Practical Work

My first media lesson was very chaotic but I really enjoyed how we got straight on to practical work. We commenced in the TV studio and attempted to work behind and in front of the camera. We learnt how to use lights and it was a very interesting insight into working in the media. I learnt how different lighting changes the whole shot on camera and also different camera angles and positioning of subject is important. We set the camera up in front of the subject (which were two people; an interviewer and an interviewee) and then used the pan handle to position the camera. We set up the lighting in different positions around the subject; behind, in front and to each side and adjusted the brightness. Charlie and I were the interviewers and we had to use a script to ask other members of our class about their favourite types of media and why they chose media A level. I have always been interested in television presenting so this was a useful experience.
I found the introduction to Adobe Photoshop very useful, although I had used Photoshop before I did not know how to use the different tools available. It was really useful for creating my own Horror film poster as I could use different effects to make my images seem more distorted or scary and therefore more convincing as a horror poster. I now find using Photoshop fun rather than complicated and boring as I can now easily experiment with different tools and make a variety of changes to my visuals. Matt explained to the class how to use each tool step by step and gave us a chance to experiment and work out for ourselves how to use them.
I found the explanation on how to use the camera and tripod clear to understand and it was easy to work out how to use everything once it had been taught to us. Everything is labelled on the camera so although it is confusing generally it is easy to use the camera. The tripod is easy to adjust which make the task simpler. I enjoyed the lesson where we got to make a short twenty second film on the camera using different shots as it was exciting to have full control of the task. It is easy however to forget to check the camera has all the correct settings.
It was really easy to learn how to blog as it is a pretty simple process. I think it is a more exciting way of displaying work and it is more modern and also links to the subject. Blogging is more motivating than writing on paper because it is a different way a producing from other traditional subjects. It is easier to relate to as young people use computer technology often in everyday life.
Overall, I have found the practical work so far appealing as it is different from written work and school work in general. I think it requires more concentration so that nothing goes wrong and therefore it becomes less boring.