Evaluation question 4

Question 4:

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

• The use of technology has lead to exceptional advancement in my work this year within my Year 13 Media Studies Coursework. Similar to year 12, I have used a blog to present my planning, research, construction and final products, which readily are available online for feedback from teachers and other students. I have used many online platforms, as well as physical technology to assist with my coursework.

• The Internet has been one of the most principal factors contributing to the construction and validity to my music video allowing me to use a range of websites and search engines in the process of researching and gaining inspiration for my work. I used search engines such as Google in the initial stages of research and planning to investigate the Folk and Acoustic artists, and the genre itself. Not only did this allow my research and portrayals to be realistic, it also helped me create representations with intertextual links to illustrate the in depth thought and planning behind the concept of my music video.

• Blogger is a weblog publishing tool owned by Google. Using a virtual space is the most effective way of presenting Media coursework, as it is accessible from almost anywhere with virtually no fuss. Furthermore the user has the ability to upload a potentially unlimited amount of data to either be broadcasted publicly, or password protected. Blogger also allows fellow users and teachers to give feedback via the comment section, and revise posts if needed. Storing work online almost eliminates the possibility of loosing work, as each post saves every few seconds in draft whilst writing, and also stops any student from “forgetting” their work, as it is accessible online.

• In the initial stages of research and development, after I had chosen my artist, I spent a large amount of time searching the Internet for inspiration in order to develop the narrative of my music video. Websites such as YouTube, a popular video hosting site, which was launched in 2005, allowed me to research Folk and Acoustic artists which I was able to refer to at a later date. After input into the search engine, the site provides a list of closely matched content to watch. And after watching, it then provides a list of recommendations based upon what you have previously viewed and related content.

• When I researched “Joni Mitchell”, similar Folk artists such as Steely Dan and Neil Young appeared in the sidebar. These videos are also available to embed into blog posts via the URL or HTML code.

• Another video hosting website which I used was Vimeo. Unlike YouTube, Vimeo is essentially used for more “professional” video and some music video uploads rather than amateur footage. Through this, I found such videos as “Lovely Bloodflow” by Baths, which fundamentally influenced the forest scenes in my music video. Vimeo users also hold many competitions and trends, for example the “One Minute” challenge, whereby each user is supposed to film a still one take shot for a minute, and the best ones are featured. “Crows at Dusk” by Christopher Michael Beer, which also inspired some scenes of my music video.

• Social networking sites such as Facebook have allowed me to easily contact my artist, Daisy Vaughan, and request permission to use her single “It makes me tired”. Furthermore, I was able to view a variety of similar unsigned bands and research their audiences’ through their “Fan pages”, which users are able to “like” and post support or criticism on. In addition to this, I used the Facebook app on my iPhone to contact my artist, and actress to arrange schedules.

• Wikipedia was one of the main sources for specific information I used regarding artist background information and genre. Not only was I able to embed intertextual likes such as the reference to Ophelia in my music video, but I also gained inspiration from artist Paul Gauguin along with Joni Mitchell’s album covers for my own print productions.

• With the majority of my posts, I used Microsoft Word beforehand to check any spelling mistakes and make overall corrections before posting the text into blogger and publishing the content. I also used Microsoft PowerPoint to create engaging slideshows such as the one on (question 3) of my evaluation to present some of my findings such as my audience feedback. I was then able to upload this PowerPoint presentation onto the hosting and creation site Prezi, Slideshare or Scribd, which transformed my document to presentations which are available to be embedded into Blogger. I also used Microsoft PowerPoint to create graphs and pie-charts, to present my findings from the written questionnaires.

• After purchasing my artists CD, I imported the songs onto my laptop and into iTunes, which I transferred onto my music video in Adobe Premier Pro CC, whilst I edited it, to ensure the visuals matched up with the lyrics.

• Soundcloud, the online audio sharing platform, which enables users to upload, record, promote and share their original “sounds” allowed me to explore unsigned artists and identify their influences by simply type in the artist, or a genre, and the result would link me to many examples with tags related to my search. Soundcloud is a well used platform for promotion, due to its easy access and ability to share, additionally, the website allows users to interact with producers through messages, and also comment on each “sound” with feedback.

• The entire of my music video, along with the shots of locations, print productions and some of my evaluation where all taken using a Canon Eos 600D camera rather than the traditional camcorder rented from the school. This DSLR is not only a stills camera, but also records video in 1080p, which allowed me to create a much more cinematic and professional appearing music video in the highest definition. The Canon Eos 600D camera features a medium-sided adjustable screen, which can be adjusted like a typical camera, or rotated so that the footage or stills can be viewed during filming, and played back afterwards. The ability to review the raw and freshly captured shots allowed me to identify key angles, or reconsider some, thus improving my footage selection. Conveniently, the camera is extremely useful when under time management; the memory card easily pops out the side, and can be directly inserted into a computer or laptop to transfer or view images or a large screen.

One of the most significant features on the camera was its ability to switch between automatic and manual focus. I often used this effect, particularly in the forest scene, as it allowed for a “shift” in attention between two subjects, E.g. the scenery to Alice.

• For my Year 12 coursework, I edited my music video using iMovie, so using Adobe Premier Pro CC was very educational, and an advancement to say the least. Although at first appearing daunting, I quickly adjusted to the adjustable layout and began my edit. Firstly I placed all my shots into narrative order, and precisely edited them to the exact millisecond. On some of the shots, it was necessary to alter the speed of the footage, increasing or decreasing the percentage to make it slow down, or become faster paced. Additionally, I adjusted the colour gradient and added a hue to the latter part of the footage, to purposely make the atmosphere more despondent, added transitions such as “fade to black” and “cross fades” in order for the video to appear more professional.

• I used a trial version of Adobe Photoshop CC to construct my print productions, magazine advertisement and promotional poster. This program was essential in the construction to my ancillary task, ensuring them to be the exact required measurements, with the highest quality editing. After using my Canon Eos 600D to take my photos, I manipulated each of my photos to achieve the desired effect.

• Additionally, I used a HP PhotoSmart Premium all-in-one printer to scan in documents such as my questionnaires, storyboards and album sketches.

• Another photo editing software which I used was Picasa. It is extremely convenient to keep track of your images, and do basic edits, or crop images. Specifically, I used it to remove red eyes from the lenses glare on some of my images, and lighten them when needed.

• One of the most useful programs I used in the process of this evaluation was an app I downloaded on my MacBook Pro named Screen Recorder Tool, which enables you to either select a portion of the monitor, or the full screen, and record it. This was exceptionally useful when doing question one, as I captured many videos from YouTube to place in my video evaluation.