The student used various media technologies at different stages of their project. They used Blogger to display their work from initial research through to the final video. Prezi was used to creatively present audience research findings. YouTube was integral for research, embedding videos in analyses, and uploading the final video for accessibility. A Nikon D3300 camera was used for portable, high-quality filming. Final Cut Express was used to professionally edit the video. Photoshop allowed for creative manipulation of images for ancillary texts. Slideshare published the evaluation question powerpoint on the blog for a sleek presentation integrating multiple platforms.

1. Q4 - How did you use media
technologies in the construction,
research, planning and evaluation
stages?

2. Blogger
Blogger has been an integral part of the course this year. I have used it as a platform in which I have
displayed all of my work from the very first bits of research to the final cut of the video itself. One of the
main reasons for choosing this site was because of how accessible it is. I wanted to make my work as
accessible to my audience as possible because although this acts a sort of online portfolio of my work
it also acts a page for fans of the artist himself. I have included analysis of both his work and similar
artists so fans can look at the blog and perhaps find out about similar artists to Loyle. This is an aspect
which I wanted to play a big role within the blog because I wanted to make its appeal as large as
possible. I didn’t want its sole focus to just be solely to do with my own work I wanted the music to take
full focus. Within each analysis I have done I’ve included YouTube links to videos of other artists in
order for readers to explore deeper into the genre that I love. Linking to this, one thing that really drew
me to the and something the that I have used extensively is how easy it is to integrate material from
other sites onto the blog. I have integrated YouTube, Prezi, Slide Share and Images into the blog to
make the posts much more interesting and engaging to the reader. This feature has definitely led my
blog to look much more interesting, personal and creative than the one I created last year.

3. Prezi
I used the website Prezi to display the findings of my audience research. This website has
strong links to the PowerPoint style of presentation however I feel it’s much more
creative. You can create your own designs from scratch in order to fit the tone and style
you’re looking for. This is was an obvious choice for me as it meant that I could create a
design which didn’t look out of place on my blog. I created a design around an image of
Loyle Carner performing live in order for it to fit in with the style and theme of my blog. I
used this site last year however I stuck to a preset theme and order which didn’t give the
presentation that personal feel which I was looking for and have achieved with this year’s
Prezi.
I will also be using this for one of my evaluation questions.
This site has indefinitely helped my creativity for the course and has ultimately given my
blog a much more professional aesthetic which was one of my big goals for this year’s
course. I am incredibly happy with how my Prezi work has ended up and will definitely be
using the site for later assignments.

4. YouTube
I have used YouTube many times throughout the course. I used frequently in the research
stage and then right at the end as the platform I uploaded my final cut to. What I like about
YouTube is how easy it can be integrated into the Blogger site. Whether that be as a
standalone post or if it forms part of an analysis. The integration is always seamless and
contributes to creating the sleek professional look to my blog which I wanted to do.
For the research stage of the course I used YouTube throughout my analysis pieces. I used it
to show a music video I was referencing within the analysis and it meant that the viewer
didn’t have to click on numerous links to get to the video and then had to flick between tabs in
order to view the exact points I was referencing within the analysis. This site allowed me to
insert the clip and right into the heart of the analysis which meant that the video could play
was the audience read the analysis which gave the blog a user friendly appearance.
I used YouTube as the site to upload my video to as it is one of the most accessible video
sharing sites out there and without doubt the most popular. I wanted this video to have as big
a reach as possible and therefore by using YouTube with it’s many applications for a huge
variety of platforms I knew that whenever the audience wanted to or whatever device they
wanted to watch it on they could with ease.

5. Nikon D3300
I used the Nikon D3300 to shoot my music video. The main reason for this was the fact of
how portable it was. I wanted to film in a variety of locations across the city of Norwich
and therefore portability was key. It also gave great clarity in both low light and daylight
which was essential to giving the video a professional feel.
It also was compatible with many accessories including the tripods we had available to
us at college which was a key piece of kit for the video.
The battery was also very good and could easily last a day of filming which was again
something key to the filming.
Some shots did end up slightly grainy which is something I would like to change but I think
that is less of a problem with the camera and one more to do with post production.

6. Final Cut Express
This was the software I used to edit my music video. I had some prior experience with the software as I used it to edit
my video last year however this year I wanted to use my confidence with the software in order to create a video which
was much more professional last year. My aim was to get smoother transitions and actually integrate and manipulate
the effects so that they don't look like they’ve just been put on without any consideration.
My video this year does exactly that. Looking at the video as a whole I feel the editing is a million times better than last
year. It is much smoother, fits the tempo of the music well and just looks incredibly professional. I also have used some
experimentation and wanted to stretch my skills in the software. I did this mostly by experimenting with the audio
effects with the clip from ‘The Lion King’. I added echo, reverb and some distortion to the clip and managed to
achieve, through trial and error, the end result which I wanted.
Overall I am happy with my editing ability this year. Whilst there are a few little moments which I’m not quite happy
with on the whole I am extremely happy with the end result. The video flows smoothly and is edited to a high standard
which is what I set out to do from the start.

7. Photoshop
This program was used to create my ancillary texts. I already had some prior knowledge of the
software as I took photography at AS Level. This meant that I could manipulate my images quite a
lot with little hassle due to having worked extensively with the software in previous years. This
allowed me to be incredibly creative and able to fully develop the ideas about these texts which I
had in my head. For example I wanted to get across the troubled mindset of the lion in the video I
then applied my knowledge and managed to distort the image of my character in order to achieve
the right effect.
I also have managed to alter some of the stills from the video in order to create a clear theme
between the poster, digipak and video. I wanted to create an African theme and used photoshop
to heighten the glow of the streetlamp to create the illusion of an African sunset.
I am pleased witht the work I have created on Photoshop and feel that it gives a clear synergy
between all three products. The work has also been produced to an extremely high standard
which is exactly what i was aiming for with all of the work I’ve produced across the duration of the
course.

8. Slideshare
This site was used to publish this evaluation question. This is the best way to integrate a powerpoint into the
blog and gave the sleekest finish. It has allowed me to easily display each different technology and has given
the viewer a clear answer to the question.
This is also showing that I can use multi platforms when answering the evaluation question which was a goal
for this section.