HOW DID YOU USE NEW MEDIA TECHNOLOGY IN THE CONSTRUCTION, RESEARCH, PLANNING AND EVALUATION STAGES?

Caludon Castle: Mac Blogs

I used Macblog to present my work throughout the project, it included my planning, research, final texts and also my evaluations. All of the work which is on my blog is present in chronological order so my class mates and my teachers are able to see how I have developed my ideas towards a final text.

I started off my watching several short films on YouTube ,I then embed and analysed them on my blogs. This was presented well as you can watched and read at the same film. After watching several short films and comedy films I then wrote a film treatment which was ordered in the form of a list. Which was also on my blog.

On my blog I had inserted table with information in and also images of film posters or stills from films which have influenced my work. For example The Hangover.

By using the blogs I was able to create and archive of my work throughout the easy. So by having a blog i was able to access my work easier. Also by using by using Macblog I could improve my works to a high standard by receiving feedback from my teachers and class mates which were left in the comment box. This meant that I could improve my work to a higher standard because I could identity easily which part of the project them were talking about and as the work was presented. Also using a blog meant that I wouldn’t loose any of my planning or work as it was all kept on the blog.

Also, by using the combination ofMac blogs and YouTube. I was able to upload both my first draft and finaldraft of A Knight To Remember to YouTube and then I was able to embedthem both to my blog. By using Macblog I was then able to present my work in chronological order from what I had to changed to my final media text.

After I had uploaded my final film I then began to plan and make my ancillary texts a film poster and a film review spread for a magazine. By using the Macblog I was able keep a record of how I worked towards my final products. I was able to upload in chronological order examples of posters (which were taken from the internet) also analysed ones. Then my designs, images and the final product.

I also did the same process for my magazine spread. I think that by using Macblog it helped my planned my final products better as all of my planning stages were already there all in one place. By using Macblog I also had less of a chance of loosing any of my work.

These were my final products which were all presented on the Macblog.

PHOTOSHOP

For my coursework I only used Photoshop to create my ancillary texts. Which were my poster and magazine review page. Without Photoshop I would of been un able to create my poster and review. Unless I had used In Design, however as I had previously used Photoshop to create a magazine for my AS coursework, I decided to make my ancillary text on it so I would of been more comfortable. Also Photoshop is industry standard, so my poster and magazine review were a high quality. Using Photoshop allowed me to make my products easily and orderly. By sticking to my design ideas for both of my products I was able to recreate the design with a range of editing tools. The editing tools that Photoshop provide gave me the chance to make my products looks to an industry standard.

I found that by using Photoshop I was able to identically re-create my designs. Personally I think that my magazine review page is far more advanced and looks to an industry standard and I wouldn’t of been able to do so if i had used a more simpler software. future. I also had to teach myself by watching a YouTube video on how to editing my photos correctly, I found that by watching the videos and learning how to do edit images. Which I can now do comfortably.

CELTX

Also, during the planning stages for A Knight To Remember, were wrote our script on the online screen writing program, Celtx. This mean that our script was all laid out properly. For example the characters names, the dialog, location. This made out scripts which were present onto the Macblog look more professional. However by using Cetlx to write up our script id found that whilst filming reading the script was a lot easier and we all knew what we were doing.

This was just a small part of what our script looked like because of using Celtx.

THE INTERNET

I used Safari to research information about films Like The Hangover and 21 & Over which heavily Influenced my planning. I found selection of websiteFor example Wikipedia, Imdb, rottentomatoes.com, empire and total film. Which all had various information and also reviews about these films. This also helped my process of making a magazine review because I knew some information of what to put in.

I also used the internet when using the blog which I kept my work on.

The internet helped me produce my final texts such as my film, film review page and also my film poster because I did most of my research using the internet. I found several different websites which helped me find important information about existing comedy film, which then lead me to make a comedy film line. It also helped my produce my final texts because I was making my poster on Photoshop I had to YouTube how to edit some text. Without using the internet to do this the text on my poster may not be up to the standard which I got it at.

However, in some ways the internet didn’t help me as there were other existing ways to research and plan. For example instead of finding examples of film review pages. I brought both Empire and Total Film magazine and scanned pages of the magazine, analysed them and put them on my blog. I found this more useful as the text was a physical copy instead of one I found on the internet.

FINAL CUT

To edit my footage for A Knight To Remember we used Final Cut which was already installed on the IMacs for us to use. I had previously used Final Cut pro in another lesson at school so I have some knowledge on how to use the software. We firstly began to upload our footage then cut away all the parts we didn’t need and put it in chronological order. Once all the footage was in place I then edited it to create continuity editing, which is hopefully shown in my film. After editing the footage I then moved on to sounds. Some sounds I recorded myself but I mostly taken them from Final Cut itself, such as the jingle which is played everything Beth, Sarah and Imman walk somewhere.

I found that by using Final Cut which is industry standard software I was able to both use new stills and also create a film by using some of the best editing software to edit a short film on. I also used final cut to create 2 directors cuts for my evaluation questions 1 and 2. Where I learnt how to add images and additional text. Also, by using Final Cut to make 2 directors cut, i think it makes my work seem more interesting as I was able to have dialog over the top of moving images of for example my film poster.

I was also able to upload parts of my planning stages onto Final Cut. Which are also found on Macblog. This was useful as I was able to have my voice over the top of the images so I am able to explain my process.

I MAC

By using the I Macs I was able to us all of the programmes which were on the computer for example Final Cut and I was also able to access Macblog. Without using a I Mac to make my media products I don’t think that my work would be as such a high quality. For example by using Final Cut I was able to edit my film. As I have now used Final Cut for over a year, I understood how to use the software. Which helped editing my film massively. Also the use of Photoshop, this was where I made both my film poster and magazine review. Without the use of Photoshop I wouldn’t of been able to makes these media texts. So without using a I Mac i would not be able to access any of the software. I think that using I Macs I have been able to explore different media technologies to create my final products.

YOUTUBE

I used YouTube to research film trailers from films like The Hangover and 21 & Over. During this process of planning I found official trailers and fan made. At the beginning of the project I watched several short films on YouTube for example “Identity”. This benefitted my work as I was able to analyse and find the conventions of a short film.I also used YouTube whilst making my film poster to find a tutorial on how to make a glow around text.

CAMERAS

For filming A Knight To Remember we used a digital camcorder to film our film. For some of our group it was the first time they had used this camera. So before we started filming we had to get used to using the camera. After a couple of scenes we knew how to use camera well. Which i believe benefited the quality of our film. Also by using this camera it made our film look good quality, similar to industry standard. To film A Knight To Remember we use a Canon 3CCD Digital Video Camcorder, with 470,000 pixels. Which is an industry standard camera so we were bound to get good quality, industry standard footage. Also whilst for the images for my film

poster, I used a Pentax K 30I was familiar with using DSLRs so I was able to use the camera without any faults. The camera was the only cameras we could use at the time to take out images however I believe they still came out in a good quality which was suitable for a film poster. The Pentax K 30 has1080p HD movie recording 30 frames per second and also 16mp which abled meto take high quality pictures, similar to the photos used for previous film poster eg. The Hangover