Evaluations for A2 Trailer, Poster and Magazine Projects

The final 20 marks for the project are crucial in determining your grade. These marks will depend upon how well you address the four evaluation TASKS. Here is our guide for what to do and some links to examples to help you

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? (i.e. of film trailers)

In Art of the title sequence they use 9 frames from film openings in order to represent the film. Well now it's your turn to do the same with nine of your frames from the TRAILER.

You should go through the final version of the project and select nine distinct frames which you screengrab and drop into  photoshop in the same style as the website. You will be using these to write about how typical or not of TRAILERS your particular video is, so choose them carefully.

Once you have the nine frames neatly in Photoshop, screengrab the whole thing and post to your blog, then write an analysis of how you have used such conventions.

The aspects we would like you to consider across your nine frames are:

The title of the film
Setting/location
Costumes and props
Camerawork and editing
Title font and style
Story and how the trailer sets it up
Genre and how the trailer suggests it
How characters are introduced

AND ONE OTHER OF YOUR CHOICE

Here is a student example from last year (for a film opening) so you can see how it might  turn out:

http://cmdiplomachristina.blogspot.com/2009/11/evaluation-activity-one.html

2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

For this, we want you to take your finished video and grab some stills from it and put them on a document alongside grabs from your poster and magazine cover and to annotate the document to show how they all go together. 

Here is an example from the A2 music video task from last year, which might be a useful model

http://musicvideocm3emma.blogspot.com/2010/03/task-2how-effective-is-combination-of.html

3. What have you learned from your audience feedback?

For this task, we want you to consider class and teacher feedback on your work in progress and your finished products; feedback from anyone else. You can do this feedback as a podcast audio interview or as a video interview or using stills. It must not be solely written, though it can include writing.

If you do audio, upload it to www.soundcloud.com (you will need to set up an account, takes five minutes) and then embed it on your blog.

4. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

In pairs, take a picture of each other holding the kit you have used. This might just be the camera and tripod, and your computer but there may be other things you want in the shot.

Drop the image onto your blog and annotate it, adding all the programs and other technology you have used as screengrabs and what you learnt about it/from using it. Your written text need only be minimal. You could include reference to all the online and computer programs you have used such as youtube, blogger, the edit program ,photoshop, music programs etc, etc.

Here is an example http://musicvideocm3emma.blogspot.com/2010/03/task-4.html

WHEN YOU FINISH THE EVALUATION, YOU NEED TO RE-ORGANISE THE TOP OF YOUR BLOG AS FOLLOWS:

Top post: your finished video (embed from Vimeo- we will upload it there over Easter and let you know on this blog when all video work is there), your final poster and your final magazine cover.

Next four posts: evaluation tasks 1-4 all titled with the task question

after that: your research and planning- backwards to the start of the project (at the very bottom)

Evaluation for AS Film Openings

The final 20 marks for the project are crucial in determining your grade. These marks will depend upon how well you address the seven evaluation TASKS. Here is our guide for what to do and some links to examples to help you.

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? (i.e. of film openings)

In Art of the title sequence they use 9 frames from film openings in order to represent the film. Well now it's your turn to do the same with nine of your frames.

You should go through the final version of the project and select nine distinct frames which you screengrab and drop into  photoshop in the same style as the website. You will be using these to write about how typical or not of opening sequences your particular design is, so choose them carefully.

Once you have the nine frames neatly in Photoshop, screengrab the whole thing and post to your blog, then write an analysis of how you have used such conventions.

The aspects we would like you to consider across your nine frames are:

The title of the film
Setting/location
Costumes and props
Camerawork and editing
Title font and style
Story and how the opening sets it up
Genre and how the opening suggests it
How characters are introduced

PLUS ONE MORE OF YOUR CHOICE

Here is a student example from last year so you can see how it might  turn out:

http://cmdiplomachristina.blogspot.com/2009/11/evaluation-activity-one.html

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Pick a key character from your opening. Take a screengrab of a reasonable sized image of them. Think of one or more characters from other films with some similarity to them (but maybe some differences too!), find an image on the web of that/those characters and grab it as well. Drop the two into photoshop, as a split screen. Export this splitscreen image as a jpeg then drop onto your blog and write about the similarities and differences in terms of appearance, costume, role in film etc.

Here is an old example:

http://cmdiplomatilly.blogspot.com/2009/11/how-does-your-media-product-represent.html

3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?


For this question, you are going to do a 'director's commentary' style voiceover explaining some of the key features of your opening

You will need to script the voiceover which deals with institutional issues to include:

discussion of your production company name and logo and the role of such companies (if you have done one!)

What does a production company do? start here
the idea of a distributor and who that might be and why. start here
where the money might have come from for a film such as yours here
why the various people are named in the titles- which jobs appear in titles and in what order and how have you reflected this?
what your film is similar to 'institutionally' (name some films which would be released in a similar way)
You need to refer to actual company names and processes and maybe do a bit more research

When you have scripted, record the voiceover on a new audio timeline in the edit program, then export and embed on blog.

Here is an example:

http://cmdiplomajahmal.blogspot.com/2009/11/evaluation-activity-3.html

 ALTERNATIVELY if short of time, write a script for a commentary and post it to your blog

4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

Find a google image of your typical target audience member and an explanation of what kinds of taste they might have- where they would shop, what music they would listen to, what their favourite Tv programme would be, etc.

post it on the blog and write a few notes on why they would watch your film.

Here is an example from last year:

http://cmdiplomayasmin.blogspot.com/2009/11/who-would-be-audience-for-your-media.html

5. How did you address your target audience?

EITHER: make a short video in which you interview someone from your target audience about the film opening OR do an audio interview, upload it to http://soundcloud.com/ (you will need to set up an account- takes 5 mins) and then embed your upload to the blog.

Your notes will refer to genre conventions, use of music, similiarities with other movies and what you have identified as the Unique Selling Point of your imaginary film.

6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?


In pairs, take a picture of each other holding the kit you have used. This might just be the camera and tripod, and your computer but there may be other things you want in the shot.

Drop the image onto your blog and annotate it, adding all the programs and other technology you have used as screengrabs and what you learnt about it/from using it. Your written text need only be minimal. You could include reference to all the online and computer programs you have used such as youtube, blogger, the edit program ,photoshop, music programs etc, etc.

Here is an example http://cmdiplomaangelica.blogspot.com/2009/11/evaluation-activity-six.html

7. Looking back at your preliminary task (the continuity editing task), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?

Concentrate on editing and camerawork.

Grab some frames from both tasks and put them on the blog and show what you know about shot types, edit terms and techniques.


Make sure you mention the 180 degree rule, match on action and shot/reverse shot

WHEN YOU FINISH THE EVALUATION, YOU NEED TO RE_ORGANISE THE TOP OF YOUR BLOG AS FOLLOWS:

Top post: your finished video (embed from Vimeo- we will upload it there over Easter and let you know on this blog when all video work is there)

Next seven posts: evaluation tasks 1-7 all titled with the task question

after that: your research and planning- backwards to the start of the project (at the very bottom)

 Here is an example of a blog ordered in that way:

Jahmal's blog

 

Tasks and Resources

You will be getting a checklist of stuff that should be on your blogs, with the aim that you work through it and fill the gaps over the next few days so that all blogs look fab and fat!

Some of the points on the checklist involve some additional tasks to improve your work, which involve making use of some links here.

AS NEW TASKS- but blog them with an earlier date to show up as research!


1. Go to the link for film openings on youtube and watch THREE of the openings, one of which at least should be from a film you have never seen. Note which three film openings you looked at and then choose ONE of the three and say what you find interesting about it as an opening- such as camerawork or setting or character or whatever- and why. Paste that opening onto your blog as well or do a screengrab.

2. Now try some searches on youtube for student film openings- you may have to try a range of searches, such as 'AS media projects' or 'student films' or 'G321 film opening'. There are loads on the accounts of  Hurtwoodmedia and  Latymermedia but you may find other schools and colleges. Again choose one, paste it onto your blog and write about what you think the STRENGTHS and the WEAKNESSES are of the sequence.


3. In Photoshop, design a production company logo for your film- giving yourself a company name. There are some examples here of idents which move, but a static one would be fine.


4. Some people have already done this, (e.g. Kim and Charlotte) but you should all have a go at the task involving looking closely at titles, as suggested on monday. Pick an opening (film) from 'art of the title' and watch the sequence, download it to your computer if you can to enable you to look at the timeline. Get a big sheet of plain paper and mark out a timeline, then go through and write on it where each title comes in. Seethe Juno example as a model. Then take a photo of it and upload to Flickr and paste to your blog. Write a few lines explaining what it is about. This should give you a really good model for your own layout of a title sequence, including timings and jobs.

A2 New Tasks

1. do an analysis of a student trailer, poster and magazine cover from another centre and embed it/grab images. Write about the strengths and weaknesses of the projects. You may want to alter the post date so that it is within your early research.

possible examples are here
also here
and here

2. why not take photos of each other editing/shooting/planning and add to your  blogs?

Copying from the internet

Please remember that you should not simply copy stuff from the internet (or anywhere else) without acknowledging the source.  Pretending it's yours is cheating and it could be disastrous for your marks...

Happy blogging!

Welcome to the new hub!

This will be the place for general advice, info and instructions to maximise the impact of your coursework!

Keep checking back here for individual advice on improving your blog research and planning, your production work and eventually for the evaluation.

Check also for useful links to real and student examples of comparable work.

On Thursday 24th, there will be feedback on here for individual blogs. Meanwhile, following our discussions today, you could work on the following:

1. re-set your blog so that all posts are on the same page (go to settings-formatting and change it to 50)

2. re-organise any posts that need re-ordering by changing dates

3. go back through posts and add pictures, links and embed videos where relevant.

4. have a look at other people's blogs to see what they have been doing and whether you could do something similar! DO NOT COPY AND PASTE THEIR STUFF!

On Thursday, a checklist will go up for each project- AS and A2 so that you can see what you are missing and try to fill the gaps!


Any other magazine re-sitters, please let Chris know your blog details so they can be added.