Question 4 How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages? draft

Evaluation Question 4, How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

During this whole project we have used a wide range of technology, in this question we have to explain how this technology aided us in coming to the end of the project. I think it is fair to say that without the technology we have available to us this project would have become much more difficult that it already was.

As the main task of the challenge was to produce a music video I will start with the technology we used to produce the video rather than the ancillary texts e.g. filming and editing equipment.

Canon PowerShot SX130IS, this was extremely important during the construction process as all of our footage was filmed using this camera. We used this camera as it records footage in full HD, which was important to us, as we wanted our video to be as high a quality as possible. Using this camera definitely improved our music video, as the quality of the video was parallel to that of a professional video. During the filming processes we also used a tripod, however watching our video it is clear to see that some parts clearly do not use a tripod, this was deliberate, as we wanted to give our music video the handheld camera effect. Some shots such at the extreme close up, moving keyboard shots and the walking shots used a tripod as we both felt it was necessary to improve the shot and quality of the video. The tripod was another essential piece of and combined with the camera it was extremely important during the filming process.

The camera was also fundamental during the ancillary tasks as we used this camera to take some of the photographs used on our digipacks again showing its worth during the construction stages.

To edit all of our filming footage we used iMovie, we chose to use this software to edit on as we both experience of using it before and also both have either an iMac or a MacBook which means that we both have constant access to iMovie. During the editing process we both found iMovie extremely user friendly, and were able to achieve excellent editing results with relatively little problems. Without iMovie our video would have taken much longer to edit and would have been much more irritating as we have had to learn to use completely new software in a relatively short space of time. Along with the camera we used iMovie was equally important during the construction stages when producing our music video.

Another crucial piece of technology during this process was our Macintosh computers. This technology is much faster and easier to use than other computers and thanks to this we have been able to produce a greater volume of work in a smaller amount of time thanks to the speed and compatibility of this technology. As we both have this technology available to us it also made it much more simple to share work with each other. This technology has been extremely important through all the stages of this project, as much off the work we have produced has been done on these computers.

One of the most used pieces of technology during this process has to be Blogger. Every piece of work we have produced has been uploaded to Blogger. Using Blogger is a brilliant way of storing work and also allows you to view other people’s work whether its peers or teachers. With Blogger it is very simple to use and has been extremely important during the construction, research, planning and evaluation. Blogger has been pivotal as it allows us to store work and also revisit parts such as research, which is crucial during the evaluation process. Blogger also makes it possible to view other people’s work, which can be used for inspiration on how to present work. Blogger is brilliant in the way that work can be uploaded in many different formats such as word documents, animoto’s, YouTube video’s, Slideshows and prezi’s. 

Another piece of technology we used during this process was Adobe Photoshop CS5. This piece of technology was crucial during the construction process. Without Photoshop it would have been much more difficult to produce our digipacks. Photoshop enabled us to edit photographs and produce professional looking magazine adverts and digipacks. As we both have previous experience of using Adobe Photoshop from AS media we both found it quite easy to use as we were familiar with the controls and tools that the software offers. The task of producing a digipack and magazine advert was in many ways similar to the AS coursework task of producing a magazine, this was helpful as it meant we had experience in this area and we had more knowledge of what was needed. Although we both have previous experience of using Photoshop i feel that over the course of this task our Photoshop skills have improved considerably, I now feel comfortable using the software whereas before I found it quite frustrating and difficult.

One piece of technology we have both regularly used throughout this task has been the iPhone 4s. This has been extremely beneficial during the research and planning stages. We used the iPhone during the planning stage in order to contact each band member and arrange when we were all free to arrange filming sessions. The iPhone also has a group call and messaging feature we allowed us to contact all the band members collectively. There is also a blogger app which is available for the iPhone which meant that we could post work and conduct research whilst on the move. The iPhone 4s also has an extremely high quality camera and video, this meant that we could use the iPhone for some short shots and also to take photographs without losing any clarity or image quality. An example of this is shown in the music video where the closing shot at the train station was filmed on the iPhone 4s. There were also examples in both ancillary tasks as the some pictures used were taken using the iPhone 4s.

Another technology used during the research and planning stages was Twitter. By setting up a twitter account in the name of the band we were able to ask for opinions and conduct research beyond the boundaries of our peers and teachers. This was particularly helpful during research stages as we could alter our work depending on opinions from other people and also ask for advice on subjects such as album names. Overall twitter was important during the task as it allowed us to raise awareness about our band and also influenced some of our decision making. Twitter was also used during the evaluation process as our video was sent to all our followers asking for feedback which could be used constructively during the evaluation.

We also used Facebook in a very similar way, Facebook was particularly helpful when it came to the evaluation process as we were able to ask a wide variety of people for there thoughts about our video. We were also able to use Facebook in a similar way to twitter to aid our research and planning.

We also used TubeChop during the whole process. However we mainly used this as part of the research stages. Tubechop allowed us to break down and analyze particular music videos. This was particularly helpful during the research stages as we used this analysis to help us think of ideas and take inspiration from other music videos.

As we working as a pair during the whole process being able to share work was crucial. The main way we were able to share work with each other was through email. Email was important through all stages of this project as without it sharing work with each other would become much more difficult.