Monday 9 November 2009

EVALUATION - Media studies AS coursework reflection

In preparing for our trailer we researched and evaluated the beginnings of many other films of the same genre. We used “BBC iplayer” to watch and analyse murder mysteries which had recently appeared on television, such as Poirot, Miss Marple and Sherlock Holmes. We also used Wikipedia to research the plot lines of other films, and watched many trailers on “YouTube”. For filming we borrowed recording equipment from the school, using a handheld video camera and a tripod. However for dramatic effect in our AS coursework we didn’t use the tripod as much as me might have done, although we do plan to use it in our A2 filming to make our shots look more professional. We will use other techniques to show the genre of the film. For example when editing we will focus on the subtle transitions between shots and the lighting used in each scene, the lighting employed in our AS piece was clearly out of our control as we were filming outside, however we hope to use it to our advantage this year.
By mixing together elements from all the different forms of media we had studied we were able to compose a completely new piece of material. We borrowed techniques from various forms of media and a mix of genres, using, developing and challenging forms and conventions of real media products. Through using the internet to research public opinion of popular films we could use their feed back to our advantage. We were able to apply aspects of films which they believed to be more effective and rule out those which seem tacky and predictable to a third party observer. Although we were very imaginative in the construction of our AS piece I feel we may have been a little too creative and, had we kept the plot line simple, we may have been able to make the overall impression much more effective. We have learnt from this mistake and hope to avoid it in our final piece this year.
In terms of our research and planning I feel that had we spent more time studying our available media our final piece would have been much more successful. Although we took time to analyse other films, I do not believe we looked into them in as much depth as we could have done, and his affected our finished product. Our camera work could have been greatly improved if we had properly analysed professional shots, however due to the weather on the day of filming we were unable to spend the necessary time perfecting the result.
Our audience feedback has been extremely beneficial. Although we were fully aware that our final piece was not up to the standard that we wanted to produce, as we had been so involved in the planning and creating of the piece for so long, it was difficult to step back from it and pinpoint the exact areas which let it down. The comments provided by our fellow class mates were both positive and critical, however every comment was valid and useful to us, and we have taken all of our feedback on board and hope to iron all last year’s mistakes out of our A2 coursework.

Lucy :)

No comments: