Production/ Planning Update

13/12/10

I have been working on the production of my website in Kompozer; below is a screenshot of my homepage as it currently looks like, with my logo at the top.



I have also been planning my work on my ancillary tasks - the newspaper advertisement and magazine double-page spread.

For my newspaper advertisement, I plan to include:
-my logo
-images similar to those which I am going to use on my website, such as the sweet 16 balloon image which I am going to use in my website
-a launch date

In my magazine double-page spread, I plan to include:
-quite a large amount of text
-my logo
-details of a specific programme
-similar images to my other products

I plan to make my newspaper advertisement quite small, and also to divide my magazine double-page spread in two in order to make it easier to work with. I'm hoping to make both of these ancillary tasks colourful, and use images within them in order to better attract my target audience.

more TV listings magazine analysis

29/11/10

I've become aware that some of my previous analysis of TV listings magazines was not as relevant as I had hoped. I've now decided to complete more analysis in the hope that it will be more relevant.

The Eastenders double-page spread from the TV Times is part of it's 'soapweek' section. The page is dominated by the central image. The image is in preparation for an Eastenders wedding, as is shown by the white dress and the rose petals in the image, things which often have connotations of love or marriage. The heading above the image is also

in white, adding to this portrayal. The content of this heading is a rhetorical question, asking 'Happy Ever After?' This suggests that there is some question over how well the wedding is expected to

go, which is expected of a drama, particularly a soap opera like Eastenders. The use of rhetorical questions is common throughout this double-page spread, this keeps the reader interested by questioning what could happen next in the TV series, particularly where the question suggests an unexpected eventuality or something central to the plot.

There is also a section of the page set out like a factfile. This explains what is happening to each character in Eastenders for that week, and not just the characters involved in the current central storyline. This section is an interesting feature as it does not take up much space, but allows readers to quickly locate the information they want on what the storyline for their favourite character(s) is for that week.

This double-page spread involves several short articles, the main one focussing on the central storyline of the wedding. This main article includes quotes from the actors about the storyline and the character. I think that this might be a good idea to include in my own double-page spread as it provides the reader with background information about the TV programme, and would be a good way to generate interest in the programme or in the channel.

TV listings magazine analysis

06/11/10

The third listings magazine which I have looked at is the Radio Times. The Radio Times has a highlights page for each day, similar to the 'Film Choice' page but containing 'choices' of all programmes not just films.
The 'Saturday Choices' double-page spread is less colourful than the pages in the other listings magazines that I have looked at, it is also not as rigidly structured, containing a mix of boxes and columns used in an apparently non-regulated way.There are few pictures, but those that are there are quite prominent, possibly because of their size and the contrast to the white background of the page. I don't really like the white background as I think that there is not enough colour on the page to compensate for it, although the red topand side banners do contrast well.
Like the other magazines, the 'choices' are accompanied by a synopsis and their titles are in bold. The bold titles seem to be common in these listings magazines and are effective in calling attention to what the programme is, and making programmes that people may be interested in more easily locatable.
I like the way that the picture accompanying the synopsis for 'Merlin' stands out from the box as I think it draws more attention to the section and might consider doing something similar on my own double-page spread.

Research and Analysis - TV listing magazine

05/11/10

My next analysis is of the page for the main
channels for Tuesday 9th November in the TV Times listing magazine. The main channels are categorised as BBC1, BBC2, ITV1, Channel 4, and Channel 5. Each channel is separated into its own column, and each column is a different colour, similarly to the way the different days were distinguished from each other in the 'Film Choice' pages of the TV Choice magazine. This serves to clearly distinguish between the channels.
The times of each programme are down the left hand side of the column with the right hand side of the column containing the name of the programme in bold, similarly to the titles of the films on the 'Film Choice' pages, and a very brief synopsis of the programme. In some cases this is just one word (such as 'quiz' for the weakest link), a short sentence, or a brief paragraph. Some programmes are distinguished with a 'New' symbol on the left hand side, or with a 'Film' symbol and a black box around the synopsis. I like this, but I think it would probably be impractical to use on my double-page spread because as my idea is for a new teen film channel, all of the programming will be either new, a film, or both.
The page also includes a small 'star's choice' section showing a quote from Johnny Vegas about a TV programme he likes. This serves to promote the programme and also to add variety to the page. It is one of the only places on the double-page spread that shows images; the images help to avoid monotony on the page and make it more visually appealing.
The other small section on this double-page spread where images are used is the 'On this day' section. This section gives a historical event that corresponds with the date; I like this as it provides an interesting fact, but I think that it's perhaps a little irrelevant.

Research - Analysis of TV listings magazine

05/11/10

The 'Film Choice' pages of the listings magazine TV Choice are sectioned into days describing films on various channels on each day. I like the way the boxes
separating each day are arranged because I feel that it makes the best possible use of the space available on the page. The use of a different colour for the box for each day serves to make it clear as to when the films are on.
The background to the double-page spread is blue and vibrant and provides a good contrast to the other colours on the page.
Images from some of the films featured are used to illustrate the page and provide a break from the text. I like the affect of these images as they stand out against the background and are sizeable without being so large that they dominate the page.
There is a small paragraph on each film featured including information such as the stars involved, the country who produced it, the director, the year it was made, and the film's certification. This ensures that all of the information a viewer could want about a film, including the day and time it's on, is provided while still remain succinct and providing a small synopsis/brief review of the film in a fairly informal style.
There is also a five-star rating system applied to each film and a tick is placed next to the film's title if the film is 'Suitable for family viewing.' The key to this system is found at the bottom of the page. I hadn't thought about using a system such as this before but as my TV channel is going to be a teen film channel, it might be a good idea to use a similar rating system in my double-page spread.
The titles of the films themselves are in bold, making them clear and easily locatable for the reader.

Planning/website update

05/11/10

I have started to slowly create my website using Kompozer.
I have also developed a logo for my website using GIMP2 software instead of other software such as Photoshop as I felt this provided the result I wanted. The logo I developed is displayed below.

It took several attempts to achieve the desired affect for this logo, and some of my first attempts at creating a logo for my website/TV channel can be seen below. I decided not to use these ideas for several reasons.

I felt that this logo was not legible enough, and wasn't sure about the combination of colours used.

I liked the look of this logo, but felt that it wasn't colourful enough.











With this logo I tried to improve the previous logo by changing the colours, but still wasn't happy with the results.










I liked the affect that I used on this version of the logo as it fit in with the film theme but I decided to change the main part of the logo to stand out more, so I used warmer colours and a different style for my final logo.

Research - Fonts and Colours

12/10/10

I have been researching the fonts and colours recommended for websites. The website 'newbiewebsitedesign.com' suggests that it is best to use Serif fonts such as Times New Roman or Georgia or Sans-serif fonts such as Verdana or Trebuchet MS; these fonts and some of the others which are recommended on the website are displayed by the image on the right from the 'newbiewebsitedesign.com' website. It explains that the Serif fonts are more suited to print, whereas the Sans-serif fonts are the most legible for use on websites. I am thinking about using the Verdana font for my website as I like the style and it is very legible. Some people may see these fonts as boring, but I think that they work well while maintaining a good level of legibility.
'newbiewebsitedesign.com' also discusses the best text/background colour combinations to use in websites in order to enhance the usability and improve the overall design of the website. It advises that a website should not have white or light text on a black or dark background. It also warns against the use of 2 colours with little contrast between them, such as two tones of blue, as the text is often difficult to read against a background of a similar colour. Another combination which this website advises against is black text on a yellow background as this can cause eye-strain, there is an effective example of black text on a yellow background on the website which illustrates this point.
This will affect the way that I design my own website as it suggests a limit in the combinations of colours that I can use in terms of font and background colour. For example, I initially was considering using two tones of purple or green in my website, but after seeing the affect of the two tones of blue on this website, I don't think that using two colours with that little contrast will be beneficial to the overall design of my own website.
I think that it may be a good idea to use the same or complimentary colours for the font/background to the logo of my website in order to increase the effect of the branding and brand recognition in the website. However I will definitely have to take into consideration the effect that these colours will have.

This screenshot shows the website 'newbiewebsitedesign.com' which has been useful for a lot of my research.








This screenshot gives examples of colour combinations of background and text which don't work well.

Planning Update

12/10/10

I've begun the planning of the content of my website, including making mind-maps of the content of each page.

- On the homepage, I'm going to include links to other pages on the site with images accompanying them. At the top of this page, I plan to include some form of statement regarding the launching of the TV channel and website, and possibly include an image such as balloons alongside this.

- I'm going to form the what's on page into columns, with one column showing the detailed listings for that day, and one column showing highlights for the week. I may include a further column showing highlights for that day, but at the moment I'm undecided about this.

- On the featured show page, I'm going to create a programme that fits in with the video clip I'm going to embed. I've decided to embed the film opening video clip that I created for my AS media coursework, so an interview or news programme focussed on the 'actress' from this film, or its release at the cinema would probably be best. I think I might include a logo for this featured programme at the top of the page.

- I want to include a few more pages, so I might include a news page or maybe a forum or a contact us page, but at the moment I'm not sure which of these I will include. While a forum would provide more interactive content to the website, it might be more difficult to realistically design than the other pages, so I'm unsure whether to create one.

Analysis of a Newspaper Advertisement

07/10/10

The next advertisement that I have decided to analyse is an advert for the ESPN channel from the sports section of The Times. Its placement is significant as the matches that it is using to advertise the channel are rugby matches, and the page that it is on in the sports section is devoted to rugby news.
The advert itself is not very colourful, the predominant colourbeing black, however the red which is also used contrasts well. Red is a striking colour, and this conforms with the codes and conventions of newspaper advertisements.The main purpose of this advertisement is to persuade people to upgrade to ESPN which is a subscription channel. Its primary method of doing this is to show an example of what it offers, which is the rugby matches which will appeal to those reading this page as it details rugby news.
The placement of my advertisement is something which I hadn't considered before, however I now realise that it is important and that I should think of where in a newspaper my advertisement should be. Some newspapers have sections about TV, or with reviews of games, DVDs, CDs, films, etc. and I think that this would probably be the best place to put my advertisement as teenagers who are interested in entertainment would be more likely to read this section than they perhaps would be to read a serious news story. As I am thinking of having my TV channel as teen film TV channel, it would be useful to put the advertisement next to reviews of DVDs and films etc. I could also place it next to stories about celebrities or something similar as teenagers and young people are often interested in celebrity stories. The paper itself would probably be a tabloid such as The Sun as teenagers are more likely to read this than more serious paper.

Analysis of Newspaper Advertisement

07/10/10

The second advertisement that I am analysing is for the launch of a new period drama called Downton Abbey on ITV1. The advert appeared in the News of the World newspaper.
The advertisement itself covers a double-page spread of the newspaper and is dominated by the image of a photograph in a broken frame.
The clothing makes it clear that it is a period drama, and the broken picture frame along with the 'A House Divided' slogan/tagline suggests conflict possibly within a family, giving a potential audience an idea of what the drama's plot will be.
There is little information included in this advertisement, unlike the pets at home advertisement which included details of products and special offers. There is some factual information included however, for example the time and the name of the channel on which it will be broadcast. The ITV1 logo again provides brand recognition and conforms to the codes and conventions of a newspaper advertisement.
The colours in the photograph are vibrant and stand out against the dull background of the picture frame and table. In reality, a photograph from the period would not be in colour, but the strong colours in this advert perhaps connote vibrancy and liveliness in the past, or at least in the series. They also serve to make the image stand out.
The advertisement is mainly image-dominated and I prefer this as it is not as busy as the pets at home advertisement which had a great deal of information. I think the convention of including factual information is important to newspaper advertisements, but that too much information is maybe not as affective as keeping the advert more simple. I think that maybe I would keep my advertisement quite simplistic while still including information/details.

Analysis of Newspaper Advertisement

03/10/10

I have been analysing newspaper advertisements as part of my research into this medium. My first analysis is of a 'pets at home' advert from The People newspaper. I am aware that my advert would be for a TV channel rather than a shop, but feel that broad research into newspaper advertisements would be of most benefit.The pets at home advertisement takes up one full page of the newspaper and exhibits several of the features typical to newspaper advertisements.
The logo at the top of the page makes the brand easily identifiable, and the continuation of the logo's colour scheme to the whole advert increases the impact. The green also stands out well against the white.Persuasive language is used throughout the advertisement, including phrases such as 'great value,' 'what's best for them,' and 'specially trained people,' all of which have positive connotations and are designed to make the audience feelthat the company care sbout them.
As well as this, factual information is also given to provide potential customers with answers to any questions that they would ask. The slogan 'where pets come first' is used in conjunction with the logo, and a pun ('top dog for pet care') is also used to make the advertisement more memorable.
The images used are of animals and of the products on offer, there are images of different types of animals such as lizards and fish etc. in order to confirm the claim that they cater for 'every kind of pet.'

Research - Website Usability

03/10/10

As part of my research, I've been doing research into website usability. Jakob Nielsen's website (http://www.useit.com/) provides advice on making websites more user friendly and contains lists such as the 10 most common mistakes of website design (http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9605.html). This list includes things such as having websites with a fixed font size, something which is common to most websites due to conveniance, but which can be a problem, particularly to older users; it also warns against using anything on the website that looks like an advertisement, for example banner ads.
Nielsen claims that advertisements such as banner ads are ignored by web users because they know that they are advertisements. One of the websites I researched (the Kerrang! website) used banner ads, and I felt that this detracted from the site itself. For this reason, I think I am unlikely to use anything that looks like a banner ad, even if it isn't actually an advertisement, in my website.
Few of the websites I looked at had a changeable font size. I think this is less important when your target audience is teenagers as older people are more likely to struggle with reading smaller fonts than younger people. It's still something to consider however as people of all ages can have seeing difficulties.
Nielsen's research into teenage responses to websites is also useful (http://www.useit.com/alertbox/teenagers.html), it warns that teenagers, like older people, do not like small font sizes and dislike large amounts of text on a webpage. It warns against boring websites, providing a list of interactive features such as forums, message boards, games, quizzes, and online voting to keep teenagers interested. These are features which I have seen on some of the websites that I have researched, such as online voting on the bliss website and games on the E4 website. I thought that these features were quite effective, but think that they shouldn't be overused because I feel that it reduces their affect.

Planning - time plan

01/10/10

Above is a print screen of my time plan. I have filled it with the dates I feel are necessary to complete the tasks that make up my coursework. These are flexible dates that give me a general idea of what times I am working towards, this is the breakdown of the timeplan:
RESEARCH & ANALYSIS: Websites - 04/10/10; Newspaper ads - 10/10/10; Listings magazine - 20/10/10
PLANNING: Website - 12/10/10; Newspaper ad - 25/11/10; Double page spread for listings magazine - 5/12/10
CONSTRUCTION: Website - 22/11/10; Newspaper ad - 20/12/10; Double page spread for listings magazine - 17/01/11
EVALUATION: Website - 15/12/10; Newspaper ad - 07/01/11; Double page spread for listings magazine - 10/02/11

Planning - Navigation

01/10/10

I've decided that I'd like to use a top navigation for my website because I like the way that the websites I have researched have used them.

The website 'newbiewebsitedesign.com' discusses the positives and negatives of each navigation position (http://www.newbiewebsitedesign.com/4-classic-navigation-positions#more-498). It lists four classic navigation positions, adding 'top plus one side navigation' and 'top with double-sided navigation' to the normal top or side navigations. The site claims that top navigation is useful for leaving more room for content whilst making it difficult if you want to have lots of links in your navigation. Side navigation is described as easy and with lots of room for links whilst being more restrictive in terms of large images etc. when it comes to content. This side doesn't differentiate between left-side navigaton or right-side navigation, wheres Jakob Nielsen's site (http://www.useit.com/alertbox/navigation-menu-alignment.html) claims that left-side navigation is better as right-side navigation is often missed by people scanning the page as the eye is naturally drawn to the left.




This image is from the 'newbiewebsitedesign.com' website and gives an example of top navigation.






This is also from 'newbiewebsitedesign.com' and gives an example of left side navigation...





....and this gives an example of right side navigation.

Codes and Conventions of Newspaper Advertisements

30/09/10

As part of my coursework, I will have to produce a newspaper advertisement for my TV channel. As research, I have looked into factors which could be considered as some of the codes and conventions of newspaper advertising.
Most print advertising will make use of a brand name or logo. Logos are often instantly recognisable as being associated with a particular brand, e.g. the coca-cola logo or the McDonalds 'M.' This ensures that people are aware of the brand and clear as to what they are advertising.
Slogans are also common amongst advertising, including print advertising, these are primarily short and memorable phrases which allow the advertiser's message to sink in. Some examples of slogans include 'Beanz meanz Heinz' and 'Have a break, Have a Kit Kat.'
A fairly common convention found amongst these advertisements is that some factual information about the product/service will be provided, this can be a range of details. In the case of a TV channel, it would probably be details of some shows being aired on the channel, as well as the number of the TV channel on freeview, sky, or whatever service was being used.
Most advertisements also use persuasive techniques such as persuasive language, celebrity endorsement, desirable images, and striking colours.
For my TV channel, I will probably either do a music channel or a teen film channel; I haven't yet developed a logo, but will do so when I have decided which of these ideas I would like to use. I am not sure whether in my newspaper advertisement I would want to use a slogan, but have thought of a couple of slogans that I could use for each option. For example, if I did a music channel I could use the slogan, 'where music lives,' or 'massive music,' and if I did a film channel I could use the slogan, 'fantastic films in one place' or 'all your favourite films.'

Planning - Website Structure

30/09/10

Above is a screenshot of a plan for my website structure made in Microsoft word. The homepage is at the top of the chart, and the sections below are Contact us, Competitions, Videos, Programme Page (a page for a specific programme), What's On, News, Forum, and Games. Many of these subsections are split into further subsections. I am aware that I will be limited and will not construct the whole of the plan, but wanted to plan out what I would put on a complete website.

Research into teen websites

20/09/10

Another website which I have researched is the website for the E4 television channel. (www.E4.com)
E4 is a television channel aimed at a teenager and young adult audience. The primary content of the website seems to be video clips about, of, or previewing the programmes found on the channel.
The colours used throughout the website are white and purple, this corresponds with the colours found in the logo of the TV channel and so ensures that the website corresponds with the recognition of the brand. This may be a good idea for my own website.
Like the other websites I have researched so far, the navigation is at the top of the page, and similarly to the BBC Three website, the homepage of the E4 site displays a TV schedule. This is accompanied by a short synopsis of the episode of the programme selected. This schedule is next to a series of links to the TV shows shown on the E4 channel. At first, I didn't like this as the positioning of these links was a little misleading as I thought that they would be the shows highlighted in the schedule as they were right next to it. I do like the feature that allows the user to scroll sideways through the links however.
The E4 website, unlike the others, has links to several online games on it's homepage. These games seem to be primarily unrelated to the channel's programming, but nevertheless would probably be attractive to many teenagers using the website. Some of the games are linked to programmes on the channel. I liked some of the games, but didn't really see the point of having so many as the website isn't a gaming website.
This is a screenshot of the E4 homepage. I think that the main image stands out well, probably because of its size. I also like the way that the navigation highlights the link to the page that you are currently on as it means that you know where you are wherever you are on the site.

Research into teen websites

18/09/10

I have decided to analyse the Kerrang! website (http://www.kerrang.com/) next as part of my research. site is a music website focusing on rock music. It has a corresponding magazine and music channel. As many teenagers watch Kerrang! as well as othermusic channels, I thought it a good candidate for research. The colours used are darker than those used in the previous 2 websites, corresponding with the association of the genre of rock music with darkness and the colour black, this would be a convention familiar to fans of this particular genre of music. The navigation, as with the other 2 websites I have researched so far,runs along the top of the page. This seems to be a common feature amongst many websites and I would consider using it in my own website. The navigation on the Kerrang! website is accompanied with number labels, perhaps connoting the labels to tracks on a CD, and therefore appropriate to a website focused on music.
This screenshot shows the bottom of the homepage, which allows the oppurtunity of commercial gain through the merchandise available and the tickets on sale. These are both things which would appeal to the target audience of Kerrang! I like this is it's useful and shows that the designers understand their audience. The links to Twitter etc. would also be very appealing to this audience as it increases the interactivity of the website.
The images used on the website are primarily of musicians and bands, once again focusing on the subject of the site. There is also an image of the latest issue of the magazine next to the logo, similarly to the Bliss website.
The website has many links to music videos and clips of interviews etc. similarly to the the BBC Three website, which also relies heavily on the visual nature of video. It also has links to 'gigs' and tickets, particularly to those of it's own tour.
Unlike the other websites, it also contains aspects of outside advertising. I don't really like this as I think it takes attention away from the website itself, but I can understand how it would be a good method of gaining revenue.

Research into teen websites

18/09/10

The second website that I decided to research was the website for the TV Channel BBC Three. BBC Three shows programming that appeals to teenagers and young adults.(http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/) The website uses the colour schemes attributed to the channel's logo, and recent TV advertising campaigns for the channel provide the base for the images of birds, trees, buildings, and tubing. The website itself is very much centred on the programming available on the channel. .
There is a schedule with thumbnail pictures supplied at the top of the page, as well as a full schedule available via the navigation, which, similarly to the Bliss website, is also located at the top of the page.
There is also a working countdown counting the amount of time until the channel goes live for the night.
There are clips available of the TV shows, as well as entire episodes available via the BBC's iplayer system. There is slso a blog discussing the different programming which can be reached via various links to posts on different shows throughout the homepage. This screenshot shows another portion of the BBC Three homepage. This part of the homepage contains links to pages containing details of the TV shows on the channel and a 'Find us on the web' section which links to Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to increase the interactivity. Promoting TV channels through the use of social networking sites etc. can be affective because the target audience in this case are young people who would use social networking sites regularly; this would mean that the target audience would be more aware of the TV channel throughseeing it on Facebook, Twitter, etc. The links are accompanied by pictures from some of the TV shows in order to make it more visual. I like the way that the sections on the portion of this homepage are separated into boxes as I feel it gives a clear definition of what each section is.
Unlike the Bliss site, the BBC Three site is firmly focussed on one subject - that of it's programming. Bright colours are used throughout, primarily the purple and pink of it's logo, although there is also a lot of blue used.
At the very bottom of the page there are links to other BBC channel websites as denoted by their logos.

Research into teen websites

16/09/10

I have begun researching websites aimed at teenagers in order to see what other websites do to attract a teenage audience, and also to try to judge whether certain things work or not regarding website design. The first website that I decided to research is the website linked to the teenage magazine Bliss (http://www.mybliss.co.uk/home). The magazine and website are aimed at a target audience of teenage girls; the colour scheme uses colours such as pink, black, white and purple. The pink used conforms to the stereotypical view of girls.
The website is easy to use, but almost every page is very full of links. The homepage itself has two links to horoscopes, and two links to the same competition. I didn't like this as I felt it was wasting space, and I think when I design my website I want to avoid having too many links to the same place on my homepage. There are links to the main features/interviews near the top of the page cycling on a form of slideshow to switch focus periodically to each of the features.
The main navigation is at the top of the page, beneath the logo and an advertisement for the latest issue of the magazine, and each part of the navigation highlights in its own individual colour when it is hovered over, bringing up a drop down menu beneath it. The links that are part of the navigation are in a bold font and are written in capital letters, making them stand out more.
The images used are all of celebrities, this would be easy to do in my own website, but this would probably involve infringing copyright so it's best if I don't. I could however use pictures that I take of friends etc. and use them as the stars of the programmes on my channel.
The website provides a link or advertisement to the magazine on every page.
Some elements of the layout that I found interesting were the opinion poll of a question about a celebrity on the right hand side, and the 'most viewed' links beneath it. I found the opinion poll interesting because I thought it was a good way of increasing interactivity in the site and involving the audience in discussion. I found the 'most viewed' links interesting because I hadn't thought before of what effect calling attention to the most popular aspects of the site would have. I liked it because it made the most popular things on the website more easy to find.

A2 Advanced Portfolio Research

13/09/10

Research for the website launching a new Teen TV Channel for my Advanced Portfolio.

I have considered several TV channels that teens watch in the form of a mind-map as part of this research. There are very few specified teen TV channels, but channels which have programming aimed at or attractive to teenagers include BBC Three, Channel 4, and E4. Other channels include music channels such as Scuzz, Kerrang, and MTV.
Some children's TV channels are also appropriate for younger teens, such as Nickelodeon and Disney Channel, which provide programmes which are often popular amongst some teens such as High School Musical.
Programmes on E4 and Channel 4 for teenagers include Smallville, Skins and the Inbetweeners.
BBC Three shows programmes popular amongst teens such as Family Guy and Young, dumb and living off mum.

I will need to research several websites in order to be well prepared to create my own websites. I think that it would be best if I researched websites connected with teenagers or with TV channels. I could perhaps analyse websites connected to teenage TV channels, or channels which appeal to younger people. I could maybe analyse the E4 website or a music website like Kerrang.

A2 Critical perspectives in the Media - Skills Development - Pre-production

23/06/10

As part of the A2 course, I will be looking at the skills development of my previous (AS) coursework.

In terms of pre-production, I completed a variety of research and planning to aid the production of my own thriller opening.
The research and planning for my original group was quite difficult as the sharing of responsibility meant that often I had to ensure that all of the members of my group completed their research and planning tasks. I found the research and planning of this to be useful nevertheless as it meant that I was aware of the importance of research and planning to the production, and that without sufficient research and planning, particularly into the codes and conventions of thrillers, the film being produced is ineffective or does not meet the brief.
The analysis of thriller openings as part of my research, as well as viewing thriller openings on YouTube helped me to understand the codes and conventions of thrillers and decide on certain creative elements in my own project, for example, some of the cold colours that I used were inspired by the monochromatic colour scheme of Secret Window. I also felt that the study of narrative theory, such as Todorov and Propp, was beneficial to consider during production and pre-production. My investigative and research skills, as well as my skills of analysis, were improved by these tasks; in terms of my skills of analysis, I felt that I became more able to read a media text and to quickly identify codes and conventions. It was beneficial to me to see how these codes and conventions worked in practice, helping me with incorporation of and conforming to these conventions in my film.
Completing sufficient planning for my thriller opening was very beneficial to me, and I found that it was easier to film a shot if it was well planned. I had difficulty with time management for my final project, which was completed individually due to differences with my group, as I was reliant on when the actors were available to film. I felt that my time management skills were actually improved by this however, as I had to use my time more efficiently when I was able to film; this often meant planning shots more carefully before filming.
Overall, I felt that my organisational skills developed a great deal throughout the completion of my film; I found that research and planning is essential to a good production, as well as gaining an understanding of the problems that can occur during the production if the planning is not completed to a satisfactory level and the dangers of straying too far from the brief. I also learnt about the challenges of completing research and planning such as time management, and storyboarding. Having worked on two storyboards, one with my original group, and one for my individual film, I found that the completion of storyboards becomes easier with practice, though I felt that my drawing was perhaps not up to the standard which would best present the storyboard.