Conventions

Should you always adhere to them or do they restrict creativity?

For my foundation portfolio I have created an opening to a thriller.  A common convention of thriller films is a build up to action. In my thriller film I have subverted this convention, in order to fulfil another one. I was successful in subverting this convention; the opening of my thriller begins in the middle of the film. The audience are unaware of what has happened and are thrown right in to the aftermath of the action; however they are also given no conclusion leaving them confusion, an important convention of thriller films.

By subverting this convention I was also able to delay the showing of a main event, another convention fulfilled. By showing the aftermath of the action I left my audience confused and not knowing the plot of the film.

I have used realistic settings in my thriller film; I have used a police station, a train station and a high street. These locations enable me to create a sense of the unusual occurring, adding an eerie and intense emotion to the film. This is a common convention within thriller films, it gives the audience the ‘unexpected’. These locations however led me to subverting a dark and shadowy atmosphere, a convention of thriller films. I felt this atmosphere would take the audience away from a ‘realistic’ setting and make the film more predictable therefore I felt it was right to not use this convention.

Flash backs are also a convention, frequently seen in thriller films. I have emphasised this convention through colourisation in my thriller opening. The scenes which are occurring in the past are viewed in black and white. This convention was made more evident through editing. The black and white effect adds and older look to the shot, capturing the connotation of a flashback.

For my advanced portfolio I have created a music video. To stick to real media conventions I have followed Goodwin’s principles. As one of his conventions, I have matched lyrics to visuals in my video.  There are several moments in the video where the visuals will match the lyrics such as ‘grains of sand in the palm of my hand’; you will see exactly what you hear. This adds meaning and depth to the video, and also adds understanding of the song for the audience.

I have used genre characteristics throughout my video. The tempo and pace of my shots match the style of music and location matches the peaceful tone of the song. I have used close ups of the guitar as an image motif to emphasise the guitar in the track. Along with these conventions and my work of matching music to visuals, sections of the music are highlighted in ways which when listening to the track you may not notice. Such as the beat behind the lyrics, I have made transitions sit on the beat on emphasise them.

My skills in editing has enabled me to lip sync my track to the footage. Lip syncing is seen in almost every video, in footage where the artist or band will perform.

Post Production

Post Production Essay

“The post-production process can be the most important part of the filming process”.

How important has the post-production stage been in your foundation and advanced portfolios and how have your skills developed over these two years? 

In my two years of A-level media I have been required to make to productions. Across the two productions I have created a thriller opening as my foundation portfolio and a music video as my advanced portfolio. I feel that the post production process was the most important step because as it enabled me to edit all my footage together and produce a product with meaning and conventions. Eisenstein believed that editing was the foundation of film art. He believed that meaning behind film was not in individual shots but in the relationship between them. He claims the relationship is created though editing. In this essay I will discuss my development in skills and editing made throughout the two years, using this idea.

In my thriller opening I used voice overs to add narrative to my video. They also created confusion, a convention of thriller films. It was through iMovie that I was able to over lay these voice overs on to my footage and through garage band that I recorded theses voice overs. . It was for the police report and a phone call that voice overs where used. These voice clips formed the sound to my video along with a music track; there was no direct conversation between characters.

In my music video, I had to overlay the music track on to my footage. It was through iMovie and the options to adjust the timings of my footage that I was able to lip sync this track. I feel this shows progression as I had to use precise editing through iMovie to synchronise my sound clips in my second production. Eisenstein’s belief that meaning is created through editing and becomes the foundation of that film is evident here – the voice overs add the whole narrative to the film.

In my thriller opening I used blur and dissolve transitions when showing two simultaneous events to merge the footage. I did this using the default transitions on IMovie and adding them in between shots. This effect was used in between shots of the boy and the girl.

In my music video, I used the green screen effect. This effect enabled me to show two shots with in the same frame. This allowed me to emphasise on the lyrics ‘Stranded on the beach’ and match them to the action within the shot. I feel this shows progression as my ability to work with iMovie more creatively enabled me to find this effect. This effect allowed me to match lyrics to visuals, fitting the conventions of the product.

In my thriller opening, I used fast motion shots to show how time has past since the main character has gone missing. It was through iMovie and the options available to adjust the speed of the framw to speed up the shot. The editing effect was used when showing flash backs of the main character.

In my music video, the spped of the shot was reduced to repseresent the lyrics, ‘im adrifting in an endless ocean’, where I wanted to emphasise how the boy felt when lost in his emotions and his confusion. I feel that the progression here is clear as I was matching visuals to lyrics at the editing stage. Eisensteins belief that meaning is created through editing and becomes the foundation of the film is evident here – the slow motion makes the boys emotions more apparent here.



Post Production - Exam Structure

“The Post production process can be the most important part of filming process”

How important has the process been in your foundation and advanced portfolio and how have you your skills been developed?

INTRODUCTION

-          In my two years of A-level media I have been required to make to productions. Across the two productions I have created a thriller opening as my foundation portfolio and a music video as my advanced portfolio. I feel that the post production process was the most important step because…..

o   Eisenstein believed that editing was the foundation of film art. He believed that meaning behind film was not in individual shots but in the relationship between them. He claims the relationship is created though editing.

-          In this essay I will discuss my development in skills and editing made throughout the two years, using this idea.

BODY

-          Six paragraphs on how I used iMovie to edit my film and how it created meaning.

-          3 foundation 3 advanced

-          Refer to grid

Structure;

Point – what editing tool/technique? What did this suggest/connote?

Evidence – where was this used? AS/A2?

Explain – How does this example show progression? Take risks? More confident?

Example; In my thriller opening I used a slow motion shot to represent the reflections and memories of my central character. It was through iMovie and the options available to adjust the speed of the frame to slow down the shot. The editing effect was used as the main character was experiencing flashbacks..

In my music video, the motion of a shot was frequently reduced to represent the lyrics of the song 2ill give you time2 where it was important to represent the idea of time through editing. I feel the progression here is clear as I was matching lyrics to music at the post production stage.

Eisenstein’s belief that meaning is created through editing and becomes the foundation of that film is evident here – the slow motion makes the meaning of time clear here.

Digital Technology

“Digital technology turns media consumers into producers”. In your experience, how has your creativity developed through using digital technology to complete your coursework productions? [25]

Research and Planning

(A) The organisation of time and planning

In the organisation of my time and equipment for my foundation portfolio, i had to work very closely with my partner, we had to work out when we were both free and organise a shooting schedule. This enabled us to keep track of filming and plan what footage needed to be shot. Having a plan to follow made the process easier and allowed filming to run smoothly. The schedule did change now and again due to actors being unavailable and days were added for extra footage. Alongside our shooting schedule we had to book out equipment. For us, these was easy, we used our own camera and therefore only had to book out a tripod for when we needed it.
When it came to my advanced portfolio, i was working by my self, this made planning easier as i only had to worry about me. I used the same methods of planning however i also used a filming diary. The diary enabled me to document the progress made or problems with filming. The diary allowed me to adapt my plan in order to solve any problems that accurred.

(B) the effcient choice and organisation of actors, settings and props.

For our foundation portfolio i chose friends and teachers as our actors. These were people i knew i could work well with and were available at the time. Each of the actors were needed on different days which worked well in organising them.  For settings we chose ones that inspired our film such as the police station. This theme runs through out, with it being a police investigation.
For my advanced portfolio the organising of actors was infact harder. For this video i needed my actors together which made it hard to organise one day. Due to problems with my artist being unavailable, I had to reschedule both location and time to film him. I feel the planning of my setting really progressed for my advanced portfolio. I used the meaning behind the song and portayed it throught the location of the beach. I also used features of the location to enhance parts of my video, managing to capture sections matching lyrics to visuals.

(C) Scripting and Storyboarding

For my Foundation portfolio i used two story boards. At first I created a draft, however this changed when i adapted my ideas while out filming. I created a final storyboard to present my final idea. Scripting was a big part of planning for this task, although i had no direct conversation on screen, I used several voice overs. These voice overs added narrative to my thriller opening. Planning was very important for these scripts as the actors had to know exactly what to say but it also had to match what would be happening on screen.

Scripting was easier for my music video. I used a song my the artist appearing in my video, therefore scripting was already done. I used these lyrics to plan what was on screen and organise locations. For my Music video I also used two storyboards, a draft and a final one. I made planning of my storyboard very detailed as this helped my organise a shot list which had to be accurate on the day of filming. As i was filming in a location far away, i couldn't risk having to redo it.

(D) Initial Target Audience Research

For my foundation portfolio we researched into our target audience by creating questionnaires. Through out the production of our thriller we would ask there opinion on aspects of typography and titles. We also asked them what they would like out of our thriller film.These questionnaires were effective in that they enabled us to gain general opinions which led to important decision making. In both portfolio we arranged a screening of our final products. The screening was for our target audience and gave them an opportunity to air their opinions. The screenings enabled us to gain an opinion of our work and understand the need for improvements.

For my advanced portfolio, I conducted a pitch of my idea. I led a pitch of my story board and music, presenting my idea to my target audience. This enabled me to gain an accurate opinion of my idea rather than just the general 'music video'. The pitch highlighted any problems earlier rather than later, allowing me to correct them in production.

(E) Existing media practice/products

When creating our thriller film, we researched into existing products by watching other thriller films. This enabled us to understand and recognise conventions of the 'real thing'. We as a class highlighted common features and we able to gather ideas for our own opening.

For my advanced portfolio, I also watched existing videos  so that I could recognise conventions, however I pushed this research forward by relating theories to these existing products. This enabled me to gain ideas of how to portray Goodwin's principles and understand them further. It allowed me to understand how i could relate them to my own music video. A large amount of progression was made between these two portfolios. In my advanced portfolio, I was now able to research and apply factual knowledge, rather than base my project on opinion.

Creativity

According to Isaksen and Treffinger [1993], creativity can be defined as making new associations which are useful. This theory can be linked to the production work of my Thriller film opening. In this film I have made new associations with the traditional ordering of a film. An audience expect a start, middle and end. My thriller opening starts in the middle of the film. The middle has no conclusion yet offers neither an explanation. The re-ordering of a story can add confusion to the plot and therefore confuse the audience. This is a traditional convention of a thiller film, one I have used by adapting the tradtional convention.

In the production of my music video, I have used but adapted the notion of looking, one of Goodwin's principles. Bently would explain this as 'the making of the new and rearranging of the old' [1997], his definition of creativty. In my music video I have used shots of a photo, a common way of highlighting the notion of looking. However rather than relating the photo with a person, I have positioned it within the water, using my location to capture this principle. This adaption within my production is an example of how I have been creative with a convention of music videos.

Creativity is a process needed for problem solving. Not a special gift enjoyed by a few but a common ability possessed by most people. This is a definition of creativity given by Jones [1993]. My production work is evidence of how this theory may be related to creativity. During the filming of my music video, I was required to be creative with camera shots in order to film around problems. On the day of filming the weather was poor and the sea was rough, resulting in being unable to film in the sea. I adpated a camera angle by placing it in a position that that capture the shot as though the boy was still walking into the sea. This was a improvised, creative idea used as problem solving so that I could still portray the relationship and meaning of the ocean within my video.