An example of a Postmodern Film

I think an example of a postmodern film is Jarhead



I think an example of postmodern television is Generation Kill

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

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

I learnt that the importance of good research and planning incorporates numerous elements. Research and Planning holds great importance as it can help substantially in the latter parts of the coursework. I learnt this from AS and A2 as I feel that my research and planning improved substantially at A2 standard as thus I realised how it can help later in production.

I did learn that for the most effective research and planning the sources that are used for primary and secondary sources must be analysed to decide whether they are trust worthy to provide reputable research. At AS this was more of a problem considering searching for magazine covers often produced previous students work. At A2 fortunately YouTube made it easier to be certain that they were the official video as they were published on the artist or bands respective channel.

As the ultimate aim of research and planning was to make production easier, the organisation of the work would help with this. AS level was the first time I had used blogger and as the course developed I developed ways to improve my organisation. For example, I learnt the importance of reordering my blog so that the posts grouped together. I also used  labeling so that each post fell into the correct category. This made production significantly easier as I could click on the category and include all the relevant information. I developed into A2 through my better understanding of Blogger and my use of functions provided such as polls and playlists. Alongside this I made better use of guidance given in organising my work, making myself aware of what I needed to do for when, ensuring I completed all work to the appropriate deadlines.

I found at both AS and A2 that the use of a draft is to improve your ideas and receive useful feedback. At AS I produced drafts for my magazine’s front cover, contents page and double page spread and the feedback I received allowed me to make thorough relevant changes to my work and improve it substantially. At A2 I used feedback in the same way, especially that which I received concerning the digipak and magazine adverts. I was again able to rethink my original ideas and allow me to work them into the next stage of production.

At AS my planning wasn’t structured very efficiently, however my planning significantly developed into the A2 course. It was structured via the use of my storyboard which allowed me to be aware of what shots needed doing and where, ensuring that I used my time efficiently. I learnt the importance of structuring my plans and work and thus incorporated this throughout my later work. At AS I used the plans and mocks that I had made loosely, referring to them mainly as guidelines rather than strict structures. This developed significantly into A2 when I found that following the storyboard that had been constructed made production far easier. This is something that I realised as vitally important in Research and Planning as it made production far easier than it had been at AS. 

The presentation of my research and planning was also something which I discovered as important. At AS and A2 it was primarily constructed as Blog Posts, allowing me to place them all together and organise my blog efficiently. At A2 this developed into more creative presentations of my work, such as the use of Prezi on our coursework pitch or embedding YouTube clips. The importance of this was to allow the work to look more creative and in some circumstances, to highlight areas of research and planning which were of particular importance to the production of work.

Research and Planning at both AS and A2 level heavily influenced the work that I created during production. For example, my research into genre at both levels influenced the style of Mise en scene I created, firstly for my photo shoot and secondly in how I filmed and dressed those within the music video. The importance of my research and planning became particularly obvious during in production, when the use of the guidance I had developed became vital. For example, the structured shot list at AS or the storyboard at A2 were vital to the efficient production of my final pieces. 

Presentation of Research and Planning

Presentation of Research and Planning

The majority of my research was presented via blog posts. For my primary research this is especially true. At AS and A2 my research of magazines and music videos all took the form of blog posts with the posts becoming more creative when I added images of the magazines I had analysed and embedded the music videos I had researched from YouTube. We used a variety of means to make the blog more creative. For example our pitch was presented on the blog in the form of Prezi and our animatic was constructed via iMovie and embedded on the blog. Secondary research that we constructed was posted on the blog, but was made more dynamic and creative via the inclusion of links to certain websites of blogs that i had been researching from.

Organisation of Planning Materials

Organisation of Planning Materials

My planning materials mainly consisted of our storyboard, which had been constructed to allow us to be aware of what shots needed doing, when and how to manage our time effectively. I could use the storyboard to number the shots so I could see every shot I had to complete in a certain location ensuring that I used time efficiently. My organisation however, went further than just the practical side of the coursework. I also developed a to do list for the work that had to be completed on the blog, to ensure that I did not miss vital pieces of work.

At AS level I hadn’t used Blogger before and therefore it was a new feature which I did not utilise to the full. For example at AS I wasn’t fully aware of how to add extras alongside the Blog to provide further information about what genre of music I was doing etc. At A2 however, I provided a poll to give a popular vote on which song should be used for the music videos and I feel that I used labels more efficiently and constructively. 

Throughout the construction of my AS coursework I followed my plans loosely in that I used them more as a guideline. Instead I used real features I had researched from real music magazines to add features to my own work. I did this because my mock designs were my original ideas but at the time of their construction my research might have not been in depth enough to ensure I knew what features I should place on it. At A2, our plans on the storyboard were followed far more closely as they had been constructed far more carefully. We followed them closely as they made production far easier than if we had started filming without a true idea of what to do. if changes had to be made they were placed alongside that area of the storyboard so that when we came to it in the shot list, we knew what changes had to be made and how we should do it.

At A2 both me and my partner had a copy of the storyboard. This allowed us to prepare separately for whatever filming we had scheduled but also it meant that we always had a spare copy in case one of us misplaced our work.

At A2 I posted about how progress was going on filming. This was useful when we came to film our second draft as it allowed us to see what shots had caused us particular difficulty. We also blogged about what the weather had been on certain shots and therefore when we came to filming the second draft we could see which ones we might have struggled with weather wise and thus could take the time to film these again.

My research and planning skills were again used in the production of my magazine advert and digipak. I could refer back to the blog and my posts on mise en scene to ensure that I had all the elements correct before taking the photographs which would be used on the designs.

Planning - Pre-production and Requirements

Planning - Pre-production and Requirements

Drafts

At AS I produced one draft for my front cover, contents and double page. This draft was useful in providing feedback which heavily influenced my final design. It allowed feedback in that it was marked by the teacher who then handed it back with useful points upon which I could work to further improve my work. At A2 there were more drafts to produce, for example I had to produce a draft for my music video and for the magazine advert and digipak. Again however this provided useful feedback and eventually led to me redesigning the whole design of my magazine advert and digiak. 

Feedback

At AS and A2 this feedback was taken into account and was collated easily as it was all written on one sheet of paper. Providing the information on what I needed to do. From AS to A2 my ability to take account of feedback improved, whilst at AS I did register what needed to be done, I didn’t act upon it as thoroughly as I did at A2.

Organisation of Research

Organisation of  Research

At as I learnt the importance of organising the work on my blog into a structured order. For example I learnt that I should change the dates and times of posted pieces of work so that they are grouped with other relevant pieces. E.g having all the analysis elements of my research put together. Secondly, at AS I learnt the usefulness of labelling posts on blogger so that they each fell into a correct category. For example on my blog I had numerous labels such as Research or production. As I used various images of front covers I had to ensure that these were referenced. I ensured this was done correctly by placing the images I used within blog posts, ensuring they could be viewed properly.

My skills of organisation did develop from AS to A2, for example at AS level I had no prior experience of Blogger whereas at A2 level I was aware of how the functions worked. At A2 I also developed structured plans and used relevant guidance appropriately, something which I did not do at AS.

Advantages and Disadvantages of sources

Advantages and disadvantages of sources.

Expense/Cost

At AS and A2 I spent very little money on Research and Planning. This is because I found that all the sources I required could be found online free of cost and were open for use by anybody. There are disadvantages to this method of conducting research and planning. One obvious disadvantage is that perhaps I did not have access to as many quality sources as I would have had if I had spent money. For example, this would be the case if I had bought magazines such as NME or Q to help with my research. However instead of buying these magazines I was in the fortunate position of being able to borrow them. Therefore I was at an advantage in that I had the quality sources yet I did not have to spend money on them.

Accessibility

There was varied accessibility of sources at both AS and A2 standard. At AS the sources were harder to find than at A2, yet within AS level there was varied difficulty in acquiring them. For example, it was easier to find magazine front covers to analyse than it was to find magazine double page spreads. This is because most magazine websites such as Q and NME had an archive of magazine front covers to view et they hid the magazines content from view unless money was paid. Therefore to view the contents page and double page spread I had to google search them which often produced sources which were not relevant. Therefore the accessibility of sources online were harder to acquire at AS standard. At A2 level it was easier to acquire sources. For example, it was especially easy to find music videos to research as I had YouTube to use. This was an advantage as it allowed videos to be viewed quickly and free of cost. Digipaks were also accessible as I was in the fortunate position to own numerous digipaks and thus had them on hand to analyse. In reference to these sources I was therefore at an obvious advantage as they were easy to acquire. However, I was at a disadvantage when it came to analyse magazine adverts as I have no direct subscription to any music magazines and at the time I owned none. However I was able to borrow a variety of magazines but this represents an issue with accessibility as I had to go to great lengths to try and acquire them. It was therefore harder to have access to sources at AS than at A2 as at AS level research focused on magazines which were reluctant to reveal content, whereas at A2 there was a variety of features to analyse.

Reliability

At both AS and A2 level I would suggest that the sources I used to conduct research from were reliable. At AS I would argue that this is because my research consisted of reputable music magazines such as NME and Q. I was at the advantage of not having to conduct research from other students work as my own work focussed on primary sources such as the magazines and not secondary sources such as a student’s blog. However it can be seen that there was a disadvantage that during the analysis of magazine front covers search engines would produce the coursework of other students. Therefore time had to be taken to ensure it was reputable work, which could be analysed. At A2 I was fortunate to have reliable sources, for example The music videos I used for analysis were sourced off YouTube and thus were reputable as they were uploaded by the artist. However care had to be taken to ensure the official music video was viewed and not a fan made one. The digipak’s were again reliable as they were the official work with which the album came and were therefore produced by the band and artist. The magazine adverts again came from official magazines and thus were not false productions. Therefore I was at an advantage in that all of my research came from primary sources that were reputable.

Accuracy

At AS level it can be seen that the feedback I received from my peers was more thorough than at A2. This can be seen because at AS my pitch was produced in front of the class and questions were asked and I could gather various opinions on my work. Second, my AS blog was followed by more people than my A2 one and thus more comments were left from my peers at AS than at A2. At A2 however, I was disadvantaged in that less people followed my blog and therefore there was less scope for comments to be left from my peers. Therefore the only feedback I received was from my teachers. One advantage of the feedback that I received at both AS and A2 is that of how my class were all within my target audience and therefore any feedback I received could be considered relevant.

Bias

The textual analysis that I completed for AS can be considered balanced in that I used a variety of magazines from which to conduct analysis and research. However, it could be said that it was not biased as the research I conducted came predominantly from magazines of the same genre. At A2 my research could be considered balanced as I sued a variety of artists and songs from which to conduct research. However the variety could be considered biased as it was all conducted from the same genre. However this could be considered relevant as it was the genre I was using for my own coursework.

Validity

Within the AS coursework it is obvious that numerous elements of the research conducted was included in the final product. For example the feedback from the pitch influenced the final name of the magazine and that the pictures I took for the drafts heavily influenced the style of photography I used for my final product. In the A2 course work it is obvious that certain elements of the research and planning was included during production. For example we used the same apparel that had been mentioned to be fitting with the Mise en scene. Second, the use of storyboard showed how our planning was incorporated into production, with minimal changes. However, there were elements which were not included. For example we did not include a huge number of features from the music videos we had analysed. Instead we used originality in the video.

Comparison of Research and Planning at AS and A2

To what extent have your research and planning skills improved? Explain and support your answer with evidence.

My research skills have improved from AS level to A2 level and I feel that this is obvious via the work which has been posted on my A2 blog. Firstly the extent to which I carried out research and planning increased significantly from AS to A2. For example, at AS I carried out research on 3 magazine covers, magazine contents pages and 3 double page spreads. In comparison, at A2 I carried out I analysis of multiple magazine adverts, multiple digipaks and multiple music videos. This research tended to consist of more than 3 of each. Therefore I feel that with the increased workload, my research skills have improved as there was greater opportunity to practice them.

My planning skills have significantly improved from AS to A2. At AS I had something which represented a time plan but was not in great detail. Work tended to be completed when there was an opportunity. Whereas at A2, I used a storyboard, ensuring I knew what features of the production were being completed when and what places. This storyboard also grouped all the shots at one location in order. This planning made post production easier. The locations were grouped together to help make production as efficient as possible and a separate time plan was constructed to ensure we knew when filming should be completed by. This was done with the aim of ensuring that time wasn’t pressured during filming, to allow production to be maintained at a high standard.

Aspects of secondary research also improved from AS to A2 and this is evidenced by the use of certain theorists. It can be seen that AS standard my research did not include the use of secondary research such as theorists and that there is no reference to them. At A2 standard however, it can be seen that efforts were made to include theory into planning to ensure that my work had key elements within it. This therefore represents improvement from AS to A2 as it can be seen that I recognised the need to include crucial elements of secondary research.

My research and Planning skills improved from AS to A2 due to the frequent referencing to a time plan constructed for the class to follow. Whilst it can be seen that this was constructed by me, it is obvious that it was beneficial in my work and ensured that not only was all of my work completed within the boundaries given, it also ensured that my work included elements that I perhaps would not have noticed if the plan had not existed. This therefore represents improvement in my research and planning from AS to A2 as it can be seen that at AS I did not pay as greater attention to this as I have this year and therefore it could be said that my work wasn’t as structured last year as it could have been.

Research and Planning AS

Primary research AS blog:

Textual analysis was undertaken of different types of music to determine what genre I wanted to use for my magazine.

I analyzed a variety of different magazine front covers, contents pages and double page spreads to better understand what I had to do.

I analyzed a variety of fonts to determine which I wanted to use on the front cover of my magazine.

In my pitch I took a poll of a variety of names to find out which most people would be interested in seeing on top of my magazine.

I gained audience feedbox from my pitch which I used to inspire my work from that point onwards.

Secondary research:


I used the blogs of previous students to help


I used websites during researching magazines to view. I used NME, Q and Rolling Stone to gather ideas to help me in production.

I used websites when trying to determine what font I wanted to use upon my magazine and within it.

I used websites such as YouTube to gain inspiration and to decide what type of music would feature in my magazine. Similarly I used iTunes to help with this.

I used notes I had made in class to help me analyse websites and make sure I recognised features I needed to look out for.

Research and Planning A2

Primary research on A2 blog:

I analyzed four different magazine adverts from prominent music magazines.

I analyzed a variety of websites and their designs

We analyzed a variety of music videos to decided what type of video they were so as to determine what type of video we wanted to create.

We placed a poll on the side of the blog to ask which song we should feature in the video.

Before we began each task we viewed the work of the exemplar students from previous years so as to understand what we had to do.

Our teachers left comment son our blogs on certain posts to tell us what we should do and to point us in the correct direction.  

We created audience profiles so as to decide who we wanted as the target audience for our video.

Secondary research on A2 blog:                      

We used existing theories such as Roland Barthes belief in narrative threads and Laura Mulvay’s belief in the male gaze.

We looked at previous students blogs to get a better idea of what we had to do.

We made notes during class which we then used to give us direction during the write ups at a latter date.