Preliminary task questions

Magazine Cover

1. Who did you work with and how did you manage the task between you?

I worked with Olivia as a pair. Olivia took the picture of our model and i directed how to shoot it. We then worked together to edit it and put our ideas together.

2. How did you plan your sequence? What element did you use for your inspiration?

We planned our magazine on paper first using insperation from popular magazines e.g. Vogue. We then changed our ideas when editing it as some things we didnt like. For example we originally was going to use a full image of Rachel, But realised having a close up of her smilin was more effective. We used a dark colour scheme so it would match her hair. We knew then that it all would all blend in, and look effective.

3. What technology did you use to complete the task, and how did you use it?

We used a camera to take the picture and we then edited it on photoshop. We used photoshop to edit it and lighting effects etc.

4. What factors did you have to take into account when planning, shooting and editing?

We had to consider what colours we were going to use so that they didnt clash with what the model was wearing. When we were editing it we also had to decide what age group were aiming it at so it was suitable.

5. How successful was your magazine cover? Identify what worked well, and with hindsight, what would you improve/do differently?

I was pleased with our magazine cover however i feel we could have made it have a better effect. I would change the style of the picture so we could cut her head out and change the background as i think the colours were dull. However i like the position Rachel is standing in as it is an appealing side shot. The lighting highlights her facial features and she is posing that 'super-smiler' look that Ferguson identified. Her pose is also very invitational so readers will want to pick it up.

6. What have you learnt from completing this task? Looking ahead, how will this learning be significant when completing the rest of your foundation coursework?

I have learnt how to use photoshop and what effects work best on different pictures. This will help me in the future as when i come to edit my photo's and covers etc i will have more confidence and will become more effective.

Preliminary task questions

Short Film

1. Who did you work with and how did you manage the task between you?

I worked with Olivia, Alex and Reece. We all worked together to figure out how we wanted to stage each shot. Alex and Reece filmed the Shots as me and Olivia acted. After doing each shot we would get together to work out how the next shot would fit, and how to stage it.

2. How did you plan your sequence? What element did you use for your inspiration?

We Followed the instructions of having a conversation between two people. We chose a simple scenery as we knew it was our first video so we should keep it basic. We saw a video from another film somebody else had done, and we used insperation from that.

3. What technology did you use to complete the task, and how did you use it?

We used a camera to video our shots and then we uploaded it to Imovie and edited it. We cut shots out and shortened the length of some shots so that they blended into the next.

4. What factors did you have to take into account when planning, shooting and editing?

We considered the fact that we were knew to videoing and staging shots so we tried to keep it basic. When editing we did basic edits so that it all flowed and looked presentable, we didnt try to do to much with it. When shooting we knew that being in a school it would be busy so we chose a quiet area so we could control the noise.

5. How successful was your sequence? Identify what worked well, and with hindsight, what would you improve/do differently?

I thought it was a good effort, however it could have been more creative. The match on action worked well as we did the opening of a door which looked effective. To improve it i would make it more creative with a different range of shots.

6. What have you learnt from completing this task? Looking ahead, how will this learning be significant when completing the rest of your foundation coursework?

I have learnt how to work the camera properly to remove cinema borders etc. I have also experienced using Imovie which will help me in future. When i come to videoing again i will be more confident using Imovie, so my films will be more presentable and edited a lot better.

School magazine cover

In groups of two we were set the the task of designing and creating a school magazine cover and a contents page. Our criteria included a mid shot and 3 or 4 pieces of usefull text. We took a range of pictures of a girl in year 11 that we wanted to feature on our front cover. We chose to use Rachel as our model as she is very photogenic and would attract a lot of readers. Majororie Ferguson identifdied four different types of facial expression, Rachel is showing the 'siper-smiler' look. She has a wide smile, her head thrusted forward and her hair is very brushed back. This is very inviting for someone about to read the magazine. Trevor Millum also derived the same theory of what emotion they are trying to portray. Rachel looks very 'carefree' as she looks vibrant, very healthy and looks as if she is always smiling and grinning. We chose this picture as our final photo ...


We edited her picture in adobe photoshop, changing the brightness and contrast, so we could highlight her features to make her picture stand out more. This task took us a couple of lessons and was quite easy to complete. This task has helped to boost my skills on photoshop and i now have more experience using this program which i can apply to other tasks.