4. HOW DID YOU USE NEW MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES IN THE

CONSTRUCTION AND RESEARCH, PLANNING AND EVALUATION

STAGES?

BY CRAIG GREENWOOD

HARDWARE

CAMERA: CANNON LEGRIA hfr506

• For my music video I used a ‘canon legria hfr506’ which is a video camera. I used the camera to film the footage I gained during the recordings, I did this for all of my footage. This camera was very easy to use and it was good at focusing in on different shots that I wanted.

• The held-hand strap on the side of the camera meant it was easy for me to hold it firm for shots that I wanted to ‘handhold’ the camera. This was also good because it meant that as I was walking with the camera to get an over the shoulder shot of my character I was able to keep the camera stable and steady without blurriness and lack of focus.

• I only used one camera through my footage as I didn’t need an extra one for any other shots. The camera was very beneficial for my narrative and performance side of my music video.

• I could also see what I was filming when I recording because of an inbuilt camera system that went to a capatative screen and allowed me to view the footage and change things like the setting, lighting and other visuals.

• My video had various angles that needed height heights, some of which had to be on the floor to make the video look effective.

• The video camera was also able to connect to a tripod which made it easy to keep the camera in one place, keep the camera still and allow me to adjust different height setting without too much motion.

• The video camera filmed in high definition which made the recordings look masterful. This meant that when it came to editing the video the footage was very clear and vibrant.

• The tripod that came with the camera was also very good. The camera was easy to connect onto the tripod and this allowed me to do high shots without the camera falling off.

APPLE IMAC, 2GHZ DUAL CORE INTEL PROCESSOR/ MOUSE/ KEYBOARD/ USB PORT

• The computer that I have used for my media coursework is called ‘Apple iMac, 2ghz Dual core intel processor’. In used it for things like my blog, my music video and research for different media concepts.

• This computer is very quick to load and has quick responses to directions. This computer allowed me to access things like the internet, Final Cut Pro X, Photoshop, Word etc.

• The computer allowed me to save different items such as my music video and also the blog pages that I was using for my coursework. This was very handy because I knew that it wouldn’t be lost as long as it was on the computer.

• This computer also has a very large screen which allowed me to see the display very clearly, this was good with things like designing my Digipack.

• The mouse and the keyboard are also part of the hardware processed to the computer. These allowed me to move around the computer software efficiently.

• Some buttons on the keyboard were different to the normal HP ones I was used to. For example it didn’t have a delete button or a print screen button, Therefore I had to learn the command codes for this.

• The mouse on the other hand wasn’t any different to a ‘normal’ mouse I was used to. Although they were a bit more sensitive and fragile.

• The Apple iMac also had USB sockets on the back in order for me to insert my memory stick, SD card reader and mouse. The keyboard also had slots to do this as well.

SD CARD/ SDCARD READER/ MEMORY STICK

• Meaning = SD Card (Secure Digital Card) is an ultra small flash memory card. It is intended to deliver high-capacity memory in a small size. SD cards are used in numerous portable devices such as video cameras, digital cameras and mobile phones.

• I used an SD Card in the video camera and then after I had got the recordings I transferred it to the computer so I could edit it on Final Cut Pro X.

• The card was easy to use in the terms of transferring footage to the computer.

• To get the footage from the card to the computer I had to use an SD card reader. This was a piece of hardware that read the memory that was on the SD card and transferred it to the computer.

• The SD card had to be connected into one of the USB ports on the computer in order to put my footage on the software. The process was simple and worked very quickly and allowed me to easily import footage without loosing it.

• I used my memory stick throughout the entire time of doing my media coursework. This was either to save notes that I had done at home or in class or work that I just wanted to keep in a separate file that I could access at any time.

• I used the memory stick mainly to transfer images to my WordPress blog and onto PowerPoint presentations.

LIGHTING

• Lighting is key for any music video no matter what it is. It allows us to see the main image clearly and it also makes the footage look professional.

• I used lighting only for the performance side of the music video because the narrative would use natural lighting.

• The lights I used were ‘varibeam 800’ which were very powerful and created enough light to make the character stand out on the background.

• I researched into lighting before I made my music video and I found that lighting is used to get rid of the shadow that the character or prop has in the image. Therefore I used 3 cameras which were all positioned around the character to get rid of any shadow.

• The light used a very high voltage ‘800 v’ and they were extremely hot for the character who had to stand in front of them for the tales we did.

• These lights allowed me to make my music video look very professional and I didn’t have to put an effect on the background because the character was the main focus.

EPSON V300 SCANNER

• The scanner allowed me to put my storyboard onto my WordPress blog.

• The scanner also allowed me to put the shot list onto my WordPress blog.

• Using the scanner allowed me to keep a reference of my work that I had produced not only on a paper copy but also a digital copy.

MOTOROLA MOTO G/ BLUETOOTH SPEAKER SONY HT CT60BT

• I used my Motorola Moto G to put the song that I had chosen onto Final Cut Pro X.

• It also allowed me while drawing out my storyboard to listen to the lyrics and write them down so I could put certain scenes in to match the lyrics. This is one of Andrew Goodwin's 7 conventions.

• And most importantly when filming my music video I linked my phone to the media departments Bluetooth wireless speaker and played the song so the character could keep in time with the music video.

• This allowed the lip-sync to be easy when it came to editing and it also meant that the character was in time with the beat when he was strumming his guitar. This allowed my music video to be in time and look authentic.

KODAK 8.2 MEHAPIXEL

• I used the Kodak 8.2 megapixel camera to take pictures for both my music video and also the magazine and the strip for my advert as part of my Digipack.

• For this I also used a tripod to keep it steady with.

SOFTWARE

FINAL CUT PRO X

• Final Cut Pro X is the software I used to create my music video. The software is owned by Apple and the version I was using was v.10.0.9.

• This software was provided to us by the school and it served the purpose very well.

• Everything was laid out very well and it was clear to find tools, templates and effects. This made it easy when I came to edit my footage after I had got it all.

• I didn’t use any effects in my music video as I thought the footage that I had got seemed to fit the style and the genre well.

• The software allowed me to import all of my footage that I had got and saved it on the software itself, this is internal memory.

• I was then able to edit each of the clips that I had got. Each individual clip had to be cropped before I put it on my list, this involved me watching the clip and highlighting the section I wanted (as pictured to the left).

• The timeline at the bottom meant it was easy to keep track of your work that you were doing, this allowed me to see what progress I had made and what I had done in the editing section. There were also tools such as zoom that I could get precise cuts by zooming in.

• This software was really good to use and I got to experiment with different features and effects.

SAFARI/ MAC OSSAFARI• I had never used Safari before so it was all new to me. Safari

is a web browser developed by Apple Inc.• I used this as my main search engine throughout the

completion of my A2 Media Coursework.• I mainly used Safari for my evaluation questions where I had

to search for information and use different software's. • It allowed me also to watch YouTube videos, upload my music

videos, use WordPress and SlideShare.

MAC• I used the Apple Mac OSX software system. • This is where all of my images, files and my video was stored.

PHOTOSHOP

• I used Photoshop for my Digipack and created my CD cover and also my magazine strip and advert.

• The version of the Photoshop I was using is CCS V 12.0. • To the right is my CD cover which has a photo of the main

artist on it.• I decided to make him walk on an open field and took a

photo of him very 10-20 steps. This allowed me then when I uploaded it to Photoshop to edit all the images onto one document. I then decided to place them in a way where it looked like he was fading away into infinity.

• This took a long time to create but it was relatively easy as I only used 1 effect which was the fading tool.

• I used 5 layers for this, to do this I had to ‘Layer Via Copy’ each one to allow them to be seen on the CD cover.

• I hadn't used Photoshop since AS so it was hard to use at first but I learned more from using it at A2 so it shows progression with my skills.

1001 FONTS

• I used 1001 fonts when I was creating my advert and strip for my Digipack.

• I spent time studying other music video covers and relating to the genres.

• I then chose ‘Typewriter’ as my main font to use for the whole Digipack.

• This was then downloaded and left on my documents which was installed so I could use again.

• I tried to choose a font that had a retro look and something that would suit the genre style and also make it look unique and stand out at the same time.

POWERPOINT

• I started off using PowerPoint for planning my music video. This was the first bit of planning I did and all of the research was done off this.

• I also used PowerPoint for my evaluation side of my coursework. Especially in question 4.

• I used PowerPoint then converted it to SlideShare using a simple converter.

• I also imbedded links to my PowerPoint presentations, these included music videos and website links.

• For each point I made I made a new slide. For example I wanted to separate it up to make it easier to understand and read. Also I can come back to this as a reference.

WORDPRESS

• WordPress was vital for my music video. Anything that I had done I had updated onto my blog so I could use it as a reference.

• I used this software through Safari. • This software also allowed me to present my ideas and show

all the work that I had done, it was good because it saves the work for you and it cant be lost.

• I used this software more for the evaluation side of my coursework. This is where I updated all of my evaluation questions when they were done.

• I also put my Digipack on it and also my storyboard because all the evidence of my work was good to include.

• It took me a long time to get used to WordPress as I hadn't used it that often before. For example the tools were quite difficult to et used to and uploading photos for the first time.

YOUTUBE

• YouTube was very important as it allowed me to view all the music videos that I needed to gain inspiration for my music video.

• It also allowed me to upload my music video which was very handy because it as then able to gain feedback from people and this was good for my evaluation.

• YouTube was also where I got the song for my music video from. All I had to do was copy the link and embed it on a converter software so I could get the song on a memory stick that I could upload onto Final Cut Pro X.

SLIDESHARE

• I hadn't ever used SlideShare so it was all new to me. It took a long time to get use to it but eventually after spending some time on it I figured it out.

• I put my PowerPoint presentation Q.4 on the software by converting it.

• It also allowed me to understand new ways of using presentation software's.

• This was vital mainly used for y evolution questions. • It also allowed people to see my work and I could get

feedback from this.