QUESTIONS

1. In which area have you seen an improvement - from foundation to advanced portfolio? (see areas in question 1a)
Creativity- I would say my creativity improved so much so that I was wanting to attempt things that were way out of my league and unrealistic to achieve. Therefore I ended up probably being less creative on the second project than the first because on the music magazine I was a lot more focused and had lower expectations of what I could produce. 
Digital Technology- Although my understanding and level of what I can achieve with and from technology has definitley improved leaps and bounds I think I showed of less of what I could achieve in the second project. Not because I didn't want to because what I had learnt was really applicable to what I was creating.
Conventions From Media Texts- I think this is the area I have improved most in. I think I used and challenged a lot of conventions in both of my projects which has allowed me to create texts that appeal to the target audience I have aimed at.  

2. What challenges did you face in each portfolio? Explain how you resolved challenge/s or if, as a result, you approached your advanced portfolio differently?The biggest challenge I faced when creating the music video was initially deciding the song I wanted to use. However I overcame this when a friend showed me the song I ended up using and immediately thought it would be a good song to use. The next challenge I faced was creating the storyboard. This was a big issue for me as I had loads of ideas, but they were all really unrealistic, for example I wanted to create a tornado for my artist to sing in front of with a house being destroyed. Making my ideas more realistic was difficult but in the end I worked with what I got and luckily the weather often helped with the theme I was trying to create.
The main challenges I faced when creating my music magazine was usually technological difficulties.Although I knew what I wanted to achieve this was the first time I'd really used the technology I had and although the software was probably capable of doing what I wanted it do, I had no idea of how to attempt anything. However I overcame this when I discovered the hundreds of tutorials on YouTube that explain how to do different things on certain programs. This made things a lot easier and by the end of the project I'd like to say I knew exactly waht I was doing. 

3. Which area is your strength? (See areas in question 1a). Please give examples and consider if this strength has developed in the advanced portfolio.
I feel that the area I have the most strength in is the digital technology area. This is because I believe my understand and therefore fluency and efficiency of different skills and effects is a lot more effective and easily produced. This strength has improved from my first project to the second because when I was creating the magazine I often became frustrated when I was trying to do something that I didn't know how to; Know these challenges are just second nature to me which means I can complete things a lot easier and quicker.

4. What would you do differently? (For both portfolios)....(Is there an area of weakness still?)The thing I would do differently about my music video would definitely give it more of a narrative and include more characters to the video to give it more depth and variation. I would also try and film in more locations and from the beginning have a clearer idea of what I wanted to achieve without wanting to do things that are out of my league and unrealistic. 
I wouldn't really a lot different with my music magazine cover, contents and double page spread. One thing I wish i had done was photograph more people as different artists so that I could include a bigger variety of photos in the magazine and make it look more professional.

5.Finally, what advice would you impart to a prospective media student?
My advice would to be that make sure you make your filming and evaluation a priority. You should try and get as much filming done as you can and be realistic when you plan your story board and what you want to include. Make sure you have a clear idea you want to follow, although this may seem hard when you are thinking something up, it will help a lot when you begin to struggle during the process, giving you something to look back on. Also with the evaluation be creative and make sure you use media terminology. Finally, make sure you ask for advice.