Assessment Evaluation

ASSESSMENT 1A - GBHS MEDIA STUDIES A LEVEL Marksheet

 

Name: Aimee Coote                   Date: 31/10/17                                                   Mark: 52/100

 

 

AO1: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the theoretical framework of media and contexts of media and their influence

AO2 Apply knowledge and understanding of the theoretical framework of media to:

Analyse media products/Evaluate academic theories/ Make judgements and draw conclusions

Level 3	·         A comprehensive response to the set question ·         Comprehensive and accurate knowledge and understanding ·         Convincing, perceptive and accurate analysis ·         Convincing, perceptive and accurate evaluation ·         Highly developed and accomplished judgements and conclusions The response demonstrates a highly developed and detailed line of reasoning which is coherent and logically structured. The information presented is entirely relevant and substantiated.
Level 2	·         An adequate response to the set question ·         Adequate and generally accurate knowledge and understanding ·         Adequate and generally successful analysis ·         Adequate and generally successful evaluation ·         Adequate and generally well-reasoned judgements and conclusions   The response demonstrates a line of reasoning with some structure. The information presented is in the most part relevant and supported by some evidence.
Level 1	·         A minimal response to the set question ·         Minimal application of knowledge and understanding ·         Analysis is minimal and/or largely descriptive and may not be relevant ·         Evaluation is minimal or brief, and is likely to be largely descriptive ·         Judgements and conclusions, if present, are minimal with limited support ·           Information presented is basic and may be ambiguous or unstructured. The information is supported by limited evidence.

Student DIRT Task

Identify a strength or strengths in your assessment: Overall, my assessment had been planned out and prepared well, as I had shown understanding of the questions and planned out the way I answered my questions. Firstly, I analysed C.L.A.M.P.S accurately when analysing the advert. In addition to this, I showed an understanding of Stuart Hall and his reception theory, along with what they mean. Furthermore, basic understanding on key terminology had been shown, but not in depth.   What are the areas you need to improve? In order to improve my work, my main problem was timing. Therefore, practicing questions and writing the correct amount would help get more marks. Moreover, next time I need to remember to include media examples for all my answers, which will help me to gain further marks.   What do you need to focus on for your next assessment? My main focus for my next assessment would be timing, as I had previously missed out a whole section.  This could help further my marks and improve my level for next time.

Espresso Burst Advert Evaluation

1) What was the task you were given and who was your target audience? As the audience wasn't typical of the product how did you manage to sell it? What was the name of your brand?

Our task was to invent a product and to create a TV advert. We got given the task of creating a new sweet for middle-aged, city working women. In order to sell our product we called it 'Espresso Burst' to highlight it's caffeine-like features to give people a boost to their day ahead.

2) Who did you work with and how did you divide the research, planning, filming and responsibilities?

For this assessment I worked with Molly, Hannah, Rebeka and Billy. In order to work quickly and efficiently, we each performed a certain role. I was in charge of creative design and filming. I created a storyboard as a rough plan and designed the title and font. Molly was in charge of the blog, ensuring that we had everything completed to a high standard. Hannah was our editor, and Billy was the production assistant. Molly took the role of the business woman, whilst Hannah, Billy and Rebeka, with the addition of Mollie and James were the other actors.

3) How did you plan your sequence?

We planned our video by first preparing a storyboard to get a rough idea of what scenes we wanted to include and what order we would want them in. We then applied it to a shooting schedule and decided to film the videos in an order that would save us time, as we only had one hour booked in the conference room to film our advert-with a substantial high standard. After we had the filming done we then edited the clips and re arranged them into the order we felt was best for the advert and made it as cohesive as possible, to ensure our intended message and story line got across.

4) What research and planning did you undertake?

Before filming our advert, we had to watch and analyse three similar adverts in order to understand and get inspiration from other sweet products. We also researched several slogans from other products, making sure our one was unique from most others. 

5) What was you initial feedback? What did others say about your production? How successful was your sequence?

People who watched our productions enjoyed the fading of the song, as it helped create the emphasis on the positive atmosphere. Moreover, I believe that our sequence was a success, as those who watched our advert understood the concept and encoded message that eating these sweets can give you confidence and popularity.

6) Identify what went well and with hindsight what you do to improve/do differently.

Overall I think the advert went really well as we managed to get all the filming done in a short space of time. Some things that did go well was the overall storyline to our advert as we all had the same vision and therefore were easily able to create a storyboard, shooting schedule and edit the advert which also went really well as we reflected the emotions in the scene through the colour scheme by setting half the advert in colour and the other half in black and white to reflect the woman's struggle before taking the sweet and her success afterwards. The song choice for our advert also accurately matched the advert as we used 'I will survive' by Gloria Gaynor which emphasized the woman's struggle alongside the black and white filter and the clock ticking sound effect to emphasize her lateness, the chorus of the song also worked well with the woman's success after taking the sweet as the song becomes upbeat and adds a positive mood to the advert which is also aided by the advert coming back in colour.

However, if it were possible to have two hours filming time in the conference room we would've been able to have more scenes to choose from for the advert and re take some that we had to cut. Furthermore, it would have also been good to include more actors to fill up the empty space at the conference room to emphasize the awkward and happy atmosphere, and to convey emotions we needed in the advert to allow the audience to understand the purpose of our product.

7) What have you learnt from completing this task (groups skills, communication, compromise, using your initiative, creative input, production skills, editing etc)

During this task, I have learnt the importance of time management. It helped significantly when we each gave each other specified roles and tasks, as we could get most of the planning and preparation done all at the same time; it would have wasted a lot of time doing it consecutively. 

8) Looking ahead, how will this learning be significant when completing your future productions?

The understanding of time management has become a crucial part of producing a good advert. This helps to complete future productions, as it provides me with the knowledge that by planning efficiently, it makes the task less stressful. Moreover, by having a clear storyboard and idea of your filming schedule also helps to iterate how planning can make your overall production run smoothly.

Practical Assessment-Espresso Burst

ESPRESSO BURST

Brand name - Espresso Burst

Slogan - 'Good ideas start with great coffee'

USP - A chewy coffee sweet that's convenient and easy to carry around for business people who are on the go.

Roles

Production assistant - Billy

Editor - Hannah

Actors - Billy, Hannah, Molly, Mollie, Bekka and James

Camera - Aimee

Blogger - Molly

Creative Design - Aimee

Plan

Props - The product (tube of millions, decorated packaging) , handbag, notebooks, laptops.

Costume - Suits e.g. skirts/trousers, blazer/smart jacket, lanyard.

Cast -

Office workers - Hannah, Billy, Aimee.

Businesswoman - Molly.

Music - 'I will survive' Gloria Gaynor



SHOOTING SCHEDULE

DAY / DATE	SCENE	INTERIOR/EXTERIOR	SHOT NUMBER/ DESCRIPTION	LOCATION	CHARACTERS	PROPS/SPECIAL EQUIPMENT
17/10	Walking into the conference room	exterior	1	Conference room	molly
17/10	Pan around the room with people around table	interior	2	Conference room	Bekka, Mollie, James, Billy, Hannah	Notebooks, pens, folders
17/10	Hannah looking at watch	interior	3	Conference room	Hannah	watch
17/10	James looking at phone	interior	4	Conference room	James	phone
17/10	Mollie throws note at hannah	interior	5	Conference room	Mollie and Hannah	Paper note
17/10	Bekka yawns	interior	6	Conference room	Bekka
17/10	Molly writing on board	interior	7	Conference room	Molly	Whiteboard, pen
17/10	Everyone clapping	interior	8	Conference room	Bekka James Mollie Hannah Billy
17/10	handshakes		9	Conference room	Bekka Billy Hannah Molly

TITLE AND FONT DESIGN

STORYBOARD

Practical Assessment-Analysis of similar adverts

All 3 of these adverts have one commonality. This is that the sweets all have a physical effect on people. In the 'MAOAM' advert, the sweet makes him want to dance with great passion, the second advert which is the 'HARIBO' sweet, makes the adults sense their inner child and therefore reminding them of their childhood. The last advert makes the consumer want to smile and enlightens her mood which suggests by eating one of these sweets can create happiness.

'MAOAM' Advert

Audience- I feel the audience in this advert is aimed at youth, I think that because of the choice of music which is very upbeat and fast. I also feel as if the audience is youth because of the choice of actor who is a young man. Another reasoning for me thinking the advert is aimed at the younger generation is the choice of location which is a school hall and school is associated with  younger people.

Language- The audience instantly know that this advert advertises the brand 'MAOAM' because of the brand name/logo. This is then the focus for the remainder of the advert, the audience now concentrates on the brand. The dancing connotes a feeling of happiness and enjoyment (similar to the contentment you receive when you eat the sweet).

Costume- All the actors are wearing simple clothing with no patterns, maybe because they do not want their clothing to detract from the product they are trying to advertise.

Lighting- There is high key lighting throughout the whole video.

Actors- All the actors are people in their mid 20's.

Make up

Props- The props the advert uses is a rucksack which plays music and obviously the sweet.

Setting- The setting is an empty school hall, perhaps it is empty to ensure the attention is mainly on the sweet.

Camera- The camera angles go from long shot to mid-long shot then it does a close up of the male actors feet, then the middle part, then his face. Then when he is dancing on his own it is a mid-long shot then extra long-shot then the rest after that are all mid-long shot.

Sound- In this advert the song is an upbeat dancing song which is likely to be listened to by the younger generation rather than older people.

'HARIBO' Advert

Audience- Personally, I think the audience for the second advert is anyone but due to the actors in it, I feel it is mainly for middle-aged people. The fact the advert is set in a boardroom shows me that it might not be targeted for young children as it isn't very exciting.

Language- Around 5 seconds in, we see the brand name 'HARIBO' which is easily recognisable by almost everyone. The red heart that the camera focusses in on connotes the idea of love which he later on mentions.

Costume- All of the actors are wearing smart/business clothes which would usually connote a serious tone however in this advert we know that they are just wearing those clothes because they are in a boardroom.

Lighting- Throughout the whole of the advert, they use high-key lighting. The key light in the advert is from the sky from the window in the background.

Make up

Props- The use of props the actors use are the sweets themselves, the actors use the product themselves and talk about them in the advert.

Setting- The setting is in a business boardroom, this seriousness could compare with the excitement and the fun from the sweet, the seriousness accentuates the enjoyment of the sweet.

Camera- The first shot uses the camera angle crab right, then close up of the woman,then the sweets. After that it continues to do close ups of each characters and then the sweets.

Sound- My favourite part of the advert is the sound because everyones voices have been changed to sound like children's voices, this adds a sense of humour to the advert which I really like.

'ROWNTREE'S' Advert

Audience- I feel like the advert is mainly targetted towards younger people because of the use of bright colours and funny faces. However there is nothing in the advert that would stop older people from watching it. Also there is no specific gender that is predominant in the advert, therefore I think that any genders could watch this advert.

Language- I feel that the use of the primary colours of the sweets connote that they are preferred by younger people. From seeing the sweet itself I can understand that the advert is advertising fruit pastels because I recognise it. However I feel that not many people would recognise this as the 'Rowntree's' fruit pastel.

Costume- There aren't really any costumes right until the end of the advert when we see the woman wearing a yellow jumper.

Lighting- Like all the other adverts, the lighting is high key, it is also bright because of the white background as well.

Make up 

Props- There isn't really any use of props because the advert is predominantly animated but at the end the prop is the sweet itself which is being eaten  by the woman.

Setting- The setting is a plain white background which highlights the colourful sweets as the main focus.

Camera- the camera is close pall the way through the advert until it reaches the woman, then it is an extra close-up.

Sound- The sound in this advert is a rhythmic tune which changes to the eat that the sweets are moving, this makes the advert appear neat and uniform.

Camera Shots

Mise En Scene Analysis

Fruitella Advert Remake and Evaluation

1) WHO DID YOU WORK WITH AND HOW DID YOU MANAGE THE TASK BETWEEN YOU?
When producing this advert remake, I had Hannah, Bobby and Calvin, but we also worked alongside Georgia, Lee and Dan, as they were doing part two. We all came to an agreement to all film together, then edit our own parts separately. We wrote out a list of who was editing, acting and filming, and with this we went on to produce our advert.

2) HOW DID YOU PLAN YOUR SEQUENCE? WHAT PROCESSES DID YOU USE?
We watched the original Fruitella advert and took approximately 15 shots, which we then labelled with the camera shots and screening time-this was often around 0.5 to 1 second.

3)WHAT THEORISTS DO YOU THINK COULD APPLY TO YOUR TASK?
This task could relate to the reception theory, which was introduced by Stuart Hall. Because our production was an advert, the reception theory could be applied, as there is an intended message to stimulate the sale of the Fruitella, and people will have different opinions and beliefs on what they are being shown. In addition to this, Steve Neale could be considered as a relation to the task, because our advert has a genre. This advert is used to illustrate Fruitella, and the unique music and filming is where the genre relies on its differences.

4)WHAT FACTORS DID YOU HAVE TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT WHEN PLANNING, SHOOTING AND EDITING?
When producing our advert we had to take into account our setting, as we had to ensure it was as close to the original as possible. In order to do this, before we set off we thought about the best places to film. Moreover, when editing, we had the original in the corner of the screen to help identify the exact moments we needed to cut out sections and fit them with each other so they look similar to the original.

5) HOW SUCCESSFUL WAS YOUR SEQUENCE? PLEASE IDENTIFY WHAT WORKED WELL AND WITH HINDSIGHT WHAT WOULD YOU IMPROVE/DO DIFFERENTLY?
Overall, I believe that our sequence worked very well after it was all edited together. The comparison between our work and the original was that the editing between settings matched almost perfectly, which has a great effect. Although, if we were to repeat  this sequence again, it could have helped if we found better places to match the setting. One of the rooms in the original advert had bright colours displayed around it, so we could have improvised our found a room which had similar colours to evoke a brighter scene.

6) WHAT DID OTHERS SAY ABOUT YOUR PRODUCTION?
After showing others our remake of the Fruitella advert, they were impressed with the quality of editing, of how each clip was filmed very precise to the original to get the same effect. Another point highlighted was that the camera shots had been used accurately, such as the canted shot and the changes between the close middle shot and the long shot.

7) WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNT FROM COMPLETING THIS TASK?
Completing this task was a lot of fun, despite the fact that editing was sometimes difficult to get correct. I have learnt how to put together several second clips to make one 30 second clip. I have learnt how much thought is needed before hand, in advanced to filming and editing. It is not a simple case of filming straight away, as planning mise en scene is very important.

8) LOOKING AHEAD, HOW WILL THIS LEARNING BE SIGNIFICANT WHEN COMPLETING YOUR FUTURE PRODUCTIONS?
When I come to complete future productions, I have a better understanding on the planning that needs to be done to ensure the process runs smoothly and accurately. If not, it could result in confusion and lack of accuracy.

Class Stereotypes

DR CAGES

Stereotypes include:

• upper class-rich, well-dressed, posh, snobby
• middle class-wears suits, well educated
• lower class
• working class-factory workers, little money

Stereotypical portrayals in the media:

This is a stereotypical view of what upper and high middle class people are portrayed as-most hold the demographic of A and B. The image used highlights the stereotypical appearance of richer people, as well as the way society judges them in disgust and hate. It also creates an impression that people of a higher class don't like to blend in with lower classes and want to show off their money, where they like to dominate. Moreover, the suggestion indicated by the lower classes is that '20% ruthlessly protects its own interests'. The pronoun 'its' highlights that lower classes don't see the rich as people, because of their lack of respect and kindness towards others.


By watching this Virgin Atlantic advert, we are presented with the attitude that the upper class are luxurious and all like to show off their wealth. However, not all rich people are noticeable in their appearance, and some may not even care how they travel. Some may want to travel in luxury, whilst others don't want to be noticed by their wealth. It is a stereotypical portrayal of upper class travel. In some cases, middle classes may have opportunities to travel like this, but may feel out of place because they do not consider themselves as 'upper class'.

This article published by the Mail Online highlights objects that 'only the upper middle classes own'. It almost implies that if you are not in the middle class, then you shouldn't own these, which could make people think twice about what they can and can't have-even though anyone can choose what they would like and wouldn't like to own. It puts middle class people in a stereotypical position, whereby owning certain things is seen as 'posh', so we assume that all rich people have a posh attitude and way of speaking.


Countertype portrayals in the media:

This is a counter-typical portrayal of 'wealthy families' , because it goes against the stereotypical representation of upper classes. When we think of rich families, we often associate the with having long-lasting money passed down through generations, or through a well-paid job or business. Although, it is said that families will 'lose their fortunes in three generations', which informs us that the rich will not stay rich for long. It highlights that money doesn't last, which could annoy the wealthy, as they know they cannot attain their wealth for several generations.

Representation vocabulary

REPRESENTATION
This is the way in which people, events, places or ideas are portrayed to the audience. The media will often take something already there, but then present it differently in a way that suits their needs, so that the audience are more intrigued.


Stereotype---> where the media institutes create a 'visual shortcut' in order to give the audience a quicker understanding. It is often repeated, which results in the belief of a person or place being portrayed in that way, as we assume it is true and normal.


Archetypes--->this is the 'ultimate stereotype'. For example an Essex girl has a big reputation, which does not apply to every girl living in Essex. They are associated with wearing stilhettos and being brainless. It evokes a more hard hitting impact, as many know it to be false accusations of the way a person or place is presented in the media.



Countertype---> it is a representation that challenges the tradition of the stereotypical associations of groups, people or places.


Gatekeepers--->these are the people who control what is presented through the media. Media texts are representations by producers.

Film Industries

FEEDBACK

WHAT WENT WELL:

• there was a lot of detail in this presentation
• specific detail of what makes a good film
• easy to read and well organised
• very factual on the task set
• interesting facts
• each film is presented using its main genres and audiences
• each participant shared speaking roles
• clearly presented definitions

WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED:

• less repetitive 
• narrow down the examples
• use a summary instead of a list
• adjust the description so its less confusing
• include more detail on global success
• use a quiz to help engage the audience more
• highlight the relevance of the films before going in depth