we could produce a higher quality piece. 

•         What software was used?

Adobe elements and Sony Vegas were used to edit our trailer Adobe is on the school computers so it was easier to access in lessons when we were all together rather than having to find time outside lessons to edit it but Sony Vegas was helpful in creating a rough draft on my laptop so we could easily replicate it in Adobe when we got to school. Although it is not excessively complicated we watched a few tutorials to learn how to use it as we wanted to make sure we used it to its full capacity. At AS our film was fairly high quality production piece but it was far less complex with less shots and only one piece of music so we improved at A2 as we had over 50 shots this time round and 3 different pieces of music.

•         What equipment was used?

We used a school camera which was not of the highest quality but it got good enough shots and saved us having to spend an excessive amount on a high quality camera. The only fundamental issue with it, alongside its terrible battery life, was that it struggled to shoot in low light, I feel it’s one of the biggest flaws of our entire trailer is the fact it’s so light when it’s supposed to be a horror. Although the trailer exudes a degree of fear in the audience if we’d had a higher quality camera it could have been so much scarier.

•         What were the technical pros and cons of the software and hardware?

The camera shot in quite high resolution meaning the end product is quite high definition but as the microphone was quite small the sound wasn’t as good as we had hoped it would be. There was also a few shaky shots which although were good near the end of the two minutes and added to the effect of making the audience feel like they were there in the woods, it would have been better to use a tripod at the beginning to get more stable shots. This is something we learnt from and incorporated in out A2 production to ensure we got far more professional looking shots. A pro of Adobe was it was clearly laid out and had extra features (like trimmer, speed) to help make a better looking final piece but a con of it was as we were unfamiliar with it we had to spend time learning how to use it and still then we didn’t know all the things we could do with the software so may not have used it too its full capacity.

•         In what ways was technology used to create the production?

YouTube was used to research openings, blogger was used to present our findings, and the school camera was used to film our piece whilst Adobe was used to edit it.

•         In what ways did the technology constrain or enable the production to be developed?

The school camera limited our quality as to look at the resolution is not as high as we would have hoped for, also the audio recorded from the camera wasn’t as clear as it could have been. Adobe enabled us to produce a fairly high quality production even with low dialogue and shaky shots as we could add music in and cut shots effectively to make the opening scarier.

•         How have you developed these skills at A2?

At A2 we re-recorded dialogue to get a more professional feel to our final product and improve upon our audio skills at A2. 

•          Creativity

• How did you use media forms to come up with something new and original? -  We used YouTube to look at other openings inside and outside of our genre picking out parts that we found most effective and then combined these feature to come up with an opening 2 minutes which is interesting and dynamic.

•         Where did ideas come from? We talked about comedy, but realised it would be challenging to come up with a script that would actually be funny, we then considered action but didn’t feel our editing could be precise and smooth enough yet to deliver a high standard opening. Therefore, we decided Horror as it was a simple and accessible setting also the dark lighting could be used to hide mistakes of continuity

•         How did you work collaboratively to share ideas? Each of us came up with a verity of ideas of what we thought made our opening of a film most interesting, we then shared these ideas and discussed how we could create them, from this we came up with a list of ideas which are achievable and applied them to our AS opening 2 minutes.

•         How did you change things? In transition from AS to A2 we changed many of our shots making them more dynamic including more interesting ones such as high angle and tracking shots. We also filmed more footage which allowed us to have a large amount of material to choose from in the editing process. We also changed amount of actors, including more gave it a more realistic feel.

•         How did you use tools like Adobe Premier Elements etc. to achieve something imaginative? Using this software allowed us enough tools to create an interesting opening two minutes this includes our 2 production titles which gave our trailer a realistic edge as well as our multiple soundtracks which allowed us to have eerie non diegetic as well as diegetic sound from our footage

•         What stylistic techniques were used to appeal to the audience? We used a point of view shot from our main character as she ran through the woods this enabled the audience to relate to the opening more therefore taking more interest at the overall opening.

•         What was the intended outcome of the production? (Assessment objectives, preferred readings, promotional purposes?) Our group wanted an opening two minutes which looked professional and clean, we didn’t want there to be a dull moment so we made sure no shot was too long and no title appeared too short or too long. At the end of our production we wanted a diverse trailer which keeps the audience’s attention.

•         How were these outcomes achieved in terms of page layout and camera shot choices (codes and conventions)? We made sure our page layout was in proportion using rule of thirds as well as 180 degree rule, this made sure our actors were always positioned correctly on screen, we had a range of shots including panning, high angle and close up which all looked effective in the end product.

•         How have you developed these skills at A2? We have taken the skills we learn at AS and realised the few mistakes that we made such as lighting and made sure we developed our skills further to overcome any new mistakes, in our A2 production a wider variety of shots were used, we used more actors and filmed loads of footage so we were able to be picky with what shots to include.

•          Research and planning

•         What real media and audiences did you look at?

•         How did they inform your thinking about your media production?

•         How did you record all that research? We recorded all our research using the Blogger to post quality and detailed analyses of the different influences for our own opening scene and the pre-production planning. Since we decided to film a horror-opening scene, we decided to evaluate additional horror opening scenes to get more information to be able to plan concepts that followed all the codes and conventions. YouTube was convenient since we uploaded our planning videos e.g. video diaries, preliminary task etc. allowing us to share the content within the group. During AS we had a basic and simple mind-set of the research and planning without going in-depth into our posts however we realised it had a huge impact in our production of the work since our knowledge and understanding of the concept has expanded and developed through A2. This is shown through the quality of work we have provided this year. I feel that we have improved our organisation skills because we used our free time to discuss about the trailer; this is evident in our blogger page.

What primary research was undertaken? As a group we explored various film genres by making mind maps to gain an in-depth understanding of the different codes and conventions each genre consists of. We analysed different aspects of horror, romance and action opening scenes, observing the mise en scene, camera shots and sound to get a thorough evaluation of each opening scene. By following each element we were more aware of what each scene was trying to indicate. This gave us an insight on the common conventions each genre normally follows. After researching we chose the horror genre due to the flexibility in terms of the themes and concept available. In A2 it was easier to analyse the common convention of the trailer since we create a presentation for our chosen genre which was action, picking out significant features of each conventions and explaining them in-depth. 

In our preliminary tasks we tried out and practiced various shots. The editing was fairly basic due to our lack of knowledge. We didn’t make the genre clear in our preliminary, which did affect our filming in the beginning since we didn’t practice and horror type shots. We experimented with different types of shots to use for our opening scene and practiced the rules of filming however we felt that planning shot types that adhered to the horror genre would have benefitted us. We also had an opportunity to explore with the various camera shots and the rules of filming whilst recording the interviews with the actors which was a beneficial experience since we got an idea about the placements of the camera to gain a suitable shot required. Through A2 we acknowledged the importance of pre-filming and planning some of the scenes by instructing the cast to prepare them instead of putting them in the spot which resulted to high quality performances in the scene.  

The interviews allowed the actor to touch upon the influences of our opening scene and a general idea of the plot however the answers were very limited. We discovered in A2 that using open ended question benefitted us as there is more information about the characters and plot.  

Questionnaire was very useful because we involved questions about the common concept of horror films and decided to incorporate open-ended questions enabling the participants to expand on the reasoning so we gained respondent validation about their preference. After AS we learnt that the questionnaires would have assisted us a lot if we asked opened ended questions. We ended up altering few questions. The results helped us identify our target audience for an action trailer so we included it into our planning enabling us to adhere to it.

What secondary research was undertaken? To gain awareness on what types of audience watch certain genres, we looked at Pearl and Dean website that included statistical data. It was informative about the kind of films that appealed to the audience. We used the same method in A2 because of the credibility of the source which identified the general audience our action trailer would target. 

We used Google to create a mood board with images of the locations, costume and other conventions, giving us a basic plan so we don’t divert away from the firm idea when we begin filming. 

Using YouTube was effective when it came to editing since we all lacked experience so watching the videos about the Adobe Premier Element 10 editing program made improvement to our opening scenes visually since the cuts from the clips were much smoother. Due to the advance knowledge in A2 we found it easy to use sound clips, building up tension and pace for the trailer to grab the audience’s attention. There were issues with downloading copyright music but we overcame this problem by visiting a royalty free music website that had similar sound clips to give the opening scene an impact. We developed our skills and knowledge on the features Adobe included therefore we were able to split the video audio, changing the levels and overlaying the royalty free music on the footage.  

•         How did it inform the production?

What is the effectiveness of these kinds of research? The initial location was the city centre; we researched for the setting that followed the convention by picking some images through Google. We thought busy location e.g. New York, London looked suitable visually. This informed our production, as we actually planned before visiting the area. We were able to film in different location, which gave our trailer a high production value. 

We found that creating a mood board was helpful when it to finding the appropriate costume was particularly easy since we tried to follow the convention of a spy theme e.g. suits. 

Using the questionnaire previously used in AS we copied the same format, the questions involved aspect of the setting and location since it’s key in an action film.  

Overall the research in A2 was detailed because we planned before filming so we got broad ideas of our plan. We experimented with different types of shots and scenes then cut or choose ones that fitted the genre well.   

•         What quantitative and qualitative analysis methods were employed?

In AS we used interview with opens ended questions to gain qualitative data to get in-depth information about our opening scene. We wanted to follow the similar structure in A2. This gave us a in-depth analysis about what our action trailer was going to be about. 

We have also written film diary to make it seem like the reader is going through a journey to our final production. It included a detailed record about everything we did during the filming sessions. 

Questionnaires gave us a quantitative because we mostly used closed questions so the data provided us percentages. This method was effective in identifying what people look for in action genre.

•         How did the results from these inform the production?

•         What is the effectiveness of these kinds of research? The results from these researches had an impact on the outcome of our production especially the plot of the opening scene as it was changed once we got the response from the audience. We conformed to the participant’s opinions and suggestions to be appealing.  In A2 we were aware of the effectiveness of conducting those researches was the importance of participant’s opinion, as we were more mindful of their interest.

•         How effectively was storyboards/shot lists/script followed?

•           How have you developed these skills at A2? We found that a script was very useful and effective because in AS we had to re-film some of our preliminary scene because we were unable to remember our dialogues once the camera started without any hesitation. We wrote an outline of what our script was, it gave us flexibility because whilst the production continues we could choose to add or remove certain dialogues or add more sound effects depending on whether we feel it create enough suspense. 

During AS the storyboard was simple drawing without any details with little information. Our story board in A2 developed as it was hand drawn, making it effective since it gave us a visual overview/plan to what our opening scene could potentially look like. We singularly took picture of each drawing and combined it in order to create an animatic video. We also used the paper version whilst filming so we didn’t divert away from our initial idea. The shot list became wider, allowing us to capture the moments from different angles, which let us portray different aspects of our scene.

•          

•          Post-production

• What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Audiences told us they liked the tacking shots of our female character as she entered the woods as the shot showed clearly her transition from civilisation to isolation. The quick appearance of the antagonist added with loud booms to emphasise his entry added to the fear factor of the trailer and made the audience more fearful of this man. They said the conversation at the beginning conformed to stereotypes and followed filming rules (180, rule of thirds) but seemed rushed and is a reflection of the lack of time we had in our opening and how we maybe should have tried to fit less in and focused on what was needed. This is something we tried to remember at A2 – don’t rush scenes and focus on dialogue and make it seems prominent in the trailer and not rushed.

•         What editing decisions were made? How did they inform the production? We had to cut a lot of footage from our opening two minutes as the original product was over four minutes long whereas the brief stated it needed to be around the two minute mark. This was a hard task but developed our editing skills as we had to be very precise with the shots we chose as we had such a limited amount of time. Overall I think this helped develop our product to a higher standard as every shot had been specifically picked and was trimmed down to just the parts that were necessary.

•         What particular editing tools were used and to what effect? In Adobe cut was our main tool as we wanted to keep things simple and focus on the shots rather than any fancy editing, trimmer was helpful tool that I found later on as I was editing and was good to cut down clips to only the necessary parts I needed. Sony Vegas was used to create our production credits which were better as I knew more about the software as I had used it before and could therefore produce a higher quality production title. In Sony Vegas trimmer was also used as well as cookie cutter and green screen edit to get an effective blood splatter and the text tool to add “aspire productions” onto the top of it.

•         How did the post-production process enhance the overall production? We were able to make a clean cut opening and incorporate the best shots into our opening, by having the tools like trimmer at our disposal to cut down and remove shots we were able to make sure every shot was crucial to our opening and keep the fear factor up throughout.

•         How have you developed these skills at A2? At A2 we built on from the skills learnt in Adobe and were able to cut together multiple shots in quick sequences making sure the tempo of the trailer was kept up throughout, we were also able to use Sony Vegas again to use cookie cutter and text to create a production title and added in a black and white and zoom effect to create another one that was of industry standard quality. After using Adobe and Sony Vegas at AS I knew how to use its features more effectively at A2 and could therefore produce a higher quality trailer. 

•          Using conventions from real media texts

•         In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? Our opening two minutes conformed to the horror genre as it included dark lighting, eerie suspenseful music and an antagonist. Our location was the biggest indication to our genre as it was set in the woods which are very common among this genre.

•         In what ways have your productions used or developed conventions from real media products? In our planning stage of AS we would analyse many horror openings, picking out and explaining key areas which we felt made it special, by then we had a handful of effective features that we applied to our production making sure it included all the typical conventions such a music, lighting and characters. The openings we took most inspiration from were Cabin in the Woods and The Women in Black.

•         In what ways have your products challenged or played with conventions? Our main area in which we challenged the genre conventions was the lighting, as our apparatus wasn’t up to a high standard if we filmed too late in the evening the quality wasn’t good enough, therefore our lighting was slightly brighter compared to other horror openings.  

•         Is your work generic or experimental, or both? We have areas of both generic and experimental work, although our opening is more generic as it was our first production therefore it is easier to follow that typical conventions, experimental parts of our production include certain dynamic shots, for example our running point of view shot which was used very effectively to create a feeling or worry and fear.

•         Have you developed a style? Yes, I would say our style that we developed was using camera angles and shots to put the audience in the shoes of our main character, causing them to feel more connected to our opening, resulting in a lasting impact on the audience as they are exposed to the fear and horror experienced.

•         Have you been influenced by the work of specific directors etc.? Drew Goddard directed Cabin in the woods which we admired many features used, also Alfred Hitchcock directed many horror classics therefore we felt his experience in the genre was good to analyse, therefore I would say these two directors and their work has influenced our production.

•         How have you developed these skills at A2? At A2 in producing a trailer, we understood that the shot and editing had to become quicker as conventions of a trailer include fast pace exciting shots. Therefore certain skills from AS such as range and diversity of shots we transferred over to A2 but we also included more shots such a tracking shot. We also used our analytical skills to investigate into the features of the action genre using other cinematic trailers as inspiration.