Practice Essay - Section A, Question 1a: Describe how you developed your skills in the use of digital technology and evaluate how this contributed to your research and planning.

• Intro
• research into real media AS and A2
• research into target audience AS and A2
• planning AS and A2

Throughout the course of the two years I think my skills have developed in Digital Technology in Research and Planning. For my AS project I had to make a music magazine, and at A2 I had to make a teaser trailer along with a film poster and a front cover of a film magazine. Firstly I will talk about how my research into real media texts using digital technology helped to develop my skills through to A2, and then talk about target audience research and the beneficial planning process.

At AS for research I looked at real media texts. Since the genre of the magazine, music, was already given to me my research was quite restricted. There was not much variety into what we could research as influences. As it was just magazines we were looking at as opposed to in A2, there was not much digital technology needing to be used in the research. Through digital technology I looked at existing music magazines, going onto the actual music magazine's websites such as NME and print screening the photos of the covers etc. Some magazines have an on line version, like Echoes, which helped me because I could then get a picture of not only the front cover, but also the double page spread and the contents page, which sped up the process of research and planning. I feel at AS I did extensive research into real media texts, combining looking at micro and macro elements to then maybe convey in my own magazine.
At A2 there were more mediums to create so that meant more research into real media texts needed to be done. Using Internet sources like YouTube and IMDb helped me to research into, whilst at AS I could only look at music magazines. Since we got got to choose the genre of the film for A2 there was much more lee-way into what we could research, for example we looked at comedy, action and thriller genre trailers to analyse. Giving us the opportunity to see which genre best suited our ideas.
Researching into target audience at AS I created a questionnaire and did the find my tribe quiz. I used resources such as the Internet buy looking onto Google onto what would interest the chosen age group of the target audience and complied images together. At A2 the target audience research was somewhat more advanced. We did even more extensive research into the find your tribe quiz, and also created a questionnaire and used Microsoft Excel to create graphs and uploaded those to blogger. This was to show the results in a more graphic way as opposed to just a paper questionnaire. We also created a moodboard, this one on just the results from the find your tribe quiz, and what we would imagine the target audience would use or watch for example the Transformers film and the thriller Taken, and use Twitter and Facebook social networking sites to communicate with their friends.
The planning process for both years were quite dissimilar. For AS I made a calendar to track what I was going to do and how much time it would take me. I also planned the costumes and the location based on talking to my models, asking them to wear an outfit that was quite 'edgy', we organised through text and emailing over Facebook. This enabled me to use digital technology whilst planning. I took photographs using my camera of the location, costume and the models themselves, describing them in a little bio.
At A2 there was more to plan. When planning the location and props we took photographs and really explained why we chose to include the certain props, such as the knife and the choice of location because it went well with the treatment and script. On the computer I also created a timeline on what we were going to do through the process of filming and post-production so that we kept to the deadlines that had been set. Storyboarding was a big part of the planning process. We used a template off the Internet with empty boxes for us to fill to plan out what we were going to put into the trailer. We did a couple drafts to get it perfect and for all the timings to be right. At first we just had writing for the storyboard to describe what was going to happen, but after some consideration we thought it would be more effective and look better to draw in images of what was going to happen on each scene.

Practice Essay - Section A 1a: How has digital technology impacted on your creative decision making?

Throughout the course of two years I think my skills have developed in digital technology, influencing my creative decision making. For my AS project I had to create a music magazine and for A2 my skills were developed by having to create a teaser trailer, film poster and film magazine front cover. I will firstly talk about my AS project and then how my skills developed and improved through A2.

For both projects I used different mediums and forms of digital technology.
Using Photoshop and InDesign predominantly for AS, I was developing an understanding on how to operate and work on the programs. There was limited possibilities for this project. The shot type for the preliminary task was very specific, having to be a MCU. This meant that my creativity for this cover was limited. However, for the main task, the music magazine, I was able to choose my own genre of music and to have different shot types. When taking the photos I knew how I wanted to edit them, from looking at existing music magazines like NME and Spin I saw how they used the images to convey the different genre's and wanted to portray that into my own. For the DPS in the exisiting magazines they all had one big image taking over most of the spread so I wanted to challenge the normal conventions of music magazines by including another three images in the spread. Using Photoshop and InDesign I was able to create the effect I was after.
For the double page spread I used a series of black and white shots edited in InDesign, after looking at my double page spread as a whole I thought that if those three images were in black and white it would stand out against the main image on the other side. Manipulating the images in Photoshop was difficult for me at the beginning of the task, I was not familiar with Photoshop before then so I did not know what all the effects meant, so with help of my teacher, other students and even Internet tutorials I navigated my way through to get the best effects on my images.
For A2 my skills had developed, I felt like my photographic skills using Photoshop had improved from AS. I knew how to use effects like the Hue and Saturation to enhance the colour on the image. On InDesign I was able to use the program more efficiently, less time needed to try and work how it came together. Font work was a big part for both projects, with the AS magazine I needed to get the right font to portray the right genre of the music magazine, and the same with A2. The film poster showed my creativity in creating an image from scratch and taking inspirations from other film posters to create my own on for my own teaser trailer. A big influence on my poster was the Shutter Island poster, I loved the way there was red writing standing out against the dark image, the effect on the image looked great, almost black and white so I really wanted to convey something very similar in my own poster. Again with the fonts I knew by A2 what would work for a magazine and adapted those skills to a poster. Through pre-production in A2 I had to use the Internet for a great deal of it, researching into diferent trailers trying to get inspiration. The trailer I liked the most was Transformers 3, it was very inpsirational music and suspense wise, theway that it built tension just through the dipping and music was what I wanted in my own trailer. Using sites like YouTube and IMDb helped with my creativity because it was moving images as opposed to just a magazine front cover like in AS so I was able to invisage what I wanted the final trailer to be like.
At A2 since our task was to make a teaser trailer we had to use more technology than at AS. The main source I used was Premier Pro. At first this was very difficult because I did not know how to work it, but with help from my teacher and using Internet tutorials I was able to make the trailer come together quite well. My creativity came to use here as I needed to edit out bits of the trailer that we weren't going to use in the final cut. By doing this and using our storyboard we condensed the material down into what we wanted and what we thought worked best. By the end of the project I was confident in my abilities to work on Premier Pro. Post-production tasks like editing and doing the evaluation enabled me to use much more digital technology than at AS. Programs like SoundBooth helped make the process of getting the music to how we wanted for the trailer was a great help, as we could enhance the sound or make it quieter depending on the suspense and tension that was building in the trailer. Using cameras and voice recorders to try and think outside of the box for our evaluation, creating a running commentary over our trailer for one of the questions showed our creative side whilst using different mediums of technology.

Section A, Q1a - tables for each question topic

Design Techonology:

Marking Criteria	Student Guidance
Explanation/analysis/argument	·         Photoshop enabled us to enhance our images for poster and film magazine for A2 and music magazine for AS. I liked using saturation on the images because and hue because this made the images appear brighter or darker, depending on the genre. So for the film poster we wanted to create a bit darker atmosphere and effect. ·         Premier Pro for the A2 teaser trailer was quite difficult to use at the beginning of the project. However, by the end we felt comfortable with manipulating the video to the way we wanted and felt we could edit it well. We used cropping quite a lot, condensing out all the bits of the filming we did not want to include in the final cut, we used a YouTube and internet website tutorial to guide us with how to effectively remove the unwanted clips. ·         InDesign I used for AS and A2 as a prominent feature. For creating fonts and texts on the magazine and poster it was good because the image was underneath the text so it looked more realistic like a real magazine or poster. ·         We used websites such as IMDb and YouTube to get clips of trailers to give us inspiration for our teaser trailer. I feel that with the enhanced technology we could use and the extra freedom of genres etc. my works and inspiration was better than AS. In AS we had very particular specifications but at A2 we were able to do what we wanted and have all the resources we could use, as there were more mediums being created.
Use of examples	·         Photoshop – saturation/hue ·         Premier Pro – editing ·         Soundbooth/Free Sounds websites ·         YouTube/IMDb ·         InDesign
Use of terminology	Saturation manipulating the video YouTube IMDb enhanced technology mediums

Creativity:

Marking Criteria	Student Guidance
Explanation/analysis/argument	·         When filming the A2 teaser trailer, we used different camera angles and shots to convey different messages. So when our character was running up the stairs we wanted to show the urgency by moving the camera as well. ·         The sound we used showed our creativity because we were enabled to choose what we were going to have and at what point. We had to listen to a great deal of music before we found what we really wanted. ·         Throughout AS and A2 my photographic skills have improved. When using the camera for the music magazine I didn’t use many different types of shot, just portrait or landscape, but with A2 we had more variety with the positioning and lighting of the photos. When using Photoshop I knew what effects I wanted to use by A2 but with AS I definitely struggled with all the different options.  With the AS magazine I liked the effect of many photos being taken in black and white as if they were taken in a photo booth to convey the message that they were friends, I think this worked very well. ·         Organising where I wanted to shoot the video and the images was a big factor. For the music magazine I knew I wanted a brick wall in an alley way to convey the genre better. The place to shoot the trailer was easy because we had a clear idea of where we wanted it, so we had it at a house, this was perfect because of the different rooms we were able to have a variety of locations making the trailer more interesting. For the film poster we wanted I to be in the woods so that we could have an eerie feel to it, conveying the thriller genre, this brought out my creativity because of the lighting and the location we were able to come up with a lot of shots. ·         Costume and props is a big factor for any shoot. When creating the music magazine, the brief to my models was something a bit edgy, so with rock t-shirts and jeans and boots the message of what type of music they play was obvious to the audience. For the trailer the costume was simple because we wanted the character to be in what she would wear around the house, if she was too dressed up it would not go with the location or the storyline ·         With the props in the music magazine at As I used an umbrella, in my head this seemed to be effective but in the shoot it was very out of place and didn’t really go at all with the magazine so I cut those images out and didn’t use them in the final piece. For the A2 trailer we used the props of a knife to go with the genre and we created a child out of teddy bears and a wig so this brought out our imaginative and creative skills. ·         When doing specific research into the work, for A2 in particular we looked at many trailers with the same genre such as shutter island and the transformers trailer, both of these inspired us a great amount.
Use of examples	·         Camera angles and shots ·         Photographic skills development ·         Video effects ·         Place of shoot ·         Costume + props ·         Specific research – being inspired
Use of terminology	convey black and white images camera angles and shots

Research and Planning:

Marking Criteria	Student Guidance
Explanation/analysis/argument	·         For A2 I had more freedom for my research and planning, as there were no specifics like in AS with the genres I was able to look at a wide variety of trailers and posters and magazines. ·         A specific trailer that inspired us the most was the Transformers 3 trailer. We watched it many times to try and capture and understand all the micro features. The music was a big factor of the trailer that caught our attention. It was dramatic and exciting and that is what we wanted for our trailer. ·         The Shutter Island poster is what we modelled ours after; we liked the red writing and the semi-black and white image. ·         By planning our work using mind maps and storyboards we were able to know what is going to happen next when filming and editing, this helped as we did not forget anything. We were able to eliminate any ideas and choices that we did not want to include and because of planning we could see how we improved ·         Time management for both AS and A2 was very important, so by creating calendars for ourselves we could see what needed to happen when so that we didn’t miss any important deadlines. ·         By analysing music magazines for the AS work I was able to see what they all had and then what I wanted to take from them. With extensive research I was able to look at all the features of music magazines and portray them in my own magazine
Use of examples	·         Trailer/poster/magazine analysis ·         Planning ·         Time management
Use of terminology	micro features mind maps and storyboards time management

Post production: Marking Criteria	Student Guidance
Explanation/analysis/argument	· For A2, at first I found editing the video hard. Using Premier Pro was difficult because there was a lot of buttons and effects that I didn’t know about. However, through the course of project I started to get familiar with the program and how to work most of the effects. · With picking the music it was hard to choose what I felt was ‘right’ sound for the trailer, and picking where it went in the trailer. We found it hard to transition the music so that it didn’t just stop and start but so it flowed together. · When condensing the footage to pick out the best bits we could see the trailer come together nicely which I enjoyed. · Editing the photos for As and A2 was something I also liked, creating different effects and seeing the image come together was very beneficial. · From audience feedback we changed the original film poster. It was not realistic and effective enough so we added more effects used a better quality of photo and the font changing was also made a huge difference.
Use of examples	· Editing · Premier pro · Music · Editing photos – Photoshop · Condensing footage · Audience feedback
Use of terminology	condensing footage font changing

Using Conventions from real media texts:

Relationshop between topics - Section A, Question 1a

Area	AS Example(s)	A2Example(s)	Skill Development/Progress	Terminology
Digital Technology and Creativity	Using InDesign Photoshop – manipulating images Using camera to create different images	Photoshop – skills had developed Understood InDesign more Using the different camera effects Using Premier Pro	Skills using Photoshop definitely developed, I was familiar with some of the effects like Saturation/Hue and knew what kind of effect this would have. With InDesign by A2 I knew how navigate around it, using the burn tool, the cropping tool and using the different fonts. Using Premier Pro for A2 at first was difficult but when we knew what we wanted we started to get used to it, and we were confident with the effects and techniques.	Saturation, cropping, burn tool
Digital Technology and Research and Planning	Using internet to look at existing magazines	Using YouTube and IMDb to watch trailers for research Looking at different music from websites to convey the best message through music	At A2 we had more mediums to create so that meant more research and planning needed to be done. Using internet sources like YouTube and IMDb helped us research into trailers and posters. At AS we could only look at music magazines.	YouTube, IMDb
Digital Technology and Post-production	Editing photos with Photoshop and putting the mag together using InDesign	Premier Pro for editing Sound booth for music	Technology is a big factor for post-production. For AS I used Photoshop and InDesign. At first my skills were not to the best of standard. At A2 I had more editing to do, using sound booth for the music editing and Premier Pro for the trailer editing, at first it was difficult to use but towards the end I felt more comfortable navigating my way through the program. My photographic skills had developed by A2 so the images created were better therefore easier to edit.	Photographic skills, Photoshop, InDesign, Premier Pro, Sound booth,
Digital Technology and Using conventions from real media texts	Using editing processes and programs to create the conventions of music magazines	Using Photoshop and Premier Pro to get the best effects for a thriller trailer Using sound effects to help make the trailer come together well, to have the best effect	When using the programs for creating the media, looked at conventions of music magazines so I knew what to create and using InDesign and Photoshop to create them. For A2 I looked at the conventions of thriller trailers, posters and film magazines and tried to replicate and challenge at the same time the conventions through the programs like Premier Pro and Photoshop.	Conventions,
Creativity and Research and Planning	Looking at the micro connotations of music magazines helped make my decisions	Creating storyboards helped make the trailer come to life in my head Looking at different trailer influenced our work	I did extensive research at A2 into front covers, contents pages and double page spreads of music magazines so I was able to look at the micro conventions to create what I wanted for my own work. At A2 storyboarding played a big part of planning, this enabled me to see in my head the trailer before editing and filming so that I could know what was going to happen. Researching different trailers, especially the Transformers 3 trailer really influenced our work as we wanted to create something similar. Choosing the music showed my creative side as we wanted something very specific.	Front covers, contents pages, double page spread, storyboarding
Creativity and Post-production	Quite restricted on what shot types and genre so creativity was limited	Using different music and editing techniques brought out creativity – more lee-way into what we could do	At A2 compared to AS there was much more lee-way into our creativity with our work. We were able to create the genre we wanted as opposed to just the music genre. The shot types we could use were unlimited at A2 like long shots, medium close, extreme close up, over the shoulder etc. and all the different effects and techniques in the editing process helped it all come together.	Shot types - long shots, medium close, extreme close up, over the shoulder
Creativity and Using conventions from real media texts	Masthead, photos, font all conveying to the indie/rock genre	Shot types, lighting, props, location, lighting, music all adapt to the thriller genre Looking at different trailers, film mag and posters influencing	When creating the music magazine at AS I chose the masthead, font types, photos to all convey the indie/rock genre that I was trying to portray. At A2 I did the same, added with lighting, shot types, props and location to all convey the thriller genre. This was important so it would look like a real trailer.	Masthead, font types, photos, lighting, shot types
Research and Planning and Post-production	Organisation helped make post production process go smoother	Storyboards and calendars helped us keep to time when editing Using audience feedback helped to make the planning and post production process easier	Calendars for both AS and A2 helped to keep on track of deadlines and what we were doing at certain times. Audience feedback helped create the best effect for all the ancillary tasks. After audience feedback for our film poster we knew we needed to change it, by planning our time and what we wanted it to look like it was easy to get the right look.	Ancillary tasks,
Research and Planning and using conventions from real media texts	Looking at specific genre of magazine to influence and get inspiration from for my music mag	Extensive research into existing trailers helped make us decide what kind of trailer we wanted to how to make this come across	Again, audience feedback helped us get the right message across to our audience, so we could know what it looked like, through research and planning to help make the genre come across we knew what we wanted to create to avoid more changes needing to be different. By doing a great deal of research into existing trailers and magazines and posters we knew what how to create the genre conventions properly.	Genre conventions, audience feedback
Post-production and using conventions from real media texts	Editing the photos to convey the right genre Using effects from other magazines to help influence	Using effects like dimming on lighting, music for suspense all helped to create the right conventions of a thriller trailer	Effects like Dimming on lighting and the different music to create different emotions/effects at A2 helped make the thriller genre come out. Effects on Premier Pro like ghosting would work for the effect of thriller, but we didn’t like the way it looked overall. For AS editing the images to help make the message come across played a big part in the whole post-production process. The effects of black and white, cropping, and erasing to make the picture look better all helped make the magazine look realistic.	Dimming, ghosting, black and white, cropping, erasing