Pre-Production and Research:
Pre-production was possibly the hardest part of this course,
as it required took the most time. I never really appreciated the amount of
research required for creating any media-based product. Google was an amazing
tool to use as it was my main means for researching anything media related. For
example, in the beginning it was very helpful when looking for shot examples
and tips for Final Cut. Due to the unfathomable amount of information available
at my fingertips, I could find these things quickly and easily. Speaking of
Google, YouTube was another very helpful tool, especially for anything to do
with filming. Since all AQA Media productions were uploaded to YouTube, I could
easily find any film I wanted. For example, I found that if I wanted to find a
sports drama or gangster film, there were a lot of options to choose from. This
was especially helpful for deciding what codes to use in my film. Blogger is
essential for showing the extent of my research. For example, this evaluation
is going up on my blog. I learnt that it also serves as a host for other blogs,
so I can see what other have done in terms of pre-production and research.
Adobe Photoshop was also very helpful as it was my method for creating a prop
that was supposed to be used in the film, but wasn’t. However, it did evidence
that I had done some pre-production that wasn’t just research.
Construction:
Construction wasn’t easy either. My biggest hurdle was
finding the time to film and being able to get everyone together to record. I
had a few mishaps in the beginning. For example, I found that shots looked much
better if a tripod was used rather than trying to keep your hands steady. I
also made used of the many modes and settings that were available. For example,
the black and white option was especially useful when we wanted to take a
shortcut in the editing process. Carrying on from that, Final Cut X was
instrumental in the creation of the media product. While I could have used
freeware like iMovie to edit the shots together, Final Cut X made the outcome
look amazing. Not only did I find out that the titles included in the package
were very helpful for creating a dynamic piece, the layout was easy to use and
simple to learn. The Royalty free music sites were also very helpful. I mainly
used Kevin Macleod’s music, from his site http://incompetech.com/.
Not only does he give away his music for free, he has an amazing amount of genres
suited for any product that is created on a budget.
Evaluation:
While the examiners don’t give out many marks for essay
based Evaluation answers, typing straight on to Blogger is very quick and easy
to do. However, mediums like Photoshop and Prezi generate more marks due to the
diversity of the presentation. Even using SlideShare to host a Powerpoint
Presentation gives more marks than a long, boring essay. In retrospect, I
should have made time to make a video for one of the questions. For example, I
could have layered some notes over my original video that explained some of the
technical/symbolic codes I included.
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