Media A2 Evaluation- Question 4

1. Please click on the links in the
Presentation

2. Research
 Google: I used Google by using a filter search to find
specific and correct definitions of certain terms such as
definitions of different genres of music which had
many definitions. I also used this filter search to find
official websites for artists to avoid fake or false
websites that mimicked facts and correct yet unofficial
information. This allowed me to look at quality
information and conventions which helped with my
decision on the genre I wanted to use.
 YouTube: I used YouTube by searching for the exact
song title and artist to avoid placing any unofficial clips
in my research blogs. This allowed me to get
quality, official videos to analyse which showed me the
real conventions of certain artists.

3. Planning
 E-mail: I used my school email to contact the artists I used
for my music video. This is because they work as teachers
and was the quickest way to contact them. Doing this in my
planning made my construction much easier as I organised
all filming sessions effectively. I also used this to plan my
storyboard as they sent me the lyrics via e-mail
 MySpace: Searching for ‘This Modern Life’ in MySpace
allowed me to see personal information such as pictures,
comments, band information and their tracks. This gave
the insight I needed to make my decision to use them for
my video. Their profile was also easy to find as this social
networking site is now less frequently used after other sites
took over such as Facebook and Twitter. Even though these
sites have taken over and information on the band is on
their too, MySpace is still used for artists and bands.

4. Planning- Continued
 Google: By using a filter search with Google Images I was able
to search for items of male clothing from All Saints and Topshop
to get ideas for the type of clothing I wanted the artists to see a
range of styles/looks for the band. However, I did tell them to be
comfortable and asked them to where what they typically would
for a gig but had to consult me first.
 Camera: I used my personal camera to capture images of
possible locations and different camera angles to use. This
helped develop my planning so I knew what angles were good to
use before the construction process.
 Soundcloud: This website allowed me to search the band and
find more information but also allowed me to copy the code to
attach to my blog. This gave me portability and flexibility and
allowed me to download this to my iPod so I could listen and
easily analyse the lyrics without tied to a computer all the time.

5. Video
 Premiere Pro- This is the software I used to edit my video. The genre I had
picked is a rock/indie style and one convention of this genre in a video is that
they are not ‘over the top’ in terms of editing, meaning not a lot of use of
special effects as this is a main convention of the ‘Pop’ genre. Due to this, I used
very simple transitions and effects such as fade and black&white because it is a
convention of rock and indie genres.
<< Click picture for link

6. In the construction of my product I used
the SDR-S70. My location for the
Video- Continued performance was lit with a spotlight to
show the performers, however due to this
atmospheric lighting choice I wasn’t able to
move the camera without shadows
appearing. This is where the zoom control
came in handy and I was able to film what
 Panasonic Camera looked like close ups. Even though I
thought this would work, some of the
zoomed shots didn’t work and the quality
lacked because the camera couldn’t adapt to
the lighting. I used some of the zoomed
shots but some would effect the quality of
the video as the other shots I have filmed
are very clear and look good together.
I also used the camera as this had a ‘white
balance’ setting. As I was using different
locations for my filming, the use of white
balance levelled the quality of colours
used. This was very important as I was
using different effects to so using this
would improve the quality and
professional look. To do this I pressed on
the menu button and selected ‘WB’ before
placing a white piece of paper in front of
the lens and then held down the menu
button to make sure the shot was white
balanced.

7. Video- Continued
 Blackberry- In the filming I used my personal Blackberry
in the filming as I needed it for the story to flow. The
functions used were ‘Contacts’ and ‘Messages’ to show the
female character deleting and texting people. This was also
used as I have observed in my research that many modern
music videos use phones and laptops and I wanted to
mimic this professional look by making it an important
prop in the video and storyline.
 YouTube: After I had completed my draft and final
versions of my video I exported the Microsoft AVI file then
imported that onto my own YouTube account. I then used a
code to change the size of the video before embedding this
to my blog. I also used YouTube so if any comments were
made I could include them in my feedback.

8. Magazine Advert
 Word- To create my magazine advert, I used Microsoft
Word. As I know how to work it better than Publisher and I
think the quality did not lack at all. I think my knowledge
of this software allowed the quality of the product to come
through. I was able to use the simple Word tools to
assemble fonts together and make sure pictures were
placed correctly.
 Google- From my research I found that many logos and
additional information are placed on a music advert to
promote the band. I used a filter search again to find the
official logos for ‘Facebook’ and ‘iTunes’ to place on my
magazine advert to make it look professional and factual.

9. Magazine Advert- Continued
 Photoshop-
Before- click image After
In the first draft, a lamppost was visible
between the two artists.
I used Photoshop to access a more technical editing
tool to remove the lamppost is the original
magazine advert image. I used the healing tool to
select the surrounding parts of the lamppost and
put them on top of the object. This allowed me to
use the ‘tree’ texture to remove the lamppost
object. From the feedback I was given from
teachers, the lamppost diverted attention away
from the artists because of where it was placed.
Therefore removing the object with the tool gives
the promotional more of a professional and quality
look.

10. I adjusted the
exposure from
Magazine Advert- Continued neutral to
‘highly
contrasted’ in
most of the
photos as it
 Windows Gallery Edit software defines parts
of the photo
such as parts
of
clothing, certai
n background
features and
creates clear
facial
When editing the
photos, my main
expressions. I
aim was for them to did this as it
be used as images makes the
for the products. So photos look
when editing and more
cropping the image I professional
made sure there was and eye
room at the top or catching.
bottom to put
essential Even though I
I adjusted the
information like wanted the photos
colour of my
debut dates, stores to look cool and
pictures as this
and promotional moody; using the
was the tool that
websites. I did this tint tool adjusts the
created the black
by selecting the crop colour of the image
and white effect
tool and which I decided not
that is a link
highlighting the to use as I think it
throughout all 3
parts I wanted to would ruin the
of my products.
keep, as soon I quality and strong
Making sure the
clicked ‘enter’ and contrasted style I
saturation was
the space I didn’t have portrayed.
zero gave this
need was removed. nice cool, indie
effect

11. Digipak
 Fireworks One of the reasons why I used Fireworks
for the development of this product was
because of the range of fonts available. I
have used this programme by picking a
font that would match the style of the
artists and genre and placing the fonts on
the front cover. This programme has
allowed me to move things around
compared to the limitations of Word.
I have also used this programme because it
has allowed me to select the exact canvas size
for the digipak. This was needed as the size
needs to be perfect if it was to be constructed.
Before the construction process I hadn’t used
Fireworks very much at all and found it hard
to adapt to the new editing tools however the
use of this programme had a big effect on the
professional look for example the placement
of the barcode and design of the ‘record
company.

12. Evaluation
 Prezi-I used Prezi for my question 2 on the evaluation. This was so I
could use pathways to show how effective the products work together
and to emphasise the links I have made. This is also very interactive
and a modernised version of PowerPoint which has animated and
energised my presentation..
 Xtranormal- This movie making software is something I had just
found out about in this process, I wanted to make my question 1 a
commentary however when I heard about this software it allowed my
to add voice as well as exciting visuals. I created my movie so that two
people were having a conversation about the conventions I had used in
my video and products. I had only used this programme once and feel
from this part of the evaluation that I have found another piece of
software I can use for other subjects because it is a animated and
different way of learning compared to other presentation/revision
skills.

13. Evaluation- Continued
 Presentation- I have used Powerpoint presentation for
this question as it gave me the tools and room to place
annotated pictures on them to explain my technology use.
I could have possibly used Prezi, however, for the amount
of technology I have used, the path may have been a bit
complicated to use and I found that for this question
PowerPoint was a better layout programme to use due to
the explanation and analysis of technology use.
 Wordle- From the feedback I gathered, I placed all of this
into Wordle which creates Word maps to show which
words are used the most. This gave me insight into what
was liked about my product, how it could have been
improved but also looks extremely striking and exciting to
look at.