A2 MEDIA STUDIES ADVANCED PORTFOLIO EVALUATIONBy Alix Kelly

Question 4:

How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

IPhone, Camera and Sound RecorderI used my iPhone 4s to take pictures for my newspaper, I used this because the camera had good effects and captured the pictures effectively. It also enabled me to download the image straight from my phone to the computer and quickly helped me to get the images onto my final product and then onto my blog. However, this was difficult sometimes because the images could not always be found on the documents and I was not able to get them onto the computer.

On the other hand, I also had my SLR camera, this was sometimes easier to use, the quality of pictures were better and I could take the pictures landscape and capture the natural lighting to make it seem as realistic as possible. This helped to make my final product look professional and sophisticated. The images did not need editing that much because most conventional newspapers use realistic photographs.

For my radio advert, I had the use of a sound recorder to capture the voice over that would be used for my radio advert. I was shown how to use this, it was not difficult once I had been shown. The recording itself went very smoothly, I didn’t have to do more than one recording because the person doing the voiceover was in a quiet room and also wasn’t moving around. Therefore, I did not have any background noise or “ruffles” in the background. This helped me to make my radio advert quickly and effectively on Adobe Premiere.

Facebook

I have used Facebook to create a private focus group and to ask my target audience what their opinions were on my final product, I asked them about the layout, conventions and any improvements that could be made. This was useful because I could collect the data all from one source and transfer it to my evaluation. However, being a private group was difficult, I needed the responses quickly and some of the participants were not responding in time which meant that I was being put behind on my work. After asking the audience to respond numerous times, I was able to collect the data and write up an analysis on the final comments.

Microsoft Word and PowerPointI have used Microsoft word to put most of my first drafts onto and then I have ben able to copy and paste the work onto different programs such as Prezi. Using Microsoft word has enabled me to organize my work and edit it before I put it onto Prezi. For example, with my newspaper analysis, I have been able to write up a draft about each of the newspapers, then I have had I marked and copied the work onto Prezi so that it is presented much better. I have also used Microsoft to write up drafts for my articles and advertisements, this helped me because it gave me a better vocabulary.

I have used PowerPoint to present my evaluations, this makes my work look more organised and has also helped me to present my work with images and with the use of colour. This helps me to piece out each individual section to make the evaluation look more professional and easier to understand. I have had no difficulties with using these software's as I have used them in college and also at home.

Blogger and SlideshareSince using Slideshare last year in my first year of college, I have been able to use it to embed the code and put my work onto my blog. This is helpful because it allows me to use different software's such as Prezi and Powerpoint, then I can use Slidesare to transfer them and create a code that I can embed and then put it onto my blog. I have no difficulties using Slideshare as I have my experience and knowledge from using it last year.

In terms of blogger, this helps me to present my final work to be marked. I have known how to use blogger since last year so I have had no major problems when putting my work onto here. The only limitation I had was trying to copy the code onto the blogger. There had been times where the code has been pasted, but when I looked onto my blog, it had not worked. But, I had worked out the issue of making sure I had clicked onto HTML first before putting the code onto the page. Blogger has been very easy and effective for me to use, I have enjoyed using Blogger and would use it again so that I can present my work effectively.

PhotoshopPhotoshop has played a big part in my advanced portfolio this year. I started using Photoshop last year for my music magazine so was prepared when using it this year. I started using it in my ancillary 1 task of creating a billboard for my newspaper. This experienced some difficulties because it had been a while since I had used Photoshop, however, this ancillary task enabled me to get my skills back on track, it also helped me to build up skills for my final product.

I have used it to construct my design layouts for my final product, which included a basic layout using tools to outline the different sections of the newspaper and a guideline for my final product. I have also used Photoshop to edit some of the images in my newspaper, this has enabled me to change the lighting on the image and also to change the contrast to make the image look more powerful for the audience. For my final product, I use Photoshop for the whole of the production, this includes changing the layout around, placing the pictures into the guidelines and also creating the masthead.

Photoshop (cont.)In terms of difficulties for Photoshop, I found it distressing when trying to build up the skills from last year, however, this was easily completed from practising on my Ancillary 1 task. I would need to improve my skills on Photoshop and develop knowledge of different techniques that I could use, this was enable me to create a better product and make it look more sophisticated and professional. This would take time and a lot of practice which I didn’t have because the final product needed to be done in a sufficient amount of time.

When doing my design layouts, I found it difficult spacing out the columns and making them the same size, however, when I used the lock guides, this enables me to keep a permanent layout which I can follow when transferring my articles onto my layouts.

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Prezi and SoundCloudIn my first year, I used Prezi to present some of my evaluations so I am capable of using it this year. I have no difficulties using Prezi so far.

This year, I have used Prezi to present my product research of the analysis on local newspaper. I found this very time consuming because they needed to look consistent and presentable, I also found it difficult processing the images as it made the software go slow. However, after the images and the presentation was complete, I was able to finish the presentations and put them onto my blog. For my evaluation, I was able to use Prezi to demonstrate my findings and also insert the images to support my answers. Having not used SoundCloud before, I found this confusing, I first had to use a sound recorder to capture my radio advert, this had no difficulties as the room was quiet and the voiceover was no moving, once the recording had been edited, I then had to transfer this onto SoundCloud, This was difficult because I hadn't used it before and I did not no where the code was to embed it.

However, once I was shown how to use it, I then found it more reasonable to work with SoundCloud.

Adobe PremiereI used Adobe Premiere to edit my radio advert and add a jingle to this. I found this difficult to use because I had not used it before and I didn’t have a lot of time to edit the radio advert. Once I was shown how to use it, I was then able to add the jingle myself and edit the timing and effects of the radio advert. However, there was a limitation with the software as it wasn’t allowing me to export the advert as an MP3 file. This slowed down the production time and there was an issue with the computer that I was using. I also found it difficult to hear the voiceover over the jingle, but I was then shown how to fix that problem.

On the other hand, I was given some help and was able to export it as an MP3 by one of the teachers and then upload it onto SoundCloud. As an improvement, I was definitely spend a bit more time learning about this software and looking at other effects I could have used to make my advert more professional, however, this would be time consuming and the final product wouldn’t have as much time to look at.