I did not do much research and planning for the AS preliminary task. Instead of carrying out the research and planning stages the correct way, I just researched some magazine front covers to see the typical layout of one, and then went ahead to put in my own images relating to the task, and my own text. Therefore, there was no planning involved, as I just put in the conventions in their places without planning out each one before. This task involved basic skills. I copied the positioning of conventions seen in real magazines, such as the masthead, the cover lines and the main image. This means that I did follow conventions of a magazine, however, I did not understand why these conventions were used and what impact they have on the audience. As I was not very skilled at this time, it limited my creativity because I just copied the conventions and didn't use my own imagination.
My AS music magazine was an improvement from my AS preliminary task. Furthermore, my skills had developed. I did more research and planning for this task than I did for the preliminary task. I researched the genre of music my magazine was about. I looked at lots of different rock music magazines, to see the sort of colour schemes they use and the general layout of them. Also, there was a lot of planning involved in this task. I completed rough cuts and dummies for my front cover, contents page, and double page spread. I then did my proper versions on Adobe Indesign. I put conventions in my magazine again. I understood how they are used in magazines, but I was not aware of why the are used in the way they are. My lack of skills once again limited my creativity as I just copied the positioning of conventions in actual music magazines again, although it was more developed than the preliminary task.
By the time I did my A2 Horror trailer, I understood the reasoning behind why certain conventions are used and how to use them in certain genres of horror. Before filming the trailer, I researched many different existing horror trailers of various sub genres, such as slasher, supernatural and zombie. This allowed me to see how they are played out and what are the typical conventions that are seen in those. I found that most horror film trailers of the same sub genre have many similarities in them. For example, in slasher films, we always see a knife held by the killer in the film. This knife is a phallic object, and it represents the dominance that the killer has over the victim, and it demonstrates he power difference between them. Therefore, I now understand why conventions are used in horror film trailers, and what these conventions are trying to get across to the audience. Also, this has shown development across the two years as I have an understand of why conventions are used, which I previously did not have in AS.
There was some planning involved when creating my AS music magazine. I did rough cuts and dummies for my front cover, contents page, and double page spread. I then did my proper versions on Adobe Indesign. These rough cuts and dummies allowed me to see how things would look when it came to the proper one, therefore giving me a rough idea of what it will look like, and whether or not anything needs to be changed before going on to Adobe Indesign. There was more planning involved in the making of the A2 Horror trailer. This is because I now understood that we were making these trailers for others, not ourselves, which is what we thought when making our AS music magazine. Also, the fact that I did much more research for this task meant that this could be incorporated into the planning stage of it.
In conclusion, I feel that I have developed as a Creative Media Producer in the Post Modern Age through research and planning. In AS, it was more to do with copying the conventions given, rather than using our own imagination and creativity. However, in A2, there is more creativity involved. Also, there was significantly more research and planning that went into the tasks for A2 than for AS. I not only understand how research and planning is carried out, and how conventions are used, but also why it is important to carry out research and planning, and also why conventions are used, and their effect on the audience.
By the time I did my A2 Horror trailer, I understood the reasoning behind why certain conventions are used and how to use them in certain genres of horror. Before filming the trailer, I researched many different existing horror trailers of various sub genres, such as slasher, supernatural and zombie. This allowed me to see how they are played out and what are the typical conventions that are seen in those. I found that most horror film trailers of the same sub genre have many similarities in them. For example, in slasher films, we always see a knife held by the killer in the film. This knife is a phallic object, and it represents the dominance that the killer has over the victim, and it demonstrates he power difference between them. Therefore, I now understand why conventions are used in horror film trailers, and what these conventions are trying to get across to the audience. Also, this has shown development across the two years as I have an understand of why conventions are used, which I previously did not have in AS.
There was some planning involved when creating my AS music magazine. I did rough cuts and dummies for my front cover, contents page, and double page spread. I then did my proper versions on Adobe Indesign. These rough cuts and dummies allowed me to see how things would look when it came to the proper one, therefore giving me a rough idea of what it will look like, and whether or not anything needs to be changed before going on to Adobe Indesign. There was more planning involved in the making of the A2 Horror trailer. This is because I now understood that we were making these trailers for others, not ourselves, which is what we thought when making our AS music magazine. Also, the fact that I did much more research for this task meant that this could be incorporated into the planning stage of it.
In conclusion, I feel that I have developed as a Creative Media Producer in the Post Modern Age through research and planning. In AS, it was more to do with copying the conventions given, rather than using our own imagination and creativity. However, in A2, there is more creativity involved. Also, there was significantly more research and planning that went into the tasks for A2 than for AS. I not only understand how research and planning is carried out, and how conventions are used, but also why it is important to carry out research and planning, and also why conventions are used, and their effect on the audience.
