L3 CMPT Final Major Project
Reflective Entries
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
Week 1 / 2
How has writing a concept /
proposal helped you with finalis- project to be like was really helpful in finalising my idea. I was
ing your idea?
How did the feedback help you
adapt your idea what did you
change after feedback?
How has the research for your
target audience helped you un-
derstand your production more
fully?
your project.
This week you worked on your initial ideas and started
your FMP concept
Initially planning and writing out in detail what I wanted my
able to plan out and discuss all of my ideas which also made
it helpful for me to pick and choose which ones I liked the best
and wanted to use in my final project. At the beginning of the
project I had quite a few ideas and was unsure on which one
to pick, or which would be the most effective. Physically writ-
ing all of these down enabled me to look at the bigger picture
so that I was able to focus on one solid idea instead of a few
not so developed ones. I ended up deciding I wanted to cre-
ate more of an interpretive music video, rather than one with a
narrative. This is because I prefer to watch videos that give
you something to think about and I wanted everyone who
watched mine to have their own interpretation of what every-
thing means.
Similarly, getting feedback for my concept helped me realise
which of my ideas would work out well for me and which I
should just get rid of. I managed to come to a conclusion on
my idea and ended up with a solid concept for my FMP. I also
made sure that I had written it in enough detail so that when it
came to actually making it, I knew exactly what to do.
This week you worked on your initial ideas and started
your FMP Research
Researching the target audience for my FMP was probably
one of the most important things. I needed a way to find out
what kind of audience would be watching my video and what
kind of things they would like to see in it. To do this I sent out
a survey to my peers asking them various questions about
themselves and music. I also researched what kind of people
listened to this genre of music as I felt this would give me a
better idea of the audience I would have been aiming for. Fur-
thermore, it also made me understand what I can and can not
include in my music video in terms of what is appropriate for
the ages it is aimed at. This was extremely helpful to me and
gave me a better understanding of age ratings and guidelines.
Luckily I didnt have to change any plans for my production as
I didnt feel that it wasn't appropriate for my audience.
How did your primary research
help you?
Much like the target audience, the primary research that I car-
ried out helped me get a good idea of who and what kind of
thing I was aiming for in my music video. Sending out multiple
surveys on different topics was definitely beneficial for me as I
was able to gather opinions and statistics on certain matters.
The results from these surveys will determine how my music
video turns out as I think it will be more successful if I include
things that my target audience want to see.
How has researching the con-
ventions of your chosen genre
helped you understand what is
required from you in order to
meet a distinction grade?
For this part of the research I watched many music videos for
the genre of alternative dance and big beat music. There
seemed to be a similar theme running through them in that
they all had a grainy and grunge aesthetic. These musical
genres were most popular in the late 80s and early 90s so
the music videos were very fitting with the style and culture of
these times. Although I enjoyed these types of music videos, I
didnt want to make mine similar to these as I wanted it to ap-
peal to a younger audience. It was very beneficial to me to re-
search the conventions of music videos as it would give me
more of a chance to explore and incorporate them into my
own. To get a distinction I would need to effectively use the
conventions of music videos in my own. For part of research-
ing conventions I looked into a lot of music videos by the art-
ists Die Antwoord. I knew before that their style of music was
quirky and different and took inspiration from some of their
videos. The one that I found was the most inspirational was
their video for the song I FINK U FREEKY. I liked the ele-
ment of darkness and mystery that the video portrayed and I
wanted to incorporate those sort of themes into my own
video.This video also has a grunge aesthetic to it which is
similar to some of the alternative dance videos I researched.
How has including a variety of
sources (primary and second-
ary) helped with your under-
standing of your medium /
genre?
Using primary and secondary research helped a lot with un-
derstanding my medium. I was able to gather a lot of infor-
mation on the topic and apply this to the rest of my work. For
example, the results I gathered from my surveys helped me
plan my music video so that it would fit the conventions of a
regular music video, enabling me to get a higher grade. Fur-
thermore, creating an infographic to display the results of my
survey helped me to further understand my results and also
make them a lot more clear to read. I have included charts to
show the results, giving more of a professional and finished
look.

High Grade Tips

Research
Thorough research - include plenty of sources and detailed analysis of this infor-
mation
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 reflec-
tions

Week 2 / 3 This week you will start your planning

What did you learn from your re- From completing my research on the topics of medium, genre, artis
search? i learnt a lot about all the different areas. This information will be be
to me in the process of creating my music video as I will be able to i
porate ideas and information that I have learnt from my research. Th
area that I found was most beneficial to research was target audien
medium. I felt I was enable to use this information the most in my FM
it gave me some guidelines of what sort of thing I needed to aim for
terms of content and getting a higher grade.

How will this be useful to your plan-
ning?
My research will be useful to my planning because I will base a lot o
planning around what I have found out. Research will hopefully mak
project look a lot more professional and put together as I know a lot
information about how to make it look and what kind of audience to
at. I will be able to plan around my findings and build on my idea.

What sources of information did you
look at that were different from your
proposed project
When I was researching medium and genre, I looked at other genre
had some similar themes to the one that I was using. I researched i
lot of rap videos and found that they had themes of rebellion and
destruction, something I wanted to incorporate into my own music v
Im glad I researched a little bit into other genres of music as it broa
the spectrum and also gave me a lot of inspiration for what I wanted
video to turn out like.
What did you learn from your planning This week I was able to build on my idea even more due to the rese
this week had done beforehand. Planning my project was interesting as it felt
everything was coming together and I could really picture it in my he
managed to contact everyone who I wanted to act in my music vide
which enabled me to create a production schedule and a crew list. I
visited the locations I wanted to film in and completed the location re
forms. I learnt that it is very beneficial to visit locations before filming
them because if you turn up on the day without doing a recce some
could go wrong. Alongside this, I learnt that it is a good plan to have
backup locations incase this does end up happening.

What issues did you encounter and
how did you over come them?
A big issue that I found with the planning part of this unit was the tim
found it difficult to get all of the work done to a good standard in the
we had. I overcame this by working on it as much as I could in my o
time. Eventually everything came together but if I were to do it again
would make sure I was more organised so that I can hit the deadline
other issue I came across was one of the locations I originally plann
film in became unavailable to use. I was very unhappy about this as
would have made up the most part of my music video but I research
some more locations and managed to find some others that would w
for me.

High Grade Tips

Planning & Production

effective planning, organisation your FMP Workbook will explain what you need to do in the ne
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
ate 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
This week I started the process of filming my music video. I manage
shoot the whole thing in one day and visited all the locations I had p
to go to. All my actors I needed turned up on time and we kept to th
schedule very well. Personally I think that my first day of filming was
successful and Im glad it went so well. Part of the reason it went so
smoothly was because I had visited the locations and planned every
that was necessary very thoroughly.
How will this be useful to you as your
production process continues
The fact that I have been able to film it all so quickly will give me a h
start when it comes to editing. I will be able to take my time and ma
look as good as possible. During the editing process I will have time
back and change things and hopefully I wont have to rush anything
because I have completed the filming early. It will also give me time
out and film again if I end up needing some extra footage. I do not f
though I have rushed the filming part of this project as I took my tim
get the right shots and angles to make it look professional.

Upload and pictures you have taken

What issues did you encounter and
how did you over come them?
I did not encounter any issues when it came to filming. The only thin
could have been a potential issue was the weather. At one point in t
it did start pouring down with rain but I actually used this to my adva
and got some shots in the rain. I think this turned out to look effectiv
reflected the initial mood of the music video. Although I didn't come
any issues I planned a very detailed contingency plan incase anythi
were to go wrong, for example, the camera running out of battery. T
that I did not encounter any issues that could have been a massive
lem made the whole day of shooting m music video run very smooth
quickly. I think that if I did come across some issues then this would
have been the case.

High Grade Tips

Practical Skills & Presentation

Considered and capable demonstration of processes very detailed documentation of your pro
tion process - such as still images, and annotated Screenshots of your specific production and editin
cess including what and why, not just how
skills and knowledge used to develop alternative ideas evidence of different ideas developed
more than one version of your Media product

Week 4 This week was the second week of your practical production
What did you learn in your sessions
this week
This week was a very beneficial week for me. Throughout the editin
process of my video I learnt many new things I could do with editing
make my video look professional and exciting. I mainly learnt these
watching various YouTube tutorials but I also managed to teach my
playing around with the editing software.

Have you tried anything new this week As mentioned before, I have definitely improved my editing skills an
- if so, was it a success can be seen in my final production compared to some of the things
produced beforehand. I have learnt how to edit different effects and
transitions on Final Cut Pro. Before this project I wasnt very familia
this editing software however my skills have developed and I feel th
have put a lot of time into making the music video look good. I have
a lot more about Final Cut Pro and I hope to put everything I have le
into practice and apply it to other projects I work on in the future.

What feedback did you find most use-
ful verbal or written
Personally I found verbal feedback the most useful. I asked my teac
about what they thought of my music video throughout the process
editing it so that I could get an answer there and then. I felt this was
beneficial to me as I could tweak my video when I needed to. I hope
this will help me improve my grade as I have listened and taken the
feedback I have been given on board.

How will this be useful to you as your This will be useful to me as I will be able to finalise my production a
production process comes to a conclu- make it look professional. I will also be able to complete anything th
sion needs to be edited or completed to a better standard. I will also be a
take this feedback onboard for projects that I do in the future and m
sure that I dont make the same mistake twice. Getting feedback is
helpful to me as Im always looking for ways that I can better my wo

What issues did you encounter and I did not encounter any issues during the process of editing my prod
how did you over come them? tion. I found that everything went really smoothly and I was able to c
the effect that I wanted to.
High Grade Tips
Practical Skills & Presentation
Considered and capable demonstration of processes very detailed, annotated Screenshots of
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,
more than one version of your Media product
Week 5
What feedback did you find most use-
ful verbal or written
What did you learn in your sessions
this week
How has this helped you meet your
targets - see FMP Workbook
How helpful did you find the pitch
what feedback did you get?
How did your peer feedback help
What issues did you encounter and
how did you over come them?
This week was your finishing off week - for both your edits an
ten work
I found verbal feedback the most useful as I was able to take it on b
as soon as I was given it. Despite this, I also find written feedback u
im working on more than one thing or I have more than one thing th
have feedback on. This is because it gives me a chance to read thro
thoroughly and I am able to go back to it if I ever need to.
In my sessions this week I have been finalising and editing everythi
that everything is complete and finished. I have learnt about how to
manage my time well and complete my work to the best of my abilit
Getting feedback throughout this project has helped me meet my ta
as I know what I need to do to make my work better. As well as gett
feedback I frequently checked the mark scheme so that I could try t
the criteria in all the work I produced. For example, I have made my
ten work a lot more thorough and detailed and my adjusted my prac
work after being given advice.
Doing the pitch was fairly helpful for me, purely because of the feed
gathered from my peers. I enjoyed pitching my idea to them and find
out what everyone thought of it. Many people said that they thought
idea was effective and that the filming and editing was at a professio
standard. Despite this there was some constructive criticism that I w
taking on board.
The peer feedback I got after doing my pitch was very helpful to me
made me realise what my production looked like from someones po
view that wasnt mine. I found getting feedback from my peers was
tremely useful as the majority of the people who watched my pitch w
the age of my target audience. The feedback that I gathered was al
good and Im glad for this as it means my music video, research and
ning was successful.
Throughout this project I have personally found that the biggest issu
have come across is timing and deadlines. I found it very hard to co
the amount of work we were given in the time limit as I wanted my w
be of the best standard I could produce. I overcame this by working
in my free time and making sure I had everything completed before
ing onto the next LO. I knew that if I did not do this then I would bec
even more behind with my work and not be able to complete everyt
on time.
High Grade Tips

Evaluation & Reflection

reasoned decisions and inform the development of ideas both your evaluation and the weekly
flections 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, p
ning, idea development and the production of your poster and film trailer