Unit 3 Research Techniques

What unit 3 is about?

The aim of this unit is to develop understanding of and skills in research relevant to creative media production. Learners will present their findings in both written and oral forms and will learn how to cite and reference their sources.

On completion of this unit you will:

1. Understand the nature and purposes of research in the creative media industries
2. Be able to apply a range of research methods and techniques
3. Be able to present results of research.

The brief

You have been asked by Sidney Stringer Productions to produce a short film, in order to demonstrate that there is a potential market for your production. You will need to find out about existing products as well as find out if there is an audience for your product.

Assignment 1

• Research Primary and Secondary research  within the creative media industry providing relevant examples through conventional resources. 
• Investigate types of Qualitative and Quantitative data providing advantages and disadvantages. 
• Look at the purposes of research and methods and techniques appropriate to different purposes.  

Write a report/essay about what research is and what different methods and techniques there are. You should give examples for all types and provide advantages and disadvantages for each example you give.


From the Spec:


Methods: primary; secondary; qualitative (eg opinions, attitudes, behaviour patterns) quantitative (eg
ratings, circulation figures, web hits)
Techniques : using libraries; using the internet; reading; searching archives; interviews; observations; questionnaires; surveys; focus groups; recce
Information trail : log of library; internet and archive searches; Collate: sift and select; organise, eg by name, by date, by type, by content, by information source; index
Store : secure storage; ease of access

You should be aiming to create a detailed analysis of different research methods and techniques. You should evaluate research methods with reference to precise and detailed illustrative examples.

For a distinction: methods and techniques will be explained by reference to precise, well-chosen and detailed examples and they will be subjected to some sort of evaluative procedure or weighing up. For example, a learner might comment, ‘The internet will produce information faster than using a reference book but it will produce a lot more which then needs to be sifted through. This may in the end take longer than getting just what you want from a book.’

BTEC Standardisation

Dear Standards Verifier,

Here is a list of the links to students work for Unit 29 - Music Video Production

Marian Hussain
Shuab Ahmed
Syranpreet Rai
Daniel Azhar 

Muddassir Allarakha
Tanya McEntee (Hayman)

Many thanks,

Spencer Ayres

Audience Feedback

Today you will watch each others documentaries.

In order to receive quality feedback, you will design a short survey to find out the thoughts of your peers.

You should create a form on Google Docs, then link it to your blog, so that other students can fill it out directly onto your blog. This data can then be analysed in your evaluation.

Year 12 - What you need to do for your planning

Be able to plan and research a factual programme for television:

• Write about the genre of your idea:
• Genres: news; documentary, eg docudrama, docusoap, infotainment, ‘reality’ TV, educational, wildlife, special interest, makeover; magazine; discussion; review; chat show
• Develop ideas: 
• programme concept; target audience; development techniques, eg creation of narrative, scenario, synopsis, research process, interview questions
• Research: 
• primary sources, eg contacts, interviews; 
• secondary sources, eg broadcasts, reviews, internet, archives; checking information
• Legal and ethical considerations: 
• filming in public; clearances and permissions; privacy; libel and defamation; requirements of the Broadcasting Act 1994; BBC producers’ guidelines; Ofcom
• Planning: 
• production organisation; roles and responsibilities; schedules; interview and contacts; appointments; location recces; budget (planned, evolving); risk assessments; documentation
• Proposal: 
• subject idea; format; genre; style; audience; intended aim; budget

You should have separate blogs for each of the areas above. You have already created the proposal/pitch (it may need to be finished), I need to be able to see it on your blogs.

Year 12 Homework - March 12

Assignment 1 – Issues in Factual Programming

You must produce a media production textbook chapter on the issues facing producers of factual programming and the impact this has on their work:
You must:

• research the issues facing the producers of factual programming
• accuracy; 
• balance; 
• impartiality; 
• objectivity; 
• subjectivity; 
• opinion; 
• bias; 
• representation; 
• access;
• privacy; 
• contract with viewer
• select particular examples found within their research and investigate these further
• produce a textbook chapter on the issues facing producers of factual programming and the impact these have on their work.

By 19th March, you must have done the first part - researching the issues.You will then be asked to do the other sections for other home works.

BTEC B - Blogs list

Muddassir
Daniel
Shuma
Jasreet
Enock
Kamiul
Shoaib
Sabeena
Anthony
Shamim
Gift
Warda
Syranpreet
Shaukat
Kevin
Kaseem
Bham

Initial Documentary Idea

You need to come up with an idea for your documentary. This must be done individually, even if you working in a group, you must produce your own idea.

• Your documentary can be about anything (within reason) but you must try to think of an idea that you are really interested in. 
• Your ideas must be achievable so no point in making one about someone that you will not be able to interview of find anything out about. 
• It must be around 5 minutes long so do not try to combat a giant question, think small, but think about accuracy and creativity.
• There should be some kind of narrative, documentaries are all about telling stories - everyone has a story to tell, so think about the story that you want to tell

 

Documentary Analysis

Documentary Analysis 

Watch the following documentaries and write about them.
You should consider these topics:

• Mode of documentary
• Narrative
• Construction (how it is made)
• What's the purpose
• Who's the audience

http://www.4docs.org.uk/films/show/5/King+of+Laughter
http://www.4docs.org.uk/competition/view/349/Please+%26+Thanks+%28+Best+Version+%29

BTEC A - Blogs list

Unit 29 - Documentaries

Sam Comerford
Marian Hussain
Joshua Johnstone
Farzana Ahmed
Haris Umair
Tanya Hayman
Shuab Ahmed
Mohammed Bham
Kashif Naseer
Haris Zulfiqar
Munashe Mukandi
Zak Salad
Ayesha Shaikh
Mizbah
Samsia
Shalini

Year 12 Homework

There are 5 types of documentary. Pick one and create something that explains what it is

Cover work

I will be off for the next 2 weeks, so here's what you should be getting on with:

• Firstly make sure your music video is finished to the very best standard. 
• Make sure it looks like a professional music video following the codes and conventions of others that you have researched.
• Make sure all research and planning is complete
• Do more research and planning
• Start evaluation:

1. How well did you work in a group? Give specific examples.
2. What difficulties did you overcome in the production of the video and how did you overcome them?
3. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products ?
4. What have you learned from your audience feedback?
5.How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Please make sure that someone goes to reception to get a paper register and returns it to reception 

If you finish all that, you need to make sure that objectives 1 and 2 from this blog are complete!

I will be checking your blogs throughout the day, so make sure you do some work. If you need to speak to me tweet me anytime.

Class blogs

List of all blogs for BTEC Level 3 groups:

Group 1

Sam Comerford
Tanya McEntee

Group 2

Shuab Ahmed
Mohammed Bham
Marian Hussain

Group 3

Haris Zulfiquar
Haris Umair
Munashe Mukandi
Kashif Naseer

Group 4

Neepa Ahmed
Zakaria Salad
Ashley Johnstone

Group 5

Ayesha Shaikh
Mizbah Iqbal
Shalini Yogamoorthy
Samsia Akhter

For Level 2 BTECS only - Unit 1 - Research Techniques for Media

This is for years 9, 10 and 11 only

For Unit 1 you will need to:

1. Know about research methods and techniques 
2. Be able to use research methods and techniques to investigate an existing media product 
3. Be able to use research methods and techniques to gather material for a media production 
4. Be able to present results of research.

1. Know about research methods and techniques:

To demonstrate that you know about research methods and techniques you will need to present the following in any way that you want. (e.g. Blog post, Prezi, PowerPoint, Short film, animation, podcast etc)

Methods: primary; secondary; qualitative, eg opinions, attitudes, behaviour patterns; quantitative, eg
ratings, circulation figures, web hits
Techniques: using libraries; using the internet; reading; searching archives; interviews; observations; questionnaires; surveys; focus groups; recce
Information trail: log of library; internet and archive searches Collate: sift and select; organise, eg by name, by date, by type, by content, by information source; index
Store: secure storage; ease of access

You should be aiming to create a detailed analysis of different research methods and techniques. You should evaluate research methods with reference to precise and detailed illustrative examples.

For a distinction: methods and techniques will be explained by reference to precise, well-chosen and detailed examples and they will be subjected to some sort of evaluative procedure or weighing up. For example, a learner might comment, ‘The internet will produce information faster than using a reference book but it will produce a lot more which then needs to be sifted through. This may in the end take longer than getting just what you want from a book.’

So you need to write a report in whatever way you want which discusses the different types of research. You will need to research each of the research methods above and write about them in your own words.

Unit 29 Objectives

This is intended to be a sort of check list of things that need to be done to complete the Music Video Unit.

Learning Outcome 1 - Understand the purpose of music videos

Purposes: promotional; extension of income; extension of outlets (music channel, direct DVD and CD sales, website, download); synergy (films, TV programmes); producers’ strategies (major label, independent, artist self-produced)

What you need to hand in: 
This should be done using some kind of presentation software such as Prezi or PowerPoint. It should include a section about the history of music videos.

Learning Outcome 2 - Understand the styles, conventions, and techniques of music videos

Styles: popular music genres; in-concert and ‘as live’ footage; animation (stop motion, digital); interpretative; narrative; impressionist; surrealist; pastiche; parody; referencing; homage; influence of commercials

Conventions: lyric interpretation; extending or consolidating song’s meaning; allusion; links to other artists Techniques: cutting to beat; effects; miming and lip sync; playback and lip sync; multi-mage; camera movements; camera angles; chroma key

What you need to hand in:
Either a presentation or a number of blog posts which go into detail on most or all of the things above.


(N.B. Both LO1 and LO2 could be done on one prezi)


Learning Outcome 3 - Be able to originate and plan a music video production for a specific music track 


This is your pre-production work that should be on your Blogs. I am looking for a minimum of 10 posts but students looking for a Distinction should be aiming for 30+ posts. There should be an ongoing diary of production and filming as well as justification and detail for every decision made. Photos of filming and locations. 


Learning Outcome 4 - Be able to work to complete production of music video 


Work: eg individually, as director, as production manager, as camera operator, as editor 
Production: eg direct action, manage production, shoot footage, create animation, light, create SFX, edit; production log


This is your finished product. You should also have blog posts which diarise the production events - e.g. your edit decision list, production log, photos of editing etc. 

Today's lesson 20 October

Hi all,

I am off sick today. You should know exactly what you need to do to complete the pre-producion for your music videos.
The following needs to be done before you will be able to do any filming:

Treatment for the chosen idea.

Storyboard

Make a list of the locations you need to use.

Ensure you have permission to film in each location.

Moodboard.

Pitch to gain feedback with the use of a presentation - presentation of all pre-production

Timeline analysis of music track

Analysis of performers style and image in order to create a suitable music video for the performer

Make a list of the people needed for your video: cast and crew.

Make a list of the equipment you need for your video.

Complete a health and safety risk assessment for your video.

Work out the budget for your video - theoretical budget based on if you had to buy or hire equipment

I will be checking the work that you do today, so no excuses.

BTEC Course details for UCAS

These are the details of the BTEC course ONLY for those applying for Uni this year!!!

Course name: BTEC Level 3 Certificate in Creative Media Production (QCF)

Unit 1 Pre-Production Techniques for the Creative Media Industries (5 Credits)
Unit 2 Communication Skills for Creative Media Production (5 Credits)
Unit 27 Factual Programme Production Techniques for Television (10 Credits)
Unit 29 Music Video Production (10 Credits)

BTEC Homework

Due Monday 10 October

Watch this video created by BTEC students last year.



Analyse it in terms of:

• Narrative
• Mise En Scene
• Type (Performance, Narrative, concept, mixed)
• How well it follows conventions of hiphip music video

Great concept Music Videos

Three Types of Music Video

Three Types of Music Video

Pre-production elements

Here is a list of the the Pre-Production elements. All of thise need to be done whether it is A-Level or BTEC:

• Existing text analysis(either Music Videos or short films/opening sequences)
• Research into film/music video directors
• Treatment
• Moodboard 
• Risk assessment for each location
• Ask artist for permission via Email, Twitter, Myspace Etc (Music Videos only)
• Timeline analysis of chosen song  (Music Videos only)
• Storyboard
• Animatic
• Crew list
• Shot list
• Locations list
• Budget
• Film test footage/pictures of location reccy
• Planning rest of Mise En Scene (clothing, props, make-up, effects etc)
• Pitch to gain feedback (presentation to the class about the ideas)