How to get a Level 4

Question 1aHow have your research and planning

skills improved over your A Level course?

Cover 5 aspects

Cover 5 aspects

• Conventions of real media texts: narrative and genre

• Technical conventions: camera, editing, mes etc• Storyboarding v animatic (how they impacted on

final productions)• Organisation of resources and cast: time

management, weather, re-shoots, mock-ups• Audience research – questionnaires, using

feedback to change ideas

• For my AS film in the genre of XXX I researched 4 films (NAME THEM) mainly for narrative and genre codes.

• Give specific examples – eg. I learnt from Ocean’s 11 that the opening for a heist movie should include…

• However I didn’t write out a full treatment for my film which would have helped me see how to convey hints about the overall plot in the opening sequence.

AS

• For my A2 music video in the genre of XXX I researched 6 videos from artists in the same genre (NAME THEM) but also watched videos from artists in other genres to contrast the codes and conventions.

• Give specific examples – eg. I learnt that pop artists such as Katy Perry include performance elements as well as a narrative linked to the lyrics, whereas the indie-rock band Arcade Fire’s video for The Suburbs was completely narrative based.

A2

LINK TO YOUR FINAL PRODUCT

• As a result of analysing more products (including texts from other genres) I was able to better meet codes and conventions in my own text. For example, My A2 video included a performance of the band intercut with a storyline about a break-up whereas my AS project was more like a short film than an opening.

Conclude

• Furthermore, for my AS film I only looked at one film for specific technical codes to learn from.

• Give specific examples – eg. I learnt from The Purge: Anarchy that the opening for a science fiction thriller movie should include…

• However I didn’t analyse editing/sound…

AS

• For my A2 music video, for an artist in the XXX genre, I analysed 6 artists (NAME THEM) specifically focussing upon the elements of camerawork, editing and mise-en-scene which met generic codes and conventions.

• Give specific examples – eg. I noticed from Tori Kelly’s videos that pop artists are normally shown performing and that whip pans and smash cuts were a common convention used to keep the audience hooked. I also completed a tally chart of shots from videos such as xxxx to understand how many edits I would be expected to complete.

A2

LINK TO YOUR FINAL PRODUCT

• As a result of more focussed research, my A2 music video had XX whip pans and XXX smash cuts in comparison to my AS film which lacked enough close ups of the key protagonists.

Conclude

Some other points

• Storyboard v animatic – explain what you changed about your final production as a result of creating an animatic – eg. you decided the video needed a performance aspect or more locations. Link this to the fact that an animatic lets you appreciate the length of a shot on screen.

Some other points

• Organisation of resources – explain what went wrong in your AS as a result of poor planning – eg. you decided the video needed to reshoot because the locations were not convincing enough (could have been avoided by location research); your actors weren’t convincing (could have been avoided by a casting call); you didn’t have a tripod; you forgot a back up battery; the weather….

Some other points

• Audience research – give examples of specific questions you asked last year (use terms such as demographic) compared to questions this year (focus more on psychographic).

• Give examples to evidence how these audience responses helped you to make a better product – eg. You made mock ups of your digipacs and got feedback on fonts and track names before creating your final version.

MOST IMPORTANT

• Use key terms: • demographic/psychographic/primary/secondary

research, questionnaires/focus groups/semiotic analysis of codes and conventions (Barthes), technical terms (lighting terms - low key etc; camera terms - tracking shots, establishing shot; editing terms - shot/reverse shot, long takes, montage etc; sound terms - asynchronous, diegetic, sound effects, crescendo etc; narrative terms - chronological order, audience terms - polysemic (could be read in many ways) etc.