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.