8.4: Monitoring my work (Log)

Week 1; 20th October 2010.
Today, I started Unit 8 where we have to create our own project. We were given a detailed outline on the topic and what we are expected to do and were given various ways in which we could reach the criteria.

Week 2; 10th November 2010
Before I begin my project, I had to come up with various project ideas in which I could then develop for my final product. After a long while of debating and second opinions, I decided to do a radio broadcast. I started to plan what I would like to include in the broadcast and the different approaches that I could take.|

Week 3; 24th November 2010
I began to develop the ideas for the broadcast further, thinking about what type of radio station I wanted to be and whether it would just have talking or whether it will feature music too. I then thought about whether I would have my own jingles and if so, then would i record and edit them myself. These are all things that need to be considered before the production of the radio station.

Week 4; 5th December 2010
Today I decided that I wanted to have guests on my show in order to make it seem professional and to make it more interesting. I have to consider the kind of guests that I would want and the type of people they would be. I decided that I wanted to interview the headteacher before she left the school.

Week 5; 21st December 2010
I decided on all of the guests that I would have on my radio show and began to think about writing the script for what I would say in the broadcast. I did a brief plan of the topics I wanted to include and the kind of questions that I would ask my guests.
28th December 2010
Its important to do the history of our project in order to gain a better understanding of it and the developments that its had. Today, i did the history of radio, looking at the development of technology and popularity of it.

Week 6; 19th January 2011
I started to think deeper into my radio broadcast and started to think about whether it definitely was what I wanted to do. I didn't think that it allowed me to express my creativeness fully and decided that I would change my project idea. I thought of various other possibilities like a magazine, a school survival guide and a short play. After a long thinking process about the pros and cons of each one, i decided to do a school survival guide. I realised that all of the work that I had already done would need to be altered in order to fit the survival guide and would take a lot of hard work.


Week 7; 26th January 2011
I now had to change all of my previous work to fit my school survival guide.

Week 8; 31st January 2011
I started to look at the history of documentaries and looked at a few examples of other survival guides.

Week 9; 20th February 2011
I now began to think about the amount of money that I will need in order to produce the survival guide and worked out a budget. I then began to brainstorm how I would raise the money for this budget.

Week 10; 27th February 2011

Today i did a sponsored silence and raised £45 which was going to go towards my budget.

Week 11; 3rd March 2011

today i began thinking about new ways to raise money for the budget.

week 12; 16th March 2011
I did some further planning for the production of the guide.

Week 13; 28th March 2011
Today i went to go and purchase the costume and props for the survival guide.

week 14; 23rd April 2011
today i began the recording for the survival guide.

week 15; 5th May 2011
I continued to record for a couple of days in each week, trying to balance exams aswell.

week 16; 25th May 2011

Today all of my tapes broke which contained the film recording work that I had done previously. The technician attempted to recover it but said that it was too broken. I had to think of what I was going to submit, to be prepared for the submission on friday morning.

26th May 2011;
For the whole of the day, I began recording and did it all over again. However it is not a survival guide anymore. I then edited ready for the submission.

8.4: Reviews of my work.

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Also, I held a focus group where I had a few people watch it and then do a short review on what they thought about it. One of the reviews I have was from one of the girls. They said:

"Overall, the project was enjoyable to watch. The part of the video that really struck me was the slow and fast motion sections. The slow motion start to the project was a good way of introducing the characters. We really got the chance to analyse the characters e.g. their appearance. The twist nearer to the ending of the slow motion section was funny to watch. The music in the background suited the slow motion as it reminded me of beach scenes when movies introduce characters.
Another section I enjoyed was the fast motion bit. It added a sort of comedic element to the whole thing. The way fast motion was used showed the characters being chased in less time than the usual pace, making that section shorter and therefore less boring to watch. It helped me as the audience engage with the piece instead of skipping it or loosing interest in the video. The music also supported the faster pace because it was quick and kind of rushed. This supported the chase showing how they were in a rush.
The way the new student was presented was done cleverly too. The use of worms eye view showed how the student is taller and bigger than the rest of the characters, exaggerating their size. I could tell that this was the aim, to make the character look bigger than the rest. The use of worms eye view added to the introduction of the new student showing the perception of the characters of the new student.
Different elements used throughout the video made it enjoyable to watch and the music added to the video. Overall, the video was funny and had a good storyline that followed through throughout."

8.4: Overall look at project - answering my question.

I have been an independant enquirer because I completed the whole of my guide on my own and it was an independant project. I have been a creative thinker because I managed to come up with the whole of the plot of the story and everything in it.

My project didn't exactly answer my question as the whole idea of it had to be changed. However, I did manage to answer my question through other means. I interviewed a few school children and asked them my question "how do children of the 21st century survive school." I recieved a variety of replies, some saying that they just 'get on with it' and some giving a brief account on some of the things they do. For example, one person said "i like to just keep my head down and keep myself to myself. I feel that way I don't get involved with anything out of my comfort zone and just stick with my group of friends." Another person said "I think that the best way to survive school is to show your true self and embrace it. It seems that less people want to give you trouble that way and like you even more, without having to be mean or someone your not." School can be like a battlefield for children these days and it is very interesting to know what people do to 'fit in' and to avoid become a target for a bully.
It goes to show that pupils undertake all sorts of methods to 'survive school' and different methods work for different people. One particular answer can not be given to sum up this question as it varies with people.

8.4.3: Evaluating yourself

WS8.4.3

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8.4.1: Evaluating your project

WS8.4.1

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