Creativity - AS and A2 Moodboards

In the first photo on the moodboard it shows a close up of the females face. We decided to create a 'rough' look with make up in order to portray what has happened to the character. This is creative as it gives the audience a realistic portrayal of the negative circumstances the character is experiencing. On the second row of photos, the first two shots are from the canted shot in which we used. As you can see, the first one is when the female character is starting to look up at the male, and the second picture is when she is looking straight at the male character. This is very creative as it shows the audience what it looks like from the characters view, which then allows them to place themselves in her shoes. It is also a creative camera shot as it is more complex compared to a normal close up for example. On the bottom row of photos, it shows a blurred effect. We used this during the flashback scenes as we thought it was creative as it makes it clear to the audience what is happening and that it is a fragmented narrative.

AS ans A2 Creativity Mood Boards

AS Creativity Mood Board:

As you can see from the images above we used a variety of camera shots, mise en scene, lighting and camera movement to demonstrate our creativity skills in AS year. In the top left corner of the mood board shows the canted shot where we moved the camera to where the actress fell to the ground. Also from the middle top left you can see we change the camera shot so that the viewers could see what the actress was seeing- we were more creative as we used a blurred vision. We used a variety of camera shots for example the extreme close up in the top right and the over the shoulder shot showing the reflection in the mirror. Whats more, our mise en scene was creative because we made the actresses make up very dramatic illustrating the struggle and emotion in the actresses eyes and  mouth, this effect also enhanced a preferred reading towards the audience- which was key when thinking about creativity. Also, in AS we created a logo (bottom right) on Photoshop where we were able to create a design and show it in our opening sequence. 

A2 Creativity Mood Board: 

In A2 we wanted to develop our creativity and make it more advanced creating a more professional feel for the audience. Throughout our music video we used a variety of camera shots and angles- as you can see from the images in the mood board the extreme close up of the actresses eyes, the high angle of the actress and medium shots. Whats more, we also wanted to used a diverse amount of locations- in our music video we had 4 different locations whereas in AS we only had 2 different locations. We thought the different locations would be more creative and show all different atmospheres and moods. We made the actresses make up in the music video very unique and modern so that our target audience could relate to her- or aspire to be her.

A2 CREATIVITY MOODBOARD

AS CREATIVITY MOODBOARD

AS and A2 Moodboard

AS: Creativity in our AS production stemmed from camerawork techniques including panning to editing tecniques such as dissolves. We also have POV shots to create an awareness to the audience in a effective way. Shots behind an object were also used, for example through the black gte looking towards the main character. Lastly we also the title of the thriller in an effective way by putting in time with the gates fully closing to give a greater impact.

 A2: Progression from AS to A2 was a clear improvement, for example we used new editing techniques to create a more proffessional and effective look. Also using 4 shots to add varience in  between each shots. Plus we used members of the public to hold up boards with the lyrics of the song on to add a pause inbetween the actual storyline. All of these helping to create a clean cut music video.



State how using real media conventions or challenging them benefitted your production

State how using real media conventions or challenging them benefitted your production:


In AS looking into real media conventions of opening sequences gave us an understanding of what we needed to include to make our production professinal and have a aesthetic appeal so that our audience could relate to thrillers through the use of our micro areas. During research and planning we researched on YouTube real media opening sequences such as Sci-Fi Thrillers like I am Legend and Crime Thrillers like The Dark Knight and Taken. Using conventions from these real media productions benefitted our production in the following ways...

Professional Practice:

• After researching real media conventions we knew that we needed to make the opening sequence eye catching we did this by short shot duration. We noticed in opening sequences from I am Legend that shots were not longer than 6 seconds, emphasisng the thriller aspect and emergency.
• In professional products such as Taken the body language and make-up really highlighted in danger/threat so when it came to producing our video we wanted to portray the same thing to conform to this professional practice.

Aesthetic Appeal Of Your Work:

• Real media products such as the opening sequence of Taken really made the audience relate to real life situations giving them a preferred reading (Stuart Halls Theory). This was done by good mise-en-scene location. Therefore when it come to doing our location recce we wanted to use rural areas where abduction/kidnapping would be more likely.

Does It Fit The Genre?

Research And Planning

AS Research and Planning Tasks

• Storyboard- Drawing a storyboard helped to see what we were going to do throughout the production.Looking back at my storyboard from AS to the one I did in A2, it is a lot more accurate and contains more information about we were going to do. I also included alot more terminology the second time round.
• Past Student Work- Looking at past student work helps to see what other students have done and also make sure I didn't have the same idea as what someone else has done.
• Shot Lists- I produced a shot list in both AS and A2 I listed all the different shot types I wanted to use for my final production. In A2 this was in a lot more detail and I wrote exactly what I would need to use and how effective it would be.
• Risk Assessment- I produced a risk assessment in both AS and A2, this is very important to consider all aspects of the danger that could happen when filming in the different locations. I filmed in a town for my thriller and I had to think about everything could go wrong and write them down and say whether I could prevent this from happening. In A2 I filmed in a train station so I had to be more careful about the risks because members of the public were involved.
• Preliminary- During the AS production preparation I created a Preliminary which was the first time I filmed. This helped me to learn how to use the canon camera and try out different shot types and also helped me to use the editing software. 

Development through AS to A2 with Research and Planning

Storboard
 I produced a storyboard for AS and A2, however it developed when it came to A2 as i had done it before and we knew what we had to include to make it better. In AS i just drew pictures and didnt really write where the scene was going to be shot, then when it came down to filming, i didn't end up following the storyboard as it wasn't detailed enough for it to be filmed and for it to be long enough to make a thriller opening. However when it came down to A2 and doing a storyboard for our Music Videos, i did a detailed storyboard and also did a script next to the storyboard so i knew that everything was going in order and what we were filming would cover the whole music video.

Test Shots
When it came down to filming i did test shots on what i thought we were going to find hard when it came down to filming. With AS i did alot more test shots than when it came to A2, this was because with AS i was new to filming and needed a lot more practice when it came to shooting, than i did in A2.

Development through AS to A2 with Research & Planning

Storyboard.

• I produced a storyboard for both my AS and A2 productions. It had developed over these to stages because at A2 I had put much more detail into it and it made a lot more sense. It also shown in the final production for a2 that I stuck to the storyboard much more.

Premilinary.

• During the AS production preperation I created a Primilinary which was the first time i filmed, this helped me work on using the camera and trying out different shot types and also helped me use the editing software. This helped during this section of work but also helped me in the A2 creation because I was able to develop the skills I had gained from this task.

Target Audience.

• During both planning and research section of AS and A2 I created different ways to get audience feedback. This was to get a great insight to what the public thought about Thrillers and Music Videos. For the Opening sequence of a Thriller for AS I gave out a small questionaire to a few people to get there opinions. But during the A2 section I went into much more depth and created a voxpop which was filming a interview with the public which they answered a few questions and also giving out a questionaire. This helped much more in A2 because I researched into more depth and gathered more information then we did in AS because we gave out more Questionaires in A2 and also conducted interviews,

Research and Planning

• Storyboard
  I produced a storyboard for both my AS and A2 production, however during my A2 production, the storyboard was produced in a lot more detail. My shots were a lot more accurate from our A2 storyboard in terms of my angle, movement and shot type.
• Preliminary task
  I produced a preliminary task for my AS project, which helped me to produce my AS thriller opening sequence as I became familliar with the equiptment, which then also helped me with my A2 music video as I had had a lot of experience with the camera and conducting different shot types.
• Target Audience
  In both of my productions at AS and A2 I conducted research into my target audience. I added a lot more information and methods of research in my A2 target audience, for example a vox pop, focus group and included things such as different locations where I would find my audience and the different types of clothing they would wear. This enabled me to find more in depth information about my target audience which helped me to create my thriller and music video. 
• Test shots
  I conducted test shots during AS and A2. The test shots that I filmed at AS were more to do with using the camera, for example a chanted shot and blurring the camera, whereas at A2 I already knew how to do this and so I focused on certain scenes I thought may be tricky when I started filming. 
• Genre Conventions
  At AS and A2 I researched into different films/music videos in order to learn about the codes and conventions of specific genres. At AS I only focused on one film from the 'thriller' genre, whereas at A2 I looked at many different music videos by various artists to give me a broader understanding of the genre. I learnt to do this from AS level so that I had a lot more ideas for my A2 production.

Research and Planning

Storyboard- I created a storyboard in AS and A2 to help plan out where and what we wanted to do with our storyline in creating our thriller project. When creating the storyboard for music video we didnt add as much detail as we wernt following a story like i did in thriller but just having the sotryboard as something to follow but we knew we would make changes along the way.

Target Audience.I done a target audience research in both A2 and AS, researchig into the audience helped me decide what was best to be in the video, by asking the ages of the people who would watch the thriller and listen to the type of music. This way you know after its been produced those types of people are likely to watch it.

Questionaire.I done a questionaire in AS and A2, i only asked peopel that were closest to me such as friends and family members. I didnt have long to do this so i asked around 10-15 people. For the thriller project i asked if they liked horror movies, where they watch it, whats there favourite type of film etc. For the music video i asked whats there favourite type of music, where they listen to it and whats the most enjoyable music video they've seen. Getting this kind of information became helpful when it came to the planning stage and filming.

Risk Assesment.I done this in A2 and AS. Risk Asessment is importnat to consider all aspects of danger that may or may not approach when filming in locations. I filmed in a park for my thriller and we thought about everything that could have gone wrong and wrote them down from not serious-to serious. The same with filming on a beach there were hazzards we didnt think of such as sharp stones on the beach and we were walking bare foot.

Youtube- Secondary Research.

Research and planning

• Storyboard - I produced a storyboard for both my AS and A2 production, however during my A2 production my storyboard was produced in a lot more detail as my music video for A2 illustrated my storyboard better.
• Preliminary task - I produced a preliminary task for my AS which then helped me to plan more effectively for my thriller project and my thriller project planning helped me plan for my A2 music video project. 
• Codes and conventions - I researched into thriller sequences for AS and Alternative pop videos for A2. I analysed the codes and conventions of the genre for each which gave me ideas and helped me plan my thriller sequence and music video.

Research and Planning

• Storyboard - I produced a storyboard for AS and A2 but for A2 my storyboard was more advanced and in a lot more detailed, as the images were more accurate and the group and I made analytic points which helped in the production the project as the shot types and shot times were a lot more accurate.  
• Preliminary Task- I conducted a preliminary task during AS which helped in A2 because it made using the equipment easier as we knew what we were doing and also enabled me to use more advanced shots in A2 and made planning easier.
• Genre Conventions- In AS I conducted research into types of thrillers, so I had an understanding of the different types of genres, and what to use when producing a storyboard. In A2 this was a lot more advanced as I had a clear understanding of what I needed to do, this made my work more detailed. I was able to look further into the codes and conventions as I had a clear understanding.
• Shot Lists- I produced a shot list in AS where I listed all the different shot types I wanted to use for my final production. In A2 this was in more detail, I wrote exactly what I would need for that shot and how was thinking of conducting it.
• Audience Profile- For both AS and A2 I had to complete primary and secondary research. For AS the group and I produced a poster at who our target audience was from using magasine articles and film reviews online. I also produced questionnaires and handed them out to various different age groups to get a clearer idea on who the target audience was for the thriller opening. For A2 we wanted to be more advanced and have even more primary and secondary research conducted. For primary research we completed a vox pop and a focus group which collected a more reliable source of information. For the secondary research I looked at relevant websites within the music industry which could show who is most interested in what. The group and I looked into even further dept when looking into record labels and youtube reviews.

Skills Development

I progressed over AS to A2 in research, specifically in the areas below:

• Storyboard - My storyboard for my AS thriller opening sequence had clear illustrations, but not enough shots. Our music video storyboard was a lot more accurate, showing much more shots that we planned on using which made it easier to follow and produce better work.
• Secondary research - For both AS and A2 we looked at professional wprk on youtube (thriller openings, and music videos). I definitely improved the depth of my research in A2 as I looked at music videos in our own specific genre of which our chosen song was in. However in AS we looked at any thriller opening, instead of openings of the same sub-genre e.g. psychological thriller.
• Genre codes and conventions - in AS I

Our development from AS to A2 in Research and Planning

• Storyboard- When producing a storyboard for both my AS and A2 production, there is clear development between the two as in my AS production the storyboard was extremely basic however we stuck to it more than our A2 storyboard, which was more detailed and complex.
• Preliminary Task- Although I did not do a preliminary task in A2, in AS it helped me to grasp the basics of production making which in return helped me to plan our real AS production to ensure everything went smoothly on the day of filming.
• Past Student Work Analysis- I analysed past student work in both AS and A2. However in A2 research I did the analysis in a lot more detail as I had already experiance analysing in AS. Also it did not only help to analyse other ametuer productions but professional products which help to get a more in depth analyse which helped a lot more research.