WEEKLY JOURNALS
Week Two - Research
RESEARCH
What did you learn from your
research?
How has the research for your
medium helped you improve your
ideas?
How has the research for your genre
helped you improve your ideas?
When researching my median I learnt a lot about the roots of
short films including how short films changed overtime,
including the rise of televised shorts and then the rise of
online platforming. One way I’m going to use the online
platforming research is by uploading my production to
YouTube, as it is clear that the people in my target audience
are comfortable with the platform as they use it so commonly.
Some other things I learnt from watching award winning
production is how long it takes for the pre-production
development for a production to turn into an Oscar winning
won, I also looked at the codes and conventions which have
helped me become a lot better understanding of my genre
and this will help me make a produc0iton that better fits with
my chosen genres of a Mystery/ Genre.
Researching my median helped me understand how and what
people want to see in their short films, as covering something
the audience wants, they will most likely be engaged and
enjoy the production, rather than be uninterested in a
production they didn’t want to see in the first place. I learnt
about common techniques in short films such as various
angles and writing techniques like plot twists, and I have
adapted my proposal to fit with these codes and conventions
as well as making my production a little more about mental
health to bring the aspect of seriousness into it- this fits with
the drama genre. Some information I learned from my survey
to my target audience are uninterested in having my
production be on disc or by streaming service, but rather have
it on YouTube, this Is good information I am able to use as I
know to upload my production to YouTube when its done as
that’s the best way to get it out to my target audience.
Before my analysis of the two films of my genre, I was feeling
unsure of the staples of the genres and how to implement
them into my production. When looking at the productions I
saw the numerous plot twists in them both, and this kept me
engaged and interested in the production because it was
linear and boring, but it was unexpected and entertaining and
therefore I wanted to implement it in my own production and
edited my idea a little to include a couple, including the
protagonist finding out the chances of him returning to his
previous life are against him. Another thing I learnt about the
drama genre is how serious it is- so I developed my idea to be
a little more serious. I have put all of my changes in my ideas
into an idea development paragraph, where you can see the

How has researching the
conventions of your chosen genre
helped you understand what is
required from you in order to meet a
distinction grade?
How has including a variety of
sources (primary and secondary)
helped with your understanding of
your medium / genre?
What sources of information did you
look at that were different from your
proposed project?
How will this be useful to your
planning?
How has the research for your
content/topic helped you improve
your ideas?
changes based off of this research. These changes make my
production fit more in line with my production.
Researching the codes and conventions has helped me
become more familiar with the common techniques used in
these genres which the audience of the genres have come to
know and love. It has also shown me that the level of thought
that has to go into each shot if I wanted to get a distinction.
This includes the Mise en scene, using realistic and authentic
looking props and sets that don’t look artificial to the point the
audience is confused to what’s going on- I also have to take a
lot of care into every shot I make, making sure it looks good
and seeing if my actors are showing the emotion I want from
them, every shot. This would help get my visuals to a good
enough standard, then I need to make sure my foley sound
and other audio is clear and to a good standard too, If I
wanted to get a distinction. By seeing what goes into creating
a good standard shot from researching the codes I should be
able to replicate a similar level production if I put my most
effort into it. By using these codes and conventions that the
theatrical, award winning films in my production should be
able to boost my grade up.
From looking at various sources I can see what people expect
and want in their short films, I can do this directly because of
survey monkey to get some accurate results about me target
audience. Using a variety of online sources shows me what
different people believe should be in a short and of my genre,
and by gathering the codes and conventions that are
consistent throughout most of them and study these in depth
to learn to use them correctly, as this helps me understand
the genre more and reasons why certain techniques or sounds
are used.
When I was researching on the codes and conventions on the
mystery genre- a genre I struggled to find overwhelming
amounts of information on, I found a couple other ‘Prezi’
presentations from other people and by picking out the
common codes and conventions that they all had on their
presentations, as this is a reliable way of checking for
information if it is commonly used. One reason I didn’t use it in
my proposal is because at the time I felt there would be more
reliable sources of information for my FMP, however as I was
so low for information I decided to turn to it because of how
many people repeated a similar amount of codes and
conventions for the mystery genre.
This would be useful as I now would be able to know the
common techniques in my genre and know why they are used,
as If I didn’t I feel my production wouldn’t fit in to my genre
that my target audience are expecting. If I hadn’t looked at
the other Prezi my knowledge on the codes and conventions
would be a little lower than I should have, especially if I am
aiming for a high grade.
The research for my topic has helped a lot because without it I
would have showed the most authentically-possible emotions
from my characters. If I didn’t learn what the common
emotions are from switching bodies, the production wouldn’t
 look authentic and this could cause the audience to be a lot
less interested into the production as it isn’t to a good
standard, so learning about past stories about changing
bodies has helped me have a rough idea of what is going to
happen when he changes bodies- having a realistic emotion to
make the production higher quality, Too. This will improve my
idea because my script will be of higher quality now that I
have rethought what the characters emotions would be in
some key moments of the production.

How has the research into
artists/producers helped you
improve your ideas?
When looking into some artists I look up to I have been able to
translate some of their techniques in their production to mine,
as having some professional techniques, placed right where
they should be in my production is always a bonus to me and
my grade. I chose George Lucas because of his interesting
storylines and character development, so I have stated things
on my website like how I am going to implement these
techniques in my production to improve them, as improving
my script by using Lucas writing techniques. Like a cliff-hanger
which was most historically used in Star Wars episode V, in my
production to make in more engaging for my audience, I also
chose James Wan because of the care in the each shot he
uses, with his cinematography always at a high quality and
conveying a clear message or jump scare to the audience, this
keeps them engaged in the production and feeling a lot of
emotion, something my production aims to do. By taking more
care of my shots the production will flow better and the
productions morals and message would be clear to the
audience who would hopefully already be engaged because of
the emotional journey I am going to try and take them on in
my production

What work do you need to complete Due to my college being close due to the covid 19 pandemic,
outside of lessons to stay on track? so I haven’t had any lessons and been working from home-
but I have been in regular contact with my teachers to ensure
I am on the right track.

High Grade Tips

Research
● ‘Thorough research’ - include plenty of sources and detailed analysis of this information
● ‘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 don’t just limit
it to the first two weeks
● ‘accomplished & considered’ – all of the above referred to in your daily/weekly reflections