Post Production
At AS, my post production consisted of editing photos that I had taken using Photoshop, adding text, experimenting with layout and adding common magazine conventions such as barcodes, mastheads, text, images. Editing of the photos included changing the brightness, contrast, size, cropping and adding effects. For the post production stage I mainly used Photoshop to edit my magazine as it provided me with the tools I needed. The formatting tools were suitable for making changes from the draft to the final version to make it look more like a conventional magazine. I also used websites on the internet to research font types and images such as Cover Junkie, Google, Da Font and many more. I used as many tools as I could provided in the software to challenge my skills. Some examples include using filters, the magnetic lasso tool, adding text, the magic wand tool, the eraser tool, the red eye removal tool, the brush tool, the move tool, the paint bucket tool and the enhance tools which edit the images automatically. The software was very suitable for the task as it allows you to edit images and text quickly and easily and use and challenge the conventions of an actual music magazine. The editing tools are very user friendly so therefore allowed my skills to develop throughout the post production stage. One advantage of using Photoshop is that you can create draft versions to experiment with tools and try out things before using them on the final version. A disadvantage of the software is that some tools are harder to use than other such as the magnetic lasso tool. This tool requires a large amount of skill to crop out an image accurately. The software is generally quite difficult to use if you have no experience with it so experimenting and practicing with the tools is crucial for the final product to be successful. Other disadvantages are that images are not always great quality, the editing process is very time consuming and the software and tools can be quite unpredictable. My main strength of using Photoshop was my editing skills with images. Over time I found the tools easier to use and I decided to challenge my skills by altering the images manually and automatically using filters to suit the rock genre of the magazine. My main weakness was choosing an appropriate font to suit the photographs taken. The quality of the images chosen were not always of the best quality so I had to take more photos using a different device which made the post production process more time consuming because there were no images to work on.
For the post-production stage at A2, it consisted of editing the music video such as adding effects, changing lighting, matching frames to sound, using transitions and using Adobe Premiere. For the ancillary texts I used Photoshop to edit photos that I had taken and drawn, develop the layout, add font and colour and use templates. Editing the music video required a lot of skill and time. It consisted of cropping shots to fit to the soundtrack and story board, altering image quality such as brightness and contrast and choosing the correct frames to use and putting them in order. Post-production was the hardest stage of the music video because we had no previous experience with Premiere and there was also problems with the software which took a while to fix which also affected our schedule. Once we were able to start editing, the process moved along quite rapidly and we were able to upload all of the shots we had filmed during production and then crop them. The final music developed a lot from the draft version. We decided to remove the narrative aspect and focus solely on band performance. We also decided not to use coloured lighting and adding coloured filters to the video. The software was good for cropping frames accurately and using effects although it can be quite unpredictable as it crashed regularly while in use. My strengths with using the software were mainly cropping the frames accurately to meet the soundtrack and also putting them in the correct order to fit with the storyboard we created. Id say a weakness of mine would be adding suitable effects. I found it quite difficult to set the appropriate brightness and contrast on each shot so that each looked similar. For the ancillary texts I used Photoshop to edit. I mainly used it for the template, adding text, adding conventions, editing images I had taken and drawn and changing the layout. My skills with Photoshop dramatically improved from AS to A2 because I felt more confident with using the more advanced tools and wanted to challenge myself more to aim for more difficult things to achieve.
From the preliminary tasks that I was set in AS and A2, my editing skills progressed dramatically. In AS the task was to create a magazine cover and contents page. I used this using Photoshop and this was the first time I had used the software so the tools were very new to me as I had no previous experience. The preliminary magazine that I produced was very simple and basic and I had little knowledge of what conventions to use and how to edit the magazine with the tools provided. My editing skills improved from the time I had created the preliminary magazine to the editing of my final magazine at AS because I learnt how to use more complex tools. I was much better at using the magnetic lasso tool and using appropriate filters for editing images. By this time I also gained more knowledge of what magazine conventions to use and which ones looked effective for the genre of my magazine. The preliminary task at A2 was to create a short music video. At this point I also had little experience with Premiere so the software was very new to me. I edited the video by adding effects and cropping frames. My skills from this point onwards continued to develop as I experimented more with editing and what tools did what functions. This was a huge advantage because by the time I had to create my actual music video, I knew how to use more complex tools and challenge myself.
I have become more technically competent by using a range of different digital technologies over the past 2 years. During the post production stages I used Blogger, Photoshop, Premiere, digital cameras and computers. My skills progressed over time by using these technologies continuously and learning new skills and tools whilst editing the pieces of work.
Throughout the post production stages, it was important to keep referring to the key media concepts which include media language, representation, audiences and institutions. For example when editing our music video on Premiere we altered the brightness and contrast of the frames in the video so that it looked more ‘indie’ to appeal to our target audience. Similarly, when editing the magazine at AS, I kept a consistent colour scheme and font style to not only appeal to the target audience but use similar conventions from other rock magazines and institutions. These features also helped represent my artist more in the rock category. I added a barcode to the magazine to make it look more professional just like other rock magazines in the same category. The outfits that I chose to dress the artists in were also used to appeal to the target audiences of the magazine and video as they can relate to their style because they are of similar age. I used media language in the article of the music magazine to relate to other rock magazines.
Digital Technology
Photoshop enabled me to make my music magazine at AS much more professional by the tools it provides. I previously had no knowledge of how to use the software but with time to experiment on images, my skills soon developed to a reasonable standard. Examples of tools that were most useful include the horizontal type tool, move tool, magic wand tool, crop tool, magnetic lasso tool, paint bucket tool, eraser tool and the filters. These all enabled me to manipulate images and experiment with layout.
I used the horizontal type tool and the colour fill tool to match my fonts to act as part of the mode of address and fit the genre of the magazine. I used picture boxes and shape tools to present a consistent layout on the front cover, contents page and the double page spread. I manipulated the images that I had taken by altering the brightness, contrast, hue, colour and opacity. Using layers enabled me to make my layout more complex by overlapping conventions and making the magazine look more full and professional. For the DPS, I used borders and backgrounds and took ideas of conventions from other rock magazines. This includes mastheads, columns, headers, page numbers, images, plugs and layering. To ensure that the layout of the whole magazine stayed consistent, I looked at contrasting fonts and conventions on each page. I looked at other pages for inspiration on what types of conventions to use and challenge such as images and font. I also used interactive technologies such as Blogger to organise planning materials. This particular technology helped with regular audience feedback so I knew what was working well and what things I could improve on. Blogger also allowed me to keep up to date with work and meet deadlines on time because I could set achievable targets and create a schedule.
I used a digital camera to take photos for the college preliminary magazine task. I uploaded the photos by using the USB wire which connects the camera to the computer. This then allowed me to manipulate the images immediately once they were uploaded in software such as Photoshop. I could then work on my composition and framing skills before working on the final magazine.
For the music video I edited it using Premiere. To edit each individual clip I used a timeline which enhanced my knowledge of layering various clips and the soundtrack. This was very time consuming but allowed each clip to be very precise and accurate according to the storyboard. This was important so that each frame met the same time on the song itself. Whilst editing the video we used a range of cutaways, cross cuts, jump cuts and parallel editing. We ensured that our editing was precise by referring to the storyboard that we produced in the planning stage. We met the timings up so that each frame was at the right point on the song. We ensured that the audio matched the footage by rewinding it and making sure the shot number was as accurate as possible. Additional editing included us altering the brightness and contrast of the shots and slowing down and speeding up clips to meet the correct point of the song.
My skills with blogger have improved as I have learnt that good presentation has a huge impact on how well you portray your ideas. For both AS and A2 I ensured that the blog layout fit into the correct category by using appropriate fonts and images. It allowed me to embed different files and post regularly to show the progress that I was making. By A2 I added more gadgets such as popular posts, weather forecast, notes, images, youtube channels and page views. For the ancillary products at A2, I also used Photoshop to edit and construct the products. This was a huge advantage for me as by this time my skills with the software had improved since AS and I challenged myself to use more complex tools and use a different layout. Image and font choice had to match the genres and artists. By this time I also had more knowledge on what types of common conventions to use as well to produce a professional looking product.
Examples of digital technologies that I used include Photoshop MS Office package, Slideshare, Animoto, Prezi, digital cameras, Blackberry, Internet, Premiere, video camera, disc wizards, Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, Email, Scribd and Windows Movie Maker.
Using Conventions from real media texts
Throughout AS and A2 it was important to explore and use the conventions of real media texts so that my products looked similar to other magazines and videos. I used micro elements such as mise en scene, camera work, editing and sound to communicate to my target audience over the last 2 years. For the music magazine at AS I used a very simple mise en scene and decided to photograph the artist against a brick wall to meet the genre of rock. For A2 we decided to shoot our artists in the drama studio so that it looked more professional and looked like any other band performance music videos. At AS I used a range of midshots, close ups and long shots when taking test shots to experiment what worked well and what didn’t look so effective. Midshots were a key convention used in rock magazines so I decided to use more of this, especially on the front cover and contents page. I did the same at A2 when filming the music video but we used more shots and a wider range. This is because our video was based solely on band performance so we had to keep it interesting by using long and short shots and from different angles. For the editing at AS I sued the tools on Photoshop to add colour, insert shapes, add text, edit images, experiment with layout and add images such as barcodes. This is so that it would appeal to the target audience because the conventions were very similar to the ones on other rock magazines. For A2 we cropped each individual shot to fit the time on the storyboard we produced and edited the brightness and contrast. I did this so that each shot was quirky and came in at the exact right time to keep to audience interested. The purpose of my magazine at AS was to create a rock magazine that was similar to other current magazine but still use conventions that met my target audience. This was similar for my music video at A2 but the genre was completely different as it targeted an indie/alternative audience. At AS my target audience was individuals aged between 16-24 who have a strong interest in rock music. The age range was similar at A2 although the audience would have to be interested in indie alternative music.
At AS I used pastiche as I took conventions from current magazines to meet the genre of my rock magazine. These included text, image choice, layout, columns, mastheads and barcodes. These conventions created a bricolage effect as it allowed me to borrow them and adapt them into something new. I used the same process at A2 as I took common indie elements from music videos such as mise en scene, costume and lighting. Parody could also be recognised in the video as the artists personalities were strongly enhanced in the band performance by their acting. This could be seen in other indie videos such as Two Door Cinema Clubs’s What You Know. For both the magazine and the video there were many intertextual references included from the background research that I did before producing the texts. I used many generic conventions over the last 2 years for all of the work that I have produced because without them the products would not look like any other magazines or videos. I researched a range of magazine and videos before producing them and identified which ones I could use and which I could challenge to fit into the rock or indie category. It was hard to challenge the conventions and be original because there are so many similar conventions out there.
I agree with the first quotation because it is so hard to be original in today’s industry because the conventions are so similar. It is easy enough to take the conventions and change them slightly but challenging them is very difficult. By taking conventions it allowed me to be creative but I found it a challenge to think of completely original. I also agree with the second quotation because creativity roots from knowledge of generic conventions so these act like templates which allow you to be more imaginative and adapt them.
