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RESEARCH Throughout the research stage, I used sites such as YouTube, Google, Prezi.com and Slideshare to gather and present my findings. I used YouTube and Google effectively by using key words to find specific information or music videos to gather my research. Also with Google you can filter your search by clicking on search tools and then changing the different pre-set options. For example you can choose to search the whole web or pages from the UK only as shown in the print screen below. I used these filters to help me find information that was entirely relevant to my artist, music labels and director research. With YouTube, I made sure that I included ‘official video’ at the end of my search so that the stars official video appeared at/near the top of the list, as if I hadn’t entered this YouTube would have returned results of videos that aren’t related to the official video such as ones created for the purpose of coursework, song covers and audio videos etc. I feel that sites such as Slideshare and Prezi.com allowed me to create interesting ways to present my findings throughout my research, as I could creatively use text, images and colour to make my work more eye catching and interesting to look at.

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RESEARCH I used Prezi for my artist research so that I could create a timeline of Lana Del Rey’s life as I thought this was a creative way of presenting my findings.I chose slide share to present some of my work as they are easy to create and use, but also allow me to use text and pictures to explain my work.

PLANNINGAgain I used Prezi.com and Slideshare for many of the posts during the planning stage. This is because I felt that these were interesting and creative methods of presenting my work.I feel that Prezi.com was perfect for presenting my planning work, such as the storyboard, brainstorming ideas, shooting schedule etc. as I felt this was the best way to show my thought process and my journey I had taken because of the way Prezi moves between each framed section of text or image. For the shooting schedule I was able to create a timeline on Prezi which allowed me to clearly show the filming process I planned to follow. For the Brainstorming Ideas section of planning, again the way Prezi works allowed my thought process to be clearly presented, as well as allowing me to create a digital mind map. I chose to use Slideshare because I felt that this was another way to make a PowerPoint more interesting, but also allowed me to clearly present my thoughts and ideas. I used different slide designs for each Slideshare to make them stand out and used a mixture of colour, text and images to clearly present my ideas to the viewer.I feel that I used both of these form of presenting my work effectively to clearly present and explain my thought process throughout the planning stage, through the use of moving presentations.

PLANNING

For the shooting schedule I was able to create a timeline so that the information could be presented clearly and in a creative way through using Prezi.com. I also use Prezi to create my location planning (as shown on the left) and when brainstorming my ideas as you can create really interesting mind maps that are aided by the movement of each slide to show my thought process.

CONSTRUCTION - VIDEOTo film my video, I used my own Canon EOS 1100 D camera, as it enabled me to film in HD. I feel that by using my own camera, I had a better understanding of the functions which enabled me to film effectively. I also study photography, so use my camera on a regular basis and I am constantly altering the settings to achieve different effects, so therefore I was able to overcome any issues I faced whilst filming. I feel that my knowledge around the camera and it functions allowed me to work effectively when filming the footage. I played around with the exposure settings for some shots to allow me to change the results of the footage, and often filmed one shot more than once so that I had a variety to choose from during the editing process, enabling me to choose the shots I felt worked or looked the best.

To edit and piece together the footage to create my video, I used the adobe premier pro software. I feel that I had a better understanding of the software, its functions and ways in which it can be used to alter footage and add effects. When I used the software during AS Media, I only had a basic understanding of the different ways in which it can be used to edit together the footage and add effects, whereas now I feel that I have expanded the my knowledge to be able to correct any imperfections in the footage using specific effects, add different effects to make the footage link more interestingly, use the razor and crop tools effectively etc. to be able to create a music video that successfully reflected my initial ideas for the theme and meaning of the song.

CONSTRUCTION - VIDEOSome of my footage was filmed indoors and the rest was filmed outside. I found that the lighting for the different shots was often different and some of the footage had come out yellow due to the type of lighting I had used. I therefore used adobe premiere pro to alter the white balance of most of the footage I had filmed indoors. To do this I selected one of the pieces of footage and added the Fast Colour Corrector, then used the little selector tool next to where it said white balance to choose the whitest part of the image. In this case it was the highlighted bit above my actors lip. This instantly stopped the clip from looking orange, so I then added the same settings to each of the clips I had filmed indoors as this made the lighting and colour of my actors skin look more natural. I felt that using the colour selection tool made it easier to make theimage look more natural rather than trying to choose a colour from the square in the box shown in the screen shot.

CONSTRUCTION - VIDEOI also decided to add a additive dissolve into my video as I felt that it could work with two pieces of footage to amplify the lyrics ‘I got sent away’. I had filmed my actor walking down the steps of the castle and then filmed the same shot without my actor and combined these placing the 2 pieces of footage in the same place on the timeline but one in the video 1 and the other in the video 2 part of the timeline. I then added the additive dissolve towards the end of the clip in video 2, which made this clip fade out to reveal the clip in video 1 and making my actor disappear. I felt that this both illustrated and amplified the song lyrics but also looked professional and effective. Overall I feel that I used the software to the best of my ability to create a music video that reflected the themes and lyrics within the song, following as many conventions as I possibly could.

CONSTRUCTION – DIGIPAK & ADVERTTo create my digipak and magazine advert, I used Adobe Photoshop. I feel that I was able to use Photoshop effectively as I already use it on a weekly basis both at home and in college due to me studying photography. I have used Photoshop for about 2 years so therefore understand most of the functions and capabilities of the software, from the basic editing such as adding artistic effects, using the basic tools, altering contrast/brightness and colour balance etc. to transforming images, merging layers and so on. I feel that my experience with the software has enabled me to build on my skills using certain tools such as the pen or lasso tools to carefully and neatly select areas of images when merging them to create the finished design. I built all the sides of my digipak on separate canvases on Photoshop, but made sure that they were all the correct sizes so that if put together they would match up accurately. I also used Photoshop to create the record label logos that I have included on both the digipak and the magazine advert, using the shape and text tools.The same goes for the magazine advert. I feel that I was able to create a professional looking advert as I was able to apply my skills and knowledge of the software to effectively produce the final result. I chose not to use Adobe Fireworks even though it would have been useful for the creating the record label logos. However as I have very little knowledge on how to use the software and all of its functions I felt that this would prevent me from making my ancillary texts as successful as possible.

CONSTRUCTION – DIGIPAKFrom experience with Photoshop, I created each individual piece of the digipak on separate layers to ensure that it was easier for me to piece together and edit the individual aspects of my digipak (shown by the screen shots above).

I also used effects such as altering the exposure to fade images and this allowed me to make the lyrics once added to the page stand out. Therefore I feel that my knowledge of the software allowed me to effectively follow digipak conventions.

CONSTRUCTION –ADVERT

For the magazine advert I used tools such as the magic wand and lasso tool to cut out different flowers and used colour balance to alter the colour of the images. I feel that experience with Photoshop has enabled me to cut out the images accurately and this has enabled me to produce a higher quality advert, and also enabled me to effectively integrate the different aspects of my advert together. I feel that I used the software to the best of my ability and applied as much of my knowledge of Photoshop as possible to the production of my ancillary texts.

EVALUATIONI feel that I have effectively used media technologies to express my thoughts and feelings upon my work and progress in the style of an evaluation. Again I have chose to use Slideshare, Prezi.com, Xtranormal and Sliderocket as I feel that these allow me to clearly express my feelings and ideas when answering the evaluation questions. Again I feel that they are also an interesting and creative way of presenting my work. I used Prezi.com for the Evaluation question 1 as I felt this was the place where I could write a detailed answer discussing the different conventions of music videos and ancillary texts, as I felt that this question was quite detailed and I had a lot to write about. I also felt this was an easy way to show my thoughts and combine the use of text and images creatively to support my thoughts and opinions.I chose to use Sliderocket for the evaluation questions 2 and 3 because I felt that the themes available for use are interesting and would make my evaluation more interesting to look at/read. I also felt that this was an easy ways to break down my answer into sections to make sure I covered all of the points I needed to answer the questions thoroughly, as well as being able to combine the use of text and images to support my ideas.I used Slideshare to answer this evaluation question as I felt that this was the most appropriate form of presenting an answer that needs breaking down into a few sections. I feel that through using this I was able to respond effectively to the question.