‘How Did You Use Media Technologies in The Construction and Research, Planning and

Evaluation Stages?’

Owen Todd-Harding

ResearchHaving used a blog in my AS studies I was confident with using a blog. I used online presentation platforms such as ‘Prezi’, ‘Exam time’ and ‘Sound Cloud’ and offline presentation platforms such as ‘Microsoft PowerPoint’ and ‘Keynote’. As a more developed and informed user of blogger this year I was able to use the internet for research and apply my findings onto my blog in a developed digital format. For example rather than typing my research as I had began to do in my previous year I was able to find (where relevant) footage online to support my research and embed such videos onto my blog. For example using music videos from ‘YouTube’ and embedding them onto my blog when I was discussing ‘The Three Main Music Video Types’. This enabled me to blend both theoretical study with practical study which fundamentally enabled me to become a practical learner and apply my knowledge in order for me to be fully informed.

However I also found that some blog posts required heavy amounts of information which lead to lengthy paragraphs, resulting in blog posts that may have been deemed as ‘heavy’ on the eyes of the reader. My only option was to break down these paragraphs with images that would make posts appear more appealing to the viewers eye. Whilst this was still a good form of research/revision on relevant topics I found the blog was in this sense not particularly a beneficial online tool to aid in my research and therefore was a weakness in my research stages of the course. Whilst I could have presented a fair amount of these posts onto online presentation formats such as ‘Pow Toon’ and ‘Emaze’ these would have been ultimately extremely time consuming and on a rather demanding course this would not have been an efficient research presentational form.

Whether I would have used a blog or not the internet would have still been my most common source of research. Therefore the blog enabled me to keep my work all in one secure area, in which I would easily be able to gather my findings into one space. The blog was easy for me to reference back to when looking at previous work. Likewise if I hadn’t used the blog my research would have required a mass amount of printing to have taken place and logged into my folder. This would have been both time consuming and wouldn’t have brought the practical element to my research and therefore I wouldn't have learnt from my research in the best form possible.

Planning & ConstructionI have used a wide variety of media technologies within the planning and construction section of the course, from example during the pre-production stage I was able to take photos using a ‘Canon 700D’ to capture the studio I had set out to film our pop promo/music video in. I was then able to upload these digital images as part of a blog post and post this onto my blog. This was immediately a clear example of me using convergence, blending two media technologies into one.

In the initial stages of production I first of all had to produce a soundtrack to combine with the footage I would later film for my pop promo/music video. I initially began with the use ‘Adobe Premier Pro’ however I quickly learnt that the ability to edit audio tracks was both limited and simplistic. Therefore I began to use ‘Adobe Audition’. This was my first use of the software but I was quick to familiarise myself and soon began to work on editing a track suitable for the pop promo. I found that ‘Adobe Audition’ provided a clear screen for editing the track as frequency bars where visible, this made it easy to signal changes in the audio. Furthermore the variety of effects available on the software provided a professional sounding to the track I produced. For example I used extracts from multiple tracks with both spoken speech, singing and instrumental tracks. Using effects such as ‘blend’ and ‘fade in/out’ enabled the combination of multiple tracks to sound as though they where one solid piece of audio, resulting in a professional cut.

When it came to filming the footage for the pop promo/music video there was multiple media technologies involved. Beginning with the use of a ‘Canon 700D’ to film the actual footage, I placed the camera on a tripod. The studio was set up following the concept of ‘three point lighting’. This was done to create a 3D effect and enhance shadowing on those in front of the camera. This would ultimately enhance the star quality of the performers in front of the camera. We also used kino lighting in order to enhance the appearance of those in front of the camera, providing a soft lighting effect on their faces. When using the soundtrack to aid the performers in lip sync I emailed the soundtrack to myself and using the computer in the studio was able to download the track and play the track onto the speaker system, this again was another example of convergence within multiple media technologies.

Planning & Construction (Continued)When producing the bands poster as part of our ancillary tasks we began by capturing our images inside a studio environment. We used both a ‘Canon 700D’ and tripod for capturing the images. Inside the studio environment we used the same ‘three point lighting’ set up we had set in the filming of the pop promo/music video footage. We also included the kino lighting, which both enhanced the stars image and created a soft light on the faces of the two band members being captured in the camera. For the second ancillary task we also took the photos using the same camera and tripod, the same lighting set up and the same studio setting.

When it came to editing both ancillary tasks I used ‘Adobe Photoshop’ to edit both the images. I was roughly aware of how to use ‘Photoshop’ having used the software for both AS Media and AS Photography. However I further developed my skills this year by using a wider range of editing tools of the software such as experimenting with the ‘typography’ tool and the ‘gradient’ tool. Once I had produced the 1st draft I was able to export the image form ‘Photoshop’ and post the image onto my blog. Further media convergence which enabled me to easily access the image for audience feedback. For example I could easily access my blog on my phone, Macbook or iPad, further examples of media convergence. Once I had received my first feedback I was able to go back to ‘Photoshop’ and produce my 2nd draft and post the final piece onto my blog.

Media technologies also helped me through ‘Skype’ calls in which we arranged question and answer sessions with professionals from the industry, for example, as the right screen shot shows, Ryan Mackfall founder of ‘CrashBurn Media’ was available for a ‘Skype’ call in which we used a combination of media technologies during the session of the call. For example using the laptop to communicate, the internet to connect the laptop onto the internet and therefore onto ‘Skype’ itself, the projector inside our lecture theatre in order for ease for filming of the session in which we used a camera and tripod to record the video linked conversation we held with Ryan. I found this to be an extremely beneficial form of media technology as it allowed me to learn direct from media industry professionals rather then simply reading from a media theorists book as the schools library provided me during the research stages. I personally found therefore that this was an example in which new media was being made much more effective in my learning than old media was such as books from the library was providing.

EvaluationDuring the evaluation stages I was able to include multiple forms of media technologies.

For example when I needed to receive feedback from focus groups with regard to the pop promo/music video and two ancillary tasks I would record the feedback/response. To do this I used a handheld camera to record the responses. Once this was complete I would then upload the footage onto ‘Adobe Premier Pro’ to make a simple edit of the footage, including ‘still titles’ and transition effects such as ‘dip to white’ in order to combine the feedback recordings into one professional piece. Once this was done I then exported the footage and uploaded the video onto ‘YouTube’ in order for me to be able to embed the video onto my blog. I did this multiple times for numerous feedback I received. This was once again a further example of media convergence I had applied during the process.

When producing the ‘evaluation’ posts I ensured I used multiple online presentation platforms to produce each answer to the four evaluation questions. One example can be seen in my ‘Sound Cloud’ post (as indicated on the right) where I used my ‘iPhone 6 plus’ to record myself discussing a response to the question. I then uploaded the recording of audio onto my ‘Sound Cloud’ account and then embedded the recording onto my blog. I also used the likes of ‘Exam time’ and a video recording, uploaded onto ‘YouTube’ and then onto my blog, as well as creating a PowerPoint presentation, which I uploaded onto slide share and then embeded onto my blog.