R093 - Files and Formats - Compression

Do Now:

1. What does it mean to 'compress' something?
2. What is meant by the following three units when saving something on your computer?
1. KB
2. MB
3. GB
3. What is meant by the term ‘audio’?
4. What is meant by the term ‘visual’?

File Types - Key Terms:

Compression – An algorithm designed to reduce the size of a file. There are two types of compression: Lossy and Lossless.

Q. In your own words, try to explain which form of compression you believe seems like the better option and why you believe that.

But how does compression effect the size of a file?

And how is this size change reflected in the quality?

File Types - Key Terms:

Audio - Can be in the form of music, dialogue and sound effects.

Sample Rate - The number of samples per second that are taken of a waveform to create a digital signal. The higher the sample rate, the more snapshots you capture of the audio signal. The audio sample rate is measured in kilohertz (kHz) and it determines the range of frequencies captured in digital audio.

Bit Depth – The number of bits available for each sample . If the bit depth increases, it can increase the dynamic range of volume (this affects how loud the sound will be). This will also contribute to the quality of the sound file improving.

We need an understanding of the above terms when considering how sound goes from being made to being digitised.

When looking at audio file types, we will largely be considering the 4 outlined below:

Task: 

1. Read over all of the information provided in the post above.
2. Turn all of the important information into a well-designed/laid-out PowerPoint that you can refer back to in the future to revise this topic.
3. Once your PowerPoint is complete, email it to your Media teacher - Character points will be given to the overall best Presentations.

R093 - Distribution

Key Terms:

Distribution - The methods by which media products are delivered to audiences, including the marketing campaign. 

Online Platforms – A digital environment where people can communicate, share information, and collaborate.

Physical Platforms – Physical Media Distribution deals with products that are distributed in their stored, printed or supplied format.

Physical Media – Physical carriers of information reliant on ‘Physical Platforms’ for delivery.

3 Media/Platform Types to Consider:

1. Online Platforms

2. Physical Platforms

3. Physical Media

For each of the above Media/Platform Types, we need to be able to evaluate their:

1. Audience Reach - How many people will access it? How widespread will it become?

2. Carrying Capacity - How much data/information can be loaded onto the platform/media type?

3. Speed of Transmission - How long does it take for our information/product to reach the intended audience?

Google Doc Task - Copy the table below from the doc on Google Classroom, before filling in the boxes with:

1. A Definition

2. An Image

3. Where they are typically used. 

Challenge: For each Platform/Media Type, do some research about the origins (when and how it gained popularity), reason for its development, any threats to the platform, and any adaptations that it has had to make to retain relevancy.

R093 – Interactive Media

Transitions in Film and Presentations

Nearly every film and video today — whether a big-budget Hollywood production or a two-minute commercial — is composed of a number of individual shots edited together into the final result.

There are exceptions, of course. For example, music videos are sometimes filmed in one continuous long take. However, for the most part, video editors have to find ways to connect one shot to the next in a way that moves the story forward and guides the viewer from scene to scene. Cuts and transitions help them accomplish this.

Transition Types to Consider:

• Fade to White
• Fade to Black
• Dissolves
• Wipe
• Whip Pan
• Zoom

Fade to Black

• A fade to black is essentially a dissolve in or to black. 
• In film, a fade to black is used symbolise completion.
• On a practical level, this typically means fading to black at the end of a dramatic scene.
• A fade to black eases the audience’s emotions into the next scene or the end credits. 
• Fade to blacks imply action, depending on the clips before and after the transition. 
• If you were to fade to black in a scene, it would imply that the narrative tension or emotions have transitioned to the next, even if they aren’t easily apparent in the next scene.

Fade to White

• A fade to white tells the audience that the hero’s journey isn’t quite over.
• You will often see a fade to white at the end of a dramatic film with an ambiguous ending.
• A fade to white gives the audience a perception of hope. Perhaps the hero did change in the end? Maybe the girl didn’t really die? 
• Fades to white are often used to express disorientation and euphoria, among many other similar sensations.

Dissolves

• A dissolve overlaps two shots or scenes, gradually transitioning from one to the other. 
• It’s usually used at the end of one scene and the beginning of the next and can show that two narratives or scenes are linked. 
• They can be used to show time passing, or to move from one location to another.
• Quick dissolves might be used to show the scenes occur a few minutes or hours later, while a long dissolve might symbolize a longer duration of months or years between the scenes.

Wipe

• A wipe implies continued action that is unresolved. 
• A wipe works well in a film that is full of action and movement, which is why you’ll see it throughout films like Star Wars. 
• You will typically find wipes in films with multiple storylines that are playing out in separate locations. 
• A wipe implies tension between one shot and another. 
• A wipe can also serve to juxtapose good and evil or light and dark. 
• While it does depend on the situation, a wipe can serve as a cliffhanger, implying to the audience that they will be returning to the scene once the parallel story has moved forward.

Whip Pan

• A whip pan transition is when the camera quickly pans creating a blur effect between scenes. 
• It’s a bit similar to a wipe but tends to be much faster.
• Director Paul Thomas Anderson frequently uses whip pans in his films, but they’re not always a transition from one shot to another, it’s just changing to a different angle in one shot. 
• This type of transition is often used for comedic effect or to convey fast-paced action.

Zoom

• Like a whip pan, zoom transitions can be used to convey a frenetic pace, switching quickly from one scene to the next.
• In this supercut, Edgar Wright’s hectic zoom cuts create a comedic effect as Shaun goes through his mundane morning routine.

Interactive Media – Key Terminology

Interactive Media - Any computer-delivered electronic system that allows the user to control, combine, and manipulate different types of media, such as text, sound, video, computer graphics, and animation.

Touch – Handle in order to interfere with, alter, or otherwise affect.

Gesture – A movement of part of the body, especially a hand or the head, to express an idea or meaning.

Click – An act of selecting an option on an electronic interface by pressing a button or touching a screen.

Type – Write (something) on a typewriter or computer by pressing the keys.

Google Doc Task:

Open the following link to Interactive Media Examples.

• https://getgist.com/examples-of-interactive-advertising/

Once open, have a look through all of the different examples of Interactive Media that exist.

Task: Choose 3 examples to focus on and add the following for each onto your doc:

• A name/title of the example
• A picture clearing displaying the example
• A short description of what the purpose of your chosen example is (Who owns it? Is it to sell something? What is the maker hoping to achieve?
• A description of how people can interact with this form of media. What can people do to/with it? Is it touchable? Does it respond to gestures/voice commands? What role does the consumer play?

Challenge: If you had to design an 'Interactive' piece of media in order to sell a service/product, what would you make? In what ways would people be able to interact with your idea? How would this be more effective than a standard static or still advertisement/media product?

Extension: Visit the link below showing several museums around the world that use interactivity in their exhibits. Pick an exhibit of your choice, and answer the same questions as above for this piece of interactive media. - https://www.tiqets.com/blog/interactive-museum/

R093 – Client Requirements

Key Terminology:

Explicit - Stated clearly and in detail, leaving no room for confusion or doubt.

Implicit – Suggested rather than stated directly.

Open to Interpretation – Based on the way you perceive/view something.

Constraints – Limits placed upon something.

R093 – How style, content and layout are linked to purpose

Key Definitions:

Genre - A style or category of art, music, or literature.

Audience - A group of observers/watchers.

Purpose - What something means/The reason that you are doing something.

Things to Consider When Creating Media:

Once you have determined the ‘Purpose’ of a piece of media, you must then consider the following conventions:

• Colour Use
• Language Type and Tone
• Positioning of Elements
• Style of Representation

4 Potential Purposes When Creating Media:

• Advertise/Promote
• Educate
• Entertain
• Inform

Google Doc Task:

Choose 2 of the ‘Purposes’ that we have covered today and find an image that shows this ‘Purpose’ being executed.

• Advertise/Promote – Brands, Products, Services
• Educate – Sharing Information, Training
• Entertain – Grabbing Audience Attention, Providing Joy
• Inform – Increase Awareness of a Topic

Once you have found your 2 images, describe in a couple of sentences how Colour, Language Type and Tone, Positioning of Elements, and Style of Representation have been used.

Challenge: How would you change/adapt the adverts that you have chosen to make them even more fit to purpose? Explain your ideas.

R093 – iMedia Terminology and Sectors

What is Traditional Media?

Traditional media refers to advertising channels that have been used for decades. These are the tried-and-true methods that businesses have relied on for years. These channels can be pretty effective, and for many businesses, they account for the entirety of the advertising budget.

One characteristic of traditional media is that it requires a large advertising budget. For that reason, and because of the emerging popularity of new media, businesses are starting to diversify their marketing strategies to include less traditional mediums, as well.

What is New Media?

New media can best be described as digital channels that have gained popularity in the advertising space in the last decade or so. As more and more consumers rely on their cell phones for everything, new media has become an increasingly effective way to advertise.

Traditional Media vs New Media

While traditional and new media can go hand-in-hand, there are a few reasons why you should consider adding new media to your mix over expanding your use of traditional media.

Value

New media is often far less expensive than traditional media. Not only do you pay less for your advertisement, but you also pay less per person that you reach.

Communication/ Interaction

New media tends to be much more interactive than traditional media, as well. New forms of media such as social media allow for direct communication and interaction between business and consumer.

Data-Driven

New media is highly data driven. You have access to exactly how many eyeballs saw your banner ad, for example, or how many people visited your webpage.

Level Playing Field

Social media, in particular, provides a level playing field for all businesses. It doesn’t take exorbitant amounts of money to grow your business using social media.

Cost Efficient

On a related note, new media is also more cost-efficient. Spending money on new media will likely yield a higher reach than spending the same amount of money on traditional media.

Accuracy

An added bonus of new media is the accuracy of its results. Unlike with TV ratings, new media allows you to comb over results that show you exactly how many people saw your ad, how long they viewed your ad for, and whether or not it led to a click-through.

Trust

Having a presence on social media allows businesses to establish a sense of trust with consumers. We tend to trust our friends, and if a consumer follows you on social media it implies that same sense of trust. This also helps promote effective word of mouth advertising.

Real-Time Results

Unlike traditional media, the results you receive from new media are often in real-time. That allows you to make instant changes to your creative in order to achieve maximum effectiveness. It also gives new media a leg up over traditional, where it often takes time to see the results of a campaign.

Global Reach

New media has a global reach, whereas traditional media tends to be highly regional. With new media, you are able to reach the entire globe for a fraction of the cost.

Choice of Audience

New media is highly targeted, and just about everyone uses it. That means you can have your choice of audience.

Virality

Truly effective new media has the potential to go viral. Your content could be shared with millions of people, boosting both your credibility and your image.

Effect on Consumers

New media can make consumers feel as if businesses and brands are accessible– almost as if they are friends. Traditional media promotes more separation between consumers and businesses.

Amount of Usage

In today’s world, consumers simply interact more with new media than traditional media. People tend to spend an ever-increasing amount of time engaging with their cell phone, and less and less time watching TV or listening to the radio.

Ability to Track Results / Result Tracking

When it comes to new media, the results are highly trackable. You can see exactly what demographics your ads are scoring big with, and which ones you’re missing.

Mobility

New media follows the consumer wherever they are. It can follow them right into your store.

Adaptability

New media is adaptable. You can easily switch out the content and creative of an ad or create a new sponsored social media post.

Run Multiple Campaigns at Once

New media allows you to run campaigns with multiple different creatives at the same time. This allows you to better target all demographics.

Ease of Use

Although new media can be pretty daunting at first, once you learn it, it’s actually easy to use. The results are easy to understand, and the sites are easy to navigate.

Targeting Capabilities

New media is excellent if you are trying to target specific individuals or demographics. The targeting capabilities go far beyond that of traditional media.

Customization & Personalization

New media can be easily customized to meet your business’s needs.

Marketing

Traditional media is a form of outbound marketing, where businesses send their message out to consumers. New media is a form of inbound marketing, where businesses interact with individuals who sought them out. Inbound marketing tends to provide more willing consumers than outbound marketing.

Engagement

New media allows for more engagement with consumers. Whether it’s social media or a targeted banner ad that asks the consumer a question, new media opens the lines of communication between business and consumer.

Google Doc Task: Different Media Products

On Google Classroom, please open the doc containing the table of media products shown on the right.

Copy this table over to your R093 doc and fill in with the relevant information.

For each product I need a:

• Definition
• Use in Industry (How media companies make use of it)
• Typical Target Audience
• Image

Challenge: Using Google, can you find any statistics (percentages, numbers, etc.) outlining the increasing/decreasing use of new/traditional media types. Summarise your findings.

Media Product	Definition	Use in Industry	Typical Target Audience	Image
Video
Audio
Music
Animation
Special Effects (SFX, VFX)
Digital Imaging and Graphics
Social Media
Digital Games
Comics and Graphic Novels
Websites
Multimedia
eBooks

Cambridge Nation Creative iMedia - Course Overview

R093 Creative iMedia in the media industry (Mandatory Unit)

In this unit you will learn about the media industry, digital media products, how they are planned, and the media codes which are used to convey meaning, create impact and engage audiences.

Topics include:

• The media industry
• Factors influencing product design
• Pre-production planning 
• Distribution considerations.

Examination 1 hour 30 minutes

R094 Visual identity and digital graphics (Mandatory Unit)

In this unit you will learn to how to develop visual identities for clients and use the concepts of graphic design to create original digital graphics to engage target audiences.

Topics include:

• Develop visual identity
• Plan digital graphics for products
• Create visual identity and digital graphics.

OCR-set assignment

Approx. 10 hours

R098 Visual imaging (Chosen Unit)

In this unit you will learn how to plan, create and review portfolios of visual imagery.

Topics include:

• Plan visual imaging portfolios
• Create visual imaging portfolios
• Review visual imaging portfolios. 

OCR-set assignment 

Approx. 12-14 hours