Major Assessment Project - Entry 6

Today i have been practising my section of the presentation. To me i feel like this is going well, i have created a script to look over and from this i have created cue cards. i am  just trying to engrave as much as i can into my head so i am not constantly looking at my cue cards during the presentation.
I am quite confident that when we present our power point we will all be ready and glad to have completed the task. Personally, i just need to relax and keep practising but not worry myself.


Until Next Time
Rachel

Peer Assessment

In today's lecture we were assigned the task of completing peer assessments. I was happy to begin this as i have already conducted peer assessments in other modules so i felt confident with the procedure.

When assessing other group members work i tried to be as honest as i could and at the end give a detailed comment; so that the individual had something constructive to work on.

I was last to have my work assessed and i was very pleased with my feedback. I was given the overall grade of a B+ which i was very happy with and i now know that i need to show my research as my group know i did this research but to the unknowing audience it isn't obvious; this is something i intend to immediately work on.

Until Next Time

Rachel

Major Assessment Project - Entry 5

Today we had a group meeting to combine our separate presentation slides and script sections. We created these individually as we believed that we would be able to talk and give a more thorough speech about our allocated sections rather than speaking about each others.
Unfortunately i have been quite ill the past week so i was not able to make the lecture following this meeting, however i was reassured that i could catch up quite easily. 
With regard to work that needs to be completed, all that is needed now is the email from Sara that contains the joint power-point and script for our presentation, once this has been checked over and rehearsed i am confident we will have a well bodied and intelligent presentation to give in front of the class.


Until Next Time
Rachel

Major Assessment Project - Entry 4

Today we were scheduled to have another group meeting to generally catch up with everyone's individual tasks towards the group project. Unfortunately only me and Sara ended up being available, however we still met up to see how each others work is going and if any help was needed. 
During this meeting we also wrote down a list of things we need to be ready for our next meeting. After this was discussed i then went away and sent an email including what we had discussed and what is needed to each group member.
I believed this to be necessary as the knowledge of what the rest of the team is doing and general communication within the group is key in creating a well rounded and thorough presentation.

We discussed that for the next group meeting everyone's section of the power point and script needs to be done so we can join them all together, but acknowledging that we should try and not overload the slides with text so we can create a visually interesting presentation accompanied with a script that would be verbally communicated by us.

Previous to this meeting I had finished my section of the power point but also created an outline for a cue card with the BRUT logo embezzled on the front; so we can look as professional as possible when presenting to the rest of the class.

After this meeting, i was glad i took the lead in stating to each group member what was needed for the next meeting so hopefully we have all the material and information to pull our presentation together.

Until Next Time

Rachel

Film Project - A Chance Encounter

Last Wednesday as a learning group we were given the task to create a non audio short film, entitled 'A Chance Encounter' the aim of this task was to encourage us to consider planning, preproduction and presentation skills as a team, which i believe to be an essential skill when applied to our chosen future careers. I think that the main encouragement for this task was emphasize the importance of planning and furthermore the communication that takes place within a team.


In this session brief, we created the concept for our short plan and set out a plan to what each individual team member would create for the next session when we would be film and how we can best prepare for this session.

The main aspect that we had to consider during the pre production of this film is that all the scenes could only be edited within the camera. So we could not use and post production editing to improve our film.
It took us a while at first to think of a concept that would stand in a five minute non audio film, but once we had our idea we set to work straight away in the lesson and created our script with timing schedules (below).

From this script, we then delegated the separate pre production processes that needed to have taken place and be created. Sara was to create a more detailed and thorough script, Alex created the treatment, James completed the risk assessment and i was to create the storyboard (below).
Personally i was pleased with my storyboard, apart from some mistakes with technique and materials used,, i think i was able to capture the main significance of each scene and not visually over complicate it. So when we came to filming it would be easily understood.

Today we actually began the filming, as the cameras were hired out and we were pretty much ready to go, with consideration to props etc and after we had the conformation from our lecturer Jane that we could begin we set for town to begin our filming.
We arrived to our first location quite quickly as we drove down and we had previously planned where we wanted to film so we headed straight there.
The filming went well, everyone but Sara was actually on film as she was the cameraman and kept us in line. We worked well apart from the occasional giggle and loss of attention. The only negatives i would say were that by filming in a high street there were a lot more distractions and loss of film because of people walking into the shot etc. The other problem was that by the time we had got into town at about 3pm we were already starting to loose day light, but fortunately we managed to get our filming completed in time to what i would believe to be a high standard.


I think because we completed our task in the same learning group as previous tasks this has allowed us to become use to each others skills and behaviour. So we can decipher who would be best suited for different tasks, making the group dynamics stronger as we can pull in different skills and suggestions from the different points of views from within our learning group. Overall this task went well, and i enjoyed it further as it has given me knowledge into a field i had no previous experience in and it was an enjoyable task because of its creativity and freedom. I would be most interested in taking part in a similar project in the future and taking the skills and knowledge i learnt from this task into future works.


Until Next Time
Rachel

Major Assessment Project - Entry 3

Today my learning group met up for the third time for a group meeting. We decided to have a weekly group meeting to allow us to keep up to date with each others individual project developments. Today we also gave a meeting outline for our scheduled meetings over the next 4 weeks, so we are all aware of the work we have to do before the next meeting.

After today's meeting i decided to go away and create the product promotion poster for the brand  rather than the individual product of aftershave.
For creating the poster i decided to use Photoshop, i decided to go with the house colours of dark green, grey and black to familiarise the viewers with this house style.
I also selected the image of the man leaning against a wall as i believe it gave a casual feel to the piece but it was formalised by the fact he was wearing a suit. When it came to affecting the image, i tried to a create a modern presentation of the photograph as we are trying to increase the air of sophistication and modern relevance.

Until Next Time
Rachel

Major Assessment Project - Entry 2

After the second group discussion i decided to further develop my initial designs of the Box Packaging and the Bottles themselves, i chose to do this through sketches and further developing them with fine liners and watercolours; as i believed that i could best express my ideas through this media.
Below is my final design of the box packaging. I chose to use the fade from dark green to light green from the bottom as I believe it draws the attention of the viewer towards the logo. 

I then designed the bottles themselves after discussing various styles and colours with my group we decided to go with a design that could be bought in a gift set or individually.

Below is the bottles that i designed including the lids, i was very pleased with my final designs as i really could imagine them being displayed in a gift box and being especially popular around chirstmas and similar events.

I am really enjoying this project as it is giving me the chance to expand my knowledge of research and design into marketing and creating a product for target audience. Furthermore, i always enjoy working in a group as i believe you get a more thorough piece of work as you are collaborating individual ideas and creativity together to make the project overall more dynamic.

Until Next Time

Rachel

Major Assessment Project - Entry 1

In our lecture we were given the brief for our Main Assessment Project, and told that we were to prepare a pitch to visually re-brand a product. 
Int his presentation we were given the basic information to re-brand a product with our learning group for a product that has shown a retail decline over recent years.


We were told to chose one of the following products:
-  Blue Nun Wine
-  Mateus Wine
-  Spam
-  Skol Lager
-  BRUT Aftershave
-  Hai Karate Aftershave
-  Babycham
-  Milk Tray


We had to re-brand our chosen product through the following:
-  Print Marketing
-  TV Advertising
-  Radio Advertising
-  Promotional Website
-  Promotional App


Through our first group discussion, i was allocated the Print Marketing section which i was very happy with as this was the section i put forward for me to cover.
I presented this research and brief in my learning journal:

After a discussion with my learning group, we decided to chose BRUT Aftershave as we felt that this was the product that could be expanded and have a new style introduced.

From this meeting, i went away and created my own small research into the BRUT range, as displayed in my Learning Journal:

I also thought that one of the best first steps in the project to make was to conduct research into Male Fragrances and what are the most popular brands and why this is.

This research is displayed below:

I hope that this positive development with the project continues, as i believe as a team with have the potential to pull together all our ideas and creativity to create a stimulating and strong presentation to the rest of our class and lecturer.

Until Next Time

Rachel

Task No.3 - Communication Skills for Digital Media

Last Wednesday we were given the task to create a piece of Digital Media and prepare a pitch for our chosen piece that we would present to our learning group in the following weeks lecture.

Before starting the creation of the pitch i decided to research into the Pre Production, Production and Post Production processes just so i had a clear idea of what was expected from a good well rounded pitch.

I found the task of creating an idea to pitch enjoyable as for a few years now I have been wanting to develop an idea i have for a collection of children stories based around a group of friends who live in a sleepy Cornish town by the sea. I originally thought of this idea based on my love of Cornwall and how i could use my skills and my passion to express this in a story.

The aim of this book is to connect to children's real life experiences but with abstract situations and ideas and I also aim to explore topics which will interest and teach children morals etc but in a fun and exciting environment. I thought the Cornish setting would be perfect as the most of the stories have some kind of link to the sea.

When exploring deeper into the technicalities of my book i decided that the target audience would be children aged 7-9 as it creates situations that  children around this age may encounter and help encourage positive behaviour.

Once this initial research had been completed, i went about finalising my initial ideas onto paper  so i could have a clear image of what i was going to create and what my book would entail. 

Furthermore, i conducted research into where my influences and inspiration for the book were coming from. So during my pitch I could give a detailed description, i believed that by trying to encourage the audience to visualise the final product  I could gain their attention in a more enthusiastic manner.

I carried out research into age groups and target audiences of children's books and how different age ranges books differed. From this i can begin to see how the images should appear and how the text should be written in a manner that is suitable for the age range.

I also gathered information from pieces that will influence my work. For Example. 'Scooby Doo' as i believe the style of illustration would suit my books particularly the rounded features and vibrant colours of the characters. From this i also researched Enid Blyton's 'Famous Five Series' as I loved the idea of a completely new story for each book and with that a new adventure that would really capture the imagination of my target audience.

After this research had been completed i created a diagram to represent the relationship between the main characters and sub characters of the story.

When all the research and preparation had been completed I arrived at the task i was most looking forward to, of creating a prototype and developing that into the final product. I decided to demonstrate my book idea by creating the front cover for my prospective first book.

I chose to use a prototype first as i wanted to check that the composition, text and scale were all correct before beginning the final thing. 

For my final book cover i used watercolour to express a youthful and soft quality and for the composition i also wanted the same impression. I think I was successful in meeting my aims as the final book cover shows a fun and playful theme which hopefully will match the content of the book.

Overall i think this task went extremely well, i was at first apprehensive as it is an ambition of mine to create this book. But i gathered some really useful tips that will benefit me when i take it further and also allot of positive feedback which has proven that if i work hard and develop my idea i could complete it.

From this i believe that when it came to pitching this task, this enthusiasm helped and as a results i was chosen to present my pitch to the whole class, which in hall honesty gave me a great confidence boost. The whole class pitch went just as well as the first as I hadn't lost the energy and motivation to make them feel the same enthusiasm for 'To The Rescue' as i do.

Until Next Time

Rachel

Task No.2 - Lecture Research Project

In our lecture today we were given the task of choosing a subject to research in the Library and present to the rest of the class. We had an hour of research time which also included preparing the presentation.
Once we had chosen who we were to work with, Sara and I decided almost automatically that we would like to research the Origin and Development of Photography and how this affects today's Digital Media and the future.
I think we both came to the decision of Photography so quickly as it is one of the most vital means of communication and expression. And we both strongly believed that Photography is a key element in visual communication as once a photo is published it can be viewed around the world and immediately understood in any language, giving photography unlimited reach and value in Digital Media.
As a team I believe we worked really well together, as we were both were determined to find both relevant and interesting information. 
I think we achieved this and because we were more than happy with the level of work we put in and the results found. And as a result when expressing our presentation we gave a more stimulating performance, which encouraged the audience to be interested and keep their attention.
Overall I was really pleased with our efforts and how from the lecture we came out with a wider knowledge of how to use the University resources I.e. the Library as all our research was first checked on the Harvard Referencing System and then found at the St Johns Library.
And from this when conducting research for future projects i will have the knowledge of how to go about it.


Until Next Time
Rachel

Task No.1 - Digital Video Editing Team Presentation

In our lecture we were briefed on a team presentation and placed into groups in which we would choose and work on a selected area of choice.

When our group had joined we all decided that our chosen subject was Digital Video Editing, i was pleased to find that everyone within the group all had ideas to put forward and were all enthusiastic to produce a good presentation. 

In this session we created a presentation structure including all the areas we thought had to be covered, once we had created the structure we believed the best way to research was to allocate sections to each group member. From this; each individual could go away and research there section and then combine it at our next group meeting. We also decided on a time and place of our next group meeting where we would cultivate all our research and apply it to a power point presentation, as we thought this would display our information best. At this point I was really confident that each group member would find some strong reliable information to include in their section.

When the research was completed we met again and had a group discussion about how successful and affective our research had been before actually setting to creating the power point itself. Everyone was enthusiastic with what they had found. This was particularly helpful as everyone in our group was comfortable with presenting and speaking to an audience. I was also very confident in that our team was working very well with one another which made the whole dynamics of the team stronger.

We then set about the task of creating the power-point, which surprisingly didn't take allot of time at all, I think this was because we were very clear about what all of us wanted from the beginning; making the creation an easier task. We all also created a hard copy version of what we were going to say, giving us something to refer to which I think was a good suggestion.

When it came to presenting our subject I was very happy with how our presentation was received as everyone of us spoke strongly of our section. We were also the only group to complete a presentation on Digital Video Editing, and i believe this contributed to how we kept the audiences attention.  The only thing i would say i was disappointed with was that i had forgotten to speak about a particularly big figure in the origin of film editing, but i will be sure to run over my information more thoroughly next time.

Overall i thought this task was thoroughly enjoyable, it gave me the chance to meet other students in the module, have an insight into how they would approach this task and for me particularly i had the opportunity to generate further experience in presenting to an audience; which i haven't done much of before but hope to improve on in the future.