1. How did you use media
technologies in the
construction and research
planning and evaluation
stages?
Question 4

2. When doing the research for my film I found the Google search engine very useful. I
used this engine to find the codes and conventions of short films and look into my
horror and surrealist
genres. I was very
easy and quick to use
as whatever I wanted
to find out I found
easily. For example
when trying to find
the history of the
horror genre I typed in ‘the history of horror’ and I found a timeline telling me
everything that has happened with the horror genre. This was a very important part of
my planning and research as it abled me to find links easily which enhanced my work.
This was done because I was able to gain specific knowledge that I needed to know how
to make a good film. This included understanding the conventions of genre and short
films. This is important as I was then able to make a successful film sticking to
conventions of horror films and short films. However, trying to look for the right
information was quite time consuming as there was so many websites to look through.
Included in these websites were often websites which included work from other media
students, meaning that not all the information I found was reliable.
FILM
Planning and Research

3. Another website on the internet that I found key when doing my research was YouTube.
This was very helpful as it allowed me to watch other short films that have already been
made and pick out key elements, which
draw an audience member in. This was
helpful because I was able to gain influence.
For example after watching ‘The
Awakening’ trailer I gained influence, such
as the lighting used. This is because it was
dark, which suggested mystery. The website
also helped me when I needed to evidence
my codes and conventions as I could embed
a link which led straight towards a YouTube
clip. This also helped my with my analysis because I could easily access films that had
already been made, where I could then use it for inspiration for my storyline. For
example when I analysed ‘Last Farm’ I gained inspiration form the music used and the
connection it had to the protagonist’s emotions.

4. When collecting audience feedback about what they wanted in my film I
constructed a questionnaire on Survey Monkey. This is found extremely helpful
as it was an easy way for my audience to be able to answer questions without
being given a bit of paper to write on. This is because my audience, who are
young adults and older, use the Internet a lot, therefore allowing them to easily
access the questionnaire. When constructing my questionnaire it was also very
simple and easy to use, this meant that it did not take up much time for me to
create my questionnaire. This website was useful further because I was given a
link for my questionnaire meaning I could post it onto social media websites
such as Facebook. This made collecting audience feedback very easy because
people from Facebook could easily access it and answer the questionnaire. This
was my audience, because it involved a wide audience, including people of
different ages, therefore allowing me to narrow down my target audience after
people had answered it. By using this website it also meant collecting my
results was also not time consuming. This is because the website collected them
all together for me meaning I did not have to count how many people had
answered the questionnaire. Another thing I found useful is that Survey Monkey
produced graphs for the answers of each question, meaning I did not have to
make my own graphs to show my results. The answers I gained did influence my
initial ideas. This is because I expected them to want an original idea, however
they preferred an idea that they could relate to. Answers didn’t influence my
initial idea regarding the genre and the victim within my film.

5. I put the research for the analyses onto a Wix using Wix.com. This
meant I was able to put my work into an organised and interesting
format, making my work aesthetically pleasing. I found this helpful
because I was able to place the text and imagery easily and effortlessly.
By doing this it helped me to cement my ideas as I could differ between
the different media texts I had looked at. This meant I was able to pick
out elements from my analysis, which matched what my audience in
the questionnaire asked to be in my film. However some problems did
occur as the website did not always do what I wanted it to do and put
images in places I didn’t want them to be. There were also many
technical choices which looked confusing and difficult to use. However I
have had experience with this website because I used it for my AS
coursework.

6. Considering the planning of my film I found the scanner very
useful to use. This is because I was easily able to transfer the
storyboards and shooting scripts I had drawn onto the
computer. This was much less time consuming than it would
have been to draw my storyboards on the computer. Being able
to draw my storyboards and scan them into the computer
helped my production because I was able to easily transport
the storyboards I had drawn to the location in which I was
filming. This also meant that if I lost any pages of my
storyboards they were on the computer, therefore could be
retrieved.

7. All of the research and planning that I had carried out I
uploaded onto the WordPress media blog. This was useful to
have because it meant that all my work was in the same place
and I was easily able to change things around and upload
images. However it was difficult to use at times because the
website wanted to fill all empty space with text meaning my
text was moved around when I updated the page. Because of
this I had to keep editing the page and move the text around
into the right places. I also had a problem when uploading my
revised storyboards as I had an amount of image to upload and
not all of them appear to have worked.

8. Construction
When making the film during my project I used an AVCHD camera, this
filmed in high definition, which meant the image turned out much better
than it would with any other camera. I found that this camera was quite
easy to use because I was able to adjust the setting on it easily. This
came as an advantage because it was not time consuming when filming,
as I knew how to work the camera. This influenced my production
because I was easily able to use different camera movement when
filming, such as tracking. This meant than when I wanted to watch back
footage I had filmed I was could effortlessly accomplish this because I
knew what button to press. However a couple of times I had a problem as
I accidentally pressed the recording button when I didn’t want to film,
meaning when I wanted to record the camera was not filming. This did
not create a problem but was however time consuming because it meant
that I had to re-film the shot I had thought I filmed.

9. When editing my film I used software called Final Cut Pro. This I
found very helpful because I was able to include many different
effects onto my film, such as different filters. This included a filter
called negative which is used in my original storyline. This gave the
effect of a blurred vision and a lack of sight, which is what I was
aiming for in the shot. Within Final Cut Pro I was also able to used
different transitions, such as a dissolve. This helped me within my
film as it gave the effect of a change in day, which is what I was
wanted to achieve in my film. This meant that I was not restricted
with what I wanted to do as I could change the look of any shot. I
found it extremely easy to use because I have previously used it for
my AS coursework. A tool I found extremely useful was the ‘Blade
Tool,’ which allowed me to split shots. Therefore I could easily
rearrange shots and repeat certain bits in a
shot. This was useful because towards the
end of my film my shots get faster, an
example of this is towards the end when
the sister is revealed. The blade tool
allowed to precisely cut the shots so that
not too much was given away. I also found
it useful because I was easily able to cut
shots that were too long in length.

10. Another element I found useful in Final Cut Pro was
the wide range of choice in titles. I included many titles in
my film, and it was very useful to be able to change
the font that best matched the title on my magazine
and poster. This therefore gave the same effect as the
magazine and poster. This included an immediate
realisation of horror and the suggestion of something
becoming damaged, shown through the distortion of
the font. I was also easily able to change the colour of the title,
meaning I could have a red title at the beginning of my film. This was
significant because it gave connotations of danger to the audience,
linking to my poster and magazine. These titles were also very easily
able to move around by dragging it to where I wanted it. This was
helpful because I could place my title where it best suited, shown by the
title not covering any object in the shot. This was done because the
establishing shot was still visible and noticeable but with the title also
included, adding information to the shot.

11. One last element I found helpful was the lighting tool. As
my filming was not all done in one day there were shots
that had been filmed on a different day and at a different
time. This meant that the lighting was different which
affected the continuity of my film. However I could make
the lighting brighter with the tools meaning that the
lighting of the shots looked similar and continuity was no
longer a problem. This is shown by the change in
brightness on the shot with the bag
at the end. This gave the effect that
the action took place on the same
day and at the same time.

12. When carrying out research for film
posters I found Google images useful as
I was able to gain inspiration from real
film posters for my idea. It was also
useful because all of the images were in
the same place meaning I could easily
compare the poster and see which ones best suited my genre. I was
also easily able to find conventions of a film poster which this search
engine as images appeared with arrows stating important elements of
a film poster. This was important because I could therefore create a
successful film poster, which followed the right
conventions. I found this by typing in ‘conventions
of a film poster’. However some of these were
made by the public, meaning I had to type in the
name of a certain film, such as ‘Identity’ to make
sure all the film posters included the same
elements. From Google I was easily able to save the
images, which I could then print off and annotate.
This was significant because I was able to gain
knowledge about why elements were included.
Poster
Research and planning

13. I again used SurveyMonkey.com to create a questionnaire for my
audience to answer, and posted the link onto Facebook for easy
accessibility. This is because most of society use Facebook and the
internet nowadays, meaning my questionnaire was extremely
accessible. Answers I gained from this questionnaire influenced my
initial idea. This is because I was able to identify certain areas that
my audience wanted me to include. For example I was not going to
focus on specifically the main themes through my poster, however
my audience said that they found this would be helpful when trying
to decode the poster. Therefore this is what I included in my poster,
shown by the tag line ‘recipe for disaster and the colour of it which
is red.

14. I again found the scanner useful, as I was able to re-upload the
images onto the computer with my annotations on them. This
meant I could then easily upload them to the blog. However the
scanner is only connected to one computer in the media room,
meaning I had to wait for other media students before I could
scan my images onto the computer. This also meant that memory
sticks were used to transfer the images from this computer to my
own.
When collecting together the information I found for the
conventions of a film poster I used Microsoft Word and created a
spider diagram with the different elements used in a film poster.
This meant they were easily identifiable in the way I set them
out, meaning when going back to them I could easily understand
each convention. I found this easier to do on word than in the
blog because the blog often moves text and images around when
coming off the page meaning it may not have made sense.

15. During my different edits as part
of my questionnaire I also gave
my audience a choice of different
fonts, which I downloaded from
Da.Font.com. This was significant
because it meant I could use
fonts, which imply certain things,
such as a distorted font implies a
disruption or that something has
gone wrong.

16. For the first edits of my film poster I used an iPhone to
take the image for my poster, this meant that the image
was not in high quality and was a bit blurred. This was a
disadvantage because it meant the image was not clear
enough and therefore didn’t come across as eye-catching
to the audience. To improve this image I decided to use
a more professional camera meaning the quality of the
image was much clearer and looked more professional,
meaning my poster had a better finish. This was an
advantage to my film poster because it therefore
became more eye-catching, and certain elements on the
photo could be depicted, such as her facial expression.
Construction

17. During the editing process of my
poster I used Adobe Photoshop to
manipulate the photos I had taken. A
useful tool I found on this software
was the rubber tool as I was able to
fade the sides of my photo meaning
that it would blend into the hand.
This gave a positive effect to my
poster because I was able to make my
image creative and interesting.

18. I also found the used of image layers very helpful as I was
able to duplicate layers if something I had done on one
photo didn’t go how I wanted it to. For example if I had
faded a part of the image too much, meaning the effect of
the image would not work because you wouldn’t be able
to see the protagonists face clear enough. This was an
advantage within the manipulation process because it was
not a disaster when I made a mistake. This also meant I
did not have to have all layers showing at one time, which
was useful because I could just manipulate one
layer without any of the other being visible. This
was useful when manipulating the image of the
face because I did not have to have the hand visible
when editing it. This was an advantage because I
did not have the extra colour in the way, meaning I
could see the face much clearer.

19. Once I had manipulated my image I transferred it into
Adobe InDesign. This software meant I was easily able
to create the layout for my film poster and include
different types of text. I found this difficult to use at
time because I did not know how to use it. This was a
disadvantage and created problem when trying to
change the colour of my text as it was quite time
consuming trying to get the right colour. However it
was very easy to use when making the layout for my
poster. This was an advantage because I was quickly
able to make a layout and change it due to my
audiences’ desires.

20. To collect together the conventions of a magazine
review page I used the google search engine. This
was an advantage within my research because I
could easily find reviews without having to look
through different magazines. I then created a table of the main elements that
should be included in a magazine review page and scanned it in to the
computer and uploaded on the media blog. This allowed me to
easily point out the different conventions and see if I had
included them. I also went onto the websites of film magazines
such as Total.film.com. As well as looking at different film
magazines, which were available to all media students in my
class, helped me to get inspiration for my own magazine spread.
This included reviews such as ‘Sex and the City’ where I gained
inspiration for my layout. I was easily able to access film reviews on the Total
Film website, meaning I could easily gain knowledge of their writing style. The
effect of this meant I could reflect the writing style of a real
film magazine, meaning my review comes across as
professional. However on some of the reviews the writing
was difficult to read, therefore I used it as inspiration for
my layout, such as ‘Avatar.’
Magazine
Research and Planning

21. I again used Survey Monkey to create my
questionnaire because it was easily accessible for my
audience. The answered that I collected from this
questionnaire influenced my initial ideas. This is
because the audience told me specific things that
they would prefer to be included within the magazine
spread. This included quite a few pictures. Therefore
I had to alter my initial idea to fit these pictures in.
This is because the audience find it easier to read
pictures than they do texts so they wanted more
pictures on the spread, creating a better
understanding.

22. For my planning I again found the
scanner useful as I was able to scan my
idea for the layout of my magazine onto
the computer, which I then uploaded to
the blog. This was an advantage as when
creating my magazine I could easily go
back to my ideas and follow the layout I
had designed. This meant I could clearly
see each of my ideas next to each other
in order to choose the best one.

23. Construction
When creating my magazine article I mainly used Adobe
InDesign as it was very easy and simple to use when
constructing the layout for my magazine spread, which is
the most important element within it. This was a big
advantage during the making process of my magazine
because it was not time consuming and I was easily able
to change the layout. A tool, which I found very useful at
this point, was the image tool and also the fill holder text
tool. The effect of this is that my audience were able to
treat it as a finished review page because there were no
blank spaces from where the text should be. I was able to
fill the text boxes with text without putting in my review
at this stage. This was very helpful because it was
therefore clear to my audience where I would place my
review.

24. I also found helpful an option that shows where a
picture should go without putting in a picture. This
meant that I was able to incorporate a box with a
cross inside to represent where I would out an
image. This was helpful because it prevented blank
spaces on my spread. This meant that I did not have
to place an image in the box before my audience
had stated whether they like the layout or not. The
effect from doing this meant that it was not time
consuming to swap pictures around because I had
not added them in the first place.

25. I found Microsoft Word very useful
when drafting my review. This was
because I was easily able to edit it
and change the structure of it
without changing what I originally
wanted to say and it having it still
makes sense. This came as an
advantage because it was no time
consuming when trying to edit my
review.

26. For the image on my magazine review
page I also used Adobe Photoshop to
manipulate the image. The effect of
this meant the photo had a more
professional look to it because I was
able to air brush my actors face. This
came as an advantage because it was
not difficult or time consuming to
create this effect.

27. Evaluation
Within my evaluation I used a majority
of different websites in order to make
my work look aesthetically pleasing.
This included website such as:
Prezi.com, Wix.com and
Slideshare.com. I have had experience
with these websites from my AS work
as I used these within my coursework.

28. When using Prezi.com I found it quite easy to use. This is
because it is easy to add things into it such as an image or
YouTube clips. It is also easy to move things around. This
allowed me to include screen grabs from my film, and also
from my influences. This also allowed me to include
YouTube videos to show my audience where I got my
influences. However there was a disadvantage when using
this website as I was unable to copy and paste my work I
had done.

29. Using Wix.com was fairly simple and easy. This is because I
was easily able to do things because I knew how to work it.
This came as an advantage because I was able to manipulate
my Wix presentation to link to the themes and ideas from my
film. I did this by including similar colours to my poster, such
as red and black. I was easily able to include buttons, which
linked to my evaluation questions. The effect that this had on
someone viewing my presentation meant that it was very easy
to find certain questions as I had spread them out. However
during the process of linking the buttons to my question I
found it difficult to make sure it worked because I had
forgotten how to add in the link. However once I had figured
this out it did not become a problem.

30. When using Slideshare.com I found I came across more
difficulties. This is because I have not experiencing using
this website as much as the other two websites. This came
as a disadvantage because it was time consuming trying to
figure out how it works. However when I worked this out
it was quite easy and simple to create my presentation.
Overall, when trying to make my evaluation look
aesthetically pleasing I came across with a few difficulties
but not as many as I did within my AS work. This was an
overall advantage because it was not time consuming
during the process of transferring my questions onto these
websites.