Roles

Last year for AS media studies I was responsible for the storyboard I had an enjoyable experience and discovered the importance of having a well thought out story board ready to refer to when filming. This year however for A2 I feel the need to push myself further in order to expand my knowledge and experience of filming, so I have taken on the role of director.

I aim to be a successful director and so am going to make sure of this by carrying out research in to the role. My older sister has experience of being a director in A level media studies and so will be able to share with me her experiences and give me advice on how to go about my role. I will also make use of all options available to me and so will visit my school library and use both media based books and the internet.

I have already found the useful website http://www.moviemaker.com/ which has opened my eyes to how important clear communication is and how providing inspiration is a key feature in my job. The site also makes me see that collaboration with all those involved will provide the main pathway for a successful project. I have taken all this onboard and find myself confident that i can undertake the directors role and have both success and enjoyment from the A2 project. 

Brief

I am about to embark on the journey through A2 of media studies. This year I have been asked to research and produce a short film in its entirety, lasting approximately five minutes. It may be composed of live action, animation or a combination of both, together with two of the following three options.

- A radio trailer

- A film magazine review page

- A film poster

I now look back at my experience of the AS project and find myself pleased with the B grade I received. I along with my group produced the opening two minutes of film including titles, I remember the daunting feeling I had before work started on the filming but also the high level of enjoyment I had accompanied by my group throughout all the stages of production. Two of the students that I worked with have a musical background and so led us in to the production of a musical horror for our project; we carried out research into the genre and planed how we wanted ours to unfold. Within our group we all had different roles mine was the story boarder, however when it came down to the filming we combined all our efforts each using the camera and having an input into all the areas of filming from camera shots and angles to how the actors acted. From this experience I will take all that I have learnt about use of camera and film language and apply it to this year’s project but hope to pay closer attention to the specific film language mise en scene and plan in depth as I have learnt from the AS project that a high level of planning is needed to ensure smooth proceedings whilst filming. Overall I am looking forward to this project and to working closely with my friends again.