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Know:

The activity that helped my knowledge the most this week is when we had to create mood boards with screenshots of music video moments that we like. These could be included for any reason whether it is the shot type used or the props. What I liked about this task is that there was no right or wrong answer, it was all about what you enjoyed about it and why. I found this task fairly easy since I enjoyed because you got to express yourself in your work. I decided for each of the 4 mood boards I would include 10 screenshots for each of the mood boards. At first my mind went blank because I thought that would mean that I needed 40 music videos that I enjoyed, soon after I realized that if I used one screenshot from a video doesn't mean that I can't find another shot in there that I liked. This helped me a lot because when you feel like you have such a big task at hand you start to feel demotivated and you get easily distracted because you don't feel like doing the task. I feel like this is something that I need to work on, that is understanding the task more in depth because at first I clearly didn't understand this task fully. These mood boards gave us a chance to show ideas that relate to the same genre that we want, I feel like this was a great task to do at the beginning especially since all of these images will start to shape the idea of our FMP in our head. The things that I know now which I didn't before is that the wide range of techniques and style that are used in music videos. When you actually pause the video for each scene you can really see the level of detail of work that goes into these types of videos to make them what they are. I am pretty sure I have the ability to understand these videos since I have been through intense hours on end of editing so I feel like I can relate to the work that is put into these.

Do:

I wouldn't really class this as a skill but I may as well include it, it is searching around on YouTube finding videos that you can remember in your head and the reason why you like them. Because at first my mind went completely blank but when you get the ball rolling a little bit you start working at a good speed. When you watch a video on YouTube you get a bunch recommended to you on the right of your screen, and since most of the songs for these videos are the same genre I got recommended videos that I know of and enjoy. I feel like this really helped me because if I had to think off of the top of my head and search around for these videos I would have really struggled. The way I did this is creating 4 new padlet pages with the canvas mode, this mode allows you to put anything anywhere on the page. I got the 10 screen shots arranged them in no particular order and them created text boxes to go around them annotating in depth what I like about them. I did this the same way for the other 3 mood boards. I am happy with the outcome of this as I completed it on time. I am also happy how I worked through some lunch times to complete this task, this shows that I am prioritizing my work over other things, I feel like I can use this well in other situations because sometimes I don't realize that the work needs to be done before anything else. I am also happy that I didn't find me repeating myself through this task, something about this task makes me feel like it is very easy to repeat yourself to rush the work since there is a decent amount of work to do in order to complete the task. (screenshots and links to the mood boards are below).

Show:

I presented my work outcomes by using Padlet, in these Padlets I used the canvas mode. This was very handy as the task was to create a mood board. After researching some mood boards I noticed that the images are arranged oddly together. The canvas mode allowed me to give the mood board a similar look of all of the images thrown in together. (screenshots of the mood boards below)

Improve:
The improvements that I need to work on are:

Improvising when researching around for videos

Some mood board annotations are limited

Annotations could've been in more depth

The skills that need to be improved is my research as I found myself getting stuck multiple times due to my mind going blank, I feel like this happens when I stop for too long and it feels like I loose my momentum and it take a while for me too work consistently again. I could've added more detail into the annotation but I didn't want to focus too much into one task when I can start another one and stay in front of the deadlines by a decent amount

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Mood Board 1:
https://padlet.com/alidanes0203/tj0snkxgsjez

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Mood Board 2:
https://padlet.com/alidanes0203/f403foj89i3i

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Mood Board 3:
https://padlet.com/alidanes0203/f403foj89i3i

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Mood Board 4:
https://padlet.com/alidanes0203/naalrz4ost74

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Know:

The activity that helped my knowledge and developed my skills further is when we had to create mood boards to show what styles and techniques we enjoy. I created 4 mood boards with different screenshots showing different techniques from music videos that I enjoy and am inspired from. I then did a paragraph on each screenshot saying why I like it. For example I said about one music video that used stop motion "This video is interesting because it is all stop motion of dolls moving around. It also follows a narrative that is based around cities and urban surroundings. It also has some cool shots of nature growing in stop motion." You then had to break down how it was made on the technical side, What editing technique was used? Did they use any lighting? It didn't have to be all technical, You can say other reasons why too. For instance you could like how the props were set up in the frame. The things that I didn't know before is the correct definition of a mood board, before I was rather unclear of what they are or used for. But the past week educated me well on what they are and how to use them.

Do:

The new skills that I applied this week was researching around for music videos. At first I thought that this would be difficult since I made 4 mood boards that all had 10 screenshots, this had me thinking straight away do I even know 40 music videos with shots that I like? What helped me in this task was YouTube's recommended function that appears after you have watched a video, so after watching one music video a bunch of other music videos that are related to the one I just watched. I completed my task by using Padlet for creating the actual mood boards themselves and YouTube for searching around for the music videos. I thought that Padlet was a good choice for mood boards because of the range of different layouts you can have, also the ability to create posts of any size and put them anywhere. It is very easily organised because you can connect different posts to categorise them. The barriers that I noticed was at the beginning of the task my mind went blank and I couldn't think of any music videos at all on the spot, luckily the YouTube recommended feature helped me out with that problem so it made the task more easier. The evidence of my successful outcomes can be viewed at the top of the page where I include 4 screenshots of each one of my mood boards. I am proud that I completed the task on time without getting behind the deadline because of the amount of research I had to put into this task, personally I do not enjoy research that much because I enjoy the practical side of it. I am also proud that I didn't rush this task to see if I could get to the practical work faster but I actually took my time with it and completed it on time.

Show:

I presented my work outcomes using Padlet, after completing the work I then uploaded them onto showbie to the correct task. Showbie is good because it is has a very easy organised layout that is easy to understand, also how it is very accessible on most platforms. There are screenshots of my mood boards at the top of the page.

Improve:

I need to work on time management

Staying focused on the final goal

Always put in 110% to secure your grade

Working on the ability of self assessment

The improvements I need to work on is always staying 1 step ahead of my work because I learned from past experiences that it isn't good when you are behind on your college work since it is very easy to just shrug it off and say I will do it tomorrow. Also since this is my Final Major Project I am making sure that this doesn't happen since I cannot afford to be capped at a pass since level 3 media is the only thing that I want to do next year. Since this is the case I need to make sure that the pressure doesn't get to me, hand in my work on time and put in maximum effort at all times. Another improvement is I need to be more critical of my work since that is what held my music video grade down is that I wasn't self reflective in the visual diaries, since I am working on my own I don't have anyone that can give me feedback on my work, so I need to develop some kind of second personality that is very judgmental so I can make my shots, editing or story boarding better.

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Know:

The activity that helped my knowledge the most was when we did the 'Key types of research' task, In this task we had to identify the types of research that we were carrying out in the unit for our FMP. In my case I was researching music videos that influence my final idea on YouTube. At first I was very confused about the task because we had to discuss what Primary and Secondary research we did, at the time I didn't know what either of those terms meant but I asked Dave and he explained it very well to me of what the two meant and examples. After this I now know that primary research means research that you actually do yourself and secondary research means what you find on the internet and YouTube or other sites that are similar. What I didn't know before that I do now are the definitions of Primary and Secondary research. I would've searched the definitions on google but I feel like it is a lot easier to understand when others explain it to you because you can ask questions and ask for examples. I find that the workshops that we do on Thursdays are really helpful because it is a day dedicated to one specific area, this gives the students a chance to really experiment and educate themselves on how these styles and techniques can be used.

Do:

In my opinion I wouldn't call searching on YouTube for music videos a skill but what I would call a skill that I have only realised I do on research tasks like these is identifying styles that express you interests. For example I only took screenshots of shots that I actually like and would like to learn how to do them, instead of just rushing the work and taking a screenshot of any music video shot and coming up with a random reason why I like it. This clearly shows that I am searching for a certain style or theme that I will be putting into my own music video. I feel like since I am getting similar style of shots from each music video I am slowly adding up each of the positives I like from each screenshot and putting it into a define shot, This can be for anything whether it is a shot, editing technique or lighting. That is my master plan and technique for making my best music video. My attitude to work has been weird these last few weeks, some days I would feel demotivated which I feel is the cause of all of the research tasks that I have been doing recently, If I had to chose between practical work or research work I would chose practical 10 times out of 10 because it feels like I am actually putting pen to paper instead of coming up with an idea and just letting it sit there for weeks on end it becomes stale the more I think about it. This is why I put off thinking about the final idea till the last week or days of research. I find the more I think about the final idea the more of a chance that I forgot about the styles that I come up with in my head. As I write this I realise that a simple solution is to these ideas either on paper or on a storyboard. This will help me immensely when it comes to pre-production since I will have a decent amount of the storyboard complete so I can focus my attention more on other pieces of pre-production. Regarding the work I am staying on top of my deadlines well because it is very easy to say 'Yes I will do my work and hand it in on time' but the realisation that I am actually succeeding in this goal gives me hope for the project. Now saying that 'gives me hope' sounds like I am putting myself down but I feel like in work you have to put yourself down sometimes to make sure you will always put in 110% effort or else your ego will grow to large and you will be crushed when you find out you didn't succeed. But I feel like if you have a seed of doubt in your head it is a good way to make sure you would put in more effort than if you were always thinking 'Yeah that is enough work for today time to go home'. Which I admit I have been guilty to in these past few weeks but I glad that I caught my doing this early in the project rather than realising it at the end.

Show:

I presented my outcomes using Padlet, this was easy because the amount of times that I have used Padlet for my work. We use Padlet a lot because it is very reliable and easily accessible to the tutors throughout using Showbie. (Screenshot Below).

Improve:

Always add more onto the visual diaries, they are very important

Think positively about writing long diary entries or you will feel demotivated

Work on getting into the work zone to get maximum amount of work done

The improvements I feel that I need to work on is focusing on these visual diaries more because I feel like I am slipping up. When I first joined the college my diaries had a lot of depth to them but now they aren't as descriptive as they used to be. I try to think of solutions on how I can make them better but come up with nothing. I am started to feel pressured because I can easily create a good music video but the only variable left is the visual diary. Regarding finding a solution I feel like I just have to be honest in my diaries. It keeps feeling like I have to say something specific but then I realise that these diaries and graded on their explanations. On Task 6 on Showbie there has been a document uploaded for the week 3 diary which holds some rough guidelines for these diaries which I am grateful for. It says a recap of the week, some top tips for the diary. I feel like this was needed because if you just look at the same guidelines for weeks on end it loses its meaning, you feel like you are writing the same thing over and over again. This is what I felt I have fallen victim to but these extra tips makes me feel rejuvenated about these weekly diaries. I no longer dread doing them anymore, they have become easier to produce but still a challenge. This is good because after writing these last few sentences I can feel I am getting back to how my diaries used to be so I don't have to panic as much. I feel pressured about these diaries because going onto level 3 media is the only thing I want to do next year. I have also realised that listening to music while writing these helps a decent amount, it makes me feel like I am typing with flow and motivation. It makes me feel like I am in my own work bubble where I cannot hear anyone around me which redirects all of my energy onto the task at hand. The last improvement that I can think of is I need to be quicker on zoning my focus on the category of the diary entry, For example it will take me a few minutes to get into the work zone on the "Know" section of the diary, so far I have not come up with a solution for this apart from just think as hard as I can.

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Know:

The activity that helped my knowledge the most was Task 4, In this task we had to find products related to the one we are creating for our FMP. In my case I was looking on YouTube for music videos since I am making one in this project. The goal was to deconstruct the product, so I decided to take 4 screenshots of 4 different print screens. After doing so I then annotated the images and state what I like about them and how they influence me. After annotating the 4 screenshots I decided to do a conclusion of the music video as a whole and what parts stand out to me in more depth and why. I did this to try and get the highest grade for each of the tasks. This developed my skills further as I realized that I was practicing the skill of identify different techniques while looking into single shots in such depth. I can use this skill in the future to help other people identify what kind of technique they want. What I know that I didn't know before is that I have learned all these techniques that are now fresh in my mind.

Do:

The new skills that I applied this week is the skill of identifying techniques, I wouldn't say this is very new since I have been using it since I took film studies in secondary school, we had to use this skill for many things as we did a lot of deconstruction of certain shots and scenes. I had to make sure I mastered this because I used it in exams and such. I am glad that I know this skill since it is used a lot in Media. I completed the task by first of all starting to think of music videos that stand out to me, after thinking for a few minutes I searched on YouTube for them and finding my favourite types of shots of the video. After taking a screenshot of the shot I would put it into a Powerpoint presentation and annotate them with the shapes tool and text boxes. I used Powerpoint because I can have all of the screenshots all in one file and they can be easily flicked through with the press of a button. Also because of the use of the arrow tool and text boxes. The barriers I ran into this task were similar to the ones when I was creating Mood Boards. It took me a while to remember what music videos that I like because of certain reasons. When put on the spot with tasks like these my mind seems to go blind for a few minutes, But I just searched for music videos that I like and started from there, This is where YouTube's recommend function comes in handy. The evidence of my successful outcomes have been uploaded to Showbie and there will be screenshots below. I am proud of myself that I added the extra conclusion to the end of each of the deconstructions. I believe that you should always add extra otherwise you won't stand out, Since there is so much competition in the media industry you need to stand out.

Show:

I presented my work outcomes by using Powerpoint, I thought this was the best option for my work since I can annotate the screenshots easily and have every variable to my liking, for example the size of the screenshot and font of the text. Also with the arrow tool available I can refer to things in my text boxes and point them out using the arrows, I found this was very helpful. (screenshots below.)

Improve:

Time management

Length and detail of visual diary entries

Do not get stressed over the tasks

The improvements that I need to work are my time management, There wasn't anything that made it obvious but I feel like I could've been a bit better managing my time so that I do not get stressed about any of the tasks.

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Know:

The activity that helped my knowledge was when we had to start working on our Pre-Production, This didn't exactly help our knowledge but in fact it put our knowledge that we learned from the past weeks, As I said in the past few entries I emphasis how I prefer putting things into work. I found the storyboard part of this task was easy because I have been plotting and thinking since the last project which was the promotional video. This developed my skills further, these skills being creativity, creating and organizing. What I now know that I didn't before is that it is very helpful to put your ideas on paper (in this case a storyboard). This will allows you to think more about other since because when you are doing such a busy project such as a music video. So this past week I started putting some ideas that I have been shaping and molding in my head for the past weeks, Regarding filming locations I also did some risk assessment for the locations that my group and I will be filming at when we have our equipment. I found using these skills helped me practice them and also helps me find out new ways to use them more efficiently.

Do:

There were no new skills applied this week but skills I have used in the past, for example I used the skills of organizing my work. This allows me to work more efficient and find work quickly. I know that this works because my files are always neatly organised correctly and I haven't had any problems with them. I completed my task by first getting the storyboard and location visit sheets, after receiving these papers I filled them out and drew sketches on the storyboard of what I want my scenes to look like. I also did this for my location visit sheets, for these sheets I also filled out the necessary details required like the producer name, date of visit and public access. I didn't encounter any barriers for this task but they're probably inevitable with a project like this. As long as everything gets done nothing will go wrong.

Show:

I haven't presented or recorded any work outcomes yet since it is paper based and I haven't uploaded pictures of it yet. I will upload images as soon as I can and update this visual diary entry.

Improve:

Make sure you finish the task at hand before moving onto something else

Make sure you put your ideas down before you forget them

Focus on the required parts of the project

Don't get distracted in lesson

The improvements that I could've worked on is that I could've started a lot more of the documents, This happened because I focused to much on the select few of Pre-Production documents that I did start like the storyboard and location visit sheets. I felt like I needed to start the storyboard as soon as I could because I didn't want to lose the ideas that I created. I also realized the reason that I felt like my visual diaries or work was slipping a little bit, it is that I focused too much on the art of the video and not the parts that you have to do like the research. Also another improvement that I am constantly trying to work on is my focus levels during lesson, there are many things that I can save for my spare time at home that I find myself slowing steering of course of my main goal, which usually is the task at hand.

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Week 6 Task 5: Pre–Production & Production 

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Week 6 Task 5: Pre–Production & Production 

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Know:

The activity that helped my knowledge the most is when we had to complete the Pre-Production work, I enjoyed this task fairly well since I was putting my knowledge into the work. Like I said in my past few entries I enjoy the work a lot more when you are putting pen to paper. I didn't find this task too difficult as I have done it before in the past. The only problems I had was when I forgot what some of the Pre-Production documents wanted me to do so I had to ask Dave and he helped me out. Also some of the documents weren't actually on the Padlet that held all of the Pre-Production templates so I informed Dave about it and he quickly fixed it. The task of filming developed my skills further because I gained experience from the workshops and past projects, I can see that the experience has paid off because of the quality of the video. I am very happy with the outcome of the video but I was disappointed to find out after making a good music video the camera quality was fairly poor, I guess I cannot do anything to fix that apart from to hope the college gets better cameras. Of course I could always get my own camera as I wouldn't have to worry about the many problems that come with booking college equipment, for example you could grab a camera go to your location only to find out that it doesn't have any charge or an SD card in it. Also if I had my own camera I wouldn't worry about losing any of the footage on it because another group needed space for their videos. I learnt a new skill a few weeks ago and that is how to get slow motion that doesn't look choppy or laggy. What I had to do in order to achieve this look is to film in 60 fps and then just make it 50% longer in the editing software, I am very happy with the outcome of this skill since it compliments the speed of the song and gives the audience a chance to take in certain parts of the video that I want them to focus on.

Do:

The new skills I applied this week is the slow motion on the camera, and also I learned that there is a stabilize feature in my editing software. This was unbelievably helpful since the location of where we were filming was slippery and there were too many trip hazards since it was in the forest. So now that I found out I had this tool at my disposal, half of the shots that I would've thought I couldn't use because they were too shaky I could use. The combination of the stabilizing and the slow motion worked so well together it looked like the camera was on a crane for some of the shots because they were so smooth looking. Of course if a shot is too shaky and you use stabilize on it, the editing software will try too hard to stabilize it. The group and I completed the task by first going into the college in the morning and asking for some equipment, We did this because on Wednesdays we have a 3 hour break so I thought instead of walking around doing nothing why not do something productive? I felt like we started the production at a good time since we had spare time if we needed more shots. After getting the equipment the group and I got the train to Elsenham where all of our shot locations are at. I thought this would be a great place to film since it is very quiet and has some very good peaceful locations like the nature reserve, After arriving at the nature reserve we immediately started filming the colorful scenery around us. I got some really good shots in this area which I am happy about, My favourite shot out of the whole music video is the shot of the bush with pink flowers on it. I panned the camera around the bush tracking on one branch of it. This shot combined with the stabilization, slow motion and increased saturation it really has outstanding results. I feel like it was a shame the camera quality wasn't great as it would've been so much better. After we finished filming multiple shots at the nature reserve we kept walking for a while through fields and roads to the next location which is the underpass. I decided for this location because of the wide open space and the bright graffiti that is on the wall. Another reason is that it is under shelter which was handy because it looked like it was about to rain at any time (luckily it didn't). Also another new skill that I applied on this project is you can see in the screenshot below that there is black bars on the top and bottom of the screen, I feel like this gives it a more cinematic and professional look. This all started from when I was watching the last music video that I helped take part in I kept thinking that something was missing but I couldn't put my finger on it, after days of thinking I realized that it looked too much like a school project without the black bars. Even though it is a college project you should make it look professional in every part, This error was made because it was all our first time making a music video. The barriers that I ran into after filming and editing the final piece is to find out that the camera quality wasn't great. Also a few minor barriers like the missing templates for some of the Pre-Production which was quickly solved.

Show:

I presented my work outcomes by uploading them to showbie since I knew that if I uploaded the video to YouTube it would've been taken down due to copyright issues. I will also soon be presented my work outcomes in a form of a presentation next week when I show the music video to everyone. (screenshot below).

Improve:

Organisation

Stay motivated during the final stages of the project

Make sure your focus levels are super high

The improvements that I need to work on is my organisation of the video, I mean this because when I opened my editing software all of my ideas for the video just went. This usually happens each time I edit a music video. I will have these great ideas in my head but when it comes down to editing it most of them go, then I just improvise and it comes out good. I don't know if the ideas that I thought of would've been as good as the ones that I come up with on the spot. When I think of a really good idea on the spot I feel super motivated about the project because I usually wouldn't think of anything like the sort. I am happy that I am able to do this self assessment on different ideas, this irons out the bad ideas so that there are only good ones in the video. The skills that I have used this week are the new editing techniques/styles, also the skill of working at a pace. Since I felt like I was slipping a bit on my Pre-Production work yesterday I just cut out everything and everyone and just knuckled down on my work because it is a lot more important than doing other things since there is always time for those things later. I am also mentally preparing for the written report that will be taking place next week since I am planning to go all out to make sure that I get a high grade.

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Week 7: Task 7: Present your final production with feedback

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Week 7: Task 7: Present your final production with feedback

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Know:
The new activity that helped my knowledge was when we had to present our work to a few class members and the tutors. How this developed my skills was I got to practice talking to other people and informing them the details about my work. It developed my skills further because it gave me the chance to practice my presenting skills since we rarely get the chance to do it in level 2. What I know that I didn't know before is that the new techniques that I learned about how to successfully do a presentation. I was taught not to just read off of the board but to make bullet points and to improvise off of them. I feel like this added a bit of pressure because I wasn't sticking to any plan, but I just talked slowly so I had plenty of time to think in my head what to say next about the video. I felt fairly comfortable presenting in front of these people since I haven't had any bad experiences presenting in the past so there was no reason to feel worried.

Do:
The new skills that I applied on this task is the skill of presenting. Since we do not do much presenting in level 2 we got this chance to do it. Even though there was barely a crowd it still gave us an idea of what it would be like. I completed my task by making a power point and followed some guidelines that gave me an idea of what to include in my presentation. These bullet points were things like why did you chose to do this? How did you do it? Where did you do it? I feel like if I didn't have these guidelines there would've been some barriers in my work since I didn't have a clue what to include on my own. The evidence of my successful outcomes are in the screenshot below. I am proud that I didn't get stuck while presenting because I feel like it is very easy to do so. Some people feel like there is a lot of pressure when presenting but as long as you can stay calm and also make sure your mind doesn't go blank it means that it will be all good. The only barrier that we came into is when Daniel and I went to present the video didn't load on the power point so we just had to quickly download it in order to show it.

Show:
I presented my work outcomes by literally presenting it to people using power point. I thought power point would be handy since you can dedicate each slide to a different question so it is more organised. (screenshot below.)

Improve:
The improvements that I could've worked on are as follows:

Try to keep more calm during presenting

Made sure the video could play when presenting

I feel like some breathing techniques will be handy in future when presenting as it will soften the blow of getting used to doing presentations in level 3 regularly. The skills that I used this week that I will surely use in the future is presenting and improvisation. Overall I have had fun doing my Final Major Project, I have learned many new things that I will take far and expand on. I am happy that I didn't get stuck behind on any deadlines and did my work on time. I am definitely happy with the final outcome of the video and I am excited to go onto the next level and meet new people and work in different environments.