A2 Coursework Evaluation

A2 Coursework Evaluation

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Questionaire

The questions i asked my target audience, in order to gain opinions about my children's TV drama opening.

1)What did you think of my 'Skool Dayz' opening?

2)Would you continue watching the programme if you saw the opening on television?

3)Would you buy the magazine or dvd?

4)What was your opinion of the magazine?

5)What was your opinion of the DVD cover?

6)Did you understand what you were being shown, within my opening?

In order for my target audience to understand the questions being asked, i made them simplistic and and only asked what was completely nessesary in order for my target audience to not lose interest.

skool dayz opening

Ancillary Tasks- Magazine Cover

Complete Ancillary Tasks- DVD COVER

Update

I have progressed within the production of my ancillary tasks- the dvd and magazine cover, however as i have had to re-start my main task i am behind within this area. However, i am fairly confident that i will meet my deadline at the end of the week. The remaining tasks are to either find the last pieces of footage off the cameras, and maybe take a couple more pictures for my magazine cover.

25th and 26th February Filming

25th February- in order to let my target audience properly connect with character, i have decided to include more close ups and mid-shots into my opening. In addition, i have decided to re-shoot the scene in which the characters greet each other- the framing was not central. However, i also need to make the introduction of character more 'personal' instead of always as a group.

26th February- i have decided to shoot a frame with 3 of my female characters together- as a close-up/ mid-shot. This will hopefully make my target audience feel more connected to the characters on screen. Also, i will need to edit the images so that they run alongside the non-diagetic sound.

magazine cover analysis

Although this magazine is only generaliseable to females it gives me an idea on how children are targetted through magazines.

- Bright colours, stereotypically 'female'.

- Main star/ protagonist is the focus.

- Image overlaps the masthead.

- Teasers are also colourfull and appealing to the eye...

- Competitions & quizzes

dvd cover analysis

-Style is fairly 'childlike' again hinting at target audience.

-Bright colours that hint at the personality of the protagonist.

-Picture of the protagonist.

- Title in bold font.

-Rating & TV channel.

-Season?

IDEAS- ANCILLARY TASKS

Magazine Cover:

- Characters together, with fades & layering
- 'Skool Dayz' title in graffiti style?
- Include school logo?
- Bright colours- target audience

DVD cover:

- Again, bright and colourfull
- Similar to magazine cover
- Maybe just protagonist?

First attempt- photoshop

This is one of my first attempts regarding photoshop editing. I took an image of Jonny Depp from the internet (my images within my coursework will be original) and, similar to the image of Amber i layered it onto a color of choice and added text. Within the piece of text, i added a 'shadow' to make it look more appealing. I will use all of these factors within my ancillary tasks.

However, in order to improve i will need to layer more characters onto my production- therefore providing the target audience with an appealing magazine/dvd cover. Furthermore, the color is too dark, and therefore distracts the audience from the main image. In addition to this, the white box underneath the text looks fairly unprofessional, and in the future i will layer the text straight onto the image.

Good points include, the image in general, i feel that it is a successful image- which looks professional. Furthermore, i like how the image fades into the background, and if this was my ancillary task i would layer the other characters on top- role- wise e.g. main character.

Developed photoshop editing

Within the production of this image, i had to capture an successful image of a character from my children's TV drama. Here, i used a mid-shot so i did not show too much of the character and followed codes and conventions of magazine covers. In addition, i also cropped and cut the image so that i could layer it onto a color background and edit the 'fade' to make the image more pleasing to the eye. However, to make this image even more successful i would need to add text and other pieces of information regarding my children's TV drama.

changes...

Filming & Main Task

So far within my media coursework production i have encountered a few problems. In addition to this, i have decided to change my target audience. This is because, the actors within my opening are all in their late teens, meaning that it would be harder for a younger audience to connect and relate to the characters on-screen. Furthermore, my target audience is now 13+, making, in my opinion my opening to a childrens television drama more successful. Moreover, i am extremely please with how my recent filming and title making has gone. I have been able to get good, action filled shots of school life- which will hopefully entertain my audience. But, overall i feel most pleased within my developments with Adobe After Effects- making my 'Skool Dayz' title and 'Starring' titles. However, i still feel that improvements could be made within my confidence and overall technical skills, which i will hopefully acheive by the end of my coursework.

Photoshop

Recently, i have been learning how to do various tasks on Photoshop. This will vastly help me within my ancillary task productions of a DVD and magazine cover. In addition, i have learnt how to correctly use layering, colour, depth and text to create an attractive image, which i can use to help within my later productions of ancillary tasks.

research

MAGAZINE COVER
Websites:
The secrets of magazine cover design
5 secrets to a successful magazine cover (number 4)
An example of a childrens magazine cover (female)
More magazine covers...







DVD COVER:

An example of a children's dvd cover
Tracy Beaker dvd cover
Saved by the bell dvd cover
Sabrina the teenage witch dvd cover

filming- 19th january

Whilst filming on the 19th January i managed to get some shots of 'school life' to add to my opening. Overall, the process went well, however i still need to add more titles, to help engage my target audience more effectively. This will involve learning more skills on photoshop and after effects.

Changes 4th January

I have decided to add several shots into my children's TV drama opening. These include more shots of 'school life' for example a shot of people getting off their school busses in the morning or a shot of people walking through the playground- this will give my opening a more realistic feel and also extend the time of the opening.

Changes & Filming

• I have decided to change the layout of my opening, by introducing the characters and their links to each other in a more obvious manner. Before, my opening did not show any connection between characteras or that 2 of them were even at school. In addition to this, i have decided to use younger actors/actresses in order to improve verisimilitude/ realism and conform to the codes and conventions of childrens tv drama- something i didn't do before.
• By making my titles more interesting (colour and movement) i will find it easier to engage a younger audience and i will also be improving my 'after effects' skills, something i struggled with and needed to vastly improve on last year.
• Also, by making my childrens TV Drama opening shorter i will be more successful withing keeping a younger audience engaged (questionaire results).
• So far, my biggest challenge has been in the technical aspects of my coursework. However i am learning to work better with the programmes (premier pro etc).
• I will be taking out the still of the school sign as it will be unclear to those not familiar with the school as to what it is. The action/ editing will have a faster pace and the settings and character will be introduced in a more obvious manner.

rough cut

link to my rough cut- it would not let me 'embed'

ILP- 4th November

Filming:
I have decided to include two more characters within my opening- thus further conforming to the codes and conventions of childrens TV drama. In addition to this, i have also made the decision to include footage of 'school life' with my main character getting ready for a day at school. I made this decision in order to introduce themes of a 'day in the life' within my opening before the TV drama begins- improving the verisimilitude.

Planning & Research:
I am happy within how my research went, however i feel that i could of given out my questionaire to a wider range of people to get more realistic views/ results. Furthermore, my secondary research e.g. analysis of existing TV drama openings was an extremely helpful and positive factor within helping me think of ideas and learn how childrens TV drama is constructed. In addition to this, i feel that the most helpful aspect of my research and planning was creating my storyboard and putting my ideas into an animatic- allowing me to see visually how my final piece/ rough cut may look (and improve it).

Editing:
I found the editing aspect of my animatic and rough cut the most challenging, this is because with my AS thriller opening task i took a back seat within editing, thus affecting my skills and knowledge this year. On the other hand, by working independantly this time round i will vastly develop my technical skills and editing skills. I hope that at the end of A2 coursework i will have developed my skills to sufficient levels.

Feedback:
The feedback for my rough cut was generally positive:
1. the first peices of editing match non-diegetic sound well (cuts)
2. however, the on-screen action in general, could be more positive and upbeat- therefore matching the non-diegetic sound alot better.

animatic evaluation

Overall i am happy with my animatic, and the technical progress i have made. For example the use of the pan and the transitions. I feel that the progress i have made now will be useful when creating my final piece. However i feel that i could of improved on adding 'diagetic' sounds...