Author Archives: Mr G

Care of Equipment

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We have invested a lot of time, effort and money in production equipment for students to use in their Media and Film productions. This equipment is available to any Media or Film Student who want to borrow it and take it off site  for a creative project, whether that be for Media & Film, another subject or a personal project.

Here is a link to the Care of Equipment Agreement that you signed.

  • Please follow these rules.
  • Respect the equipment
  • Respect other peoples’ right to find equipment when they need it and in a condition that they can use.

Dummy Mash Ups

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Here are the fabulous dummy mash up videos we made as a preliminary exercise for the music video.

Please reflect on the product and process. What have you learned that you can take into the real video you’re going to making next half term?

Block C

Block B

Block A (Group 1)

Block A (Group 2)

Block A (Group 3)

MV – Your music video ideas (Synesthesia) – links to music sites – INSPIRATION

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Synaesthesia is a way of generating ideas from music – effectively ‘seeing sounds in your head’.

It is a really helpful technique to use when listening to music in order to come up with visual ideas.

When listening to a piece of music you should concentrate on each of the following features in turm:

  • Sense of subject matter
  • Grain of voice
  • Arrangement
  • Suggested Stories
  • Cultural references

Here is a Prezi which explains and illustrates these ideas:

Task 1 (done collectively)

  • You will listen to two songs and write down the images, ideas, colours, adjectives, themes, subjects that come to mind when listening to the lyrics, beat, grain of voice, tempo etc.
  • Then we will watch the videos and see how close you were to how the music was interpreted in visuals.

Task 2: you have @ 5 lessons and independent study to complete this.

Independent Study – Develop and present a music video idea for one song.
You need to short list some songs (see below the guidance on choosing songs) and, using synesthesia, develop some tangible ideas for one of them.
You should present your ideas as a inspiration board of found images / videos. It should include:
  • The genre of music & repertoire of elements associated:
    • The look of the band / lead singer
    • Locations for performance / narrative
    • Style of Performance
    • Costume / Make Up / Hair
    • Instruments
    • Colour Palettes
    • Narrative Events
You may use whatever digital format you like: Google Slides, Prezi, Pinterest, Photoshop, InDesign…or something else…(please check with your teacher)
Choosing a Song
  • Start with thinking, ‘Who will perform this?’ and work from there.
  • Perhaps opt for a solo performer to make organisation easier
  • Don’t choose a song by your favourite band/star.
  • Don’t choose something that is well known.
  • Don’t choose something too long, 3 – 4 minutes is plenty.
  • Album tracks or cover versions are useful options
  • Beware of Warner Music Group and its associated record labels

Please listen to music on these site for inspiration:

This presentation should include:

  • a moodboard – to encompass genre and star image
  • annotated lyrics (like you’d annotate a poem – with visual / thoughts / themes)
  • an embedded mp3
  • extended step outline in terms of a description of the narrative
  • Introductions of your ideas for narrative and performance to include key terms for genre and star image and narrative (use the terms in context and refer back to previous blog posts for theorists, ideas, concepts).

MV – Previous Students’ Work

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Here is a playlist of some of the best music videos made by students from The Sixth Form. They are an example of what is possible and moreover – what works: 

Task:

Here are the assessment criteria.

Independent Study Tasks

  1. Embed the video (not the whole playlist), copy the level ladder and evaluate your chosen video in terms of how it reaches (or doesn’t) level four.
  2. Address each section in turn and using sub headings for your evaluation.
  3. Remember to EVALUATE the success of the video with reference to  the assessment criteria with SPECIFIC EXAMPLES from the video  and use  TECHNICAL TERMS.
  4. Remember to try and get in theoretical terms too (SIGNIFICANCE): ‘brand, break the 4th wall, genre,  code, star image, representation, narrative – almost like a mini textual analysis.

MV – Music Video Playlist + Contents Analysis/Narrative

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Study, reflect, consider, enjoy, be inspired:

This week we’re going to be watching most of the videos from this playlist. They were carefully chosen because as they illustrate many of the conventions typical of this media form.

You need to study these videos carefully so that you understand the following:

  • The media form
  • Technical conventions
  • Features typical to the genre of music.
  • Narrative conventions and structures.

You must be understand these things in order to be able the develop and devise videos of your own video and knowingly use, challenge or subvert conventional features.

Complete this form and make a copy yourself and then save as a PDF and upload to your blog.

It is your first piece of coursework so do it well!

Narrative presentation.

Here are some other suggestions but try and get a range of genres and different narrative/performance ratios.

Narrative Only

Performance Only

Performance and Narrative (disjunctive)

Narrative Only

Narrative and Performance

Performance and Narrative

Welcome Back Media Peeps – Starting your A2 Media Blog 2017

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pomo teachers

HELLO AND WELCOME BACK! WE HAVE MISSED YOU!

The good news is, you all made it – the bad news is, the hard works starts right here, right now!

Your A2 blog is going to be a more sophisticated version of your AS blog.

You’ll still be creating posts and uploading / embedding content in exactly the same way.

The difference will be that you will create a static front page, which you will personalise with your star image / brand and use the images, typefaces and designs you have used on your digipack. It will also feature your final products.

The user (examiner) will navigate your blog content under four simple headings. They are:

  • Music Video
  • Digipak
  • Advert
  • Evaluation Questions

Here is a document to help you start your new Advanced Portfolio blog.

 

Here is a link which itemises all the posts on the blog which we expect you to post between now and the end of January 2018:

A2 Blog Content – remember you need to CATEGORISE EACH POST UNDER MUSIC VIDEO, DIGIPAK, ADVERT OR EVALUATIONS in DRAFTS – DO NOT PUBLISH.

The type of opening welcome you need on your static front page is:

Hello and welcome to my A2 Media Studies portfolio. To see my research, planning, production and evaluation work, please use the navigation tabs at the top of the blog.’

‘This is the brief we were set in September 2017’

A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together

with two of the following three options:

  • a website homepage for the band;
  • a cover for its release as part of a digipak (CD/DVD package);
  • a magazine advertisement for the digipak (CD/DVD package).

Here are my finished products: