How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

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

2. Various Laptops and
PCs
I used PCs/Laptops to gain access to all of the software and internet
applications used in my planning, research, production and
evaluation.

3. GOOGLE
I used Google as my main search engine to find websites which assisted me with my
planning, research and evaluation because I am most familiar with it.
I like Google because I think it is easy to use, it’s the default search engine and its
linked with YouTube, Google Mail, Google Drive, Blogger and other Google applications
so I used one account for these.
There isn’t anything I dislike about Google.

4. GOOGLE DRIVE
I used Google Drive to store some of my research and planning when I didn’t have my
USB Stick with me.
I liked this app because it is very useful as it is accessible from any device which has
access to the internet and Google.
There isn’t anything I dislike about it because it's not a physical device which I have to
carry around and I don’t have to worry about it breaking like a USB stick. I can access it
on my phone if I need to instantly.

5. INTEGRAL 8GB USB
STICK
I used my USB stick to store my planning and research on
whilst I was working on them. Once I finished the piece of
research and planning, I would then upload it to my blog.
I like this because it is a portable storage device which a
large amount of storage space which is ideal for my college
courses which heavily rely on computer work.
I dislike this because you are at risk of losing work without
warning if it breaks, becomes faulty or corrupts. This
happened to me during the course which is frustrating but I
used Google Drive once it broke.

6. BLOGGER/BLOGSPOT
I used Blogger, to store all my A2 media
coursework as it allows you to add information,
upload images, embed videos and presentations
from other websites such as Prezi and Emaze.
An app is also available on Google Play to
download onto my Samsung Galaxy S4.
I like Blogger because it is easy to access and it
is powered by Google so I used my existing
Google account to work on it instead of creating
another account. I also knew how to work it
before the start of A2 Media because I used it in
my first year for AS Media. I enjoyed
customising the blog to make it look neat.
There isn’t much I dislike about it.

7. FINAL CUT PRO X
I used Final Cut Pro to construct and edit my footage to form the music video.
I like this software as I am familiar with it because I first started using it last year for AS Film Studies and have continued to use it
this year for both A2 Film Studies and Media. We also had the option of using Adobe Premier Pro but I have no experience with that.
A feature that I did like is the Ken Burn option in the crop tool setting. This allowed me to create smooth frame movements such as
zooms and track which I used frequently as well as filters such as the Earthquake filter which I used during the drinking scenes to
create the illusion of intoxication.
The thing I don’t like about it is that I can only use this software at college because I don’t own any Apple Devices because they’re
expensive.
Crop Tool
Ken Burns

8. APPLE MAC
I used an Apple Mac because Final Cut Pro is a software
developed by Apple. I am somewhat confident in using these
but I much prefer a normal Windows computer.
I only used a Mac because I prefer Final Cut Pro X to Adobe
Premiere Pro.
I don’t like using Macs because I’ve got use to Windows
Computers and Macs don’t have the same Keyboard
shortcuts such as ‘Control + B’ to quickly select the bold font
option or ‘Control + I’ to select the Italics font option. Also, a
Mac mouse moves the cursor a lot more slowly than a
standard computer mouse. Another reason why I don’t like
Macs is because they are really expensive so I wouldn’t be
able to buy one for myself so I can use Final Cut Pro at home.

9. YOUTUBE
I used YouTube for my planning stages to find inspiration for my music videos and
examples of media products for media theorists. I then used YouTube to upload my
music video drafts and had my audiences comment in the comment section of my
drafts as a way of receiving audience feedback. I embedded YouTube videos onto my
blog.
I chose YouTube over other video distribution websites because it is owned by Google,
so I already had an account with them. I used YouTube quite regularly in my free time
for entertainment.
There isn’t anything I dislike about YouTube.

10. SURVEY MONKEY
I used Survey Monkey to construct surveys for audience research which was good as it
is quick and efficient. This allowed me to choose an existing song and help me create a
target audience, to suit what they have asked for.
I like Survey Monkey because it instantly generates graphs and charts as soon as data
is received. I can embed the questionnaire onto my blog and distribute on Facebook
and other Social media sites.
My dislike isn’t particularly with the website but with distributing the survey because
some people can give silly/inappropriate answers. I would be good if the developers of
the website came up with a way to block profane answers.

11. DAFONT.COM
Dafont.com provides users with many
different fonts. I used Dafont.com to find
different fonts that would be suitable for my
artist. I then took screenshots of the fonts
and applied them to my blog work.
I like the choice of fonts the website gives.
However, I dislike that I have to screenshot
the fonts then, Photoshop them to delete
around the fonts and then change the colour.
It’s a little time consuming.

12. PREZI
I used Prezi as way of presenting some of my blog posts such as The History Of Music Videos post.
I like it because it's more artistic and creative than a Powerpoint and it allows you to embed YouTube videos that
support my work with more ease. I like that it is easy to access as it is available through a website which can be
opened on any device which connects to the internet, free of charge. The work you do saves automatically which is a
relief because you don’t lose any work if the computer or internet connection is faulty.
An improvement for Prezi would be the inclusion of animations and interesting transitions to make the presentations
a bit more exciting. Also as mentioned before that being available online is an advantage as it becomes accessible on
any device, it also comes at a disadvantage being available online because your wireless internet could become faulty
so you may need to wait some time before it starts working again or gain access to a different wireless internet
connection. I experienced this, this year which meant that for a time, I only had access to college or public wifi.

13. EMAZE
I used Emaze as way of presenting some of my blog posts. I am able to embed Emaze
presentations onto my blog. I used Emaze during my research stages. I did one post on Genre
Theory, one post on my initial cinematography and mise-en-scene ideas and another post on my
understanding of Postmodernism.
I like it because it’s more artistic and creative than a Powerpoint. It’s easy for Powerpoint users to
use as it is similar with different themes. Again, this website autosaves work so if any happens
whilst working on an Emaze presentation, it will be saved.
One disadvantage this presentation site has is that it doesn’t have many themes and a lot of the
themes are more business themes orientated.

14. MICROSOFT POWERPOINT
I used Microsoft Powerpoint to help me create some blog posts which I then saved as
JPEG images, then uploaded the images of my Powerpoint slides to my blog. I’ve used
Powerpoint for various posts and one example is the post about my understanding of
Paradigm.
I like Powerpoint because it’s very easy to use and I have lots of experience with the
software having used it for many years. I like the different themes it has which makes
the Powerpoint look aesthetically pleasing and makes the post look a bit more exciting.
One thing I dislike is that fun transitions and animations are pointless because the
Powerpoint Presentation can’t be embedded into my blog through HTML links like Prezi
or Emaze.

15. Slideshare
I used Slideshare to upload my Powerpoint to a slide deck. Then I
embedded the Slideshare presentation onto my blog.
I like this because it makes it easier to view Powerpoint
presentations as you compress the presentation into one block and
you click a button to transition to the next slide rather than have to
scroll down. It takes up less space making my blog look neater.

16. Adobe Photoshop
I used Adobe Photoshop to construct my ancillary texts: a digipak and a magazine
advertisement which promotes the digipak. I am quite confident with using Photoshop as I used
it a lot for my AS Media coursework.
I like that I am able to manipulate images using this software, to improve the quality and look. I
learnt how to manipulate colour to creating a duplicate layer and changing the upper layer to
black and white and erasing the mouth of the artist and then change the saturation/hue of the
lower layer to increase the brightness of the red giving it a colour selection effect which is what
I drew inspiration from Lady Gaga’s, Born This Way album.

17. Samsung Galaxy S4
I used my phone to communicate with my artist and work on my blog through the use of
applications and I have taken images and includes screenshots from my phone on
some of my blog posts.
I have had this smartphone for about three years so I am familiar with it.
The problem I have with it is, that it doesn’t have great memory storage space and I
have had the phone for about three years and before that my sister has used this phone
for a couple of years so the battery runs out fairly quickly with the addition of all the
storage using up the battery too.

18. Facebook Messenger
I used Facebook Messenger to communicate with my artist and cast for my
music video. It is available on Google Play which I downloaded a few years
ago as it was a new update for Facebook. I also used this to distribute my
music video by inserting the YouTube URL and sending it to people.
What I like about it is that I can create group chats so I can communicate
through messaging and calls with the cast all at once and they can
communicate back with me, free of charge so I don’t need to make phone
calls and texts in which we get charged by mobile companies.
The only thing I dislike about it is it requires the internet so it can use up
mobile data which again mobile companies can apply charges if you go
over the limited amount of data allowance.

19. Canon EOS 1300D
I used this type of camera to record all the footage for my music video and images for
my ancillary texts. Using this for recording video footage was a new skill for me, so I
eventually learnt how to use it properly, midway through the course and my main
problem was not having the camera focused.
I like that the camera is of good quality making shots look very effective and high
definition. I find it very simple to use and it is capable of connecting to wifi.
However, the main con is that it is an expensive camera so I didn’t have access to my
own personal camera, therefore I had to book a college camera. This proved to be quite
annoying at times because there are so many students in this college who study AS and
A2 Media; GCSE, AS and A2 Film Studies and BTEC Digital Media who all require
cameras so at times it was difficult to book cameras.