4. How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
As a trio we used a wide mix of different types of media technologies that aided us in the construction, research, planning and evaluation stages of this project. Both software and hardware of all sorts were used to perform basic and more complex tasks throughout the project to create our final piece and my ancillaries.
Research
Before any planning began as a group we individually did research on our chosen brief. This would give us a breadth of knowledge before we had begun. As we worked on our own during this stage I can only comment on the media technologies that I used myself. Perhaps the most crucial technology was the internet, particularly Google, YouTube, Wikipedia and Survey Monkey. These sites allowed me to understand theory, watch professional music videos as inspiration, look at their history and backgrounds and finally allowed me to create my own survey online and send it to peers, instead of me having to walk around with the questionnaires, saving time. I believe that I used these sites as effectively as I was able to and I certainly could not have gathered nearly as much research material if I had not had access to these websites.
Planning
After gathering sufficient research we could now begin to plan our music video as a group. This was primarily by sitting around a table as a group and making notes on a piece of paper, therefore we made little use of media technologies. However, when we had chosen the song, Ethan and I decided to create an interview of the songwriter so that those involved would have a clear understanding of the lyrics. To do this to the standard that we wanted we used a Cannon 300D DSLR camera, rather than a regular video-camera or mobile phone camera, to provide us with more image quality, to create a professional look. We also used light kits, reflectors and a tripod to help add to this. When we had finished filming we used the Adobe programme; Premier Pro, to edit the interview. It was important that we used the best parts of the interview as questions were repeated for the songwriter to answer, so we had plenty of shots to choose from. This interview came out very well, even though I would have preferred asking more thought-out questions, and giving him more time to answer. Cameras were also very important during this stage to allow us to compare different things, such as locations, casting and choosing props. This was particularly helpful when planning locations, we simply took pictures at the location and then decided on which ones to use back at school. There was not much need for media technologies during this stage but having access to a camera was particularly helpful in allowing us to make comparisons.
Construction
During this stage, as a group, we used many different media technologies. To create my ancillaries alone I used a camera, as well as Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Office Publisher and Google. I believe I used each of these to their full use to create ancillaries that I am very happy with. For the music we had a variety of hardware and software we had to use to produce it. I was cameraman for the majority of the filming and therefore I had the vital job of producing the shots we need for the video. I have been cameraman in my GCSE piece and AS level piece's so by this point I was experienced with this role and I believe I used the camera and supporting equipment very effectively. All narrative shots and the stage performance shots are of a very high quality as evidence. When filming the studio performance shots there was a fall in the quality due to the lack of focus because another group member, who was not as experienced with the camera had to film in my place, I would have liked to do this again or made use of the auto-focus feature which would have assisted the other group member, producing better shots. Post-production is the area I am least familiar with and therefore I took a stepped back role, mainly making comments and suggesting improvements to Liam and Ethan who did the majority of the editing. They used Adobe Premier Pro primarily but also used Adobe Photoshop, Audacity and Soundcloud, as well as the school computers. Both had a talent for editing and therefore worked extremely well in my opinion. They had not used editing software for almost a year so the beginning was very much a trial and error process which eventually ended with them working very efficiently, with the help of the media technician and YouTube tutorials, to work out how to create certain effects. Overall, I believe throughout the construction process we made very good use of media technologies that were accessible to us, with little I would change.
Evaluation
I have used a variety of media technologies for this, however ones I have used have been very helpful. I have used multiple different ways of presenting my evaluation for this project including Microsoft Office Powerpoint and Wix. Powerpoint was particularly effective as I am very familiar with it and therefore evaluation question two was completed fairly quickly. My evaluations were heavily based on audience feedback we received when our pieces were exhibited to other members of the class. I used Microsoft Office Word to note down comments and quotes, however I could have made better use of media technologies by filming or recording these comments for this website as it would have revealed more than just a simple quote.