Research- Analysis of another Students work

Strengths and weaknesses of another students work 

Again, the reason for analysing another students work is so that I can get a general idea of what is required in order to achieve a good quality piece of work and also what to avoid to ensure that I don't loose valuable marks for simple errors. Furthermore I have decided to analyse Samantha Milne's blog, who again was a student who went to my school in the past. The reason for analysing her blog is because I felt that she had a well written blog that was detailed and that I found to be a good example to view. 

Here is the link for her blog: http://gsa2media2011sm.blogspot.co.uk/

Research:

Strengths- After analysing another students research, I noticed many strengths on how they presented their work as well as their general approach to the work set, which is obvious via their large amount of research conducted. For example, I really liked how the student included a numerous amount of different graphs to present her findings from her own survey , regarding a survey for the audience. The reason for this is because I personally find graphs to be a more understandable and appealing way of of presenting results and therefore by providing graphs, the audience is much more likely able to follow and engage with what the student is discussing. In addition I also liked how she provided video links to her posts when she occasionally discussed music videos, as again this was useful as it gave the audience more of an understanding regarding as to what she was discussing about in the analysed video. Furthermore I felt that she had put a lot of detail and effort into her work, which made the blog easier to read and therefore made it more engaging. 

Weaknesses- Although the majority of her research was detailed and done to a high standard, there were a few minor errors that I had noticed. For example, I often saw general format errors, such as; An inserted table had over-lapped the blog posts boarder and therefore looked un-professional. However this could have been a technical fault and not her own. 

Digipak:

Strengths-  I personally liked how the student decided to analyse more than one digipak, as this enabled both the student and audience to view a variety of different genres/styles that are available. Therefore this could have inspired the student to choose a specific style in which they would have liked to use for their own digipak/album cover. Another strength was that the student conducted a lot of research into the digipak's whilst showing a detailed analysis of each individual cover. In addition, I also liked how the student used different software programs and websites to present their text and images, such as; Prezi. This was therefore effective as it made the blog more interesting and interactive for the audience and I felt that having different methods of portraying the media and text made the blog more engaging/entertaining. 

Also, after analysing the student's final digipak, I noticed many strengths. For example, I felt that the images were very successful and effective. This is because, the band members are within the main frame and close up shots have been used so that the audience has an understanding as to what the members look like. In addition, this also informs the audience about what genre of music the band will be associated with, as the members are shown to be holding guitars and wearing casual/modern clothing, therefore creating more of an indie/pop look. Furthermore, I also like how student has used a black and white effect on top of the images, as this makes the digipak more eye-catching and engaging due to it being more dramatic.

Weaknesses- The only weakness that i could pick out was that maybe the student could have analysed a few more digipak's to get even more of an inspiration and a detailed analysis. 

Magazine advert:

Strengths-  One noticeable strength was how the student provided different images of magazine adverts in which they had chosen to analyse. The reason for this is because it allows the audience to understand about what magazine advert has been analysed, and therefore made the post more engaging and understandable. Also another advantage of this was that the student would have been given more inspirations and an idea as to what style/genre to go for. 

In addition, I also personally like the students final magazine post (top left image). The reason for this is because it's cool and casual and the black and white filter makes the advert more dramatic and engaging. I also feel that the black text is eye-catching, and therefore is more likely to engage the audience. Furthermore, I like how she included the symbol for iTunes at the bottom right of the advert, this is because it would inform the audience where to purchase the album, whilst promoting the site as well. 

Weaknesses-  I personally found it hard to find many weaknesses with the students analysis on magazine adverts. Although, due to the student having a set style in mind to follow/use, perhaps maybe she could have been more adventurous and spoken more about styles/genres that were more out of her comfort design. The reason for this is because she could have possibly preferred the different genres other than indie/rock or even have been inspired.  

Planning:

Strengths- After analysing another students plan, I found many strengths throughout. For example, I really liked how the student used a storyboard, a shooting schedule and a risk assessment to plan their time wisely and the when to record the video. This is because this is an effective method which enables you to become more organised and can help you save time later on in the construction stage. In addition, I also liked how the student decided to use a song which was made by a local band, as this would therefore have been easier for the student to film/record as it suggests that they wanted to be more original and also could have helped the local band gain more of a following/recognition. Another strength I noticed was how the student again used different software programs and websites to present their text and images, such as; Prezi. This was therefore effective as it made the blog more interesting and interactive for the audience and I felt that having different methods of portraying the media and text made the blog more engaging/entertaining. 

Weaknesses- I found a few simple grammatical errors throughout this section which were often very eye- catching. Although these were only minor mistakes, this could have effected the students overall grade.

Music video:

Strengths- I am personally a big fan of this video. This is because it is obvious throughout that many different camera shots had been used , as well as numerous transitions between each shot, and therefore made the video very entertaining and engaging for the audience to watch. I also really liked how the student came up with an interesting narrative/story for the video, as it revolved around the female character who had broken up with her boyfriend. However what made this narrative even better was the fact that she had recorded the actual artists performing and inserted this in between the other storyline. This looked professional and effective due to the student placing a black and white filter over this particular footage and therefore informed the audience that the band was performing at a separate time to the rest of the story. Another strength was the characters acting. This is because I felt that they presented themselves as professional actors/artists who remained appropriate and serious whilst recording and helped the video be the success that it was. 

Weaknesses- I couldn't find any faults within the video as I felt that it was a great success as well as a good example of a music video. Therefore the only thing that I can say was a weakness was the quality of the camera, although this maybe due to the music video being filmed in 2012 therefore technology then isn't as professional as it is today. 

Evaluation:

Strengths- What I like about the student's evaluation is the fact that she used social media to advertise her extract and therefore gained audience feedback via the site, Facebook. I personally think that this is a good way for the audience to view the video as it is a quick and easy method. In addition, I also liked how the student expressed their views about both their strengths and weaknesses of their work and how they could have performed to an even higher standard. Another point to note is that I liked how she again used different ways of presenting the text and media as shown via the use of a word map as shown in the above image. The reason for this is because it made the work more effective due to it making the blog more interesting and entertaining for the audience. 

Weaknesses- The only issue that I have noticed is that her audience feedback may have been perhaps more biased due to her sharing the video on a social media site, in which her family and friends would have viewed. Therefore the audience feedback could have been exaggerated or false.