Detail how your understanding of the importance of good research and planning skills developed throughout the pre-production of your AS and A2 coursework

For the AS coursework I used many different types of research which included both primary and secondary research. For the primary research I produced mind maps, posters and presented my ways using different technologies to show how my initial ideas from basic research were developing. I researched magazines that fit into the same category with the rock genre and analysed them to identify which parts I liked and disliked. This helped me decide what sort of conventions to include on my magazine. I created questionnaires and gained feedback from my teachers and peers to show the where my ideas and research were going. I conducted basic research from looking at TV adverts for magazines and also actual rock magazines out at the time. By simply having a first look at the magazines, gave me rough ideas to what I was wanting to achieve such as deciding on a genre, a target audience and what sort of things to include in the magazine. For the secondary research I used books, websites, class notes, theories and articles. This allowed me to produce more practical work and actually begin starting to develop my ideas by producing mock ups and draft versions of the magazine. I produced a pitch of my idea, a mood board, an audience and band profile, researching fonts, colours and layouts and thoroughly analysing magazines in depth. Other research produced at this stage was deciding on the title of the magazine, finding examples of other texts and deciding on the style of the magazine. I used websites such as cover junkie, prezi, youtube, tubechop, scribd, animoto, google and slideshare.

Similarly, I used the same process for the A2 coursework for the pre-production stage. For A2 the research and planning was split between me and my partner so it allowed us to generate more ideas together so we could be more imaginative by combining them together. This was a huge benefit to us as there was much more work involved as we had the ancillary texts and the music video to produce which involved much more planning. Like with the magazines at AS, we had to analyse each ancillary text and music videos to develop ideas and create practical drafts of each product. We also looked at previous blogs to gain inspiration as well as other internet research. For both years I did all of the research and planning work listed on both coursework schedules and I also did extra research to show what I was hoping to achieve. For A2 the primary and secondary research involved detailed analysis of ancillary texts and videos, deciding on a genre and a song for the products, creating a pitch, deciding on a band name and creating a biography, producing an audience profile and conducting market research, making a storyboard, considering representations, applying theory and then writing a risk assessment. I then also did extra research where necessary to fill in the gaps between the minimal research made. The advantage of this primary and secondary research was that it helped me understand where to start with the products by knowing what conventions are used and how they can be challenged. Without this planning the main products would have nothing to fall back on and would be very unstructured due to the lack of ideas behind it. The disadvantage was that some parts of the research and planning were easy to research by using other resources such as the internet and other magazines although some parts such as the band name and biography were hard to think of from the top of your head.

Comparing the research and planning from AS to A2, I would say that my skills developed dramatically throughout the 2 years as I learn how to present my ideas in different ways by using different technologies. In AS I felt like I was developing my ideas by using only the internet and from other inspiring blogs; although by A2 I used other resources and combined by ideas with my partner to make our research more dynamic and aim to produce something slightly more challenging. This was the main advantage as I felt a lot more confident by A2 when producing the ancillary texts and the music video because the research and planning was so detailed so even if something didn’t work we also had another option. There were many advantages and disadvantages of using different resources for different stages in the research and planning whether it is cost, accessibility, reliability, accuracy, bias and validity. The cost was not such an issue because most of the resources we used were either our own or were provided by the school. I used the internet and magazines so not much cost was involved. Accessibility was a problem at time due to the limited access to computers at school so I found that I did the majority of my research and planning for AS and A2 in my own time at home. The process was very time consuming but I found that all work produced was worth it because it helped me generate ideas and be more imaginative than I would have been with the resources and equipment. Although, I did find the deadlines extremely useful for each stage of this area as I got the work done on time and allowed me to plan in advance to what I was wanting to achieve and also do extra research. I would say that the research that I produced over the two years was reasonably reliable because it was consistent and had a clear structure to it. Each piece of work was relevant to the rest because they were all linked and built on throughout the process. I also found that it was accurate with help and opinions from audience feedback. This helped me identify what parts were successful and whether or not what I was aiming to produce was actually achievable. The planning was also valid because it has a clear link to the final product because the final product wouldn’t have been able to be produced without it.

All research and planning was organised on my blog throughout the two years. Before, AS I had no skills or experience with the website but over time I found it very useful to post my ideas in a way that I couldn’t present my work previously. I found Blogger a lot easier to use by A2 because by this time I learned how to customise my blog to fit in with my coursework to make it look more appealing. A lot of pre-production was also involved such as drafting and gaining audience feedback. Draft versions were conducted before the final products to gain ideas and inspiration. I produced these mock ups on the software needed such as Adobe Photoshop and experimented with photos, text and layout. This worked similar to the video at A2 as well also produced a draft video to learn how to use the software. Audience feedback was a useful element to have at all times to get opinions from people from inside and outside of our target audience. I found that by A2 audience feedback that I collected was a lot more detailed which helped me through each stage of the coursework because of the volume of work that needed to be produced.

Over the two years, I would say that organisation of time, personnel and equipment was one of my main strengths. I ensured that all research was done before moving on to the next stage so that I knew exactly what I was aiming to produce and the planning helped me set up a schedule of what I was hoping to complete and by when. My knowledge of these production schedules grew because I understand that the more detailed they were, the easier it was for me to get the work done on time by setting the work out evenly. For AS I found it easier to work on my own as I knew exactly what I had to do because I simply worked through the coursework schedule whereas for A2, we had to equally share out the tasks and do extra work in our own time although it was hard to keep up with who was doing what piece of research. The advantage of organising personnel at A2 was that I felt more confident and challenged myself to do extra research and planning because we could combine our ideas so that they would develop further. One key improvement that I would make was the organisation of equipment. For A2 we were good at organising the filming equipment although setting up the locations and resources were a working progress and we had to work on consistency in all scenes.

The blog was much more useful at A2 because we could refer to it at any time and because there was so much work that was needed to be produced; this was a huge advantage for us. We both had copies of the storyboards and schedule lists and we posted our progress regularly to state what stage we were at in the development of our video and ancillary texts. At AS, I found it was very useful to work on my own because I knew my own ability and planned everything I wanted to do in advance. The disadvantage of this what that I couldn't consider my partners ideas so my ideas didn't develop as much as they could. At A2, it was very different working as part of a group but I felt that I could aim higher by using our strengths and working together on all aspects of the work. Whether it be researching a particular area or planning for the products themselves. Our research involved detailed analysis of the texts we were going to produce and developing ideas by creating mind maps and draft versions. I also found that it was a lot easier to plan at A2 because we could both work at the same pace and get the work completed by the set deadlines.

For both AS and A2, I used a variety of different technologies to present my ideas. This included both websites and software for practical work. A few examples include Prezi, Animoto, Photoshop, SlideShare, Blogger and the MS Office package. These technologies were very new to me at AS but throughout the year and by A2 I found them much easier to use and they allowed me to be more creative. I noticed that my audience feedback was much more positive by A2 as my skills in these technologies had grown dramatically so it challenged me to aim higher.

Looking back from AS to A2, I know understand the importance of good research and planning in the pre-production stage because without it, the final product would have no relevance at all. This stage is crucial because you can't create the products on basic ideas. You must research the conventions to use them and challenge them and without looking at previous texts, the products you create would not be successful. The planning was important for me to keep on schedule and feel confident enough to start making the products. Research was simply just a good starting point to generate initial ideas and decide on basic elements to adapt. My skills have grown immensely since the start of the course in terms of considering feedback, experimenting with software, working as a team and also keeping organised.