Evaluation help 2

•Although you need to answer all the questions, they are misleadingly simple and just writing a sentence or two in response to each one is not going to get you top grades
•You need to critically evaluate your work – focus on strengths and weaknesses and how you feel quality could be further improved in some places
•Do not focus on evaluating the production process (e.g. how long it took to film something or some one not having the right costume), but do comment on directorial decisions that you had to make e.g. casting & setting & film work & editing where appropriate
•There is a model to look at on my blog.
•Use the mark scheme to check how well you are doing.

You also need to do a summary of your findings from your audience feedback questionnaire. Don't forget to do this bit!!!




A section which addresses “What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?” BADLY. DON'T DO IT LIKE THIS!!!!!!

I have learnt a lot about the technologies I have used constructing my film opening. I have learnt how to film effectively, thinking about location and camera angles and I have learnt how to capture footage to Premiere and how to split clips, create timelines, add transitions and other effects. I have also learnt how to put a music track over the top of my footage.

This is better:

Having chosen to make a film which was set in a busy environment, I have learnt a lot about the importance of shooting schedules and timing. I wanted to re-create the atmosphere of a school with people in the background getting on with their normal activities, but I also needed to be able to get good quality footage of my actors and not have too much background noise. In order to do this I realised that I needed to stage the scene properly: rather than just filming at lunch time I needed front of the camera or distract attention away from the main events.

Another aspect of filming that I have now gained experience of is how to direct actors and think about camera angles and mise-en-scene. I felt that I was particularly successful in this area when I filmed the opening montage of my film, which followed a character getting ready for work. The very first shot was… I felt that this connoted the impression of… very successfully as it is very clear that the character is…

During the editing process I became very adept at creating good continuity, learning exactly how precise I needed to be with cutting clips when switching shots. This was particularly important in the scene when …

And the “Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you think you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?” question:

When I was working on the preliminary task the main focus was on continuity rather than plot line or character. This was very different to working on my film opening because I had to ensure that not only was the piece technically good, but that it also introduced my characters and the situation of my characters well. In order to do this I needed to use a few different techniques, such as parallel action and split screens when… The purpose of this was to connote…

Example evaluation & evaluation questions

You need to answer all of the questions in bold at some point in your evaluation - make sure you scroll down to see questions 3 -7.


Below is the start of an example evaluation that starts to deal with the questions:

• In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

• How does your media product represent particular social groups?



We decided to start our piece with a sardonic talk-over from the main character of the piece, Jon. It was felt that this would set out who the main character was, what their personality was like and it would reflect ironically on the action that was happening on screen.This kind of narration usually happens in comedies. One that springs to mind is Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. He narrates the start of the movie, explaining how to fake illness to fool his parents into giving him the day off school. You understand that he is intelligent, quick-witted and able to play on his parents’ obvious sympathy. As it is delivered in a dead-pan style, you get the impression that the main character is savvy and cynical. We use the narration to anchor the movie, which is nominally about Jon and his adventures and mishaps in and around school.



The mise en scene was bright, taking place in sunny school corridors and classrooms. It was felt that the lighting needed to be as bright as possible in order for the connotations of comedy and happiness to shine through. Obviously the iconography of a school was strongly visible, including desks, whiteboards, and schoolbags. This again, gives the audience a heads up to the nature of the genre, or more realistically the sub-genre. We could exploit prior knowledge of codes and conventions of a school comedy and use this to good effect.



The opening two minutes clearly establishes Jon as the typical high-school jock, only interested in two things: women and sport! This character type appears again and again in this type of genre, though rarely as a main character. It could be argued that we were pushing a relatively minor character (usually a side-kick in these movies) centre-stage. A nice idea to explore another aspect of school life.As mentioned, we really wanted to focus on the jock or jocks in school, play on their image as tough guys obsessed with sport, who mistreat their girlfriends and dominate the school social hierarchy.



The other questions that you need to address are:

• What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

• Who would be the audience for your media product?

• How did you attract/address your audience?

• What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

• Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?