Behind the Artist: From AS to A2

Evaluation of the progress I have made from AS to A2

I felt as though media studies would be a subject which would fit well with my given skills and abilities. Although I have not yet received the grading for my examination part of the AS course; I am quietly confident that I shall do well.

Over the past year I feel I have gained new skills and built stronger relationships. My strongest attributes gained from the first year of the course would probably have to be, gaining the ability to identify and explain the general conventions that most thrillers follow. Having a stronger understanding of this helps me to identify and understand the ways in which most thrillers are put together.

In coalition with this I have acquired a greater and more refined appreciation for the makers of big budget films. Being a creator of short videos online myself I know how difficult piecing work together and making sure it all makes sense can be therefore I believe that all filmmakers are really skilled at what they do.

My final point would be that I have greater understanding of how the behind the scenes of the media world operates. I have learnt about conglomerate intervention and the world of viral advertising. I enjoy having a better perspective on which channels the media I consume has had to have gone through in order to get to me.

The course did however uncover some key points for me to improve on.

For instance I decided that my participation in the editing stage of our groups product could have been greater. Through out alot of the editing process of our final piece, I felt that I took somewhat of a back seat. I think that we should have planned a time table in which each member of the group would be allocated a particular lesson to get the opportunity to work on the editing of our film opening; this then would balance the amount of effort given by the groups through out all the stages of production.

Whilst putting together the two practical tasks I realised that group co-operation is key when trying to assemble and complete any major project. Our group did a good job of communicating our issues and concerns with certain parts of the task however I do feel that our willingness to arrive to filming locations on time and getting all tasks done together could have been improved some what.

The research/planning side of the course work helped me to not only grow a more in-depth knowledge of cinematography but it also allowed me to appreciate the time and effort that goes into the making of any Hollywood film.