Mood Board

In today's Media Studies lesson, I had to create a mood board. This mood board had to include, images, pictures, writing styles. The idea of this task was that we got an idea of what we wanted to include on our own magazines.

• Was there a certain text styles
• Was there a certain colour we liked

I had to cut out any colours, logos, images, text styles I liked and I had to stick them on my mood board. This mood board was also effective in showing me what colours stand out the most on a magazine cover: 

• Bold text is more effective and stands out more, this will catch the readers eye
• It is better to put darker coloured text against a lighter coloured background e.g. yellow background, navy blue text
• White text is also good to use on a magazine cover
• A magazine colour should include different features such as, a heading, sub-heading, strap line, mast head etc.
 
• I can use this mood board to help me choose text styles and colours when coming to make my magazine cover.

 Below, you will find the mood board that I made in today's lesson:

 

Presentation-Camera Angles

In today's Media studies lesson, we had to present a presentation. For my homework I had to create a presentation and collage using Photoshop. For this presentation I had to choose a particular topic of my choice.

 

 For the collage I had to take pictures of my dog, using different camera angles. Once I had taken the pictures at different angles, I had to use Photoshop to edit these photos, and add different effects to them. This meant I had to change the lighting of an image, change the effect of the image from colour to black and white. When taking these photos, I had to consider different camera angles, these included:

 

Wide shot-Shows the entire person or area. They establish the scene.

Medium shot-Frame the subject

Medium close up-Shots show the subject in more detail

Close up-Show a particular part of your subject

Extreme close up-Much tighter, close up shots

High angle shots-The shot is higher than the subject of the picture

Flat angle shots-The camera is on the same level as the subject of the picture

Low angle shots-Camera is lower than the subject of the picture

Long shot-Subject of the picture is surrounded by other material

 

My presentation had to explain all of the different camera angles that I used and why I used them. My presentation also introduced my theme and the camera angles that I used. There is a different slide for each camera angle and an example image of this camera angle.

 

My presentation on camera angles:

 

 

Friday 18th October 2013

In today's Media Studies lesson, we started learning about our preliminary task and what we need to include in this task. 

We started off the lesson by going through a PowerPoint about what the coursework will involve. Once we had done this, we were given a task by our teacher. He handed us out the front cover of a magazine, in pairs. Using this front cover of the magazine we had to identify the different features of this magazine. These could include:

-Heading

-mast head

-cover line

-pug

-strap line

-main image

-barcode

After we had done this, we went onto the main task of today's lesson. This was choosing colours and fonts we would use on the front cover of our magazines. At first we had to choose 3 fonts and 3 colours. After we had identified 3 for each, we had to choose the one in which we would be most likely to use. This research was very effective, as I know it will help me when I come to choosing fonts and colours for my actual magazine cover. As well as identifying the colours and fonts, I had to say why I chose them.

Below, you will find my colours and fonts research from today's lesson and why I chose these.

 

Monday 14th October 2013

In today's media studies lesson we were working on the different types of TV dramas. The class was split up into six groups and each group was given a different type of TV drama to research up on. My group was allocated 'teen TV drama' this meant that this is what we had to go and research. Our research had to be presented in PowerPoint or poster format.

There were many things that we had to consider when researching teen drama,these were:

-what is a teen drama

-the history of the TV drama

-storylines

-examples

-how often are they played

From doing this research, I learnt that a teen drama is a type of drama series with a major focus on teenage characters. The genre was relatively non-existent for the first 45 years of television. There would be a few main characters and there would then be a few one off characters depending on the storyline of tthe story. Most of the storylines would be based on teenage situations so that it appeals to the target audience and the audience will also be able to relate to the storyline, which gives them a better understanding of what is going on. Some examples of teen dramas are:

-Waterloo road

-Skins

-Eastenders

Once, we had finished researching and had completed our PowerPoint everyone had to present what they had just researched to the class. When others were presenting there research, it was important that I took notes on what they were saying so that I have some information about all of the other types of TV dramas and not just the one that I had to research.

Today's lesson was very effective because if we had to research every TV drama on our own we wouldn't have got as much detail as we needed, due to the fact that there wouldn't have been enough time. Therefore, doing it this way meant that we had researched all of the information that we needed for our notes.

Friday 11th October 2013

 In today's Media Studies lesson, we started of the lesson by watching our one minute TV dramas that we had filmed for homework. Whilst watching these we were looking at the different camera angles, setting and props used in each TV drama. We had to come up with a storyline and work in groups of four to film these. Below you can see my groups school TV drama:

 

 

After we had watched these, we watched a scene of waterloo road. Whilst watching this we were split into four groups where we were each given a topic to write about. There was a choice of:

 

-Camera Angles

-Costume/Props

-Setting

-Sound

 

I had to write about costume. Therefore whilst watching the episode I had to write about what costume was used and why these were used. For example, a teacher was wearing a suit, he was wearing a suit to represent the fact he was a teacher and to make him look smart and stand out from the pupils and it is what you would expect from a teacher. Once we watched this a few times and got all of our notes, we got into groups and shared what we had found. I joined people who took notes on camera angles, setting  and sound. After we had finished writing our notes we had to put this into an essay. In our essay we had to write about all of the media techniques used in this episode and why they were used, is it to interest the audience etc?

 

Once we had completed the essay, we watched a one minute clip on the TV drama Downton Abbey and our homework was to write about the contrast in the TV drama.

 

Monday 7th October 2013

Cameras and Compositions

In today's Media Studies lesson we were learning about cameras and compositions. We started of the lesson by going through a powerpoint and learning about different camera types and compositions.

Firstly, I learnt about 'getting a good picture'. There are many different things you need to avoid when trying to get a good picture (composition). These include- Avoiding distractions, eye placement and the rule of thirds.

Avoiding distractions: Keep the photo as basic as possible! Are there distraction lines, lights, objects? Be aware of lightpoles, phone lines etc.

Eye placement: should be in the top third of the screen

Rule of thirds: relies on the photographer imagining the frame slit up by a line into thirds, both vertically and horizontally. Placing objects and people along these lines will create a composition that is more interesting and engaging
 

After I learnt about compositions, I then learnt about different camera angles. This part of the lesson really helped me as I will be able to apply what i learnt in that lesson, to my coursework when I have to make my magazine cover. This lesson helped me develop my skills as I didn't know about many of these camera angles before today's lesson. Some of the camera angles i learnt about were:

• Wide shot-Shows the entire person or area. They establish the scene.
• Medium shot-Frame the subject
• Medium close up-Shots show the subject in more detail
• Close up-Show a particular part of your subject
• Extreme close up-Much tighter, close up shots
• High angle shots-The shot is higher than the subject of the picture
• Flat angle shots-The camera is on the same level as the subject of the picture
• Low angle shots-Camera is lower than the subject of the picture
• Long shot-Subject of the picture is surrounded by other material
 



Once we had gone through all of the different angles and compositions we were set a task. Our task was to go around the school and develop on the pictures that we had taken from the last lesson (4th). This time when taking our pictures we had to use all of the different camera angles that we had just learnt in the lesson. We had to take 10 pictures, below, you will find the best three pictures that I took:

 

This photo is a close up photo. The subject is the only material in the picture.

 

 

This photo is a wide shot. This image is a wide shot because it shows the entire area and establishes the scene.

 

This picture is a low angle shot. This image is a low angle shot because the camera is lower than the subject of the picture.

Friday 4th October 2013

In today's media studies lesson we were learning about different cameras and the different fatures of these cameras. To start of the lesson my teacher went through a powerpoint with us showing us all of the different types of cameras. For example, we were showed what a point and shoot camera was. A shoot and point camera is a lightweight photographic camera with an autofocus. A point and shoot camera wouldn't be suitable for someone like a photographer as the megapixels on the camera aren't good enough, therefore if the photographer wanted to take an image from far away, when they zoom in the photo would be blurry. We also learnt about DSLR camera's. A DSLR camera is a 'Digital Single-Lens Reflex' camera. A DSLR camera produces better quality pictures compared to a point and shoot camera, therefore this camera would be suitable for a photographer.

 

Once my teacher had gone through the powerpoint, we had to do research on three cameras. However, when doing this research we were givern three budgets on how much the cameras we were researching could be. These budgets were:

 

-£170

-£700

-£2000

 

I had to take these budgets into consideration whilst doing my research. Whilst doing my research I had to take note of the three cameras within these three budgets and the main features of the cameras. I also had to say who I thought these cameras would be suitble for. Below, you will find my three chosen cameras within the budget provided for us:

 

£700 budget (Nikon D5200)

£2000 budget

£170 budget

(who each camera would be suitable for)

 

 

After I had finished researching I had to get a partner and collect a 'point and shoot' camera from my teacher. We were set a task called 'Catholic life through a lens'. We had to go around the school and take pictures of anything related to catholic life. We had to take into account everything we had just learnt in the lesson and use this when taking our pictures.

Thursday 3rd October 2013

In today's Media Studies lesson we were learning about camera angles and what different camera angles there are. We started off the lesson by watching a video made by the exam board that talks about all of the different camera angles that there is. We watched this video a few times and took notes down about the different angles used. After we had watched the video about 3 times, we talked as a class about why these camera angles might be used. Are they used to interest the audience? Are they used because they want to focus on that one character? What do these camera angles represent about each character?

Some of the different angles I learnt from watching the video were:

-Extreme longshot. An extreme longshot is usually an exterior shot which establishes the time and location of the shot.

-Longshot. A long shot enables the audience to see the character from head to toe. This shot allows the audience to understand the relationship between the audience and the character.

-Twoshot. A two shot is a shot with two characters in the frame. It expresses their relationship with eachother and the actions they find themselves in.

-Close up shot. A close up shot  is the use of the characters head and shoulder. The focus is upon the character.

After we had discussed this, we watched the introduction to the episodes of the TV school drama 'waterloo road'. Whilst watching the introduction, I had to write down all of the different camera angles that were used and the dialogue, props, costume and setting that were also used in this introduction. The opening of the programme started with a longshot of the school, this was to set the scene of the TV drama. Other angle shots used were midshot, close up, extreme close up and extreme long shot. The extreme close up was used when the new teacher was setting up her science lab. There was an extreme close up on her setting up the test tubes, this was to show she was focused and excited about what she was doing. The dialogue used from the pupils towards the teachers was rude and aggressive and  it showed the students were frustrated. One example is that the school breakfast club isn't on as they can't afford to fund it and one of the pupils replies "what are we suppossed to go hungry?" which is aggressive and dramatic because they will get lunch. Some of the props used were whiteboard, pens, books, watch, suitcase, shelves, PH scale etc. There is a school uniform, however every pupil does not wear it the same, this represents the different social classes within the school and displays and represents the character that they are.

Today's media lesson showed me how much detail I need to go into when writing about TV dramas and the different camera angles, props and costume used throughout the programme.

Wednesday 2nd October 2013

In today's Media Studies lesson I was working on Photoshop. My task was to create the front cover of a magazine or a poster using photoshop. Before starting my teacher showed us some skills we can use when making our magazine covers or posters. These skills included, filling the text with a certain picture. You do this my inserting the text, then going to the magic wand tool and clicking on the letter you want to fill. Once you have clicked on the letter you want to fill and the little white lines are around it you can go to the internet and copy the image you want to add into the letter. Once you have found the image you want and copied it, you have to go back onto Photoshop and go to edit (on the toolbar at the top of the screen) and click 'paste copy' and the image will be inside the letter. I had to be careful when choosing what text to used as some of the fonts were not wide enough to fit the images in.

My poster had to be based on 'e safety'. I filled each letter of the title with an image. I did this by using the skills we learnt at the beginning of the lesson. For example, I filled the first letter 'e' with the internet explorer logo, I then filled all of the other letters with different logos from social networking sites. Once I had inserted the title, I could now design my poster around this. I based the information on my poster on how to stay safe on the internet, the information included things such as "not talking to strangers" and "not posting personal information online. I also had to include images on my poster. 

I found today's lesson very useful as I learnt many new skills on Photoshop that I didn't know about before the lesson. Now that I know these skills it means that I can use them when I start making my magazine.