4. Evaluation

In the evaluation the following questions must be answered:

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

• How does your media product represent particular social groups?

• What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

• Who would be the audience for your media product?

• How did you attract/address your audience?

• What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

• Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

3. Construction

Task 3 (Construction)

Outline the steps taken throughout the construction stages of your production. How you structure this is entirely up to you - you could approach it in a chronological style - stage by stage from getting the cameras, through shooting and then onto editing.

You MUST discuss any things that changed during this process AND any major decisions that you had to make. Discuss ALL problems that you encountered and how you overcame them.

Completion Date:

2. Main Task Planning/Research

This post will be updated for each Planning/Research task

Ensure that you title your posts with the correct heading. Each task should be presented as a new blog post. These headings are in brackets following the task number.

Task 2.1 (Synopsis)

You can now start thinking about the main task - an opening sequence to new film. Here's where it gets a little complicated, so pay attention.

You are going to develop a synopsis for an entire film (roughly 200 words) in a genre of your choice. That synopsis will then be used to complete the following:

For Media Studies, you are going to plan, film and edit the opening sequence of the film (up to 2 mins including titles). This will be completed as a group.

For Film Studies, you are going to plan and present a photo storyboard of another sequence from within the film - ideally, this should be a sequence driven by action, not by dialogue. This will be completed individually and therefore the sequences must be different.

Completion Date (for synopsis only): 15th December

Task 2.2 (Production Company Background)

Undertake research on Production Company/Studios and their Logos, demonstrating:

• How the logos of at least 2 companies have changed over time
• Knowledge of different companies within the film industry, noting the owners (where relevant), date established and the types of films made famous by those companies.
• Links between the companies, partnerships, parental organisations.

Upload images/embed video sequences as evidence to support this research.

Completion Date:

Task 2.3 (Production Company Logo Design)

Design a Logo for your production - upload both draft and finished work with a brief explanation of the design process that you went through.

Completion Date:

Task 2.4 (Generic Conventions)

Identify 4 different genres and identify the key conventions and iconography (distinguish the two) of those genres. Embed video clips and links to evidence to support this.

Completion Date:

Task 2.5 (Comparison of Sequences)

Compare two opening sequences from films (they may differ in genre) in terms of imagery, theme, character and plot/narrative development. Embed video clips to support this. Minimum words 600.

Completion Date:

Task 2.6 (Single Sequence Analysis)

Choosing an opening sequence in the genre that you intend to develop, analyse the sequence fully - looking at key conventions and considering how you would appraoch those conventions. Minimum words 600.

Completion Date:

Task 2.7 (Storyboard/Animatic)

Upload your drawn storyboard and storyboard animatics - explain any changes made and difficulties that you need to overcome at this stage.

Completion Date:

1. Preliminary Task

The following Task MUST be completed prior to the planning of your Opening Sequence

Preliminary exercise

The Pre-lim task requires you to construct a sequence using the 180 degree rule. The task must be completed exactly as described in the brief however you may take artistic licence with regards to the situation that you create. The sequence is a requirement of the Media Studies Coursework unit and must be referenced in the Blog, particularly in the Evaluation.

Ensure that you title your posts with the correct heading. Each task should be presented as a new blog post. These headings are in brackets following the task number.

Task 1.1 (Pre-lim - Storyboard)

Complete a storyboard of your sequence and upload to your blog along with an outline of your sequence. (This is just a storyboard, not an animatic)

Completion Date: Tuesday 24th November

Task 1.2 (Pre-lim - Filming/Editing)

Film and edit your sequence. Upload the sequence to the blog via Youtube. Cameras will be available for Filming on Tuesday 24th November and sequences should be edited by the end of Tuesday 1st december to be uploaded to Youtube.

Important
You will need to create your own Youtube account and upload the file to your account which you will use for all of the work that you produce during the course.

Ensure that Your iMovie Project and Finished Video file are labelled 'Prelim (Group Number)' and are saved to the Year 12 Media Folder on the desktop.

Completion Date: Tuesday 1st December

Task 1.3 (Pre-lim - Evaluation)

In the lesson you will be completing an Evaluation of your Pre-lim sequences. The evaluation will cover both peer and self evaluation, which needs to be reflected upon in your blog. As well as looking back at the pre-lim, consider how you will take what you have learnt into the main task.

Completion Date: Tuesday 8th December

Brief

Below is the Outline of the TWO tasks required for the Media Studies Coursework

Preliminary exercise:

Continuity task involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule.

Main task:

The titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes.

All video and audio material must be original, produced by the candidate(s), with the exception of music or audio effects from a copyright-free source.

Posting Conventions

To create a universal order and look and to ensure that the posts are tidy and organised when it comes to the marking and moderation of the production, you must ensure that you follow these conventions:

• All posts should be in Arial font
• All posts should be set to the 'small' setting
• A single line space should be left above and below any embedded imagery and video
• Any sub-headings within a post should be emboldened
• The posts should be justified left or fully
  

Exemplar Blogs

Try looking at some of the Blogs of another school, such as Long Road Media. In these Blogs you will see how students have posted the elements of their production as an ongoing product with reflection and comment after each stage is completed. In this Blog you will get an outline for your own Blog posts which you are expected to follow. Your blog should make use of imagery and embedded videos to show progression throughout the production.

Some Blogs to look at:

Long Road 1
Long Road 2
Long Road 3
Long Road 4

Read through some of these Blogs to get an idea of the way you should approach yours.