A Reflection of my work in AS

As of right now, I have spent a year studying A Level Media Studies. This past year has taught me a lot about the media industry, including how everything is created to the ways in which I can get my hands on a creative spin.

How I was creative last year

During my AS year of the subject, I was told to have unique ideas in my work in order for it to stand out. I understood this challenge and applied it into my coursework via various ways.

One of these was the use of characters within my "BSR Opening Sequence". This sequence was supposed to conform to the conventions of a typical British Social Realist production, but in order for it to stand out a form of creativity was ideal. My creativity within the character choice was that the character did have the coarse personality trait, but did not appear that was through his mise-en-scene within the first scene of the production. My main actor was wearing a t-shirt, jeans and glasses with a very innocent look on his face. This hopefully led the viewer on to thinking that he was an average person that had his life on track, based purely on looks. However the voiceover and the following scene showcased a different outlook on him; through the fast paced music, mentions of a struggling life the cheap clothing (hoodies and trainers) which all help to add to the typical representation. This difference in character was a creative technique used to make the viewers understand the impact of the tragic life that the boy had -  he was so ashamed of the life he had that he felt the need to hide it in front of others.

Digital Technology used last year

A wide range of digital technology was incorporated into my AS work in the previous year. This includes:

Camera - This was a very essential part of the recording process. This allowed me to capture good quality shots that could narrate the story that I wanted to be told.

iMovie - iMovie is a video editing programme on the Mac that I used to edit my shots together to create my opening sequence. It was a great tool that allowed me to edit audio and visual clips together, resulting in the desired end product.

Adobe Photoshop CS5 - As my production needed a title, I chose to edit it on Photoshop using the tools on there because it was a programme that I was very used to at the time and could create the exact design that I intended to create.

Blogger - In order to keep up to date with my work and present what I have created, I used this website to start a blog on my coursework. The site allowed me to upload pictures, videos and presentations (some needed external link from sites such as YouTube and Issuu) and as they were all on the same blog, it was easier to access each item.

IMDB - For me to look at other official productions created, I looked at IMDB to link me to details about the films created. This helped me to understand how it was created (cheap budget usually means easier to make than a higher budgeted production), how many people were in it (whether smaller casts were more popular than larger casts) and to see comments from other users, saying what they liked/disliked.

Research and Planning used last year

In order to create a successful production, planning your work and researching about it can help you to gain a better understanding into doing so. I had to do a lot of this which included:

Vox Pop Questionnaire - As my film was aimed at teenagers, a school was a great way to get views from many different people. A vox pop was also a good way to gain an understanding of what my target audience wanted in a short amount of time as I could just record people whom I ask questions to whenever they were free, as oppose to getting a lot of people into one room at the same time.

YouTube - This was used for my research as I needed to look at other clips from other BSR opening sequences. YouTube had plenty of these clips so it was very easy to access them without having to pay for a DVD etc.

IMDB - In order for me to look at how I could create similar productions to those that are already professionally made, this website provided me with the details of budgets, casting and reviews from others. With this I could get an understanding of what was in my reach and what worked/did not work.

Microsoft Excel - I used this software to plan my action script. This allowed me to organise every shot into their own individual slot so that I could see clearly what happened when.

Blogger - This was a great way for my planning to be organised. With weekly logs and posts of what my planning has been like, I got an understanding of what I had done/could keep up to date with my own work. I used Issuu and YouTube to upload my presentations/videos which were then put onto my blog for easy access.

Post Production technology used last year

For me to edit my production and to analyse everything, I had to use digital technology to make my work more presentable and to actually complete the coursework. This included:

iMovie - This Mac programme allowed me to edit the music I created from Logic and the videos I took from the camera into my final production. I could then have my desired work completed to the standard that I wanted.

Logic - I used this to create the music that played during the second scene of my opening sequence. It allowed the production to have the atmosphere that I aimed for it to have as the correct instruments (i.e. guitars and drums) as well as tools (i.e. merging) were available on this programme.

Blogger - Again I used this to organise my work and to put the presentations made from Issuu and the videos uploaded onto YouTube onto one page. This created an easier access point as well as allowed me to show a use of many technologies.

Adobe Photoshop CS5 - The title screen for my film that appeared between the two scenes was created using this programme. I used it as I knew how to use the programme and knew that I could create exactly what I wanted to by using the available tools.

Conventions I studied and applied to my work
A range of aspects were studied last year as I aimed to make my work as good as it could possibly get. These conventions were:
Camera - To get an understanding of how I could display each shot, I studied different types of camera shots that I could include. I learnt about new shots that I had no clue about such as an establishing shot as well as a master shot which were both used in my production for their own reasons.
Narrative - This was something that I gained a bit more knowledge on. I got a higher level of understanding of this aspect as I found out the reasons why it was so important. Also, I realised how much I could benefit by thinking of this the same way that Todorov thought of it.
Themes - As somebody that was not much of a fan of BSR films, after studying this aspect I

understood how relatable these films could be. I also gained a greater understanding of how I could actually include these themes into my own production.
Mise-en-scene - The mise-en-scene in BSR films is very different from Hollywood productions. I did know this before my AS course began, however I did not have as much knowledge on it than I do now. For example, the lighting is something that is very important in terms of BSR films as darker screens represent more unfortunate times, something that plenty of BSR films include.
Sound - This is something that I studied and learnt a little from as well. I did know a bit about it, but now, for example, I am more knowledgeable on how natural sounds are used to create a more believable environment.

Overall, I can conclude that I learnt a lot from my previous year of studying this subject. From aspects such as mise-en-scene and sound to how to use certain digital technologies, there is a lot that I gained from this subject after studying it for a year at AS level.