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

I have used: WeeblyI decided to use this blogging platform over the previous platform I used in AS, (Blogger), as this media platform was more professional due to the functionality and capability of what the blog page allowed me to do. This clean looking professional website style mirrors me as a person as it fits my sleek and simple style. A feature that I found most useful was the drag and drop feature which Weebly smartly inputted into the design, this made sure that any computer user with any skill set are able to create a interestingly designed and fun website in a matter of less than an hour! During the creation of your new website you are able to pick the format/layout. Weebly allowed me to post, add pictures, insert links and so much more including things such as inserting polls and allowing adverts to be shown in the blog. You are also able to blog on the move with their mobile app! The features of Weebly are approached very differently to the previous blogging website that I used. I found it was much harder to navigate through and very hard to get used to. Blogger, unlike Weebly was more of a continuous page, which didn’t really appeal to me, as I didn’t think it looked as neat and tidy, however, Blogger allowed me to post, add pictures, links, similarly to Weebly. Blogger too allows you to blog on the go however I thought with the simple design, easy navigation and the overall functionality… Weebly was for me.

I used this to update different stages throughout the course including:

Research:• Genre analysis• Textual analysis• Secondary

production research - Double page spread analysis, newspaper advertisement analysis

• Historical background• Quantitative

audience research • Qualitative audience

research • Target audience

profile• Institution research • Regulations research

Planning:• Treatment sheet• Mood board• Script• Story board• Test equipment and camera angles• Brainstorm and poll on name of

documentary• Mock ups• Photography• Setting/Location• Colour/ Typography• Soundtrack• Mis-en-scene sketches• Shooting schedule• Layout designs for double page spread

and advert

I used this to update different stages throughout the course including: (cont.)

Production:• Filming days• Photoshoot• Manipulation of

photographs• Montage of car clips• Adjust layout designs

accordingly with photos

• Edit documentary - Including voiceover 

• Multiple drafts of documentary, double page spread and advertisement

Post-production:• Evaluation• Sign off

Blogging Platforms

Blogger – http://www.cainmackenzie-yapa.blogspot.co.uk

Weebly – http://www.cainmackenzie-yapa.weebly.com

I have used: YouTube

YouTube is a very accessible, user friendly, mass-media online video sharing website which has a great variety of content. The range of videos available made it easy to find documentaries including ‘Megafactories’ and ‘Super Cars Vs Used Cars: The Trade Off’ (which were automotive based.) These videos made the textural analysis process simple as there were a great variety to choose from. The freedom of choice of the available videos allowed me to gather lots of inspiration for the creation of my documentary and helped me to identify and expand my knowledge on conventions of automotive documentaries.

I have used: Final Cut Pro X

I used Final Cut Pro X (FCP) to edit my documentary. This editing application allowed me to input film, pictures, music and text and the clips that I used were subtlety edited to the background music. I was able to figure out timings of when to edit using the beat, which was indicated on the application.

Some clips were shaky when being recorded, however FCP has an ability to stabilise clips. I used this feature and gained a significant amount of stability on footage which I would have been unable to use with FCP, there was however some warping of the clips. FCP also allowed me to add a vignette effect, creating a more intense atmosphere in the video. It also

allowed me to use black bar overlays (letterbox) that gave the documentary a cinematic feel, as this is what they typically use in high-end movies.

My use of Photoshop is advanced compared to other members of my course due to having previous experience from using this application out of my own interest.

When using Photoshop for both the advert and the double page spread, the uses of folders within the project file enabled me to keep organised, i.e. when doing the double page spread, I was able to categorise the layers on the left hand side and right hand side, with subfolders within these main folders. I also used the guidelines feature to help me with accuracy in regard to the layers and to keep the continuity. I use the stroke layout on the ‘UK’ text to make this prominent

I have used: Photoshop

on the page, I also used a feature on this text that was new to me. The feature is called ‘clipping mask’ and allowed me to use the UK flag within the ‘UK’ text.

I have used: Afterlight

Afterlight is a simple phone application that I used to edit all of the photographs for my advert and double page spread. This phone app has the functions to adjust, use filters, add texture, crop and rotate and add frames. The functions I used when editing were picture adjusting tools (saturation, contrast, brightness etc), filters and crop and rotation tools.

Before After