Evaluation 4 (1)

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

Research and Planning

Google was used to: -Find all types of research for our digi pack and ancillary task- It was our most used search engine, and helped us find general and specific research

Youtube was used to: -Look at real products which mainly included music videos-It also helped to give us a lot of video evidence -It also allows me to upload my own video onto blogger which is very useful when presenting my work

To carry out the main part of our research we mainly used You tube and Google to look at real media products, which gave a wide range of varied results.

Construction

Video Camera

- Our video camera was the main piece of equipment used throughout the making process as we needed it for every piece of filming we did- We had never used this piece of equipment before and were therefore unfamiliar with how it worked. However once learning the basics we were able to come to grip with the more technical aspects of the camera, so we could use more advanced filming skills.- Using this piece of equipment also meant all members of our group were given the chance to use it. - After much use we were able to work out how to use the zoom on the video camera which was an effective technique to use especially with extreme/close-up shots- We also did not need to worry about the sound that would be recorded on the video camera as it would be removed when our filming was in the editing process

This piece of equipment was supplied by our school

Phones

Camera The use of the camera was to record our evidence when filming. This was useful as it proved what we were doing, where we were filming, and the allocated jobs of each person. Throughout filming we also took photos of the different actresses and what they were doing, so we could see our scenes from different angles which was very useful.

Our phones were used to take pictures of evidence of filming when the camera was not available. Our phones were also very useful as sometimes not all 3 of us were together to discuss progress and things we needed to do, and therefore we would have group messages to discuss this so that all 3 of our ideas would be included.

Serif Movie plus X3Serif Movie Plus X3 was the main programme we used in the editing process. We learnt many skills and techniques during the process which worked in our advantage. Some of the many things we learnt during editing with Serif Movie Plus X3 was: how to cross fade, how to use the cutting tool, how to reduce the play speed, how to change the brightness and contrast, how to add a greyscale effect, how to insert clips, and how to destroy links between sound and video so that we could add the music. These were all extremely useful and I will be able to take these skills on further with me if I ever need them again. The use of this programme allowed a professional look and edit to our video which made it much more successful.

Photoshop

In-Design

Photoshop was used to edit and perfect the photos before any other features were to be added to them. As most of our ancillary tasks were in black and white this was mostly what we had to do, however I had never done this to me so it was a new feature I had to explore. As well as that I had to add a smudge effect and erase any messy hair or blemishes.

InDesign was mainly used to add features to my ancillary tasks. We used this to do font research which was very useful in selecting the right font for our ancillary tasks. It was also used to add text and other features to our photos. From using InDesign it meant it gave our photos a much more professional look which wouldn’t of been able to create on a programme such as ‘Paint’.

Both of these programmes were used in the editing stage of our ancillary tasks, and as I have used both of these programmes last year in my AS coursework I was familiar with how they worked and they were easy to get the hang of.

Evaluation

BloggerBlogger was the main site I used to document and present my work, as it allowed me to do it in a neat and professional way. I was very familiar with blogger as I had used it all throughout my AS coursework to again present my work. Blogger was useful as it allowed me to present my work in a timeline which easily shows the audience my train of thought throughout making my whole project.

PoppletPopplet was another site used to present my work in a different way, to make it more interesting when my audience are reading my work. Popplet presents work in a spider diagram type way so this was effective to see all of my work. I could also communicate with other members of my group and we could combine work together which was extremely effective and helpful.

FacebookFacebook was used for the feedback stage of my project. I posted my video online and asked for feedback, which was successful as I got a large amount of it and a lot of constructive criticism. Facebook was also a good place to obtain feedback as many of my friends use it, I have easy access to it, and I use the site a lot. I could also gain a range of different opinions due to the many friends I have on facebook, and it allowed me to see an insight from an outsiders point of view when watching my video and looking at my ancillary tasks.

Slide Share

Slide-point

Slide Share was used for this evaluation question, and I chose it for many reasons. It was a more interesting way to present my work than just writing a paragraph on my blogger as it allows my audience to interact with my blogger. It has also given my blog a much more professional look by presenting my evaluation in this way. Slide Share is easy to use and does not take a large amount of time to create your own one.

Power point was used for the making of my evaluation question, and I am extremely familiar with this programme as I have used it many times in the past to make power points for various pieces of work.

Windows Live Movie Maker Windows Live Movie Maker was used to make videos for my presentation of evidence of what I had done. The programme was easy to work out and simple to use, and was again an effective way of presenting my work to my audience.