Evaluation Question 4

Evaluation Question 4

How did you use media technologies in the construction and research,

planning and evaluation stages?

-Programs used-

• Adobe Premiere Pro (for editing)

• Survey Monkey (for pre-production questionnaires)

• Facebook (to arrange post-production viewing)

-Adobe Premiere Pro-• Adobe Premiere Pro is an editing software which I used to capture and construct my

music video. After using it throughout my project last year, I found it much easier to handle as well as more interesting to experiment with different effects. This previous experience also made it easier to use the editing keyboards, with all the shortcuts for cutting (razor tool) and deleting/grouping shots.

• We used the ‘fade’ effect many times throughout the video so as to maintain the feeling of the song itself fading in and out. We also used the

‘distort’ effect to give off the psychedelic images we wished to

harness.

-Survey Monkey-

• This website proved very useful as it compiled all the data from the questionnaires and could fit it into tables and graphs giving us a decent outline of the feedback we’d received.

-Facebook-

• The mass social networking site proved to be a brilliant tool when it came to inviting people to our post-production viewing as well as our pre-production questionnaires. By using this internet giant, we were able to reach hundreds of people simply through the click of a button. It made the process far easier than spreading it through word-of-mouth.

-Equipment Used-

• Canon XL1 (camera)

• Tripod

• Dolly

-Cameras and the filming process-

• Once again, prior experience in the film of camerawork

made the creation of the video a lot easier. Originally we

wished to film in High-Definition, but this proved impossible

as Adobe Premiere Pro would not be able to

render the footage properly, therefore we had

to make do with keeping the camera in the 16:9 setting. This, however,

proved to be a blessing in disguise as we got a far grainier texture and

tone. The quality of the video, though

low, gave a

more raw image.

-Cameras and the filming process cont.-

• Last year I wouldn’t have dared take the camera off the tripod, but for this project there was a need for some handheld footage to capture some of the shots, such as the house clock and the trailing shots of the guitar solo. These shots would have been impossible if the camera was on the tripod, this is due to issues with how low the shot is taken (the low angle shot of the clock) or the very specific trailing of the guitarist.

-Fonts for the Digipack-

• I found my font on a website called dafonts.com, a site built on many different font types and writing styles. It made the process far easier as well as adding a certain edge to the cover.

-YouTube-

• The finished product was uploaded to this fantastic video database. A prime example of new media, YouTube allows anyone to post a video and occasionally improves the quality. Whereas our video would naturally only be in 360p, it was improved to 480p, and thereby closer to being HD yet still retaining it’s grainy look.

-Lighting on Adobe Premiere Pro-

• Unlike last year, I decided to experiment heavily with the contrast of the video. Adobe Premiere Pro showed it’s brilliance by giving me a great selection of changes that could be made be it contrast, tone, lightening as well as different styles (sequoia, sepia, etc.). There were no constraints in this area of the work, only ways to enable a better looking, and more interesting,

music video.

-Effects on Adobe Premiere Pro-

• Once again, there were few problems as the software plays host to a huge range of video effects. Whilst we didn’t look in the audio effect’s section as we didn’t wish to ruin the song, the video effect’s folder was filled

with useful techniques such as blur, distort, twist, fade, reel, and

many more.

-Pacing on Adobe Premiere Pro-

• We decided to keep the changes in shots in time with the song itself, so as to keep a fresh thread of continuity. This was made far easier through the brilliance of the to-the-second timeline, allowing you to place a shot in at a 1/100th of a second.

-To conclude-

• Through the use of all these ingenious pieces of software and websites, the process has maintained a good sense of fluidity. Everything was made easier with the right direction and inspiration, and therefore the entire project has been enjoyable.