Question 4

How did you use new media technologies in the construction of Research, Planning and

Evaluation?

What is New Media Technology?

The many different forms of electronic communication that are made possible through computer technology.For example, digital media technology such as digital editing software, audio and video recording devices (digital cameras) and the internet.

The Technologies I usedI used Final Cut Pro the most throughout my whole task. Putting bits of footage together to create my visual element. I also used PhotoShop, I used this while I was making the Digipak for the artist. Not only was it for putting the Digipak together but also for editing parts of the artist that may not have been shot right during the photoshoot.

Final Cut Pro XFinal Cut Pro X was a massive help throughout the duration of putting together this music video. All the tools which are available are very useful and allow you to create a clean and precise product. Final Cut Pro X would be most appropriate as it contains all the features we needed to produce what we wanted. Final Cut Pro X looks very professional when carried out correctly. It allowed me to very easily sync the music with the artist who was lip singing, I don’t think it would be anywhere near as precise on iMovie due to many of the advanced tools on Final Cut Pro. Final Cut Pro X is the latest version of the programme, making it a newer Media technology, opposing to iMovie which is slightly more dated. Final Cut Pro X, has the post production tool which let us alter the exposure, shadows, saturation and image tinting. We altered this according to the representation we wanted to achieve.

Original Image

Edited Image

How we edited the image

By adjusting the saturation, exposure, shadows and image tinting, we were able to access the image we were looking for. By allowing us to do this, the image was a lot more defined, her make up looked a lot sharper and it captivates the audience quicker as it is bold and significantly brighter.

Zoom ToolThe zoom tool allowed us to make sure our video was precise and cleanly cut. By zooming out and making the images larger we were able to make sure the music was sunk at directly the right moment.

We were able to zoom in and out of the layers meaning the clips were positioned correctly. This allowed us to structure our project precisely. iMovie has a linear editing structure which doesn’t allow you to layer your clips and change them at a later date. This meant Final Cut Pro X would be more precise as it made the editing process much easier.

Crop Tool

Final Cut Pro X contains many tools that would help us. We were struggling as you could see a line on the white background behind and it didn’t look very professional. We used the ‘crop’ toll which allowed us to get rid of this line which was bothering us.

Scale Tool

Once we had cropped the video it wasn’t in the right scaling and you could clearly see it had been cropped as there was a black strip on the left hand side of the video. By using the ‘Scale’ tool we were able get the image to the size we wanted, it zoomed the clip in and now the line in the background is gone.

Transitions

By including transitions into our music video, it allowed it to run a lot more smoothly graduating to each moving image one at a time. Using the transition ‘Cross Dissolve’, meant that there was a small dissolve between each moving image. It wasn’t very noticeable but it is very effective. This made Final Cut Pro X a very useful tool to use to be able to do this to our music video. By double clicking on the transition itself you are able to change the look you want by making the clip dark, bright, subtractive, cold, warm, increasing the highlights or shadows.

Lip SyncingWe were able to add markers onto the track to tell us when the song was going to be changing. This made it a lot easier for us as then we were able to know when the artist should change verses and it becomes a different shot.

Final Cut Pro X allows you to use the ‘Blade’ tool, precisely being able to cut clips.

ResearchFor the research section of this project I used a range of internet services, that were readily available for me to use. The internet provided me with the best way to research as it gave me many sources which were good for researching, and documenting my findings along the way. For the research section of our project I used websites such as Google, Ranker.com/indie-pop artists, and in particular I found that YouTube was very effective. As I am slightly newer to the genre of Indie pop, I found YouTube useful because not only did it allow me to save my history, so I was able to go back and look at my searches on a later date, it also gave me suggested options of artists, similar to the one I had originally searched. By using the internet it allowed me to conduct, collect and document, my research a lot faster then any other way. If I hadn’t been able to use the internet then I would’ve had to use a different method, and this would’ve been a lot more time consuming. I also used it because it gave me such a broad selection of artists, so, not only did it give me artists in the UK but anywhere in the world. Using the internet is extremely quick, cheap and effective but you have to be very careful that all your findings are reliable. Whilst researching, you never know what is as accurate as it makes out to be, for example, some of the information on Wikipedia is put up by individuals like you and I, therefore, not all of it is as precise as it seems. So the internet is very effective, as long as you have the right sources.

Research continued…Before we had decided on a final concept, of whether it was going to be performance or storyline based, we needed to brainstorm within the group and find out which one would be best. We started to look at it being storyline based, and researched (using Google) various locations that we could use. We really liked the idea of parts of the video being filmed in a gallery, so using Gmail, we contacted the gallery, to ask them if they wouldn’t mind us using a bit of their time and space to conduct this idea. However, they didn’t get back to us. So, we then decided that a quicker and direct way to contact them may be through Twitter, so we tweeted them, just to ask if they would allow this to take place, they then responded to our email. With a few emails being passed from them to us, they came to a conclusion that this wouldn’t be appropriate for their gallery as they were busy all the time, and this would therefore effect the quality of our video. After we had researched and emailed a few locations, and it beginning to prove much difficulty, we decided that our music video was going to be performance based.I then began to research various artists of this same genre, take screen shots and put them onto my blog, where I was then able to continue with the storyboard and begin to think of the main concept for this music video. I found that a lot of music videos of this type, and these videos were mainly focusing on the film technique, the lighting and the staging. They worried less about props, costumes and the flamboyance. They were very interesting and unique because they took a minimal and simplistic concept and turned it into something truly magnificent.

Planning Whilst planning, we had to discuss and decide on ideas together, as a group. By using Slideshare, we were able to embed codes, once we had made a presentation, we would copy and paste these codes and email them to one another. We could then put these straight onto our blogs. We then used Facebook, to view pictures and videos of either; girls that we know, of this target audience, and wouldn’t mind their photo being used. Or, videos that have been published onto Facebook, that me or Michaela could then tag each other in, to gain inspiration. The useful thing about getting images of the girls of our target audience, was that these images weren’t posed, as the girls were in their natural environment. I then took screen grabs of these girls and created a mood board to then put onto my blog. I then could create group chats and ask some of my friends what they thought of various ideas that I had come up with. This was effective as a majority of girls I know have Facebook, so this was a quicker and more efficient way of contacting them, rather than through email. A disadvantage with using Facebook, was that as it contains private information that you wouldn’t want the whole population to see, my account is private. This meant that not everyone would be able to give their input into my ideas and suggestions and I may have missed out on some vital feedback.

Planning continued…After a lot of research, we decided that we were going to make it a performance based music video. We decided on various lighting, camera angles etc. because we wanted our audience to get a feel of what our artist is like in her natural surroundings. We also decided that because during AS we had created a opening sequence of thriller, we had made the storyline too complicated and some of the audience, through feedback, didn’t quite understand what was going on. So this time whilst planning, we wanted to create the most simple but effective concept. We started off by planning our production in detail by using a storyboard, this we were then able to translate onto our blog using a camera. After a few times of rough copies, we finally came up with our final storyboard. After that, we then came up with a script, this was just an even more detailed plan of the storyboard, we made sure that we put all the camera angles, lighting colours, style of shots, timings, synchronization with the music etc. This meant that when filming our music video, we were able to complete it as quickly as possible because we had everything organized in detail, this saved our time and our artist’s time, it took us all together about 3 hours to complete our product. After we then used Gmail, to plan with the head teacher, when the best time would be to use the hall, he gave us various times and dates, and then we were set to go.

Evaluation For the evaluation of our media product, I used an Apple Mac laptop. By using a Mac, it meant that I was able to take screen shots a lot easier then if I was to use a different laptop or a PC. I had been using an Apple Mac computer for the whole of the creation of the media product, so I found it easy to complete the evaluation on a Mac. As the Mac’s have a built in camera it meant that I was able to create a visual audio for one of my questions. If I didn’t have a Mac, then I may have slightly struggled because I don’t have a camera, so I would’ve faced some difficulty in doing so as I would’ve had to ask to borrow a friends. I also used my phone, IPhone 6, to complete one of the evaluation questions. I made a voice recording and emailed it to myself, I then made a Sound cloud account and uploaded it onto there. Using the share and then embed button I shared it onto my blog, completing one of the questions. Slideshare was also very useful as I was able to upload various PowerPoint's and then share them, and post them on my blog and share them with my member in our group. I also used Prezi, to complete a question, it allows you to do more than one PowerPoint. This is because I can upload and watch videos from it and I used different paths on the presentation to control what the screen shows. I am also signed up to an account where I can upload all my presentations to one place. Having Prezi online allows me to have an embed code on every presentation I create which makes it quicker and easier to upload. This is different from PowerPoint as I would have to upload it to Slideshare first. Online access also allows me to create my presentations quicker and select photo’s from other websites, e.g. Google.