HOW HAVE YOU USED NEW MEDIA TECHNOLOGY IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND RESEARCH AND PLANNING AND EVALUATION STAGES?MARTHA DAVIS - EVALUATION QUESTION 4

NEW MEDIA TECHNOLOGY…

• New media technology is very important in any process when making and

producing a media product.

• Definition: “Most technologies described as "new media" are digital, often

having characteristics of being manipulated, networkable, dense,

compressible, and interactive. In that sense, new media refers to on-

demand access to content anytime, anywhere, on any digital device, as

well as interactive user feedback, and creative participation.” (Reference - Wikipedia)

• We have used new media for specifically this reason, to research, plan,

inspire and develop.

RESEARCH AND PLANNING

• At the beginning of our research and planning we used Google to

access key information like example/ real media products and

background information in the thriller/mystery genre. The research

on Google that we did allowed us to access small parts of the

research and planning like genre storyboards and related texts

before starting and constructing the main products. Using Google

we also built upon our knowledge on terms and conventions of

media and ancillary/supporting texts to make the products as

realistic as possible.

• We have utilised the blogging site Blogger throughout the research

and planning and production processes to record and store our

media work. On this site we have sued features such as the

hyperlink field so that we can include files from sites like

Slideshare, Prezi and Emaze.

RESEARCH AND PLANNING

• Youtube was used extensively at the beginning to watch real media products to base

essays on.

• Not only did we use this program to research thriller/mystery film trailers and to gather

inspiration at the beginning of our coursework project we also used to it to upload our final

trailer for everyone to see. Once we had exported the film trailer from Adobe Premier to our

user area and working area we uploaded it to youtube and used that site to embed the final

video onto our blog. We used the embed tool, copying the hyperlink to make sure everyone

could see it.

• We also used Youtube to check any faults in the trailer. For example once we had

uploaded the first version we discovered there was a clicking sound on the music. We then

rendered the work area using the render tool so smoothen out the blips and this corrected

the problem.

• Finally, we also used the Youtube link without film trailer on to ask for feedback and advice.

This was a good site to do this on as nearly everyone can access it and it is very easy to

use.

CONSTRUCTION

• Throughout the construction process we used photoshop elements to make

the magazine and poster. We used the different tools on this program to

distort, alter, add effects too and to change these images

• We used an online program called ‘MP3 Converter’ to convert our

downloaded CD tracks in to MP3 files that are compatible with the Adobe

Premier software.

• We also used another online music site called ‘Free Music Archive’ to

download copyright free music. There is a variety of genres, moods, emotions

and artists on the website so there was a lot to choose from. We searched in

the specific categories to make sure we had the right track and settled with a

piano piece that was repetitive and eerie. For our coursework breif it

explained that we can’t use copyrighted music as it belongs to someone else

and we do not have the rights to use it.

Adobe Premier

• We also used Adobe Premier to create the film trailer, adding special effects,

music, transitions and images.

• Once we had filmed different parts of the trailer with the actors we inputted the

clips in to Premier and shortened and cropped them to make them the right

length.

• After this we put inter titles in between to make sure the story was portrayed in

the correct way, including information about the characters and locations in which

the story unfolded.

• One of the last steps was to render the material we had created in Premier,

making the clips flow properly and smootly.

ADOBE PREMIER

ADOBE PHOTOSHOP

• Photoshop Elements was the main program that we used to edit our magazine and poster. After creating drafts and mock ups we opened our photos of our main actor in photoshop and started to build the magazine around it, getting inspiration from existing magazines like Empire and Total Film.

• At first we didn’t know how many effects Photoshop had but using our skills from our AS coursework, watching tutorials on Youtube and getting advice from our teachers we found new tools and effects. We used the brightness and contrast tool and the lasso tool.

• We used effects such as black and white, hue and saturation and changed the brighness and contrast to create the right feel for the genre we were working with.

EVALUATION STAGES

In the evaluation stages of the coursework I used a mixture of conventional presentation software like

Keynote (powerpoint for Mac) and then more adventurous illustrative software like Emaze.

Firstly for question 1 I recorded myself speaking about the ways in which our products used and

challenged media conventions. I then put this onto a online music and recording site called

Soundcloud. As well as this site being used for music streaming but also for recording and storing

sound bites.

For question 2 I explored the effectiveness of our three products together on the online presentation

site Prezi. I created an account and used the in-site features like image insertion to make it creative.

Next I talked about what I’d learned from our audience feedback for question 3 by using online creative

site Emaze. Again I created an account and imputed my own ideas and photos to make it my own.

Finally, I created this presentation on new media technology and how I have used it throughout the

production of our products on this program, Keynote. It is the mac equivalent of Powerpoint and used

my media skills to export this document into Slideshare to upload to our coursework blog.

EVALUATION STAGES

• I used Easy Audio Recorder Lite in the evaluation stages to

record voice recordings onto my computer. Reading off a script

that I had written I Recorded myself talking about the

development and usage of conventions in all three of our

media products. The recording software was downloaded form

the app store to my computer and was very easy and straight

forward to use. I simply clicked the red circle in the middle and

read off my pre-prepared script. I then saved these fils to my

computer and uploaded them to soundcloud.

• I used Soundcloud in the evaluation stages to upload the

content I had recorded on my computer to the internet so it

could be put on our blog. Soundcloud is an online site where

multiple people can view your recordings. Mostly it is used for

music recording, marketing and promotion but in this case it

provided an easy site for me to use and upload my evaluation

of out media package.