To deconstruct my A2 music video production I will now analyse the micro areas by utilising media language

If we were to utilise Roland Barthes theory on Denotive analysis  on one particular micro area ‘ Editing’ Barthe looks how the audience will interpret meaning from a particular media text two examples of this would be Peram’s group utilised a denotation of a  mono contrast ( black and white), the connotation  could  represent  the couple  in the first stages of love whereas;  Leila’s production also utilised Barthes theory as well as Levi  Strauss binary opposition light and dark , good vs. evil . The denotation of this represents darkness this connatates Nia’s attitude and the dark outcome at the end it also creates an awe of suspense and tension which is commonly found in other real media texts of this particular genre Hip-Hop.

Ferdinand de Saussure coined that “the sign or symbol we see does not make sense without the actual object and the meaning it creates”.  If we applied Saussure theory to both our music productions ‘mise en scene’. In reference to Peram’s text  the signifier  would be a couple holding hands in a park in broad day light on the swings the signified semiotic for this would be that the couple are deeply in love showing affection to each other.  Leila’s text in reference to Saussure the signifier would be Nia smoking a cigarette in an alleyway the signified view of this would show an addiction or she is stressed this also may represent a stereotypical archetype that Nia is seen as a bad person.    

Opening Sequence. Media Language Analysis

     Our opening sequence begins with the main character involved in a drug deal- with another character whose face is hidden from the audience. The way we interpreted this to our target audience is by using certain denotations. For example the wide shot, this connotes the drug deal happening so that both characters are recognised and the audience can see exactly what is taking place. It takes place down a dark alleyway, with natural low lighting- this implies that they do not want to be seen and a connotation of something bad occuring.    

Media Language

Within our AS opening sequence we have expressed many different types of connotations by applying various denotations. Rowland Barthes argues that the denotation is what you see and the connotation is the meaning through the audience’s knowledge. One example of a denotation from our sequence is the long shot of the red car, this connotes the aggression and death that is commonly associated with the colour red. It also relates to Ferdinand de Saussure, he argues that there are two levels of meaning; the signifier is what we can see in front of us, and the signified is what we associate with the signifier. Another example of this signifier is one of the last scenes within our sequence. When editing we created an eerie and dim atmosphere, showing a man staring at news paper articles, when looking closer at these we can see the images of young teenage girls. This leaves our audience questioning who he is and what reference he has to these girls.

Media Language - Denotation

Our AS opening sequence begins with an establishing shot, this cannotes the recognition of the characters and location to our target audience, incorporated within this is the written symbolic codes which signifies the title of the film. The written codes used can be refered to Fernidads theory of the Signifier and the Signified, the title 'Tormented' being the signifier, allows the audience to relate the title to the film genre, which is the signifier. Other technical codes, for instance the sound effects used later in the production, according to bathes theory of denotation and connatation connotes death, which may suggest to the audience what will be revealed within the production. Throughout the production we used a wide variety of camera angles were used, one being a low angle shot. Within the media industry a low angle shot often connotes vulnerability and/or fear, again, creating meaning through the semiotics used.

Paired Activity - Henley and Jemma

For our AS production, we created the opening sequence for a horror film. We focused mainly on the mise-en-scene micro element in order successfully to portray our genre. We also looked at several technical codes including sound, camerawork and editing. According to Roland Barthes there are two levels of meaning, this is known as the connotation and the denotation. Denotation refers to the objects placed within the media text and the connotation is how the audience and individuals interpret the text. For example, in our opening sequence we showed a teenage girl walking into a forest with a wooden gate slamming shut behind her. This was constructed through a medium shot showing her walk through the gate into the forest. This suggested a connotation for the audience, that something bad was going to happen. The micro element of sound also contributed to this denotation as spooky music stopped when the gate slammed shut creating an eerie atmosphere.

Importance of good research and planning

Detail how your understanding of the importance of good research and planning skills developed throughout the pre-production of your AS and A2 coursework

Good research and planning were highly important during the pre-prodcution of the AS foundation portfolio adn A2 advanced portfolio. By doing good thorough research and planning it helped me know the typical forms and conventions and to include them in my work and all work was organised so during production it was made easier due to good planning in pre-production.
Research into make-up by using the internet to find images and tutorials on how to make a zombie effect and experimenting with materials helped me to find what would look most effective and still look authentic and proffesional. By experimenting, this made it easier to find what worked and then apply it quickly during production so time wasn't wasted.
I watched opening sequences on youtube and did an analysis of the story for the horror genre (among others) and I found that they either started with soe kind of death or murder. This created mystery, which was an element we could use. However the deaths were usually gory and this was unrealistic and too difficult for us to replicate in our production but our research led us to use the idea of mystery. Another narrative idea that I used was that there was the element of the 'fear of the unknown' which played on the imagination so this research through textual analysis if narratives led me to use this idea.
I found during research that black and white scenes are used to show something is happening in the past and that these shots were often plashbacks. As a group we decided this convention would be useful to use in our production. We also noticed during analysis of existing products of the horror/thriller genre that this technique was often used.
Research into music and dialouge showed that more music was used to create a feeling of suspense, mystery and horror. This research proved useful as we used this idea in our opening sequence. By doing analysis of existing opening sequences, depending on the pace of events, we found that the music was often fast paced tempo went along with fast action, whilst for scenes that were supposed to be creepy, more sinister music was used. Fast tempo was used most so we decided to create this sort of music.
We carried out questionnaires, to find what sort of things our target audience wanted in a film and what type of genre by asking specific questions such as 'what genre to often enjoy watching'. This research helped us to decide what genre to do and helped us understand our target audience and know what they want in a film.
During planning, storyboards, shotlists, call sheets, risk assessments and timescales/schedules were produced to help make production run smoothly. These made good organisation and helped make sure that there was no confusion during production, such as the storyboard and shotlist clearly showing what shots needed to be done and how they should be composed. This made it simple to get shooting done whilst out filming. The schedules helped us know what was going on and when so we could get shooting done and so that our actors knew when they were needed so there were no problems of actors not turning up when needed. Risk assessments made sure that everyone was aware of the dangers whilst filming so that these could be avoided.

At A2 advanced portfolio level I used the internet to find secondary research about the definition of our chosen track genre of pop-rock. This helped me to understand that our track was of this style and gave a better depth of the genre. I used youtube to look at existing music videos from the pop-rock genre and artists that were similar to our track artist.
We did a textual analysis of these videos and found what types of camera techniques, shot types, editing techniques, mise-en-scene and narrative (either linear or fragmented) were used showing the typical conventions and elements that were used within this genre. This in depth research of the elements gave us a clear outilne of what needed to be included to make our music video look more proffesional and keep with the conventions. Such as we found that the narrative of these videos was often fragmented and there was alot of direct narrative used so we included this within our music video.
We used the same planning methods as AS level, however we relied on a more detailed shotlist to get what we needed. We had difficulty with scheduling as we had a shorter time frame to get the shots we needed. We didn't all have free time outside of our  media lessons to all be involved in the shooting and we were not as well organised, such as one of our actors didn't turn up for shooting, this caused us to change the narrative to fit around this, so better planning of schedule would have made things run more smoothly in the production phase.

Developing research and planning skills

Describe how you developed research and planning skills for your media production and evaluate how these skills contribute to creative decision making. Refer to a range of examples in your answer to show how these skills developed over time.

From our opening sequence at Foundation level I developed how to create a good storyboard to create a clear outline of how the media product would look. The storyboard at this level had little detail and was only a short, rough showing of how the opening sequence would be. This had a positive effect as I had a rough guide even though it wasn't as detailed. Into Advanced Portfolio, I created a more detailed storyboard to get a better understanding of how the music video would turn out. It was a main guideline when setting up the camera and framing the shots and was vital to the production and gave a positive effect.

Shotlists were also created at foundation level to show what shots were needed and accompanied the storyboard. I relied more on the shotlist to get what shots were needed for the production of the opening sequence. At advanced level I made the shotlist more detailed and refereed to what picture it related to on the storyboard to help further understand what needed to be done and what was needed in the shot and what type. By having a more detailed shotlist and storyboard in A2, it made it easier and was more effective to know what needed to be shot whilst filming so this development had a positive effect on the production.

At foundation level I analysed existing media products to find what conventions were used to make it that genre. I looked at a wide range of genres and this helped to combine the thriller and horror genres together and I had knowledge of other conventions for the other genres so I knew what didn't need including. This was an analysis of the narrative and wasn't a close analysis. At advanced level I developed this by looking more specifically at the pop-rock genre of our given track. I did a textual analysis of the music videos of which the artist/artists were of a similar style as the artist on our track. By analysing these videos in more detail and not those of other genres, I clearly found the conventions of the pop-rock genre and included them in the production. Some conventions can be included in other genres but they are still part of the pop-rock genre. We also decided to further our research by looking at the existing media products of the artist of our track. This furthered our idea of what needed to be included and the conventions to keep it to our artists style. By developing a closer textual analysis of existing media products, it gave a positive effect on production as I knew the conventions well and what elements were needed to make it a pop-rock music video.

At foundation level I researched target audiences by using secondary sources on the Internet to find the statistics of what demographic visit the cinema most. I then furthered this by researching what genre they often watched. This helped us decided on our genre of thriller/horror. We also gave put questionnaires to our peers to further our research as they were of the demographic of those that visited the cinema most often and this would be our target audience. There feedback helped us further our ideas for the production. This research had a positive effect on our production as it enabled us to know our target audience well. At advanced level I didn't look closely at audiences, but analysed what demographic were likely to look at these videos by their style. This helped us target the video to those that enjoyed this genre and what age range to include in the video.

AS and A2 Moodboard of ceative elements

Creative Elements

These are shots from our AS Foundation Portfolio production of an opening sequence. We used many creative elements in this production. Such as with the use of black and white in many of the shots to symbolise that this was happening in the past and gives it a more surreal effect. This method has been used in many films before but is still creative as it symbolises something that the audience can easily pick up on.

The close-up shot of the zombies eyes was creative as the use of contact lenses gives it an unnatural look, which links to the idea of zombies being unnatural. This was a creative element we chose to use in our research and planning as we thought it would give a good effect. We had not planned the smashing of the drugs bottle in our storyboards and shot list, but when our actress dropped it, it smashed. We decided this would be more creative and give a dramatic effect. The dutch angle shots are often used in the horror/thriller genre to create a more tense atmosphere, so we decided to use them in our production to re-create the same effect, making it more creative. We thought the shot from behind the tree was creative as it acted as a sort of point of view shot and gave a more sinister effect as it made it seem like the zombies were following and watching her. The make-up of the zombies was creative as it clearly showed the rotting flesh of the zombies and gave a good effect, even though we didn't use professional make-up techniques to get the look.

These are shots from our A2 Advanced Portfolio production of a music video. We used many creative elements in this production too. Such as the note to show that her partner had gone out. This was creative as our actor didn't turn up for shooting, so we had to come up with a creative idea to get around this man not physically being in any of the shots. The other note clearly signified that she was leaving him, so this creative idea helped us keep the narrative easy to understand. Again black and white shots were used to show that it was in the past and was creative as it clearly showed this. The shot of the clothes being thrown into the air and at the camera was creative as it gave a more dramatic effect to the scene and conveyed the characters frustration. The shot through the glass was another creative element as it gave a warped effect and symbolised the drinking that the character was doing. It gave a nice effect to the shot. The jump cuts were creative as they moved the narrative along quickly to go along with the pace of the music and made it more interesting. The editing that slowed shots down was creative as it fit to the tempo of certain parts of the song. The shot of the disco ball showed that our character was at a sort of club/ party and by including this shot it made it more creative.

Research and Planning Prompt Questions

How did your research into genre contribute to your production work?
For Foundation Portfolio, researching the different types of film genres helped us to determine what genre we wanted to use for our opening sequence. We decided on the horror/thriller gerne and researched further into the conventions of an opening sequence of this genre. We then included many of these conventions into our production of the opening sequence, such as the death in the narrative and sense of mystery.
For the Advanced Portfolio, we first had to establish what genre our chosen track was. This was simply listening to the track and deciding what genre it was from general knowledge. We then researched into the pop/rock genre. we searched the definition and then watched videos on youtube of artists we knew were of the pop/rock genre. We noted what elements were common throughout these videos thereby finding the conventions of the genre. An example of these conventions is the narrative is usually fragmented which we used in our music video.
Throughtout both portfolios we used real media products to find the conventions of each genre and included them in each production.

How did your research into audience contribute to your production work?
For the Foundation Portfolio we researched what type of audience watched films and went to the cinema the most to find what sort of an audience demographic we wanted to market our production to. We also gave out questionnaires to our peers to further our audience research. We founf the main cinema aidence was 12-25, so we decided to market out production to this audience. we found this audience enjoyed the horror genre so furthered our decision to do this genre.
For the Advanced Portfolio we researhced our genres audience and gave out questions to find what our audience thought of our music video and the results showed we were following the conventions of the pop/rock genre as the audience thought it looked like it was of the pop/rock genre.

What pre-production planning techniques did you employ (scripting, storyboarding, shot-lists etc)? how effective was your planning, how did it help you in the production phase?
Foundation Portfolio we used scripting so the actors knew what they were saying so time wasn't wasted when filming. This helped gieve a better vision of how the sequence would look. We used a storyboard so all involved knew the storyline and look of how the opening sequence would initialy look. The group worked together to produce it so further understood the idea. We knew what shots needed to be taken when out filming and how they would look. We used shotlists so we knew what shots needed to be taken when out filming, threre were slight alterations but was a guideline of what we needed. We made a risk assessment to assess what could be hazardous so we were more consious of this during filming.
For Advanced Porfolio, scripting wasn't used as it was a music video, but the lyrics were printed off so our actor knew the words to lip sync to the song. Storyboards, shotlists and risk assessments were all used like at foundation portfolio. We didn't produce as detailed a storyboard as we did at foundation level, we relied more on a detailed shot list we compiled. We again made alterations to this shotlist wilst out filming and added shots that we didn't think about doing such as shots of the sun and the reflection in the water. Our shot list allowed for changes like this and we could then add them into our production, this would have been harder to fit in if we had used a detailed storyboard. Again the risk assessment made us more aware of potential dangers and accidents whilst filming so we knew to try and avoid this.

What did you learn from planning your first production that helped you to improve your planning for the second?
From our first production we knew it was very important to have good planning so that we were well organised. We didn't use call sheets for our second production and this caused problems with one of our actors deciding to not turn up so we learnt this was important to have. Having a detailed storyboard was more important at foundation level and we learnt that having a more detailed shot list helped us more with the advanced portfolio production as it allowed more freedom to change things around when shooting. By having a stricter storyboard for foundation level we learnt it would aid our creativity more if we used a more detailed shotlist, although a good storyboard helped give us a good picture of how the product would look. Having a good risk assessment made for our first production helped us improve our planning for the second production as we knew what sort of risks there were and we could apply the risks we found at AS to our A2.

How did you use audience feedback to influence your production work whilst it was in progress?
We showed the rough cut to our teacher and peers in both Foundation Portfolio and Advanced, by doing this we learnt where we could improve, what wasn't working etc, so we then changed or added elements to improve the overall final cut. We used this more at advanced portfolio and our final product was of a better standard, so audience feedback was crucial to maing our video good. in advanced portflio we gave a presentation of our research and initial ideas which we recieved audeince feedbcak from our peers and teacger and this helped us to improve our written work.

Key Media Concepts Task

Within our AS project, we added titles to the opening scene to introduce the name of our opening sequence to the audience. This links to the 'Media Language' key media concept and by adding titles to our opening sequence we included written codes.
We also used technical codes within our AS project by producing our sound effects from combining the default sound effects on GarageBand. By combining a few xylophone sounds together, we managed to produce a sound effect resembling a clock ticking as if time had passed by.
We also included the key media concept 'Representation' by using an archetype character. The main character within our opening sequence for our horror film was a ghost. We researched typical codes and conventions of horror films and ghosts, and then transferred our research into producing the final look for our 'ghost'. Some of the typical conventions we used to create our ghost character include white face paint, a long dark cloak and scary facial expressions.

For our A2 project of producing a pop-rock music video, we included technical codes within media language by using a 'fade in, fade out' transition between some scenes to create a smooth change between scenes.
By using special effects in our music video such as greyscale and slow motion, we portrayed that some scenes occurred in the past. This would come under institutions as we produced some work to fit within our specific genre and the music idustry in general.

Research and Planning - Prompt Questions

1. How did your research into genre contribute to your production work?

Four our AS project we made the opening sequence of a film. In our groups we got to choose which genre we wanted to produce an opening sequence for. We all seemed keen on the horror genre, and had several ideas from a very early stage.

In terms of research for our horror genre, we made a questionnaire to find out key aspects and features of a horror film. We also watched the openings of several horror films including ‘The Ring’, ‘The Unborn’ and ‘Saw’ to develop the research of our genre further.

We used our research when it came to noting down our initial ideas, and made sure our research and planning was kept consistent throughout the production process. This helped our AS production to run a lot more smoothly as we all had a clear idea in mind.

When it came to our A2 project, we had to do a lot more in depth research for our genre, depending on the track we’d chosen. We had picked the song ‘Heartbreaker’ by the artists Pink, which came under the genre of pop-rock.

Some of our research included watching other music videos by pop-rock artists such as Maroon 5 and Miley Cyrus. We also watched a handful of other music videos by Pink and took notes on the conventions which often appear in pop-rock videos, according to Goodwin’s theory. We typed the words ‘pop-rock’ into several search engines including Google, Ask and Wikipedia to broaden our knowledge of the music genre we had chosen.

I felt as though our research for both projects contributed greatly into our production work, whether it was a questionnaire, watching horror film openings or analysing music videos within our chosen genre.

2. How did your research into audience contribute to you production work?

For our AS project we created a questionnaire which we gave to friends and family in order to find out what they thought typical conventions of a horror film were. We all found the questionnaire very useful in the planning stages, as it enabled us to include certain conventions such as using a ‘spooky’ location like the woods, using props such as face paint to portray a ghost and also using scary music in the background, which would clearly portray our opening sequence from the horror genre.

For our music video project we didn’t create a questionnaire as we found it quite easy to see what an audience looks for in a pop-rock music video. The conventions were quite obvious and we ensured we’d use at least 2 typical conventions within our music video. A few of the conventions we included were bright girly make-up to emphasise the fact that the artist is female and various locations and specials effects such as slow motion and black and white to show that some of the events occurred in the past. We felt the conventions such as bright girly make-up and facial expressions whilst lip syncing were a couple of the more obvious conventions used in pop-rock music videos.

3. What pre-production planning techniques did you employ (scripting, storyboarding, shot-lists etc)? How effective was your planning – how did it help you in the production phase?

For both projects we used a couple of pre-production planning techniques to make the production element easier. We created a storyboard for both projects including rough sketches and annotations. We also created a shot-list which shots we wished to include to represent variation. Our planning was effective as it made the production element much easier as we all had a clear idea of what we wanted to achieve. For our AS project we had clear ideas from the beginning that we wanted to film our opening sequence in a spooky looking woods, and for A2, we also knew from the start that we wished to film our music video in several different locations to show variation. Another example is the music. For AS we had to find and/or make our own music to accompany our opening sequence, for this we used Garage Band, whereas in A2 we chose the song ourselves from a list of 8 songs fitting into different genres so we didn’t have to adapt the song itself in anyway.

4. What did you learn from planning your first production that helped you to improve your planning for the second?

Looking back and watching our first media production and comparing it with our second media production, I personally can see a vast improvement! We learnt a lot as a group throughout both projects however, from planning our first production and noticing the ease of filming, we ensured to plan in much more depth for our second production as it would help us even more; especially when it came to editing. Although our second production didn’t always go as smoothly as we’d imagined, we felt much more confident in what we were doing second time around.

5. How did you use audience feedback to influence your production work while it was in progress?

During the process of our first production we didn’t receive any feedback

from the audience therefore we continued to produce work in the way we 

felt was best however, watching it back now, I can see several things I’d like to take out, redo or adapt. We didn’t receive feedback for this project as at the time, we didn’t realise we had to, or that we’d need it to improve our project.

The second time around was much better as we produced a pitch presentation stating our initial ideas, and our fellow classmates gave us some feedback on what they liked, disliked and what they felt we could improve on. Once we’d chosen our final idea, we produced a short rough cut as an idea of what our finished music video would look like. We also showed this to our classmates to which we received more feedback with a list of pro’s, cons and improvements. We all found the construction feedback extremely helpful and we took it on board, as we went back to our music video to edit, we changed a few things which were suggested in the feedback.

Creativity Moodboards

AS Mood board

Above is the mood board I produced to show the elements which I felt were creative throughout my AS production of the opening sequence of a horror film. I felt the first print screen image of a scene within our production, became creative once it had been edited and developed further. We added a title to this scene and used a 'fade in, fade out' transition, therefore adding a creative element to the scene. The second image also shows a title frame, we added this to show that time had progressed. We also used a 'fade in, fade out' transition on this scene, and produced our own 'ticking' sound by experimenting with the sound effects on 'GarageBand'. By doing this, we made our scene more creative.



A2 Mood board

 Above is the mood board I produced to show the elements which I felt were creative throughout my A2 production of a pop-rock music video. I felt the first print screen image of a scene within our production, became creative once we added a special effect making it black and white. We altered this scene with the special effect using Final Cut Pro. The print screen in the middle of the mood board is another scene we developed further to make it creative. Again, we did this by adding a slow motion special effect on Final Cut Pro. Each scene that we altered to make black and white, is a scene portraying an event that occurred in the past. Before each of the black and white scenes we used a transition such as 'ade in, fade out' or 'clock wheel', just to add a bit of creativity to the music video.

Creativity moodboards

A2 PRODUCTION

AS PRODUCTION

I feel that if you compare my A2 production with my AS production it is clear that there are more screen shots from our 2 minute sequence at AS as we didn't have other tasks to display our creativity. Whereas if you look at my A2 piece there are example of uses of photoshop for digipaks and magazine adverts. Furthermore, you can see the different effects we have used in our music video at A2 such as filming in a shop fish eye lens, desaturating scenes and extreme close ups. Whereas during our AS filming it is clear we commonly stuck to mid shots and close ups, nothing too extreme. It is clear here that my creativity has developed as a media student as i have learnt to be more risky when creating a media piece. Also, during our A2 research and planning we displayed much more creativity with large moodboards and coloured sketches.

Link 6 post production choices you made to one or more of the key media concepts

During A2 Level examples of key media concepts:
1) desaturated scenes were an example of our involvement with institutuions of music videos as it related to our chosen genre of Hip-hop
2) CCTV Shots helped portray our study of signs and symbols, particularly with connotations. As the audience member views our protagonist through the lens of a CCTV camera it leads them to read a specific meaning of the shot. Our example of dennotation use would be the audience member understanding the fact that they are experiencing a character through a CCTV lens
3) Altering the speeds of our lip syncing scenes displayed our relation to institutions of music videos as it related to the conventions of our genre of hip-hop

During AS Level examples of key media concepts:
1) Flashbacks in black and white can allow us to display our technical codes

Mood Boards AS & A2

Here I have created a mood board that represents the creativity throughout my AS opening sequence. A number of these images are of different camera angles, these helped when trying to show the tension and atmosphere between several characters also allowing our audience to establish the connections between some characters. In the blurred image at the bottom of the pictures it shows our murder standing in front of all the new paper images and then the image slowly fading out into white. The high angle shot that we included shows our character upset and the low angle shows her actions of dropping the bottle after witnessing her boyfriend cheating. The image of the car shows our character being abducted, we used a red car to represent the signs of blood and death yet to come within the movie. We used props throughout the sequence, a bracelet shown in one of the photos is meant to represent the girl who dies, also the boy is kicking a beer can across the grass showing his aggravation towards his alcoholic mistakes from the night before.

Here as you can tell we used a number of bright colours throughout our music video, this enables us to keep with our dance-pop genre. The images of the boot, solider, bear, hand and squirrel were all used throughout the quick cuts in our video, I felt that these added to the creativity throughout our video and broke up the video, allowing the audience to maintain their interests. The locations of the ball pit, hall way and bedroom all relate to our genre in their own way. The ball pit includes bright multi colours, where the hall way at the bottom of this mood board has images of famous musicians and guitars to the left of our character. The bedroom in this video was shown for a long time throughout our video, and so I thought that the handprints on the wall were not something normally found in a bedroom and therefore added to the creativity of our music video. We included a split screen with 4 different colours to keep with the conventions of our genre.

Creativity Moodboards

This is my creative moodboard for my AS production. A creative aspect that we used was when the girls turned off the TV after watching a scary movie, we had the camera in the position of the TV. This gave a good effect as it looked like the audience were the TV. Another creative element we used was when the teenage girl walked through the gate, we had music playing, and when the gate slammed shut the music abruptly stopped. We also used various camera angles of the 'ghost girl' which showed that she was appearing in different places in the forest.


This is a moodboard to show our creativity during our A2 production. We had a few lyrics matching the visuals including showing a blinking eye when the lyric 'sparkle in your eye' was sung. We also used shots of a burning photo and the sun. Another creative aspect we used was having some of the lyrics on flashboards as they were being sung. Then, as the lyric 'heartbreaker' was being sung, we decided to have the flashboards being ripped which emphasised the heartbreak more. We also included all of the flashbacks of a happy couple in black and white, which also showed they were in the past. I think we used more creative elements in our A2 production than our AS project.

Research and Planning - 750 words

Detail how your understanding to the importance of good research and planning skills developed throughout the pre-production of your AS and A2 coursework

During our AS coursework, we used a variety of research and planning techniques. These enabled us to have a good understanding of the required elements of the task as well as gaining knowledge and portraying our chosen genre - horror. We started our planning by creating initial ideas of aspects we would like to include and posting it on our blog. This helped us as we had clear ideas from the start. We then did some further research into our chosen genre by watching YouTube clips of opening sequences to horror and thriller films such as ‘The Ring’. This allowed us to see what aspects of these we could perhaps gain inspiration from for our final production. This was an important research stage as it would enable us to see what we needed to include in order to make a successful final production.

Another stage that also helped us was watching and analysing students previous work. This enabled us to see what needed to be include in order to receive good marks. We were also able to see positive and negative points of each previous production meaning we could try and avoid what the audience thought was negative in the other productions.
Also, we produced a preliminary task as a planning stage to our coursework. We were able to try and out the cameras and equipment and see what camera shots and angles worked well for our final opening sequence. By doing this task we also got to use the Apple Macs which helped with the research and planning stages as we would also be using this software for out final production.

In our planning stages of our coursework, we produced storyboards as well. We drew what we would include in the shot such as characters, props and also what angle the shot would be at. This allowed us to clearly see what shots needed to be done. This also helped us a lot during the actually filming of our productions as we were able to see what shots came next and what our filming schedule would be.

All of these research and planning techniques played a major role with the outcome of our production. By doing the research we were able to see what would be needed in our final production. The planning helped us to keep organised and know what we were doing next.
For our A2 coursework, we used many of the same research and planning techniques as AS level. We also expanded and included more detail on these techniques.
We initially did research on the different conventions such as Goodwin’s points and analysed these on other music videos of our genre - Pop Rock. This was an important stage in research as it helped us with knowing what to include in a music video as well specific details of a Pop Rock music video. We could then move on to gaining more information in the criteria required to make a good Pop Rock video. We also looked at students previous work on blogs and YouTube which allowed to see what we could include ourselves, what we would need to do in order for a higher grade and effects people had used. This was a good research technique as it gave us more of an insight into the task we had been set.

Another important stage in research was finding out and discussing our target audience. By identifying our audience, we were able to work towards producing something that they would fine appealing and could relate to. As our target audience for our Pop Rock music video was mainly females aged 14-25, we were able to include certain elements that they could relate to such as young love and heartbreak. We therefore kept these as our main themes.
　
Our initial rough cut was another stage that helped us a lot during our research and planning. By producing a rough cut, we were able to try out the Final Cut software, as well as gain feedback. Therefore, from this feedback we were able to correct the negatives to produce a better music video.

As in our AS coursework, we also produced storyboards and a shot list. The shot list enabled us to discuss any particular scenes we wanted to include in our video. This was an important part of the planning process as it made filming much easier as we knew what scenes to film and what would be included in those scenes such as props and characters.

Research and Planning - Prompt Questions

How did your research into genre contribute to your production work?
During our AS project, we chose to make a thriller beginning sequence to our film. We researched the genre by doing various tasks such as using YouTube and thriller/horror DVDs to look at the opening sequences of films. This helped us to gain ideas and inspiration for our own final production. Inspiration included the mise-en-scene and narrative from films including the teenagers and setting from the film 'The Ring'. We also watched film trailers as well including 'Saw' and 'The Orphanage' to gain more knowledge and inspiration on our chosen genre.
Our final film shows elements from our research including the group of teenage girls and the location of the house and woods for filming.
Our A2 project was based on the genre of Pop Rock. In order to gain inspiration and knowledge on our chosen genre, we researched Pop Rock by using the Internet and search engines such as Google. We researched elements of a Pop Rock video and how we could portray these. Another site we used a lot during our research and planning was YouTube. This allowed us to watch music videos of our chosen genre as well as others. We also researched our chosen artist, Pink. We looked at her music videos, style and images. These elements helped us to keep in with our chosen theme and contributed to our final music video. For example, when researching the Pop Rock genre, we found that musical instruments such as guitars and drums we featured. Therefore we incorporated a guitar into our music video.

How did your research into audience contribute to your production work?
For our AS production we did initial research into our target audience by producing a questionnaire. We received feedback from the questionnaire indicating that a horror/thriller genre would be a good idea as it was a popular theme, especially amongst teenagers. This obviously helped us in deciding what genre to chose for our final production.
For our A2 music video we also researched the target audience. We did this by researching on Google and Wikipedia our chosen genre and the target audience for this genre. This allowed us to identify who we would be aiming our music video to and what we could include in order for our video to relate to our target audience of females aged 15-25.

What pre production planning techniques did you employ? How effective was your planning - how did it effect you in the production phase?
During our AS project, we used various planning techniques. These included initial ideas in which we were able to brainstorm ideas we wanted to use for our final production. This included a general storyline, mise-en-scene, location and props. We then moved onto more detailed planning in which we created a storyboard. We planned what shots we would include, what would be in the frames and the camera angles. We planned various angles such as close ups, mid-shots and long-shots. By creating a storyboard, we were able to see what shots were needed to be completed and kept us organised when filming as we knew what to film next.
In our A2 project, we developed these techniques by creating a storyboard as well as a shot list. The shot list allowed us to figure out the shots we would use and what would be included in these shots. We were able to plan in more detail what we would like to include for our final video. We also planned what lyrics the shots would go with in order to meet the requirements of Goodwin's point of lyrics and visuals. By creating a shot list this allowed us to keep organised when filming as we knew what parts needed to be filmed next. We were able to tick off the shots that had been done so we knew how up to date we were. The shot list also helped us when editing our music video as we were able to tell what sequence came next.

What did you learn from planning your first production that helped you to improve your planning for the second?
I think when planning our second production, we were able to use techniques that we had learnt in our AS project. For example, by creating a brainstorm of initial ideas, this gave us a chance to thoroughly discuss and plan our main aims of our music video and elements we would like to include. By also doing storyboards and shot lists in AS, we had learnt that this was a successful planning technique which we could also apply to our A2 music video. However, from doing our AS project, we had learnt to include more detail in our planning to enable filming our video was quicker and smoother as we knew what to include and what was going to happen in each frame.

How did you use audience feedback to influence your production work while it was in progress?
During our first production, we didn't really gain much audience feedback which made it harder for us to see what people liked and any improvements that could be made. However, for our second production we recieved audience feedback when we initially presented our ideas to the class. From this we learnt what people thought was good about our ideas and also any adjustments that could be made. We also gained feedback from our initial rough cut. From this we were able to see what people from our target audience liked and didn't like. For example, we were told that our shots were clear and steady and people liked that we had linked the lyrics and visuals. We were also able to improve on points they didn't like including that the shot of the guitar was too long and was slightly out of time with the music. Therefore we were able to correct these mistakes.

Using conventions of real media texts

When analysing the conventions of real media texts for AS, I analysed 2 horror films for my opening sequence which was ‘the crazies’ and ‘the last exorcism’, In the 2 films there were clear conventions and elements that specifically allowed the audience to recognise they were both horror films through mise en scene and separated the genre from any other.

In both films, Lighting was very dark, and dully lit, purposely done, to create a scary feel, and give the scenes a horror/thriller vibe. This created tension and unease of what was going to happen, usually what you’d expect to see in horror/thriller films. Another convention that both films used, was dark black and white colours, representing death and innocence again this is commonly used in horror/thriller films to show the mood through colours, as it can add great effect also a bright colour for instance red, that completely contrasts and stands out is used particularly in ‘the last exorcism’ as it suggests blood, and death but can also represent fear, and disturbance. Other conventions in relation to costume hair and makeup again use dark colours in both films, and usually a bright colour would be used for the main victim of horror/ thriller films, to show the importance of a character and the role or mood of the character. In the crazies the zombies all have ragged clothes and have horrifying makeup to represent their characters, were as the victims and main characters are dressed in everyday clothes, and have brighter colours with bolder makeup and hairstyles. This is one element that is important when creating a horror film, so that the audience can recognise the killer or a psychopath you may expect to see in a horror/thriller film. The costume hair and makeup can enhance the character as it’s important to tell the difference from the killer/psycho from the normal characters. Another convention that I picked up on was that horror/thriller films tend to use red herrings and cliff-hangers and create uncertainty and anxiety to the viewers. This something that I considered to add to my main production to create a successful, professional opening sequence that represented the horror genre. In researching these 2 films I could see that both were set in a creepy atmosphere, the last exorcism involving an old barn and a church, and the crazies set in an ordinary suburb/city and involved a theme park and both also involve a scenario such as crime or murder, or stalker type psychopathic attack. They are also adrenaline-rushing and very well produced through dramatic camera angles and shots displaying the storyline. This is something that I considered and was able to experiment with different shots and angles to get an idea of some scary effects. Conventions through editing of these two films are also very effective, through very fast shots repeated, and flashback techniques and slow panning also the use of colour to shots adds to the theme. In the ‘Last Exorcism’ Very quick shots are taken on the girl being tied down this creates the scary adrenaline build up to an edgy scene or movement, and panning can also be used to build up leaving the viewer in suspense. The music in both films was very intense, and across between fast and tense music, and slow suspense music, creating different reactions, and thoughts in the audiences head to what is going to happen. Sound effects are used were appropriate, creating the scary build up to a sudden action.
In my opening sequence horror media production I used a variety of the conventions and techniques that represented the horror/thriller genre. We based our location in a little field area by the river, with a broken down shed, and a squeaky gate. This was a great location as it already had a scary look to it and something you see quit often in horrors, our chosen location was in the middle of no-were again something you’d expect to see suggesting there’s no help around. Before hand we visited many places that were easily accessible and suitable and took photographs using the iPod touch and decided on the best location for our scenario. I also filmed just before the sun was going down, so it would gradually get darker in the scene, which again follows the conventions of horror/films, were as it gets darker something bad /scary happens. We used torches, when it hit really dark point so that the camera would still pick up what was going on. We used a news report technique, and our storyline used the idea of a physcopathic stalker attacking a young girl this scenario is very common, and also used often in horror films. We made the stalker barley noticeable in the scenes, as it’s very rare that the attacker is seen; only a glimpse of his hand, or back the character was wearing a hoody, and this successfully achieved the look we wanted. We used a variety of shots that follow the conventions of a horror/thriller film, using over the shoulder shots, and the camera peeping round corners, close ups on scary objects such as the gate etc and close ups on the main victim, showing the importance of the character. Other conventions we followed included the use of colour and music and through editing techniques. We used dark dull colours and a bright red colour for our main character suggesting the danger that the victim is in, we used a red car also for the stalkers get away with the victim, as this is common in horror/thriller films. Are chosen music we picked a dub step/ teenage chilling music for the partygoers and as the psychopathic stalker approaches a heart beta sound effect, and a slower scary unease music for the news report in the morning. This is something that worked well, as it added effect to the scenes and tension. We didn’t achieve too many editing techniques; however we edited the music in using Final Cut Pro on the Apple Macs and we used a technique of speeding and slowing up scenes, to create tension and leave the viewer holding on to their chair.
Overall we used many techniques that are often shown in horror/thriller films, and created a successful introduction to a film, through a lot of internet research of the genre on conventions of horrors/thrillers. We included as many as we could to contribute to the genre and show how we used real media texts, to influence and inspire us for our own production, and hopefully compare with other horror/thriller based media texts.

When analysing the conventions of real media texts for A2 I analysed 2 dance pop artist music videos for my music video production, these were ‘Kesha-Tick Tock’ and ‘Lady Gaga-Just Dance’ In the 2 music videos of the same genre there were clear conventions and elements that gave me ideas and inspiration when producing my own dance pop music video, and gave me and idea of what type of aspects are usually found in dance pop, which made this genre different to any other and separated it from any other genre as its important for an artist to be recognised differently to other artist.

From analysing and watching the two music videos from the dance pop genre, I could see the different conventions that were similar in both music videos, In Kesha’s Tik Tok music video and lady gaga’s just dance both videos contain scenes from a party, with people dancing, and doing wild things, both had a fragmented storyline, and include the typical sort of things that you’d expect to see in a dance-pop video for instance, upbeat music, a catchy melody, heavy partying and dancing, and particularly fast cut quick shots, usually of symbolic objects, that relate to the narrative. Other conventions when considering the music a connection between lyrics and visuals is shown, numerous times for example in Lady gaga’s video when she sings ‘just dance’ scenes of people dancing are displayed and this also occurs in Keshas  video for particular lyrics. This helps keep the song flowing and increase the audiences understanding due to the constant reference. In both music videos Kesha and Lady gaga, are represented and visualised as a party animal, fun, reckless and wild. This represents a lot of teenagers in today’s society, so immediately you can recognise the target audience. The use of mise en scene varies however both videos are located in a house, with party scenes, and dancing scenes, the use of bold and bright colours are shown through costume, hair and make up is very bold, and the use of the camera is very creative showing scenes from different angles and various shots. Goodwin’s theory also relates in a lot of dance pop videos, for instance intertextual reference is shown in Kesha’s video were the text refers to two other media texts such as p Diddy and Mcjagger, She refers to P Diddy with the opening line of ‘wake up in the morning feeling like P, Diddy and you can then hear P Diddy’s voice say ‘Hey what up Girl’ she later says ‘Kick em to the kerb unless they look like Mcjagger’ and you see a look a like of Mcjagger appear in the scene. This is common in dance pop videos, and allows the track to feature other artists, and draw the audience in to the song. Other conventions I noticed were that dance pop music videos tend to have a cheesy kind of touch to them for example child like imagery, for example lady gaga is playing on a rubber duck in one scene of her video, which isn’t something you’d see a grown woman on.. This also reflects that the artist and dance pop music is suited at a teenager target audience and contain wild unexpected scenes. Kesha also does this were she is found laying in a bath in her opening scene, this is something you wouldn’t expect an adult to do, and kind of links in to teenager lifestyle of a drunken night, both videos contain the influence of alcohol, again something that would be related to teenagers in the society today.

In my music video production I used a variety of conventions that were similar to real media texts, and used these in a unique way in order to make my production something original, I used bright bold colours, especially throughout the music video, in the ball pit, and the party scenes and through costume hair and makeup. In our music video we decided on party scenes, as this was something common in most dance pop videos; however we used strobe lights and put our party scenes in our video with other scenes creating a fragmented story line, again a common convention of dance pop. This was successful as it allowed the audience to recognise immediately what genre our video was. We used the ball pit, as it created the child like imagery that we’d seen in many other dance pop videos for example lady gaga, and rihanna’s videos also effectively uses this technique to create something wild, and attract the target audience. Our chosen character reflected the typical teenager look through the costume, shorts and vans, and jewellery which reflects the typical style of teenager girls today and this is something we wanted to achieve in order to attract the audience. To enhance her eyes we used fake lashes again something typically seen in to day’s generation of teenagers and other dance pop artists. We wanted our character to stand out, and reflect the artist of the song, Kesha. Other conventions that we used included are choice of location, again we used typical location that you would expect to see for instance a house, a girls bedroom, we used a random shot in a tunnel and added strobe lights and colours through editing to create something new but also fit in with the dance pop genre and relate to the party scenes, we used a actually party to film parts of our music video featuring dancing and alcohol. We used typical fast cuts and quick shots, to fit in with the music and also linked our lyrics with visuals were possible, this was something that we found quite similar to most music videos in any genre so to make our genre stand out from any other we used child like cheesy transitions through editing, and this was something that worked well with our music video, due to the narrative being about a boy being obsessed with a girl. We made or narrative fragmented, again this follows the conventions of dance pop music videos.

Overall we used a number of conventions that are shown in dance pop music videos, but in a way that our video would be unique and original. We gained a lot of our conventions through watching other music videos by dance pop artists and considering what they did to make their own video different form any other dance pop artist sharing the same genre. Our video followed a number of conventions, which worked well with the song choice and reflected other media texts with our own ideas.

Creative CD Cover

Creative CD Cover Task...

Creative CD Cover

Creative CD Cover

Creative CD Cover

Creative CD Cover

Creative Cd Cover

Research and Planning Development

Detail how your understanding of the importance of good research and planning skills developed throughout the pre-production of your AS and A2 coursework.

When looking back at my AS coursework, I can see that throughout A2 I developed my understandings into the codes and conventions of genre as I included more detailed information. When planning and researching our mise en scene for our opening sequence we did not put too much thought into what our characters would be wearing, as we did not see this overly necessary. Although once planning for our music video I began to understand the importance to this as it allows the audience to establish the main characters.

While researching into videos for my AS project from similar genres such as the research I done into the first 3 minutes of ‘The hills have eyes’ and ‘Touch of evil’, I could see that I did not include too much information into these, this did not help when needing inspiration when producing our opening sequence. This is not the case for my A2 research, as I looked into number music videos by artists such as Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, N-Dubz and Katy Perry, from watching these videos I was able to understand what the audience would be looking for in a Dance-Pop video allowing my group to develop our music video around the conventions that we had found.

Another planning element that I found very useful throughout both my AS and A2 coursework was the use of storyboards, these helped my group and I when filming for both productions. When filming for my opening sequence, my group and I were very unsure on how our video would come out when editing. So using the storyboards allowed us to be sure that we would not miss a shot out that we had planned to include in the sequence. During A2 we were more confident with this, and had been given more detailed storyboards, these allowed us to write down each shot type and number, along with what scene number it was. Having this extra space to include detail allowed our group to develop our use of camera skills from our opening sequence.

When using primary and secondary research during A2 we were able to expand our knowledge from AS and gain more information on specific topics relating to our music video. Secondary research such as Goodwin’s analysis + Auteur theory allowed us to look into music videos with a lot more detail and understand the nature of different genres. Primary research such as our audience feedback in AS developed during A2 as we knew what we would need to be asking our audience to gain the information we needed, so that both of my productions met the expectations of our target audience.

Throughout my pre-productions stages of AS and A2 I used the internet to find information I needed on genre and to be able to watch videos from these genres. I used a programme called Wikipedia, often this programme can be changed by anyone with an account so I had to ensure I checked all the information I found of this site. I done this a number of times by using an internet site called ‘imdb’, although this was time consuming during AS it allowed me to prepare my time more efficiently when doing research for my A2 coursework. All the information I gained form these two website proved to be very helpful when considering what to include in my final production for my opening sequence and music video.

When completing my pre-production work last year we, as a group, all had separate blogs, this meant that all of our work had to be created separately. As appose to this during A2 we shared a blogs, this meant that we had to remember to include tags at the bottom of each post and ensure all our work was in the right order. It helped us as a group to make sure we got all our research done and helped if we ever needed to find information from another member of our group.

During AS we went out and found the location in which we want to use, we took photos of these by using an apple ipod this allowed us to then easily upload the photos onto a computer once back at home. This developed once reaching A2 as we used a digital camera to take photos of our location; this provided us with a clearer image. In establishing our location before the date of filming it allowed us to picture how we would film the productions and enabled us to become aware of any obstacles that may prevent us from some of the shots we had planned. We were also able to see if we would need any artificial lighting as both our productions were set outside we had to monitor the time in which it would get dark each night so that we knew how long we had to film, if there were no street lamps.

When first coming together as a group in AS we worked very well, but due to rising expectation from other subjects our group found it hard to ever be together. This became difficult during the editing and filming process as we needed to all be together. Although once our final piece came together it was better in our opinion than that of our opening sequence.

Promt Questions

How did your research into genre contribute to your production work?

Once establishing our initial ideas for our opening sequence we then found our genre thriller. After this we done further research into our chosen genre using the internet, from this we gathered information which provided us with ideas for our sequence. The information that we found showed us that there are numerous types of thrillers, all of which end the story with death. So including this was something we knew we should do. We then watched the movie ‘a clock work orange’ from the thriller genre, this helped us to gain inspiration for things such as clothing, scenery and props. In A2 we picked a song and then looked on the internet for the artist (Kesha’s) genre. Looking at videos from other Dance-Pop artists, such as Lady Gaga and Katy Perry allowed us to picture what we would want our video to look like. As many of their videos are filmed at a party we thought that featuring a party throughout our video would help keep to the conventions of Dance-Pop. In conclusion, establishing our genres proved throughout AS and A2 to help with the planning of our videos, and in the final production stages. I feel that when researching genre during A2 I found more research, this is due to the amount of information and time I put into analysing my genre so that I could include conventions from this into my music video.

How did your research into audience contribute to your production work?

Throughout our target audience research in A2, we created several questionnaires to help establish our audience, many of which gave us helpful feedback. This feedback contained what our audience would like to see throughout our music video and what they thought the Dance-Pop genre would include. We asked questions such as ‘would they like the artist to communicate with the camera?’ Most of the feedback we gained showed us that this is something the audience would like, therefore this is something we knew to include in our music video. During our target audience research for AS, we found that many people considered thrillers to be set at night in a mysterious place, taking this into consideration and wanting to fit the conventions of the thriller genre, we included this in our foundation piece. We also asked the audience what were their views on having a new report at the beginning or end of the sequence, they told us that it should be shown at the end of the sequence with a male voice, rather than a female as this will also add mystery. All of the above research helped contribute to the productions of both our music video and opening sequence, by allowing them to be liked by our audience. Using these questionnaires were very positive throughout our AS and A2 research, they allowed my group to interpret what our audience would like to be involved in both of our production pieces.

What pre-production planning techniques did you employ? How effective was your planning – how did it help you in the production phase?

During our planning process we created a number of techniques to help us through the project. A main element that help during our production was doing our recky, this consisted of use going out as a group at finding the perfect location for us to film both our opening sequence and our music video. In doing our recky it also allowed us to imagine how both of our productions would look once finally edited and if this is what we wanted, also, what shots we would liked to include, e.g. if a birds eye view shot could be preformed. Another method we used during our AS opening sequence was the creation of our script, this let our characters know when they would need to speak and if they were needed in specific scenes. Having these scripts helped us when creating our storyboards as putting the two together proved to help the production piece together. During our A2 music video production and our AS opening sequence, we carried our storyboards to ensure that we did not miss a scene or shot. Throughout the music video we did not have any dialogue so we did not need to include a script, although on numerous occasions our actress used lip syncing, this mean that she needed to learn the lyrics of the song. We also carried an ipod to help our actress with her timing, this help our production as it meant we did not have to waist time trying to guess the words of the song and their timing. Our planning throughout AS seemed to be more effective as we planned every movement of all characters included throughout our production, we also gave them copies of the scripts so they knew what to say and do.

What did you learn from your first production that helped you improve your planning for the second?

When creating the storyboards that we would use throughout our AS production we needed to ensure we include as much detail as possible as we would then later use these skills learnt to create our A2 storyboards. During AS we were given an A4 sheet of paper, this included space for an image to be drawn and small room underneath for a picture, as we did not have much room we could not include to much detail. When creating our storyboards for A2 we were given A3 sheets of paper, allowing us to write down what shot/ scene number the slide was, any dialogue that would be include, what shot type it was and include a detail image of the scene with colour. Due to our group already creating storyboards in AS we did not find these bigger sheets a problem as they were easy to understand from our previous planning. The skills I developed from AS to A2 were those that allowed me to contain more detailed information when doing research into my chosen genre. This allowed my group to understand what would need to be included in our music video and relate these to the conventions that we had seen when watching similar videos. Due to the research I had found during AS I knew what to be looking for at A2 therefore knowing what resources to use.

How did you use audience feedback to influence your production work while it was in progress?

We gained inspiration from our audience feedback, allowing our productions to fit in with what they would like to see. This was very easy during our AS opening sequence as many of our audience could relate to the genre that we had chosen and new what to normally expect from a Thriller. This differed during A2 as many of our audience did not know the conventions of a Dance-Pop so gaining their inspiration allowed our video to be something they would like to see whilst fitting in with the conventions of the Dance-Pop genre. During AS we all watched each others un-edited pieces so that as a class we could establish what we thought was missing from the other group’s productions, this allowed all the groups within their class to understand what might need to be include. During A2 we created a presentation of what we intended on including throughout our music video, this allowed our class to see what our production would be like. We then showed our class the introduction to our music video to see what they thought of what we had so far, and if they thought it related to our Dance-Pop genre.

Using Conventions of Real Texts

In our AS coursework we analysed two opening sequences to films of the same genre we had chosen - horror/thriller. Therefore we watched and analysed the open sequence to The Ring and The Strangers. We noticed the main themes and conventions throughout the opening sequence of The Ring included the lighting being very dim and dark and the build up of tension throughout the opening scene. Although what is taking place in the scene isn’t necessarily scary, you get the feeling that something is going to happen which keeps the audience on edge. Conventions and aspects that we liked and therefore tried to portray in our production included having teenagers as the main characters, as this creates a sense of normality and something the audience can connect with. We also liked the idea of using different camera angles such as close ups to see the expressions and emotions of the characters. We were also influenced by some of the sound effects used in the scenes too. This included a telephone ringing, footsteps and high pitched noises. We thought these sounds helped create an eerie atmosphere.
In the opening sequence to The Strangers common conventions included the mystery that surrounded who was haunting the couple. This was apparent from the beginning. Conventions that was took on board from The Strangers opening sequence included using close ups of the character’s faces to show anxiety and confusion as well as wide shots of the thing that’s haunting them to allow the audience to establish the villain. Sound effects we liked and used from this opening was the slamming and shutting of the doors, we used the gate in ours, footsteps and strange noise coming from the woods. The location of the forest was also a similarity between The Strangers and our opening sequence.
We included the aspects that we liked by using certain camera angles such as close ups of the characters faces to show fear and emotion. We also planned the location and mise en scene to an eerie forest which added suspense and tension. We also used long shots to show the ‘ghost girl’ in order for the audience to be aware of her.

In our A2 coursework we looked at two Pop Rock music videos which were Miley Cyrus - 7 Things and Maroon 5 - Misery. The main convention we noticed in the ‘7 Things’ was that it was mainly performanced based. Ideas and conventions we took from this video, included the idea of heartbreak and young love being portrayed and also having several teenage girls appear in the video. We also liked the element of linking the lyrics with the visuals and it helped the audience to have a clearer understanding of the scene.
The main convention we noticed in Maroon 5’s video was the idea of the guy being in love with his girlfriend even though she still hurts him. We also noticed that the video was fragmented. Conventions we liked and took inspiration from was that the video was partly performance based and some of the lyrics linking with the visuals. From both of these music videos we took on board that they both included musical instruments to show the Rock elements but also featured bright colours to show the Pop side to the genre.
We portrayed these conventions by linking some of the lyrics with the visuals such as showing someone taking of a ring when the lyric ‘there’s a ring around my finger’ appears. We also featured a guitar to tie in with the Rock element of our video. We also had multiple female characters to show the importance of heartbreak being portrayed.