Preliminary-Reflection # 47

 Reflection time, after finishing the mini project .working on this project was a really good experience in teamwork and using our different skills. Rafa came up with the idea of doing a lip-sync video inspired by grunge bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam. He did most of the work on the video, recording it himself with his iPod Touch, while Madison handled the editing.

I worked with Rafa on the album cover. He had some rough drafts already, and we chose the best one together. Rafa did most of the initial work, but it was nice to give my opinion and help finalize the design.

My main contribution was creating the social media post. I used Canva to make an Instagram-style post, picking a theme, arranging it into sections, and adding a short description. This was a part of the project I could manage on my own, and it felt good to see it come together.

Overall, this project taught me how dividing tasks based on our strengths can make a project run smoother. Everyone played a part, and working together helped us create a complete mini-campaign that felt realistic. I also learned that even if I’m not involved in every part, I can still support my teammates and contribute in my own way. Which can be helpful to when we have to work on the final project for A level media studies.

This is the final result of the music video.

Preliminary-Production #46

 When it came to production since we divide the work into parts Rafa did the lip syn on his own. He told us he recorded using a white tripod and his  I pod Touch at his own time after school . I can not go specifically in to details on the video part I was directly involve in any way in that part of the production because I was doing something else. Aswell as for the editing, Madison did that part I really can say what she did because I was no there for that part 

Although me and Rafa worked together on the creation of the album cover in school together to some extend Rafa had already created some Rought drafts and wanted my opinion for which we could use  although we worked together I have to five credit were credit is due and Rafa did most of the work as he created the Rought draft of an image of a cat he had in his gallery in his phone, Then we both just decide of the rough drafts was better and came up with the album cover. That will use for the creation of the social media post.

For the social media post I can go into detail because that was my part .So I went into Canva so that were I could create something with relatively ease so I went to style and wrote Instagram post. This allowed me to see multiple styles. and selected one of the theme that gave me and broke into separate parts then I copy it into the form of an actual Instagram post, and last thing to do was to add a little description of the post at the bottom.

Preliminary-planning #45

    The planning for the mini- campaign project the idea came up with Rafa who started mentioning the options for the project and thought the best one would could possibly have chosen to have done was the lip syn a song of your choosing. Rafa wanted to do a grunge album inspired of band he told us he like which were if remember correctly were band like Nirvana, Alice In  Chains and Pearl Jam. He wanted to use songs like Something In The Way, or Lithium and Then bones.

    after we made the decision to do the music video we found out that more was needed in the project other than the lip-sync performance to a song  . It had to be treated as a mini-campaign, which presupposed the creation  an album cover, a social media post that would help popularize the release of the video.That would be to create the impression that it was an actual music campaign, as though we were actually launching an album to the market.     

    

    We divide the work into different part so that we could finish faster, Madison edited the video, me and Rafa decide that we will  work together to do the album cover. Rafa decide to do the recording of himself  lip syn to a song of his choice. Therefore I had to do the  social media post as I choose to do it because I can not edit that well. Also thanked god Rafa did the lip syn because I would not have done that.

concept a grunge album inspired by band like nirvana , alison chain and pearl jam 

Preliminary- Research #44

It is in the process of researching on other projects, and reading various student blogs, that I came to see how much I could be inspired to do about my own work. Not only did some of these blogs open my eyes to some new techniques but they also provided me with new ideas as to how I could go about my future film project. My work is to make a five minutes long film this year as compared to last year where I just had to make a two-minute film. This extra length will certainly demand additional planning, creativity and details so I felt the need to look at how other people in the population handled their projects. A scary project with a blog was one that impressed me. By horror I mean that I was really scared. The mood, the visual and the duration were so successfully adapted that the end production was not just compelling but also outstanding considering its own genre. I will also confess that it gave me chills, and this is because it means it was very effective. The most interesting details to me were on the part of the editing by the student. Scenes were cut, effects were picturesque and transition acted out in a truly elevating way. Simultaneously, I realized that such editing is extremely sensitive, in case done improperly it can disrupt the rhythm or make the film too contrived. This made me realize that the art of editing can boost or cripple a project, depending on how employing this tool is undertaken. This was another blog which inspired me, with a focus on a romance movie. The camera work was what impressed me here and not the editing. Camera angles worked out by the filmmakers with the purpose to develop emotion and attachment between the characters. The heavy application of the over-the-shoulder shots emerged as one of the techniques that were outstanding. Propensity to overuse a particular kind of shot is usually viewed as such a weakness because it may be experienced as a repetition. Nevertheless, here over-the-shoulder framing was applied so effectively that it in fact reinforced the feeling of intimacy in the dialogues to the point that it made them seem natural and real. This gave me an understanding of how a single technique can more or less be used with care to give a scene depth and meaning. Naturally I have surfed through a huge number of blogs. Admittedly, I or so have been through a few, and they were not all very exciting to my taste. Some however, were very special and provided me with new insights. The lesson I had was that, not all projects prove to be inspirational but there will always be something to walk away with, it may be a golden idea, or an ingenious designed technique possibly a heresay of what not to do. Overall, I believe that the exposure to such blogs was useful in relation to my personal future project. To begin, as I prepare my five-minute film our new understanding of how editing, camera work, and shot selection are managed in different genres, is much greater. I have also witnessed myself the strength of effects of these creative decisions on the end product. Going onwards, I will attempt to mix what I have learned by the examples with my own ideas, in order to come up with a film that feels refined, entertaining, and something mine.

Preliminary Task – Depth of Field & Light Experiment #43

The first image is of Rafa is of a shallow depth of field in which the background is blurred.This allows for when you want to show or higlight a specific person or item.

the second image is of me in a deep focus in which everything is in the frame. This allows for whoever sees the image can see everything.

the third image is done by using the use of artificial light from our phones.This is usually done when you try to take a photo in a dark place to highlight something.

The fourth image using shadows.In this photo we use the shadow to highlight the presences of someone.

the fifth image is of foreground. this is done by taking the photo in the hallway for the photo for foreground is taken at the beginning of the hallway to show the distance.

for the sixth image is for the background. This photo is done by taking when someone is toward the end of the hallway which is the opposite of foreground. This photography teqhiniches are going to be useful in the blog creation when it comes to creating them.and also for recording any type of production and when discussing about delete scenes in the blog is what I refer when I meat blog creation. Another reason is for the print photos for the campaign it can be useful when you need specific photos the use or practicing the types of photos for the campaign will be very useful.

Preliminary-Skill audit #42

     Media Studies Skills Audit

Complete and reflect.

Skill Area	Confident / Good at this ✅	Need Improvement ⚡	Need to Learn 📘
Analyzing how camera shots/angles create meaning	x
Using editing techniques to create meaning		x
Understanding mise-en-scène (costume, setting, lighting, props)		x
Explaining how sound (diegetic, non-diegetic, motifs, bridges) contributes to meaning			x
Applying media theories (genre, audience, representation, institutions)			x
Researching and analyzing case studies of media texts		x
Planning and organizing production work (storyboards, shot lists, scripts)		x
Technical production skills (camera operation, lighting, editing software)		x
Writing critically (essays, textual analysis, blog posts)	x
Reflecting on progress and evaluating own work		x

Media Studies Technical Skills Audit

Complete and reflect

Technical Skill	Confident / Good at this ✅	Need Improvement ⚡	Need to Learn 📘
Using a camera (basic operation, focus, framing)	x
Understanding and applying camera settings (aperture, shutter speed, ISO, white balance)	x
Recording stable shots (tripod, handheld, tracking)		x
Using lighting equipment or natural light effectively		x
Recording clear sound (microphones, ambient control)	x
Importing and organizing media files	x
Using video editing software (cutting, sequencing, layering tracks)		x
Adding titles, text, and graphics		x
Adding and editing sound/music in post-production	x
Exporting final projects in correct formats		x

 Last year when I was a AS level student. I look back to certain things and say to myself I know this or I think I know this

pretty well and other things that I just know that I don't know. Since it's a new year there are things I can improve on.

Something like analyzing how camera shots and angles help create meaning I am confident that I understand pretty well

as well as adding and editing sound I am confident of my skill in that are however There are somethings I know I have

to Improve. Such as Using lighting equipment or the use of natural light because that can make my final result

for the project that I have to submit toward the end of the school year. Another thing that I need to improve

is recording more stability because I do not have a steady hands so the idea of using a tripod to maintain

my phone stable when recording is a good idea. So that the final result look better

Preliminary-A level student now #41

 Last school year I took Media Studies for the first time and took the AS level and this year I am taking it again however this time I am taking A level Media Studies.

Some things that I learned last year while taking Media studies was different types of camera shots, angles, and also how they affect the way the audience perceive that type of media and understand it.Since I took Media Studies last year one of my highlights was finishing my blogs because it represented that I finished my work and was almost done with everything.Although finishing my blogs was my highlight they were also my toughest because It was the first time I ever had to write blogs and when I finished them it made me very happy.

Since I am taking A level that means things are not going to be as easy as last year which tells me that I have to improve certain things such as my blogs because I did do so good on them which affected my portfolio now I am going to write more in my blogs and what I did the previous year.Additionaly I want to improve my time management skills because if I had managed my time more wisely I would have gotten a better score.

I am excited to move to A level because this time I know I am going to do well since the second time is always better than the first. Although I am not going to expand myself in the sense of looking at myself having a career in media, Still having some experience with media might be helpful in the future.

When I look back at my AS work,I’m proud of the experiences I had and This year I want to push myself by putting the effort that I should have put last year and I think Media Studies connects to who I am because I know how much work I can put in and I should have worked harder last year when I was in my AS media studies class last year.