Q4. HOW DID YOU USE MEDIA

TECHNOLOGIES IN THE RESEARCH,

PLANNING, CONSTRUCTION AND

EVALUATION STAGES?

RESEARCH:

Research was a key element in the course as it

enabled me to ensure that I collected enough

insight into the different products that allowed

me to understand the forms and conventions of

each individual piece and gave me time to think

about how I would go about making my own

products.

Google was a very important aspect

of technology when it came to

researching particular products. I

used Google to search for existing

products such as Pop Rock Music

Videos and existing digipak to help

me gain inspiration when it came to

creating my own material. Due to the

fact that Google is an incredibly

popular search engine I was able to

collate a varied amount of

information that I could use; giving

me a wider range of inspiration.

GOOGLE:

I used Blogger to research already existing blogs,

to gain an understanding of what previous

pupils created within the A2 course. This was

helpful as it allowed me to understand the

course structure a lot clearer and allowed me to

begin planning my own ideas, inspired by the

originality of past students work. I would also

look at close peers blogs to help me gain an

understanding within a particular area of the

course if I was confused.

BLOGGER/BLOGSPOT:

YOUTUBE:

YouTube was used once again to look at existing

music videos. I looked at existing videos from

official artists of those within my chosen genre;

Pop Rock, such as Colplay, The Script, The Maine

etc.

I also used YouTube to look at previous

candidates work to see the standard that was set

from the previous year and the ideas they had. I

took inspiration form these and added similar

aspects into my own work as I thought they were

interesting concepts to include.

PLANNING

Planning was another vital stage that required

technology in order to allow it to be a successful

process. The reason for this is due to the fact that

particular technologies enabled the information I had

collated to remain organised. It also gave me a clear, step

by step process of the different stages I was going to

fulfil and the targets I would set to fulfil as the planning

process progressed.

When planning the creation of my product,

Microsoft PowerPoint was a very handy tool to use

in relation to the fact that it allowed me to adapt my

research further with regards to being able to access

it all in one place and refer to a specific area of my

product when required e.g. analysing digipaks as a

whole or even look at the front panels and compare

them with existing products and music videos. I was

able to analyse a specific field within the planning act

and develop it in as much depth as I desired. The

most common tools used were text boxes, inserting

images and cropping images.

MICROSOFT OFFICE -

POWERPOINT

Slideshare was an effective way to add the PowerPoint I had previously made onto my blog

without taking massive amounts of space. It acts just like a PowerPoint and makes the content of my blog

appear a lot more media rich as a result.

Another advantage of slideshare is that it is easily accessible making it quick to upload my content and

add it to my blog. Also, the majority of my PowerPoint are very long due to it being an easy way to pool my ideas together, so slideshare acts as a way

of compressing these into something smaller and easy to read from the perspective of the audience.

SLIDESHARE

The main use for blogger at this particular stage in production was to document my planning development with regards to the

creation of my promotion package consisting of a music video and digipak.

At this at stage I was also still looking at past students work on their own blog to

gain further inspiration and apply it to my already existing ideas.

Blogger also enabled me to add a poll to my blog, this was very effective in

conceding the demand of my audience with regards to their interests and media they often use to access music videos and

buy an artists digipak.

BLOGGER

Prezi was used in a similar way to slideshare. I thought

this would be an effective, media rich way to display

my material as opposed to simply uploading a

PowerPoint. I already had some existing knowledge on

how to use prezi and therefore did not require any

tutorials or advice. If I was to come to a point where I

was unaware of how to do something I would ask my

peers and quickly resolve the problem. Due to having

pre existing knowledge I was able to be more flexible

with how I chose to present my material e.g. making

my own templates and uploading content other than

text and pictures, making it a lot more fun.

PREZI

As expected, a camera and tripod were used in the planning of my products to make my blog media rich

and give a clearer insight into the ideas I had regarding the production of my products. One of my peers,

Jodie and I used the camera to create a video regarding different lights that were at use for us in the media studio and how they looked when they were used in

different combinations.

The camera was also used to take test shots of my video, giving be a slight insight as to what the final

piece is expected to look like. A lot of my shouts were taken holding the camera to give a better insight into the artists situation through the use of mise en scene, however, it was still used to emphasise the unstable

climax of the video, which contrasted with the cameras steady positioning

CAMERA/TRIPOD

Macs were used in the planning of my product when footage was filmed as it was easier to piece

together footage using technology such as iMovie as opposed to the PC’s programmes such as movie maker due to the fact that the Macy‘s technology was up to date, contributing to my products looking a lot more sheer, professional

and industry standard.

Following the use of the camera, I used iMovie for the first time to place together the footage Jodie and I collated as a result of testing the

lights. Considering I was uneducated on how to used iMovie I found it rather easy to get to grips with programme and create a 'lighting’ video to

add to the planning aspect of my product production.

IMOVIE /MAC’S

A scanning machine also contributed to the production of my product due to having to add the lyrics to my chosen song to my blog with annotations, I chose to

handwrite this as this allowed me to go into more depth and was what I felt comfortable doing.

I also created and animatic using the hand drawn storyboard after scanning each shot individually, on

average I had around 90 shots I wanted to produce. This stage in planning was particularly time consuming due to

the fact that the technology is not massively advanced and has not progressed in this field within the college

therefore the majority of things that need scanning have to be done individually which can cause an issue with

regards to time management due to things taking longer than expected.

SCANNER -

CONSTRUCTION

Due to the course being heavily focused around

media and technologies the construction phase

could not have been completed without the use

of technology being available for me and my

fellow students to use. The process of

construction relied solely on the availability of

technology in order to successfully create a

promotional music video and digipak to

accompany it.

Once again a camera was used, this time the official music video footage was shot

over 3 days with shooting schedules devised for each day to made the targets I

had a lot clearer and therefore more attainable.

A range of cinematography was used within my music video ranging from long

shots, extreme long shots, POV shots, close up, extreme close up and two shot

Print screen shots used in relation to the digipak, the images obtained were done

over one day as opposed to several, I collected a wide range of shots to be used

on the different panels.

CAMERA / TRIPOD

PhotoShop played a prominent role in the construction of my

media products, specifically the digipak in relation to the fact

that a lot of the images taken had to be manipulated and

adapted to fit the layout I desired.

I already had existing knowledge in relation to the basic skills

of PhotoShop as a result of using it at AS level, these were

soon developed further and new skills were obtained along the

way as a result of the task being a lot more complex and

specific in relation to what needed to be produced.

PHOTOSHOP

Due to Photoshop having a wide range of tools available to use, I had to take full advantage of these, ensuring I understood the benefits from using each

tool and how to use them to the best of their potential. The most common tools I used were:

PHOTOSHOP - TOOLS

Quick selection tool was used to eliminate any

unwanted backgrounds on images I had taken.

Blur tool was used to soften

any harsh edges on an images

to make it look more

professional.

The paint bucket tool

was used to fill the

background of an

image.

The text box was another

important tool used in the

production of my digipak

as it allows me to

personalise it in a way that

I wish with regards to

adding the artists name

and album title to my

work

PHOTOSHOP BLEMISH REMOVAL

The Eyedropper tool was used to identify a particular

colour that I wanted to use, in this case I identified the

colour of the skin around the characters blemishes and

used it to remove them

The brush tool was used to cover the spots on the

artists face

I then used the blur tool on top of the brush tool to make

the skin surface look more polished and natural

Due to having previous experience using iMovie from admiring the

lighting video in the 'planning’ part of the course, I was able to act more efficiently with regards to

setting up my video to begin editing. After realising how simple iMovie actually was, I decided to using as my main source of editing. The

editing process as a whole wasn‘t massively time consuming due to the fact that my video followed a

narrative as opposed to being abstract/performance (Sven Carlson-aspects of narrative)

therefore I didn‘t have to time the footage to the song accurately.

IMOVIE

YouTube was an effective way of

adding the different drafts of my

video and being able to view

them as a whole, from the

audiences perspective. Due to

YouTube being a massive social

site I was able to gain feedback

from viewers which acted

constructively to the changes I

should make on my video and

allowed me to apply them

knowing it would benefit my

product.

YOUTUBE

The evaluation stage of the course requires

the influence of technology in relation to

the fact that it allows information gathered

throughout the production of the course to

be accumulated in a linear format to ensure

ease of access and made understanding the

content a lot easier.

EVALUATION

My evaluation is likely to be created using PowerPoint as I aim to include as much content as possible, therefore enabling me to add as much information as I desired without being to overpowering

on my blog and overwhelming the audience with irrelevant information from their perspective.

These PowerPoint can then be compressed and uploaded to slideshare so they can be accessed by my peers as though they are

still in PowerPoint form.

I have a lot of experience with this programme due to it being a common piece of technology and I have used it over many years therefore the simplicity of the programme allows me to use it in

combination with slideshare to add other influences of technology on to my blog.

MICROSOFT OFFICE –

POWERPOINT/SLIDESHARE

Prezi acts as another media rich way to add my

evaluation information onto my blog, the reason

this is so effective is due to the fact that it

provides a modern platform for content to be

displayed on and therefore appeals to a broad

target audience, specifically those within the

younger generation.

Prezi was a programme that was new to me at AS

year, the fact that it is a simple programme made

it easy for me to use it within my work and make

it look a lot more professional and clear.

PREZI

In relation to the new media that is currently influencing the product in of many

products is the presence of web 2.0 and the social media within in. In todays era social

networking appears to be the largest and most effective way of connecting with an

audience as it provides ease of access from both artist and audience and allows direct

contact between the two, this being an incredibly vital aspect of the success in todays

media.

Different social media and the influences they have:

NEW MEDIA

Facebook allows individuals to share content with friends and also receive content as a

result of recommendations from mutual individuals. This site appeals to younger

individuals that are interested in what's going on in the world and also the older

generation of those that want to keep in contact with others.

Twitter provides individuals with even wider contact with the outside world in

relation to the fact that the privacy element is a lot less significant. This social

networking appeals predominantly to the younger generations therefore content

such as mine would have more opportunity to thrive, which is beneficial to the

upcoming, and currently successful artists within the music industry.