We used an array of different media research in order to collect the sufficient amount of research for our blogs, this research then lead onto helping us plan our coursework by looking at conventions used in the opening sequences of children’s TV dramas.

However, the vast majority of this research wouldn’t have been capable without the use of the computers (both in college and at home) and the internet. We stored all of our video files on a disk drive on the college computers, which had enough storage space to safely store all of our unedited clips.

At college we used the operating system Windows 7, but outside of college as a group we used a mixture of Apple and Window devices.

Throughout the whole process, we had to use different media technologies for different aspects of the coursework, for example, the most used piece of technology would be the college computers because of their large hard drives and the access to the editing and post production programs we had on there.

As an overview, we used Adobe Premiere Pro for the editing of all the drafts of the coursework. However, for our research meetings we recorded the meetings in college using the Panasonic AG-HMC41E and then edited the videos using iMovie outside of college, this shows that we have an outside knowledge into editing and weren’t restricted to one editing program. We shot the images for the DVD and magazine cover using a Canon DSLR 1100d, this camera helped us to achieve sharp, HD and clear shots, which ultimately improved the outcome of both of those products. We then edited the shots in Adobe Photoshop.

Research is possibly one of the most important aspects of the coursework, because without it we wouldn’t be able to create final products that fit the conventions or are real to their mediums. However, none of this research would be available if it wasn’t for Web 2.0, because of Web 2.0, we are able to use different methods of recording and collecting research, like the use of surveys.

We used SurveyMonkey to help us with our target audience research, we also used SurveyMonkey to ask teenagers and the older generation which children’s TV shows they enjoyed the most when they were younger, we did this to see if we could see which programs were the most popular and see if there was anything in the opening sequences of these shows that could help to inspire us with our own coursework.

One of the most important parts of the coursework is the blog, without the blog, we wouldn’t be able to record any of our findings or keep a log of our planning and research. We had a couple of choices when it came to choosing a blog, and we considered:

• Wix

• WordPress

• Blog

• Blogger

We chose Wix in the end because we found that we felt restricted in what we could achieve with the other blogging platforms, and we already had some past experience with Wix which meant that it wouldn’t be difficult to get the blog started.

As part of our research, we had to look at real media products so that we could be inspired by the products already out there and learn about any necessary techniques and conventions used in the opening of children’s TV dramas. We used YouTube to look at clips and opening sequences from popular TV shows such as: Tracy Beaker, As The Bell Rings, Grange Hill, Hannah Montana and Wizards of Waverly Place. However, when we did our research we also looked outside of the age range of the target audience and looked at TV shows that had an older target audience such as Freaks & Geeks and Waterloo Road. We also looked at a TV show called Chasing Life, which hugely inspired us with techniques to use in our opening sequence. Without YouTube we would not have been able to look as nearly as many real media products as we did and would not have been able to learn from these professional pieces of media.

Facebook also played a large part in our research process, using the synergy between SurveyMonkey and Facebook we were able to post questionnaires and surveys for our peers to fill in. This gave us a lot to go on and helped to shape our product to fit with the target audience. We also used Facebook to share each draft of our work (for each product), with the feedback (both positive and negative) we received from people on Facebook we were able to deliberate on where to go next with our product and how we could improve the products.

What we learnt was that planning of a media product can only be done with proper research, and we discovered that planning and research go hand in hand in making your product. One of the first steps involved in planning our product was by holding a meeting.

We used a Panasonic AG-HMC41E to record the meetings and then edited them using iMovie where we sped up the meetings and added music to finish the videos off before uploading them to YouTube.

We planned to used a Canon DSLR 1100d when we shot our photo shoots and behind the scenes shoot for the products, we chose this camera because of the high quality of the images and the great focus which gave us the outcome of the images we were looking for.

We thought that using a DSLR would be better than a normal camera because of the smaller size, which meant that it was a lot more portable.

After shooting the photo shoot, we downloaded the images onto the computers and as a group we decided which images we liked the best. From there we narrowed the pictures down and then started to put the images into Adobe Photoshop so that we could edit them.

We did a lot of planning and organizing before we did any filming for the opening sequence so that we were prepared in advance. We kept in touch over Facebook Messenger so that we could plan everything in a single group chat, we chose Facebook Messenger because it was accessible and we were able to share video clips, images and even do group video calls if we needed to.

Without Facebook Messenger, we wouldn’t have been able to organize meeting points or discuss or share different parts of the coursework or different clips that we had found. Facebook Messenger featured heavily helping us communicate outside of college.

We discussed meeting times, how long we’d be filming for and what props we might have needed to take with us.

We had to get permission to film in the school, so we could go in and film. For this, we used the college email (Microsoft Outlook) to email the receptionist of the high school who then forwarded the email onto the head teacher. After getting permission we were able to discuss a suitable date with the drama teacher for when some students were free.