Research and Planning Essay*

I have developed my research & planning skills across the 2 years with the invention of my AS music magazine and the making of a horror trailer. I understand that research is important as you obtain information which benefits you while the production. Also, through research, you are able to create a product which meet expectations of a target audience as you know the codes and conventions which are required.

In AS, my task was to imitate a real media magazine to demonstrate if I’m able to create a magazine that is not my own. There was no research or planning done as the only thing I had to do was to recreate the magazine. My preliminary task was to devise a front cover for a college magazine to illustrate my understanding of the conventions. I was given a template to utilise but I had to learn the different conventions of a magazine such as cover lines, masthead etc. Through this, I learnt the basic structure of a magazine. There was no planning done for the audience as the target audience for the magazine was for college students. Therefore, this limits my creativity as I’m restricted from as imaginative as I want. I had to follow certain instructions. However, if we had a choice of magazine style, I would have chosen a different genre to demonstrate my creativity.

For my music magazine, I was able to choose the type of genre it was going to be. This widens my creativity as I’m not restricted to one particular style. I chose the R&B genre and I researched different types of R&B magazines to see what one looked like. I found that the models in the dominant images wears a lot of jewellery which connects with the genre. The jewellery signify wealth. I produced a mood board containing colours for my magazine. I learned that R&B doesn’t have specific colours to it but they have aesthetic colours. All R&B magazines have a dominant image with a large masthead which catches the eye of the reader so I included it in my own magazine.  However, it does limit my creativity as I have to follow a certain structure so it is identified as an R&B magazine.


For my A2 Film Trailer, I have had undertaken research on all the sub-genres of horror and had to distinguish which sub-genre is which by the conventions. These conventions would the location, characters types, costume, make up and the scenarios. I also watched multiple trailers from different genres such as The Exorcist, Insidious, and Annabelle. This was done so I could of have a better understanding of how horror trailers are created to meet the target audience’s expectations. I also learnt that the sound design is essential as it creates the atmosphere and mood of the whole trailer. I have listened to many horror trailer soundtracks and devised my own to suit my trailer. This task limits my creativity as I didn’t get a choice in what genre my trailer would be. I also done essays based on the genre which developed my knowledge of the genre.

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