Evaluation Question 4 - How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

In the research and planning process, I used a variety of programmes:

RESEARCH AND PLANNING:

• The main research tool we used throughout all our research was search engines on the internet such as bing and google. Through using these sites it enabled us to expand our knowledge on existing trailers and their conventions as well as history into genres specifically horror and how they have developed through time. Another benefit to using this was how quick and easy it was to gather data which we could then post on our blog and help us towards creating the final product. It was also a more direct method than having to read through textbooks or film magazines as it came up with relevant web pages custom to what we searched for. By using this technology we were able to gain a better understanding of existing horror trailers and typical conventions and codes we would need to incorporate into our product.• Another form of technology we used was blogger.com, this allowed us to collate and display all the relevant information we had found during research and planning so that we could clearly set out what we wanted to produce and refer back to it during the production process. Another useful feature on blogger is we could embed images and video urls from existing horror material so that we could draw inspiration and point out the key conventions that we would try to replicate ourselves through our trailer.• Video streaming sites such as youtube were also beneficial to my research and planning. Youtube is one of the leading video sites on the internet and acted to me as a database and library of existing horror trailers which I could refer to throughout my production and also in research and planning by identifying key conventions and common features throughout which I could include in my own product.

CONSTRUCTION:

• Throughout the process we obviously needed a camera to film our footage on. In our initial idea where we shot the police tape we used an iPhone 5 camera however when uploading onto the computer we found the shot size/framing ratios were different to a standard camera and would decrease our overall quality of product. My phone did help us through the construction as it gave me an easy way to communicate with Kerri and also my actors in the trailer to organise filming times and choose locations.

• After choosing not to film with the iPhone we shot some footage upon a Samsung HD video camera however it posed the problem of not being able to securely fit on the tripod. Through consideration, me and Kerri decided we would not use it as this alone presented a hindrance to the micro level quality of shots. We experimented with handheld shots however by doing this we could not achieve the desired smooth panoramic shot we wanted as it was quite shaky.

The camera we finally decided to use was a canon camera. The overall quality/mega pixel and zoom feature was significantly better and it also fitted on the tripod securely. Another bonus with it was the handheld strap that gave us more control over shaky shots we wanted to use to create disorientation without being so shaky it was difficult to see what was happening.

CONSTRUCTION:

• In the post production and editing stages of construction it required a heavy reliance on the technology we were using. We initially considered to use the package of Windows Movie Maker however during our research and planning we chose this was not suitable to what we wanted to achieve as we found it quite basic and felt it would decrease the overall quality.

•The chosen software we used was iMovie. iMovie is a timeline based video editing software compatible with iMacs only. As I had no previous experience with this software or apple computers I was required to use internet search sites to research about the software to gain a better understanding. I did however find overall that iMovie was a simple to follow programme with advanced settings which greatly improved our editing experience. Features such as the green screen selection helped us recreate conventional horror style home footage and also try to replicate a realistic news report. We also used the stabilization settings so that our transitions and shots were still and smooth.

•In the construction of my ancillary products I used technology such as cameras to take photos, dafont.com to get a suitable typography, and programmes such as paint, publisher and Photoshop to edit my photos.

EVALUATION:

• A main software I used in the evaluation stage was Microsoft excel. I used it after constructing my questionnaire and it enabled me to display the results I found in a more clearer way through pie charts and bar graphs. The graphs made it easier for me to understand the data found and therefore was easier to analyse and see the distribution of answers.

• Blogger was also used through my evaluation as in questions such as this I could refer to my research and planning which had been posted on my blog. Through the documentation I had already done I could easily pick out relevant examples of where I have used technology to help demonstrate what I did.

• PowerPoint and slideshare were also used during my evaluation as this response is currently on PowerPoint and will be embed onto my blog through the website slideshare.

EVALUATION:

• A main software I used in the evaluation stage was Microsoft excel. I used it after constructing my questionnaire and it enabled me to display the results I found in a more clearer way through pie charts and bar graphs. The graphs made it easier for me to understand the data found and therefore was easier to analyse and see the distribution of answers.

• Blogger was also used through my evaluation as in questions such as this I could refer to my research and planning which had been posted on my blog. Through the documentation I had already done I could easily pick out relevant examples of where I have used technology to help demonstrate what I did.

• PowerPoint and slideshare were also used during my evaluation as this response is currently on PowerPoint and will be embed onto my blog through the website slideshare.