Evaluation question 4 OCR media A level

2. Media is now able to be created
and shared by anyone, anywhere
due to miniaturisation and
portability, the introduction of
phones and portable cameras
means that pictures and videos can
be shot and shared wherever you
are and by anyone allowing people
to become more creative. This was
explored by David Gauntlet and his
idea of web 2.0 enabling anyone to
be a creator.
Making films is a lot cheaper and easier
now as they can be shot by anyone on
their own personal phone or camera,
meaning they don’t have to invest in
specialist equipment.
New media has brought with it the
introduction of special effects/CGI, 3D
and IMAX, this enables films to become
more creative and put them at and
advantage over other films. This has meant that people
are able to branch out from
just being consumers of
media and actually become
creators, again allowing
people to become more
creative. For example
Youtubers.
Advantages of new media is
that it enables any individual
or Hollywood film maker to
become more creative, there
is also the introduction of
platforms such as Netflix and
ITunes which has increased
portability as people can
watch films/TV and listen to
music on the go. Netflix has
also got it’s own variety of
Netflix original series’.
Disadvantages of new media is that it
can cause loss of control within some
media outlets if there is a lot of
competition, for example, the traditional
way if watching films on DVD is being
completely taken over by watching
online. There is also an increase in piracy
as films can be recorded in the cinema
then uploaded online for people to watch.

3. In the research stage of my film I used google on my laptop to be able to search up information on
short films, film posters and the style of a Little White Lies review. Being able to research this
information was helpful as I was able to find out the kind of filming styles and techniques used in short
films, I was also able to find out how posters for short films differ from those of Hollywood
blockbusters which helped me to create mine, I could also search up examples of previous reviews in
Little White Lies magazine which again helped me to get an idea on how to write my own. I did this
research as an individual as my poster and review are my own work, as my film was a group task I
went back to my group to discuss our findings when we had completed our research. I used websites
such as the BBFC website, Little White Lies, Sundance film festival and Google images to gather my
research. In my opinion this was more technical skills than creative skills as I had to make sure I was
searching for relevant information and only collecting the information that was specifically relevant to
my products. I would say being able to get this information did make my work successful as I had some
background knowledge when going into it, however, I don’t think I would say it made my work more
creative as I didn’t do anything differently to what I would have done in the first place as I already had
planned the route I was going to go down fro my poster and review and as a group had already
decided the genre of film we wanted to create, I just searched some basic ideas and background
information on each to make sure that I was doing my work along the right lines. Some drawbacks of
using Google and these sites to get my research is that not everything that came up was relevant to
my genre and style of film and some stuff could have been outdated knowledge.

4. In the production stage I used a few different types of technology, I used a camera when filming along
with also an IPhone when filming and also used Snapchat to film a section of the film. When creating
my poster I used a camera to take the pictures I needed. When creating my review I also used word to
create it. These were a mixture of creative and technical skills as I need the technical skills in order to
use the equipment but also the creative skills to get good angles and shots and also to come up with
the idea to use Snapchat. There was also a mixture of collaborative and individual work as we worked
as a group to complete filming, taking turns to films parts and also when taking each others pictures
for our posters, I worked as an individual however to create my review. I would say that using
Snapchat and an IPhone enabled me to be more creative during this process, using Snapchat was a
different and original idea to use in my groups film which in turn made our film have a more creative
element and using an IPhone to film some parts of our film also meant that me and my group were
able to get different styles of shots than when using a camera as we were filming freehand clips. Using
the camera when filming and taking pictures I wouldn’t say made the filming or poster any more
creative as it is basic to expect to use a camera to film on and take pictures with, I also wouldn’t say
that using word to create my film review made me any more creative as its just the basic software
you’d expect to use to create a word based document. Some drawbacks of using this technology
however, were that using the camera had some complications as the battery kept dying which is why
me and my group then opted to use an IPhone.

5. In the post-production stage I used a few different types of technology, I used Photoshop to create
my poster and my film review and used final cut pro on the schools Apple Mac to edit my film. I also
used Google again to get a few aspects of my poster and music for my film. There was a mixture of
individual and collaborative work as me and my group worked together to edit our film but I
worked as an individual to complete my poster and review, I also used a mixture of technical and
creative skills as I needed the technical skills to be able to work the software’s but also the creative
skills to use them in a way that made my products the best that they could be. When editing me
and the other members of my group took turns to use final cut to cut our clips down and add them
together while also adding in music and titles, music that I retrieved from YouTube my searching for
the song used in Mean Girls. When creating my poster I used Photoshop and Google, I used Google
to get the font title that I wanted then used Photoshop to edit that and my whole poster together, I
also used Photoshop to create my review, I transferred my review from word into Photoshop and
formatted it into the right layout style. I would say that using these software’s enabled me to be
more creative as when using final cut pro me and my group were able to edit our film very precisely,
cutting clips down to the exact point we wanted them which wouldn’t have been possible with a
more basic software, Using Photoshop to create my poster allowed me to be more creative than if I
was to create a physical poster for example, as I could make it look more professional and it is a lot
neater and precise than drawing one out, as for the film review again I was able to format the exact
way that they do in Little White Lies magazine which was my brief and so using Photoshop to do
this was a lot more creative than using Word or writing it out. I didn’t come across any drawbacks
while using all of these software's.

6. In the distribution stage I used YouTube and Wordpress to display my work. I used YouTube to
upload my groups film on to enable it to be presented on my blog and so that it is easier to be
watched by the examiner, the video is private however, so only people I send the link to can
watch it. As for my poster and review I uploaded them to Wordpress on my blog for my teacher
and the examiner to see. This was a technical skill as I needed to be able to use the websites
correctly to make sure they were uploaded successfully. I did all of this individually as this was my
individual work to be uploaded on my own personal blog. In a way this did make my work more
creative as I presented my work via my blog rather than physically or by emailing them to my
teacher, it means that I can look back at my work and get feedback posted straight to my blog
from my teacher, it also enables other people to see my blog posts if they’re a student needing
some extra help or anyone interested in media that may come across my blog. As for my work
being uploaded to YouTube this has also made my work more creative to an extent as it means I
am able to watch my film whenever I want to and pass my work on easily for more people to see.
I wouldn’t say that there were really any drawbacks with the methods I used to distribute my
work, however, on way my work could maybe have been more creative may have been if I was
allowed to upload my work to YouTube for public view as it may have allowed more people to
come across and notice my work.

7. In the evaluation stage I used a few different methods in order to complete my work. I was
given evaluation questions in order to assess the different stages of my work. These were a
mixture of creative and technical skills as I had to come up with different ways of presenting
each question but also be able to use each website I chose correctly and successfully upload my
work to my blog. I used a mixture of software's from Prezi, Slideshare, PowerPoint, Word Press
and online mind maps to construct each question. This was an individual task as I needed to
answer each evaluation question individually for each product that I had created. I would say
that this made my work more creative as I had to come up with different ways to present each
evaluation question which allowed me to use a range of different software’s before uploading
them onto my blog for my teacher. It was also more creative being able to answer each
evaluation question online rather than having to physically write them all out as it meant that
each piece of work was also able to be more visually pleasing, neat and professional . I did not
come across any drawbacks of using these methods to complete the evaluation of my work.