media coursework

1. CHOICE OF BRIEF
NIALL BANKS

2. OVERVIEW
• The G324 Advanced Portfolio task gives us a lot of freedom when it comes to
choosing a brief to work on.
• We were given a choice of 14 different briefs, to which I have taken into
consideration 3 of them, these would be:
• 1. Music Video
• 2. Short Film
• 3. Documentary

3. 1. MUSIC VIDEO – BRIEF
• A promotional package for the release of an album.
• Must include 2 ancillaries from the choice of:
• 1. A website homepage for the band
• 2. A Digipak for an albums release
• 3. A magazine advertisement to accompany the Digipak.

4. 1. MUSIC VIDEO – PROS
• I am a musician myself, so I would find the whole process of making a music
video very enlightening, as I watch a fair few myself.
• You can interpret lyrics of a song in your own way to make a storyline.
• Wouldn’t have to dwell on issues with sound like a short film, unless you have a
short narrative with diegetic sound in amongst the video.
• I’ve never produced a music video before, so it would be an exciting new
experience.
• Research would be interesting, as it would include listening to a wide variety of
songs and watching their videos.

5. 1. MUSIC VIDEO - CONS
• Musical taste differences could make choosing a song difficult in a group.
• Has the potential to become cliché depending on what song/genre is chosen.
• Research could be extensive in comparison to other briefs.
• Trying to get playing an instrument/lip syncing in time with a song could be very
difficult in terms of making it convincing.

6. 2. SHORT FILM - BRIEF
• A short film in its entirety, lasting approximately five minutes, which may be live
action or animated or a combination of both, together with two of these three
ancillary options:
• 1. A poster for the film.
• 2. A radio trailer for the film.
• 3. A film magazine review page featuring the film.

7. 2. SHORT FILM - PROS
• You can produce pretty much anything. So much freedom comes with this brief.
• I’ve produced short films before so I have experience.
• I enjoy watching short films in my free time, so research would be enjoyable.

8. 2. SHORT FILM - CONS
• Planning the storyline and all the different shots could prove to be very time
consuming.
• Harder to produce due to the fact you have to take into account diegetic sound.
• I’ve produced short films both at GCSE and at AS, it would be nice to have some
change.

9. 3. DOCUMENTARY - BRIEF
• An extract from an original documentary TV programme, lasting approximately
five minutes, together with two of these three ancillary options:
• 1. A radio trailer.
• 2. A double-page spread from a magazine focused on the documentary.
• 3. A newspaper advertisement.

10. 3. DOCUMENTARY - PROS
• Could give other people information on something I am deeply interested in,
which would be rewarding.
• Wouldn’t be boring as it would be on something I am very interested in.
• Could produce it on any topic that I wish.

11. 3. DOCUMENTARY - CONS
• Could prove to be a task fitting a lot of information on a topic into 5 minutes.
• Research could be a lengthy process, having to take all the interesting details of a
topic.
• Would be a hard task making something that is interesting, yet very informative.

12. CHOSEN BRIEF – MUSIC VIDEO
• I have chosen to undertake the music video brief. Purely because I feel I could
produce a much better product in this field, than what I would by making a short
film or documentary.
• Also to mention would be the fact I am a musician myself, so it means I would
find the brief a lot more enjoyable.