Year 12 Skills Development

Introduction

Within this task I will be answering the following questions whilst reflecting back;

- How creative were you last year?

- What digital technology did you use last year?

- What research and planning did you do last year in order to be successful?

- What conventions did you apply to your coursework?

How Creative Was I Last Year?

Looking back at last year, it shows how creative I and classmates were when creating our short clips. It took dedication and hard work in order to make everything up to the standards we needed for the grades.

In the beginning it was difficult to think creative as I did not have enough ideas to pull together into one to create a plan; however my team and I brought small ideas together and came up with an idea that we all agreed on. Since our genre was 'thriller' we chose to use conventions such as blood, knifes, flickering candles and night time locations; this made the scene a lot more powerful as it could be more believable than in a classroom. Between the three of us, we then started to come up with many ideas that would fit into our opening title sequence. We shot the scenes in open and closed areas as this was again also believable than in just one place.

In order for me to feel creative i had to put myself in the correct mind-set and think 'what would i see in the cinemas?' or 'what would make me want to watch the film?' When thinking like this i suddenly had a million ideas rushing into my head.

What Digital Technology did you use last year?

Last year I used a lot of technology in order for the finishing product to be perfect. The first technology product I used was the recording camera; this was used a lot as this was the only thing I could use to film and use the evidence when explaining in my coursework. Learning to use the camera was also difficult and challenging, it took at least a week to have full understanding on how to use the correct settings for different locations; however when I had full understanding everything became more easier and the recording was a lot more enjoyable.

The second technology that i used was Final Cut Pro. This personally; was the most difficult to understand and use. It took a lot of concentration to know how to use the correct buttons and not make errors in the scenes. When using Final Cut Pro, it was enjoyable, though very difficult; but it made the scenes and whole opening scene itself twice as better as it was in the beginning. After a week and a half, Final Cut Pro became simple to use and our Opening title sequence was coming together very quickly.

What research and planning did you do last year in order to be successful?

I done a lot of research and planning last year, though some was more easier than other research. I firstly had to research various media terms such as mise-en-scene, sounds and camera shots. I researched many times about each of these terms as i had to have full understanding of each to be able to complete the opening title sequence at the end of the year; also for the end of media year exam. Within the research and planning i carried out i learnt many things, for example low angle shots empower the character in the scene, and high angle shots make the character look powerless and harmful. Not only did this help me in the exams, and coursework; but also out of education, i was able to understand why certain shots were created and the impact they all have on the scene itself.

Without the planning, i would not of been able to be successful in media as I needed a lot of notes to look back on when writing up my coursework, and also finishing the opening title sequence with the correct terms, codes and conventions.

What conventions did you apply to your coursework?

Through the use of my research, i was able to apply many conventions to my own coursework, for example; since our genre was thriller i was able to talk about the conventions of thriller; which can include vampires, bats, blood, cobwebs, lightning etc. This helped when explaining why i would include these in my own opening title sequence. Also, the research helped me with my actual coursework structure, as i was able to structure it in a way that it would be easier to read and the points i made will flow throughout my work. The main conventions that were used in my coursework was what makes an actual thriller scary; the research made it simple to understand and I was able to complete my coursework successfully.

Overall, last year media was successful for me due to the hard work, dedication and research i carried out. Though, this year i plan to be more successful and dedicated to my work in order to get higher grades that i admire.