"Digital technology turns media consumers into media producers." In your own experience, how has your creativity developed through using digital technology to complete your coursework productions?

• GCSE Media - sitcom's 
• AS coursework - film opening
• AS exam - drama analysis & music industry

When I was first introduced to media studies it was through my GCSE media lessons in year 10. In these lessons I firstly learnt about the devices of newspapers and magazines and I also learnt about television sitcoms & drama. I learnt the basics of newspapers and magazines, and for our coursework, in a group, we created a front cover and our own two page spreads for a magazine which we had created ourselves from scratch. This taught us about how important research can be, we had to look at other existing magazines and then decide which direction we wanted our own magazine to go in. We then had to decide which material we wanted to include in our magazine. Through out the coursework process we all developed our teamwork skills, and also our individual working skills. For the GCSE exams we also had to study sitcoms. For this we watched programmes such a Friends and Gavin and Stacy and focused on the conventions and stereotypes which feature throughout these genre of programmes. Through this we built on our analytical skills.
For my AS coursework last year we had to create a film opening for a thriller film which we had again created from scratch. We again had to preform some initial research to find out which direction we wanted our opening to go in. Once we had decided this we then had to consider location, cast, plot, and from this we gained a lot of various skills. We learnt about how thoroughly plans need to be made and considered. We also learnt a lot more about working in a team, and how important communication within a team can be. From this coursework I gained a lot of skills, such as camera skills, editing skills, analytical skills and presentation skills.
For the AS exam we looked at drama analysis and the music industry. I had previously looked at drama analysis in my GCSE work and this helped me to progress easier. The drama analysis in year 12 was a lot more deeper than what we had done at GCSE level. We also looked at the music industry, which involved a lot of researching into record companies and artists.Through this I learnt about using the correct terminology for both topics, and I also learnt a lot about both of the subjects generally and broadened my knowledge further.