Question 1A Preparation - Examples

	AS	A2
Research + Planning	Use of website Blogger to keep all my research and planning posts in one place. Researched different institutions and planned which one would be most appropriate for my magazine – e.g. I learnt that Development Hell Limited is associated with products for 18-23 year olds who enjoy drinking and clubbing and therefore they would not be interested in my magazine. I then researched IPC Media which owns more than 60 brands and main target demographic is A, B, C1 women with children. This would be more appropriate as I could then use synergy to promote my magazine in other magazines of theirs.	Again, used website Blogger to keep all my research and planning posts in one place. Much more specific research at A2, in comparison to AS which was quite general. At A2 I’ve researched the artist and deconstructed some of his existing music videos. In regards to planning I used Excel to create a spread sheet of my shot list to allow more of a direction during shooting.
Creativity	As my genre was pop I could be creative however there were limitations as this genre of music is all about following codes and conventions. For example, I could design my own logo for my magazine VIPOP however I had to ensure it appealed the girly mainstream demographic and therefore added a heart in the circle of the O as well as above the I, and made the masthead pink.	I’ve enjoyed the creative side of A2 much more than AS. At AS I chose the genre of POP which meant my product was mainly following codes and conventions which I felt gave me some limitations. At A2 I chose the genre of dance music which has only became popular in the charts in the last few years. As not all the codes and conventions have not yet been established, and Calvin Harris is known for his quirkiness I found I could play with this genre much more. E.g. not including dance in my music video or any lip syncing, instead using a completely narrative based video, which is more typical to the indie genre.
Using conventions from real texts	Looked at magazines with similar genre to my own – E.g. We Love POP, TOP of the POPS, etc. Noticed typical conventions such as masthead in top left corner as well as more genre specific things like having the models always smiling and wearing bright colours.	Took great inspiration from Example’s music video “Stay With Me” which is from the same genre as my own, is also heavily narrative based and doesn’t include any lip syncing until the end of the song where Example is seen performing (however this is still written into the storyline). Not only did this music video justify my choice not to include lip syncing but as it was set by the seaside like my own video I got lots of ideas of how to include the scenery such as long shots through windows and close ups of their feet in the sea.
Digital Technology	Most obviously Photoshop and InDesign which I used in creating my magazine. Also used YouTube to search for tutorials to learn techniques to use on Photoshop such as adding false eyelashes and airbrushing the skin.	To create my video I used Premier. Again, as I was new to this software before starting I watched several tutorials on YouTube to understand how to choose the right settings for your new project, import files, cut files and add filters.
Post Production	As mentioned previously I used Photoshop to edit my photographs and then copied them into InDesign. During this stage I used effects such as: ·         The Magic Wand Tool to remove the backdrop from a photo ·         The Stamp Tool to place imported eyelashes onto the photo and create the illusion of false lashes ·         The Patch Tool to conceal unwanted details such as stray hairs in my model’s face or a bra strap on show ·          The Spot Healing Brush Tool to remove any blemishes or uneven skin	In terms of post-production I used Adobe software Premiere to edit my music video. My raw footage underwent a number of changes to make it look professional. As during filming my music video, the colour balance was slightly high, I wanted part of my music video to be dimmer than the summer scenes in order to create contrast and portray her upset mood. To do this, I designed a colour pass filter and then copy and pasted this over the parts that I wanted to be slightly darker.