Learning Objective
To understand the requirements of Section A  Qu. 1a of the synoptic paper.

1. Explain how far your understanding of the conventions of existing media influenced the way you created your own media products. Refer to a range of examples in your answer to show how this understanding developed over time.

Existing media influenced my AS coursework in many different ways. I analysed many different film openings before I started to plan my opening. As I had a thriller genre for my opening I reviewed many different thriller film openings, such as "Se7en", all of which had in common they didn't give too much away in the opening minutes which I also tried not to do. For example, I watched the opening of the film "Sin City" in this opening it is all in black and white with some colour highlights, this is one of the many films which influenced my final piece as I also had my film in black and white with spots of colour throughout. "Sin City" was also a graphic novel which has strong colour and mise-en-scene, this translates in the film and I also wanted it to come across in my opening as another influence.
I researched many different directors such as Tim Burton and Alfred Hitchcock. Hitchcock is one of the most iconic film directors of all time, being the master of suspense. I wanted to take the essence that he had and try and have even a fraction of the suspense which his films have. Most notably his film "Rear Window" where in one of the scenes the killer is walking up the stairs, this scene has high suspense and I wanted to translate this into my film opening. I tried to do this by showing clips of the woman getting ready, inter cut with images of men with their faces circled and then crossed out. I didn't want to give too much away in the opening few minutes as it is supposed to be an opening of a feature length film. I wanted the audience to try and work out what was happening although not to know for sure what the outcome might have been.
By watching the film "Se7en" you can never see the killer's face until that director wants you to. Therefore you can see someone walking along the street and you'd never know they are in fact the killer. I translated this into my film opening, whereby you can only see the woman's hands and never her face apart from her lips.
In my final cut of my opening film I tried to use varied camera angles which would again make the audience question what would happen next, like many other thriller films I wanted the audience to continue to question the outcome and what would happen next.

(This answer has successfully focused on how existing  films had infuluenced the production of an opening and look towards inspiring directors)

2. Describe how you developed your skills in the use of digital technology for media production and evaluate how these skills contributed to your creative decision making. Refer to a range of examples in your answer to show how this understanding developed over time.

Throughout creating my final piece I was constantly developing my skills using digital technology. I relied heavily on post-production in my final piece as I tried to make the opening in black and white with colour highlights. I attempted to do this using Adobe After Effects and Adobe Premiere Pro.
I also used a SLR camera to take the photos of different men, by using this camera I was able to get better quality images than I would have with a normal digital camera. As I wanted to have the images look like they were taken without the person's knowledge, therefore I wanted to zoom in quite far. By using this piece of equipment I was able to get the best images possible, in the best quality. After taking these photos I then edited them in Adobe Photoshop, I made them in black and white as the rest of my footage was also in black and white. I then used a tablet to draw on the image, I wanted to make it look as though someone had taken a pen and circled the men's faces and then subsequently cross their faces out for some reason.


Jan 2010

3. Describe how you developed research and planning skills for media production and evaluate how these skills contributed to creative decision making. Refer to a range of examples in your answer to show how this understanding developed over time.