Choosing Media Studies as an A Level subject requires you to
take a lot on board when it comes to learning new skills and applying them to
your work. Not only is a large amount of research and planning required, but a
fairly sound knowledge of Photoshop is integral to coursework pieces.
Our introductory task at AS level was to create a perfume
advert using Photoshop and our own, original images. Looking at the contrast
between that and the finished version of my music magazine, I believe it can be
clearly seen that my knowledge and skills in this area have developed greatly.
When planning the perfume advert, I made several different drafts which were
both hand drawn and digital; I think that this was good practice for the
drafting process of my music magazine. I was very happy with the C grade I got
overall but, looking back at the advert; I can clearly see that it needs some
serious corrections. I had failed to follow the conventions of an advert by not
sticking to the rule of using three colours (I had used four), I had also
placed my masthead in the centre of the advert, which is not the correct or
normal placement for it as it looks out of place and draws attention to the
wrong areas of the product.
By doing such tasks as the perfume advert and the
preliminary task of making a college magazine I have gained a better
understanding of the conventions of
magazines and advertisements, using Photoshop, and how to appeal to a specific
target audience. When taking the original images for my college magazine, I
used a digital SLR camera, supplied to
me by the college. I thought it would be a good choice to not only get
photographs of the buildings on the site, but also of my fellow students taking
part in their daily routines Although I still maintain the opinion that the
ideas behind the original images were good, I personally believe that at the time, I was lacking in
enough experience and knowledge to produce what I believe would be top standard
photographs. With regard to the Contents page of my college magazine, I found
that task very difficult, and the same can be said for when I was producing the
Contents page for my music magazine. I was not happy with the final result. When
comparing my preliminary task with my music magazine, I believe that there is a
stark contrast between the two items of work which demonstrates a greater
knowledge. For example, the image I chose for the front cover of my college
magazine does not follow conventions of what a main image should be. Front
cover images are conventionally mid-shots or close ups whereas the image on my
college magazine’s front cover is a long shot which is also slightly out of
frame, something which would never be done on a front cover.
It is safe to say that I am extremely happy with the overall
outcome of my finished music magazine. I believe that because I enjoyed the
task, it encouraged me to put all my effort into the end product. To take my
images, I once again used a digital SLR
camera, which I borrowed from the college. I took all of my original images
in college, as it was the only time that my friends were able to pose for the
shots. This was also a positive factor,
as our Media department is very well equipped and prepared for assisting us
with our work, and the facilities were available for us to use at any time that
we liked. After taking over twenty images of my friend, Adam, I decided on the
final cover shot because not only was it the correct shot to use as a main
image (medium close-up), but I believe
it was very effective, as he was looking directly at the camera and his eyes
stand out, which was the result that I was hoping to achieve. The main thing I
found difficult about this task was the evaluation as I found it hard to write
in detail about what I’d done and I believe this was the thing that brought my
grade down overall. Although I didn’t enjoy writing the evaluation I can now
see why it was useful for us to do as it gave us all a chance to reflect on our
own work as well as teaching us to make conscious decisions in productions of
our piece. We were mostly left to our own devices when it came to the planning
and preparation for our music magazine. Our teachers gave us brief outlines on
what to include but it was mostly independent work. This helped me develop my
time management skills along with allowing me the freedom to do what I wanted
when I wanted. I spent a large amount of time documenting all of my steps
towards creating my final product and publishing them on my blog. This includes
creating a mood board video (using Windows Movie Maker) and filming a behind
the scenes short movie of my first photo shoot; this also helped me with my
knowledge on video editing, something which will aid me in my A2 coursework. I
believe this was a very important factor as it has helped prepare me for Media
Studies at A2 and made it easier to manage other subjects independently.
When starting this course last year, I had little to no
knowledge on Photoshop as I’d only used it a couple of times very briefly. I
soon learnt how to use it properly with regard to my given tasks. The skills I
acquired were learning how to correctly delete parts of images using the magic
wand tool (something which can be seen when comparing my perfume advert and
music magazine), enhancing/changing colours using the brightness, contrast and
black and white settings, along with altering hair and eye colour by adding an
extra layer over the top. My experience with photography also increased greatly
when producing these pieces of work as I learnt how to take a correct type of
shot and apply lighting in the right areas, something which is really important
when trying to achieve a realistic product.
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