Contents Page

Planning and Research:
Initial Ideas
Reflection on AS Media Portfolio
Advanced Portfolio Chosen Brief
Camera Shot Research
Video Skills Developement
Main Task Deconstructions
Ancillary Task Deconstructions 1
Ancillary Task Deconstructions 2
Audience Research
Pitch and write-up of audience feedback
Moving Image Planning
Institution Research
Production Schedule
Equipment Checklist
Music Permission
Ancillary Task Flat Plans
Ancillary Task 1 Draft
Photoshoot Plan for Ancillary Tasks
Rough Production Company Logo
Production Company Logo
Interview Questions
Shot Plan for Intro

Diary Entries:
Diary Entry 1
Diary Entry 2
Diary Entry 3
Diary Entry 4
Diary Entry 5
Diary Entry 6
Diary Entry 7
Diary Entry 8
Diary Entry 9
Diary Entry 10
Diary Entry 11
Diary Entry 12
Diary Entry 13

Final Products:
Final Ancillary Task 1
Final  Ancillary Task 2
Final Video


Evaluations:
Evaluation 1
Evaluation 2
Evaluation 3
Evaluation 4

Evaluation 1

I have created a director's commentary to answer evaluation question 1:

 In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

I wrote a rough script for my director's commentary with some adlibbed lines to make the commentary a more natural and true representation of how I answered the evaluation question.

Directors commentary – Evaluations 1 (In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?)

My documentary begins by presenting newspaper headlines regarding immigration. This follows conventions of documentary film making as it highlights a point and allows the rest of the documentary to prove or disprove this point. The point of this introduction is to highlight how the media stigmatise immigrants before using the interview to contrast these headlines.

I have also decided to follow documentary convention by having the name of the interviewee on the screen as they introduce themselves. I have also developed on this convention by adding the interviewee’s occupation and a graphic showing where they come from as both are relevant to the purpose of my documentary by highlighting the individuality of the interviewee.

Presenting the questions on screen ensures that the audience are clear of the question and creates a clear transition between each question. Although this does not follow the conventions of most documentary interviews it allows the audience to be focused on the response of the interviewee rather than the interviewer.

Following documentary convention I have employed cut aways whilst the interviewee is talking to illustrate what they are saying with relevant video or pictures; for example I have used photos of the interviewee when he was younger as he talks about visiting the UK as a child.

Talk about newsfootage.

Talk about close up shots.

Talk about “END OF PART 1”

Evaluation 2

This is my second evaluation question created using Microsoft Powerpoint

EVALUATION 2

More presentations from Johno Ramsay

Evaluation 3

Evaluation Question 3: What have you learned from your audience feedback?

I have used online survey creating website 'Survey Monkey' to create a survey in order to collect feedback from those who have watched my documentary extract. I have analysed the feedback and used it to further my understanding of my work and what I could do differently if it were to create it again.

100% of respondents to the first survey question "did you find the documentary extract interesting?" answered yes. This positive feedback to the first question has confirmed that the topic of the documentary was interesting and the correct choice for my work.

The second question "What did you like about the documentary" serves to find out what the audience liked the most about the documentary. All of the responses where of a positive nature; some responses again mention the interesting interview and topic. The use of newspaper headlines is also mentioned, this confirms that the use of newspaper headlines in the beginning of my documentary extract was understood and has a positive effect. Finally some responses also mentioned the 'personal' aspect of the documentary extract that focuses on the background of the interviewee; this positive response shows that using photos and videos from the interviewee's past helps to create a connection between the interviewee and the audience.

The next survey question asked "What did you dislike about the documentary?" all responses didn't identify anything that they disliked about the documentary.This response can also be linked to audience interaction theory as it can be inferred that the audience have accepted the dominant message by finding the interview questions relevant and interesting.

As the interview questions are one of the most important parts of the documentary the 4th survey question, "Did you find the interview questions relevant/interesting?" intended to find out if the questions worked as intended. 100% of respondents answered yes, confirming that the interview questions were relevant and interesting. This response can be linked to Spectatorship theory as the documentary has served its purpose of the audience viewing it to learn about the subject the interviewee is being asked about, this is known as surveillance.

 My final survey question "What would you change about the documentary extract, if anything?" served to identify anything I could change about my final documentary to improve it overall. 3 out of 7 responses didn't identify anything that they would change. 2 of out 7 responses mentioned 40 seconds at the end of the documentary extract that only shows a black screen. These responses prompted me to re-watch my clip again to see if I also experienced this black screen, which I did. If I were to re do my clip I would take more time when configuring the settings in premier pro to export my clip to ensure no blank footage was exported and uploaded. One response also mentions that my introductory music may be too loud in comparison to the rest of the clip. I attempted to rectify this issue on premier pro before uploading as I also identified this as a problem. Although the music is still somewhat louder than the interview clips, I think it has the desired effect. Finally another response suggests that the interview could have more clips and different shot angles. In retrospect this is something I would take into consideration as some interview segments seem very long without a clip or change in shot to illustrate what the interviewee is talking about.



Evaluation 4

Evaluation Question 4 

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

 Research and Planning:

In terms of research and planning for both my AS main task and my A2 Ancillary tasks I used Microsoft publisher to create flat plans. Using publisher was the simplest way to create these flat plans that later gave me a template to create the magazines and newspaper advertisement using the more sophisticated, professional standard Adobe InDesign editing software.  

For creating my main A2 video tasks I made use of blogger to visit previous student work to get an idea of how to approach the production stage. I also used online video players such as BBC Iplayer to research into current documentaries to take inspiration for my own. I also used Adobe premiere pro and a hand held digital camera whilst in the research stage of my A2 coursework so that I could practice shooting and editing footage before embarking on my main video task. This practice using adobe premiere pro was vital as I had not used it before in AS with their not being a video task.

Construction:

In the construction of my A2 ancillary tasks (Magazine article and Newspaper advertisement) my experience of using editing software such as Adobe InDesign and Photoshop from my AS main task was invaluable in ensuring that I could use that software in my second year effectively. In terms of creating my documentary for my A2 main task using photography cameras when creating my AS task gave me some amount of experience using a professional standard camera. Developing on this experience through practice and research allowed me to use a professional standard video camera when creating my A2 main task.

Evaluation Stage:

I have used Blogger throughout both my AS and A2 media studies to present and evaluate my work. To evaluate my A2 media studies portfolio I employed various media technologies. I began by creating a directors commentary using a combination of a Windows 8 Sound Recorder app and Adobe Premier Pro to apply the directors commentary to the original video. I also used Microsoft PowerPoint as it was the easier format to present and evaluate the effectiveness of the combination of my main product and ancillary texts. I took advantage of online survey site “Survey Monkey” to create a survey about my A2 documentary so that I could gain audience feedback and use it also to evaluate my A2 Main task. I also used this website at AS level for the same reason. Finally I used mind map creating website Bubbl.us to compliment this evaluation of my use of media technologies.

 

Final Video

This is my final video, the first 5 minutes of my documentary; "Immigration-The Real People"

Ancillary Task 2

Here is my TV magazine double page spread ancillary task, created used Microsoft Publisher and the use of a photo shoot.

 

 

Draft Version: