L3 CMPT Final Major Project
WEEKLY REFLECTIONS
This is where you think about your FMP learning journey and development.
Dont simply describe what you did - consider what you have learnt and how this has benefitted your project.
Week 1 / 2
How has writing a concept / proposal
helped you with finalising your idea?
How did the feedback help you adapt
your idea what did you change after
feedback?
Reflective Entries
This week you worked on your initial ideas and started your FMP
concept
By coming up with a creative and unique concept it helped me finalise my
work easier because I already had an idea of what I needed to produce
and publish. I decided to produce a music video as I feel like this would
be a good challenge for me as my previous music videos didnt show off
what I was capable of producing. In addition, my editing is my strong point
so therefore I thought that a music video would be more flexible with
editing and can allow you to be more creative. When I knew what medium
I wanted to produce I then decided on what type of genre that I wanted to
do. I looked at what genres could be popular with people in my age group.
I came to the conclusion to produce a Pop music video as I feel that this
genre is very diverse and is easy to produce for. By thinking about all
these elements is helped me finalise things like the song I was going to
use and the story-line behind it as the medium and genre provoke specific
songs and narratives. Creating things such as briefs it help me develop a
better understanding of what it is I was going to produce and help me
have an initial idea so I knew what I was doing before I began researching
and planning.
When I received my feedback I discovered that I needed to produce more
research on the type of company I am producing for and expand on my
ambitions for my project. I looked into the company I found that I would
use to produce my music video, Light Engine Productions, and looked
more in depth to understand what it is they do a little bit better. By doing
this I was able to give reasons as to why I feel like this would be a good
company for me to choose. By extending my research and brief I was
able to show my concept and idea clearer to the audience. By having this
feedback it helped me understand how to elaborate more and present my
ideas in a more professional way.

How has the research for your target
audience helped you understand your
production more fully?
How did your primary research help
you?
How has researching the conventions
of your chosen genre helped you
understand what is required from you
in order to meet a distinction grade?
How has including a variety of
sources (primary and secondary)
helped with your understanding of
your medium / genre?
High Grade Tips
This week you worked on your initial ideas and started your FMP
Research
By researching my target audience and finding out what age group would
suit my music video the best I allowed myself to not only finalise a target
audience but understand what to include into the video and what
elements would meet the needs of my target audience. Finding statistics
such as what gender watch pop music videos the most and what age is
more likely to watch them I managed to gather information who would be
the most eligible for my music video. The research helped me to
understand different things about my music video such as what type of
narrative I should create, what type or characters and settings would be
appropriate for this specific audience. From my secondary research I
developed an understanding that females are most likely to listen to pop
music videos rather than males and the specific age groups is 15-25
which a similar age group to me is. This made it all the more easier for me
to produce a music video for this audience as I am the same age. It puts
me at an advantage as I know an outline of what people my age like and
look for in music videos.
By conduction primary research such as surveys and questionnaires and
allowed myself to gather information from peers and people in my original
target audience. The surveys allowed me to understand that pop music is
unisex and is not aimed at a specific gender. This helped me adapt my
target audience and gave me a better opportunity to produce a music
video that everyone can understand and enjoy. This type of research help
me get feedback from people that hasnt been gathered on the internet. I
can see first-hand what people really want and from the exact age group
that I think my music video would appeal too.
Looking into the conventions of my chosen genre helped me understand
what is needed from me in order to reach a distinction grade as the
research informed me of what I can involve in this music video for the
specific genre. I understand what is needed in my music video to reach
the needs of the genre.
By using secondary research I was able to find information that I wouldnt
have been able to find in my primary research. For example things such
as statistics on my chosen medium and the conventions of my genre, the
internet was able to give me the answers that I needed. With primary
research it would have been impossible to generate an understanding of
the conventions of my genre and I would have been able to produce
enough surveys to find a solid set of statistics on music videos. Both
types of research helped me to find the information that I needed either
first-hand or from researching the internet.
Research
Thorough research - include plenty of sources and detailed analysis of this information
relevant & coherent make sure your research sources are not just the same as the Media product you
hope to make - and talk about how they inform your planning
sustained continue your research throughout the eleven-week project and dont just limit it to the first
two weeks
accomplished & considered all of the above referred to in your daily/weekly reflections

Week 2 / 3 This week you will start your planning

What did you learn from your During this week I was able to conduct research and surveys on the
research? following topics; my chosen medium, genre, platforms, target audience
and different artists. From the information that I have gathered I have
learned the specifics of every topic. I have developed better knowledge of
what music videos actually are and what their purposes are. I have
learned about different platforms and which ones would be better to use
for my music video. In my case I discovered that you-tube would be the
best platform as there are over 5 billion users on this site and nearly over
45% of these users watch music videos more than anything else. In
addition, I also learned more detail about the conventions of my genre
and how it can appeal to my target audience. Overall, from my research I
have expanded my awareness of the different elements of each topic.

How will this be useful to your When I begin my planning the research will help me figure out how to set
planning? up, film and edit my music video in a way where it complements the
genre, meets the target audiences needs and show generic elements that
you would usually find in a music video. From looking into what my
desired target audience would like to see in a pop music video it will allow
me to make a production where my audience can relate to it as well as
produce appropriate content.

What sources of information did you

look at that were different from your
proposed project

What did you learn from your planning From my planning I have learned to become more organised with each
this week element of pre-production. In order for me to present a music video on
time and thats good quality I need to take time when writing the script
and drawing the story board. As I result of this I will allow myself to
understand how much footage I actually need and what type of footage I
need. By including things such as the times of when the footage should
be shown I am able to give myself enough film to edit with which will help
if I fall behind. By taking my time with the planning I think it will help with
the outcome of my project as it will look well-presented and professional.

What issues did you encounter and
how did you over come them?
I had issues with things such as the location recces and the clearances
and confirmations as well as the cast list. The trouble I had with the
location recces was initially finding the right address for the location as
well as finding the time to produce a picture for the form. On the other, I
struggled with finding actors that can film in the dates that I needed them
to film. Along with that I had to find back up actors as well as part of my
contingency plan so that if I ran into problems with my cast I could fall
back on them. Originally I wanted four people in my music video as it
suited the rough script. Because I had trouble with this I decided to
decrease the cast list down to two actors as I minimised the script and
would make it a lot easier for me to find people as well as film. I overcame
this as I found people who were able to film on the dates I needed them
including my back-up actors.
High Grade Tips

Planning & Production

effective planning, organisation your FMP Workbook will explain what you need to do in the next few
weeks to make sure all of your planning is completed, and also how this will help you
efficient production against timescales your FMP Proposal will clearly identify how you intend to
create your project before the deadline in May
commitment & subject engagement all of the above referred to in your daily/weekly reflections

Week 3 This week was the start of your production process

What practical work have you done
this week - and how helpful was your
earlier planning
During this week I decided to film on Wednesday and Fridays as these
days worked for both my actors and allowed me to have enough time to
film. I started off the week by finishing my pre-production and made sure
that it was clear and that I understood what it was I was doing that week.
On Wednesday 24th may 2017 after 1:00 I began filming the first half of
my music video. I manage to film the parts of my music video with my
actors here it didnt require them to wear make-up.

While I began filming I referred back to my storyboard and script which

helped a lot. It told me the scenes that I needed with my actors without
make-up. This helped as I had a good idea of how much footage I actually
needed. By using the planning it reminded me of the type of shots that I
needed to shoot because if I didnt refer back to the script of storyboard
the video would have come out completely different to the original script
and storyboard.

How will this be useful to you as your
production process continues
What issues did you encounter and
how did you over come them?
On the Friday I then did my second half of my production which was all of
the footage I needed of my actors with the make-up on. Yet again I
referred back to my storyboard as it showed me all the scenes that I need
to shoot with my actors with their make-up on. I wanted to showcase my
make-up in this project as this is something I aspire to do as a career. I
was able to incorporate
After I manage to gather all of my footage I decided to begin editing and
follow the guidelines of my storyboard and script. By doing this I was able
to make the final edit similar to what I originally planned on my pre-
production.
As I continue to shoot and edit my production the planning beforehand will
act has a spine for this project. Without any planning I wouldnt know how
much footage I would actually still need to get. The pre-production
planning helps to show other people what my idea for the music video
was before I even start shooting. It shows my original idea and what I
hoped for the video to look like.
One of the issues that I did encounter was trying to shoot different types
of shots and angles. Due to the location staying the same throughout the
video it can ultimately look repetitive and boring. I wanted to shoot some
scenes either on a slant or at an angle just to make the footage look that
more interesting and eye grabbing. I also tried to use a variety of shots so
close-ups, long shots and mid-shots to show status but also again make
the video unique and interesting. As I started shooting I had an idea of
what I was going to shoot due to my storyboard however the script and
storyboard do not show of all of the angles that I could have used.
Examples of the different angles that I did end up using are shown down
below.
High Grade Tips

Practical Skills & Presentation

Considered and capable demonstration of processes very detailed documentation of your
 production process - such as still images, and annotated Screenshots of your specific production and
editing process including what and why, not just how
skills and knowledge used to develop alternative ideas evidence of different ideas developed for
more than one version of your Media product
Week 4
What did you learn in your sessions
this week
What feedback did you find most
useful verbal or written
How will this be useful to you as your
production process comes to a
conclusion
What issues did you encounter and
how did you over come them?
This week was the second week of your practical production
During this week I learned how to use different elements of Premiere Pro.
By using this editing software quite frequently I always would stick to what
I knew about it and not expand my knowledge of it. This week I learned
how to overlap footage too evoke emotion and feeling. By overlapping
footage you are allowing yourself to show off the diversity of your shots as
well as how creative you can be. I feel like this feature really suits this
type of music video and showed of the suit of thing that I can produce if I
take my time with editing it. As I said before editing has always been my
favourite part of any production as you can be as creative as you want
and is always worth it when you see the end result at the end.
When I began filming I soon discovered that during my editing I didnt
have enough variety of shots as the music video began looking a little
repetitive. A piece of feedback that I did receive was that I should start
including things such as effects and overlapping the footage so that the
video doesnt just look like it is just clips put together. I made sure that
every time a scene changed it would change on the beat and go with the
song. I feel like that makes the video a lot easier to watch and more
pleasing to the eye. If I had not done this the footage wouldve looked out
of place and irrelevant to the song.
It will help me spot any bits in my final edit that may not look good or
appropriate with the music. By going back over the video a couple times I
was able to see whether everything was edited on the beat and whether
the narrative was shown clearly through the video. Experimenting with the
editing software allowed me to make the music video more creative and
interesting. The video now looks more unique due to the concept as well
as the editing.
As I stated before I ran into a problem where I felt as if I didnt filmed
enough footage for the video. I overcame this issue by applying different
effects and filters to make the footage look almost as if it is different. This
then helps the audience to understand the narrative as well as not get
bored of it becoming repetitive. The picture down below shows one of the
effects that I used for my video. By using this type of effect it relatively
makes the scene look different and also more pleasing to the eye. I
applied this to the footage I used quite frequently to show versatility and
originality.
High Grade Tips

Practical Skills & Presentation

Considered and capable demonstration of processes very detailed, annotated Screenshots of your
specific production and editing process including what and why, not just how
skills and knowledge used to develop alternative ideas evidence of different ideas developed, and
more than one version of your Media product

Week 5 This week was your finishing off week - for both your edits an
written work

What feedback did you find most
useful verbal or written
The feedback I received for my written work was to elaborate my work to
show how much I did understand the things I researched. I found this
feedback very useful as it help me try and reach more of distinction grade
work instead of pass or merit level. I went over my written work and tried
to expand on the quality of my research so I can show off how much I did
look into this project. Also with my pre-production I made sure that the
scripts were as clear as possible as I wanted people to see what my
vision was for this project before they look at the final edit.

What did you learn in your sessions I learned how to develop my work is a professional way and also how to
this week elaborate with more detail. I also learned how to present my pre-
production booklet in a professional way and how much work I need to
produce.

How has this helped you meet your
targets - see FMP Workbook
By being able to produce more quality work I have allowed myself to
reach the opportunity of getting a distinction grade piece of work. By
being told to develop my work and generate a better understanding of
what it is I am researching I am showing my capability and what it means
to try and achieve a distinction grade.

How helpful did you find the pitch
what feedback did you get?
I fund the pitch helpful as it allowed me to go over all of the work I had
produce for the past week and help me recap it all. I got a chance to see
whether all my work made sense and whether I had developed and
elaborated it enough. The feedback I received was mostly positive,
everyone liked the concept of my video and found it easy to relate too.
The only negative comment that I had got was that I could of produce a
lot more different camera shots and angles to make the video more
appealing. I feel like I restricted myself in this department as I did only set
one location for the project and kept a similar theme running throughout
the video. If I had allowed myself to use maybe different costumes for a
couple scenes or a different location I could of allowed myself to being a
lot more creative and smart about the video.
How did your peer feedback help I feel like my feedback did help me a lot with my final edit as it gave me
the reaction that I was looking for. I wanted to reach out to people,
teenagers in particular, who were going through a similar situation in their
relationships. However, I do feel like everyone understand the narrative of
the video and understood why I made this type of video. I feel like small
projects like these can really help someone find closure or at least make
them feel as if they arent alone.

What issues did you encounter and
how did you over come them?
Issues such as not having enough time to create the pitch as I was
catching up with editing and previous work really didnt help with my
presentation. I feel like if I allowed myself more time with the pitch I would
have been able to present a better and well put together presentation. I
feel like with my pitch I covered the basics but didnt really go into depth
about the project which I feel like if I had done I would have given myself
the opportunity to receive a distinction grade. In conclusion, I felt like for
what I presented it went really well as I was nervous. I manage to
overcome my fear and present to the best of my abilities.

High Grade Tips

Evaluation & Reflection

reasoned decisions and inform the development of ideas both your evaluation and the weekly
reflections above will clearly show both how and why your ideas developed throughout the project
demonstrating clarity in thinking all of the above plus very clear links between your research,
planning, idea development and the production of your poster and film trailer