This is my A2 Media Evaluation Question 4

1. HOW DID YOU USE MEDIA
TECHNOLOGIES IN THE
CONSTRUCTION AND RESEARCH,
PLANNING AND
EVALUATION STAGES?
By Ciril Skaria

2. Construction
For the my advanced portfolio I used a wide
range of different media technologies to
construct my radio drama, and the 2 ancillary
tasks successful.

3. Logic Pro 9
Logic Pro 9 is the main software I used in the
construction of my radio drama. This is a software by
Apple. As I had no prior experience using this
software, I relied on YouTube tutorials and my music
teacher to learn the basic. However, considering how
advanced this software is for audio editing, I found
this software to be very simple to use and straight
forward even for a beginner. I used this software to
record nearly all the dialogues, and to edit my radio
drama.

4. Logic Pro 9
This is how the interface of Logic Pro 9 looks like. I was able to record audio
directly onto the software. I then created separate tracks for each group of
sounds (1 track for the dialogue of one character or sound effects). After
organising each audio file in the correct order, I began editing. I used the
automation tool to adjust the sound level, echo level etc. I was also able to
energize the quieter audio tracks to match the other sounds. This software
also enabled me to change the pitch to make a track slower or faster.
Overall a very advanced and professional software which I used to create
my radio drama.

5. Adobe Photoshop Elements
Photoshop Elements is a software by
Adobe. I used this software in the
development of both my ancillary
tasks. I was familiar with the
software as I have had experience
using this for my foundation
portfolio. This software has a wide
range of sufficient tools needed for
me to create my newspaper advert
and magazine listings page.

6. Adobe Photoshop Elements
This is my first ancillary task;
newspaper advert. I made my final
version and the 2nd draft on
Photoshop. I used magic tool and
background eraser rubber tool to clear
the background of the images I took of
the character. I then used several
‘layer mask’ option to change the
contrast of the image along with the
brightness and saturation. I also used
the blur tool to soften the edges of the
edited images to make it blend in
more to the background.

7. Adobe Photoshop Elements
Below is my magazine listings page on the left and
evidence of editing on Photoshop. I had prior experience
using Photoshop, so I found it easy in the construction of
my 2nd ancillary task. I used a range of tools like : line tool,
shape tool, paint bucket tool, crop tool, gradient tool and
text tool. This allowed me to produce a successful listings
page which is of a near professional standard.

8. iMovie
I used iMovie to combine the 3 products.
iMovie; a basic editing software also by
Apple. I used this software because of its
basic interface. I dragged in the jpeg files
of my newspaper advert, and magazine
listings page. I added a title informing
what it is, I changed the time of each
image to add up to 5 minute. I then
added the final audio file of my radio
drama. iMovie has an option to export the
edited file directly to YouTube.
This was very useful as I was able to
publish my final work easily

9. Microphone
I used a classic SM58 microphones
to record the main dialogues. Using a
proper mic allowed me to record
audio with higher quality than an
audio recorder device.

10. Voice Changer app
This is a mobile phone app,
which I used to convert pre-
recorded audio to have effects.
This software allows the users to
record directly or upload a pre-
recorded audio and add voice
effects. I used this in my radio
drama to create the sound of
the villain when he speaks
through a TV

11. Research and Planning
I used a range of different media technologies
during the research and planning stage of my
radio drama, and the 2 ancillary tasks
successful.

12. YouTube
YouTube is currently one of the main
media technology which is used to share
videos to the public. I used this for both
publishing my final product as well as for
research. Majority of my research are
from YouTube videos. I used this website
to find similar media product (Radio
Drama) within my chosen genre of horror
to analyse and editing tutorials.

13. Websites
Below are some of the websites which I used during the
research stage to find relevant information which can help
me in the production phase.
O http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4
O http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/archers
Roots of horror
O http://filmmakeriq.com/lessons/a-brief-history-of-horror/
Lights out – Horror radio drama
O http://www.genericradio.com/show.php?id=5IXLA9022A
O http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thearchers/entries/0a143854-ab1f-3b96-a
O http://www.simplyscripts.com/category/old-time-radio/
O http://vimeo.com/77636515

14. Websites
The two links below are the two website which I used to
find the programme schedule which I added on my
listings page. I used the TV Guide website to find TV
programme schedule for the Film/TV section of my
radio drama. I found radio schedules on the radio times
website.
O http://www.tvguide.co.uk/
O http://www.radiotimes.com/

15. Microsoft Word
For the planning stage of my production I
used this technology to create my scripts.
Microsoft word allowed me to make the
basic changes like make letter Bold, Italic or
underlined.
This was very useful when I had to make the
sounds different from the dialogues.
I was also able to use the colour pallet to
change the font colour for each character;
colour coding each character allowed the
cast to identify the lines easy while reading
though.

16. Microsoft PowerPoint
Similar to Microsoft Word, I used the
PowerPoint to software to do my
brainstorm during the initial planning
stage. Technology allowed me to
chose between several options of
graphs, bars, shapes, lines and
brainstorm layouts. I found this easy
to use, and was able to present the
work in a professional style.

17. Survey Monkey
Survey Monkey is an online way of sending
out questionnaires and collecting feedback.
This technology was very important in terms
of doing my primary research. I created the
questions on this website and shared it to my
friends. This website allows the users to
share a link via Facebook. Also there are
other options like email the link to a friend or
share the link displayed to others. One the
feedbacks are in, the website renders all the
results into bar charts or lists of results. This
technology is very good because it is time
efficient and presents the results in a way
which is easy for the surveyor to analyse the
result.

18. Facebook
Facebook is one of the leading social
media sites. This technology is useful
for the evaluation stage. I used
Facebook as a source to share my
questionnaire and receive feedback.
All I had to do was share the link of
my questionnaire or my final product.
The viewers can comment on the post
with ease and also to share it further
with their friends increasing the
publicity of a product.

19. WhatsApp
WhatsApp is a mobile app which individuals use as an
alternative to texting. This app allows the user to text,
make calls to other WhatsApp users in your address
book, share images, audio/video files, links and also
allows the users to create a group chat with anyone in
their phone address book. I used this app to share my
final product and receive feedback. I found this
technology to be very useful as I was able to get
feedback easily.

20. Evaluation
Evaluation stage was required to be presented
using different forms of media. I used a variety
of media technologies to present my
evaluation

21. Prezi
Prezi is an online presentation
application. I chose to used this to do my
evaluation question 1
I was able to animate the presentation
and add appealing background and
layout design which makes the
presentation more professional.

22. PowToon
Similar to Prezi, PowToon is also an online
presentation site. However the main difference is
the more choice of presenting option. PowToon
allows you to either present the work as a slide
presentation or a movie format. I did my evaluation
question 2 on this website. I was able to add
animated figures on the slide, add transition
effects, music, movie, animated text etc. I found
this presentation site to be more appealing as I
was able to create an informative yet entertaining
presentation, keeping the viewer interested.

23. Wistia
Wistia is an alternative to YouTube. This
website is used to publish more professional
videos. I was able to export and upload the
PowToon presentation to Wistia. I used the
embed code provided by Wistia to share my
question 2 evaluation on my blog.

24. WordPress
WordPress is a blogging site which I used to
present my advanced portfolio. This site is
very advanced in terms of enabling the
users to customise their blog in any design,
style and completely personalise it to suit
their work. I was able to categorise every
post I made and add link to others in my
year. Another function of WordPress is that,
it allows for the user to post their work in
either coding or in normal text, embed
YouTube videos and upload images. Overall I
think WordPress makes the whole portfolio
look professional.