AS Coursework: Film Openings: May 2015

Wednesday, 13 May 2015

TECH TIP: Using ViewSync to compare cuts

Thanks to Conal Walsh for this, I'd never heard of ViewSync, a nifty website, designed with gamers in mind, which enables you to view 2 or more cuts side by side. A nice example of convergence - the sort of high-tech gadgetry that you might associate with the likes of Formula One is now in the hands of everyone. When you're trying to pinpoint the changes made step by step, and also as a tool for some targeted audience feedback (generate different clips of the same short sequence with different editing styles for example), this is a great option.

Conal's ViewSync for nine iterations of the Bad Romance video

How the AS exam works in with coursework

The skills and knowledge of the 2 parts of the course are closely linked! As we explore the Evaluation in particular you'll note frequent references to the exam material. In the exam you use semiotics to analyse the media language and (one area of) representation within a 4-5min clip of a US TV drama. You also write an essay on Cinema industry/audience. The following is a list of the elements you're asked to analyse across the 2 parts of your exam (provided on your AS Course Guide):

(UK only, but useful to consider) 7 AREAS OF REPRESENTATION:
Gender
Age
Ethnicity
Sexuality
Class and status
Physical ability/disability
Regional identity

4 Technical Areas of Media Language
Camera Shots, angles, movement and composition
Editing
Sound
Mise-en-scene

Aspects of Cinema
the issues raised by media ownership in contemporary media practice;
the importance of cross media convergence and synergy in production, distribution and marketing;
the technologies that have been introduced in recent years at the levels of production, distribution, marketing and exchange;
the significance of proliferation in hardware and content for institutions and audiences;
the importance of technological convergence for institutions and audiences;
the issues raised in the targeting of national and local audiences by international or global institutions;
the ways in which the candidates’ own experiences of media consumption illustrate wider patterns and trends of audience behaviour.

'MULTIMEDIA'?

The term multimedia is used frequently in discussing how/what to blog to get into the high marks band. You're partially marked on the 'level of care in the presentation' and 'use of ICT' within your blogs. What does this mean? Multimedia = a combination of images, hyperlinks, podcasts, videos, vodcasts, links lists and other blog tools, use of Facebook/YouTube et al for audience feedback/research/marketing etc. Level of care means taking time to appropriately illustrate posts, find useful hyperlinks to include [generally make a phrase into a hyperlink; don't just type 'here is a link:'!], and checking your links work, images have been properly embedded (always: save and upload, never copy/paste or drag in), posts don't have massive gaps/white space (if you place a lot of images in a post it can take some tweaking!). I try to apply these principles. Make your blogs at least as good as this one!

Key Posts

Wednesday, 13 May 2015

TECH TIP: Using ViewSync to compare cuts