Creativity Media

Anthony Storr defined “creativity as the ability to bring something new into existence.”

In this respect my products are creative in that they involved “the making of the new and rearranging of the old” (Bentley’s (1997) as I progressed from AS to A2.

In AS media I produced the opening for a thriller film involving 2 competing gymnasts and their coach.  In A2 media I produced a trailer for a chick flick / sports film on a tennis theme.  The plot revolved around a female tennis champion finding herself with a new, initially less able female partner.  Movie posters and the front cover of a film magazine where produced as ancillary tasks.

Concept and Creation of Hybrid Genre

In terms of AS media the script for my thriller opening was based on a devised piece that I had written for GCSE drama and a stage production of “Woman in Black” which I had seen in the theatre.  My intended outcome for the product was to create a film opening based on jealously, stereotypes, violence and fierce competition. I wanted to appeal to a wide target audience by combining a sporting theme within a teenage feud.  The opening was creatively designed to be unique in the sense that it was going to be a thriller/tragedy and the person the audience is gradually positioned to favour doesn’t meet with a happy ending.  In this respect the creatively is achieved through the narrative and the subversion of convention which supports Banaji, Burn and Buckingham’s view that “creativity isn’t an inevitable consequence of using technology.”

In A2 the inspiration for the trailer came from a combination of real media texts mainly sports related films with a related theme where the underdog comes through to triumph over adversity (ie Bend it like Beckham, Wimbledon, Dodgeball, Coach Carter) and chick flicks (ie Mean Girls) focusing on the culture of typical teenage girls.  In A2 my confidence improved as I understood the typical conventions of both genres and creatively combined the 2 to create a hybrid genre “sports flick.”  As Ken Robinson advises “Individual creativity is stimulated by the work, ideas and achievements of other people.  We stand on the shoulders of others to see further.”

On reflection of both AS and A2 production I can now see how my role was that of an auteur in that my own ideology, personality and outlook on life heavily influenced both productions. The creativity, themes, characterisation provide distinctive features that develop a style that are recognisable between the 2 productions.  The company and brand identity I created in A2 “Sports Flick Films” could have easily produced my AS piece.  However, I do think that I missed an opportunity to be even more creative with the narrative which was restricted to the point of view of the main character.  As both films had rival, binary opposite female characters I missed the opportunity to experiment creatively with the use of a multi strand narrative.

Choice of Film Title

In AS media I never really considered giving my thriller opening a title!

In A2 the significance of the title of my film contributes to the overall creativity of the film and intertextuality with my ancillary products (film poster and magazine cover).  The film’s title is “On the baseline” which has connotations that would be read by my secondary niche audience (tennis fans) as meaning on the defensive / pushed to the back of the court which is the position that the champion finds herself in at the start of the trailer.  On my poster cover the words “on the baseline” are actually positioned on the baseline of the tennis court frame surrounding the poster (using Microsoft publisher).  In each product the O of on is replaced with the visual image of a tennis ball which makes the context and key theme of the film clear to the audience.  Also the short description of the film on the poster as “A tale of triumph……or disaster?” would have resonance with tennis fans as it links with Wimbledon and also creates enigma.  As does the creative use of limited dialogue in the trailer as the champion states on meeting her new partner for the first time “You can’t be serious” a famous John McEnroe saying which adds humour to the first encounter.

Similarly, in terms of the choice of title for my film magazine I used the word “flicks” and tried to create a film magazine targeting a female market – particularly as those I researched appeared very manly (dark colours, bold text).  Flicks is an old word for cinema and also has an association with “chick flicks.”  The presentation of the title was in “chick” font and the colour and style on the front cover of the magazine was created from combining ideas from “gossip” magazines (eg Hello, Pick me up etc) and the film magazines.  Semiotics in the form of colour symbolism was applied to give the cover (and poster) a soft, feminine appeal particularly through the use of the stereotypical “chick flick” pink.  Hence, the text on the cover which related directly to the film was produced in pink font creating intertextuality through colour association with the pink tennis court on the film poster. Softer, summery colours were used to reflect the seasonality of the magazine and indicate that it is a contemporary edition to the purchaser.  The front cover and poster involved creative activity in that it involved a lot of “playing with ideas and trying out possibilities” (Carl Jung) in relation to titles, colours, fonts, formats and layout before the final versions were acceptable in their appeal to my target audiences.  In hindsight, I think that if I had ensured that the predominant target markets for my trailer (ie teenage girls then tennis fans) and film magazine (women) had been clearer in my mind from the outset the creative process would have been speedier and more effective.

Composition of a Key Photographic Image

At AS level I looked at a range of DVD covers to try to identify ideas relating to thrillers. However, in hindsight I did not have had the knowledge, technical ICT or creative ability to produce an image which deliberately incorporated connotations and clues for the audience into the plot of the film.

However, at A2 level I analysed in depth conventions of film posters using the internet (ie Wimbledon, Bend it Like Beckham etc) and magazine covers (ie Empire, Total Film).    These gave me the creative inspiration for the main image used on my products which was taken using a digital camera and improved by removing the background using the magic wand tool on Photoshop software.  Connotations can be read into the photograph of the antagonist and protagonist standing back to back on the court used on the poster and magazine cover.  The positioning of the main characters, their body language and facial expressions denote the existence of a bitter rivalry.  The angle of the racket held by one character along with a clown like supersize tennis ball suggests that she may not be as serious or as competent as her partner.  On reflection, I could have made the presentation of the main characters as binary opposites more apparent to the audience through greater contrast in the use of costume.

Creative Use of Sound

The sound effects in the AS piece were drawn straight from the imovie music library, they were used simply to create a sense of equilibrium with lively, upbeat music to start with and disequilibrium as the disgruntled gymnast and the gymnastics coach argued with darker music of a slower tempo. During this scene the dialogue was also drowned out to make the audience try to puzzle out what they were arguing about for themselves and fast motion was used to add to the intensity of the situation.

In my A2 piece sound effects were used again but this time in conjunction with camera shots to stimulate a response from the audience eg laughter, empathy, anxiety.  For example, sound effects were used to denote the contrasting relationship the tennis coaches had with both players .  As he deals with champion he harshly blows his whistle and glares disapprovingly at his stopwatch which is loudly ticking away (diegetic sound) for the audience to hear symbolising that time is running out.   However, the use of a motivational sound motif symbolises a more positive relationship with the underdog.  This is combined with the breaking of the 180 degree rule and repetition of the word “potential” by the coach to describe his protégée.  This creativity achieves a number of things:  builds suspense in the audience; catches the audiences attention – why has he repeated it 3 times; adds a comic effect in a creative way.

Creative Use of Camera Shots and Editing
In my AS piece I used of slow motion of the girls performing their stunts to emphasize their technical control of the skill and to add verisimilitude to the opening.  I also used slow motion to add to the dramatic effect (along with repetition) when the coach pushed the main character in order to develop empathy in the minds of the audience.  The slow motion and action draw the audience’s attention to the key moment in the opening when the main character switched from being the antagonist to the protagonist.  The creativity is used to signify what proves to be a dramatic change of character that affects the outcome of the film and supports Steigler’s view that “In innovation you have to play a less safe game, if it’s going to be interesting.  It’s not predictable that it’ll go well.”

Camera shots and angles where also used creatively in my AS work when the audience was deceptively given the impression that the main character was fighting against a person, then by using the zoom out tool on the camera I revealed to the audience that she wasn’t actually fighting anyone and was in fact going mad!  This created real dramatic impact amongst my audience.

On reflection I think that the imaginative use of shot selection in this scene to make unusual connections between character and audience was probably the most creative piece of filming that I have produced. 

However, in A2 I combined music, action, dialogue with camera angles and editing to elicit a variety of responses from my audience eg humour, empathy, frustration thus creating a better quality overall piece of work.  For example, in my A2 work during the training scene I used a combination of camera shots, a fast motion montage of training routines and upbeat Rocky type music (created using Garageband software) creatively to indicate to the audience that the underdog was up for a fight in a humorous chick flick way.  Close up camera shots and a cartoon “boiiiing” sound effect were also used to create humour.  At A2 my selection of camera shots creatively gave insights into the characters, the plot and helped reinforce key aspects of the genre to form a snapshot of the film for the audience. 

Limitations to Creativity

On reflection I do feel that several factors did inhibit my creativity in some respects.  For example not being able to use recognisable soundtracks due to copyright restrictions which are a conventional feature used to add humour to chick flicks; inexperienced actors and the general condition of the location (public tennis court) out of season.  Also working within the time restrictions of a trailer posed a challenge.

Conclusion

Overall my progress from AS to A2 was incremental and significant.  Mihaly Csikentmihalyi (1996) states that it typically takes someone 10 years of acquiring technical knowledge by immersing themselves into a discipline before they can create anything significant.  I think I have, over the course of the 2 years, I have shown divergent thinking, flexibility, imagination and the confidence to try new things. I have developed what Ken Robinson identifies as some “Creative Habits of Mind”  I have pushed myself, reflected critically on my work and created what Csikentmihalyi calls “flow” (engrossed in a task) and produced outcomes of value to my target audience.