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

2. We used various different media technologies to
create our final video and ancillary products.

3. YouTube played an important role in both the research and
production stages of our project. We used YouTube in the
research stage to watch videos from Avril Lavigne, this came
in handy when we were deciding what we should incorporate
in our music video, YouTube gave us the opportunity to watch
various videos on repeat to fully get the picture of what the
typical conventions of an Avril Lavigne video included.
During the production stages of this project, we used YouTube
to post our video drafts online to get feedback from viewers.
This came in handy as there were a few vital points made by
viewers, that, when corrected, made our video better and
easier to understand and watch. After posting our finished
video on YouTube, we received many great responses from
people, commenting on what they liked about it, thus helping
us in our evaluation stage of the project.

4. Blogger was probably the most used technology
throughout the entire project. We all used
blogger to present our work. Throughout the
different stages in this project I have learnt how
to effectively use the different tools on this
website to present my work in a more appealing
and easy to read manner. We were given the
choice of either Blogger or Tumblr, the site we
used last year. Looking back I am glad that I
chose to use Blogger, as it is a lot simpler to use,
and I haven’t had as many problems with
Blogger this year as I did with Tumblr last year.

5. We used Photoshop for the production stage of our
project. The final Digipak and advert were both
created using the various tools of Photoshop. Using
this particular technology proved difficult at first, as
none of us really knew how to use Photoshop, but
after a few lessons we managed to grasp it and
produced our final products. Photoshop gave us the
tools to manipulate our images any way we wanted
to, which made it easy to experiment with ideas and
try a few different styles before we decided on the
one that fit the type of genre we chose.

6. Google proved to be a very important tool to us throughout the
process. We used Google in all aspects of our project. In
the research stage, we used Google to search information
about different artists, so that we could chose one that we
all liked, then we used it to find out information about that
artist, for example the music genre, target audience,
albums and songs etc. We also used Google in the
planning stage of the process, searching different Avril
Lavigne albums and videos to give us an idea of what they
look like, so that we may incorporate it into our own
products. We used Google maps in the production stage,
as we were searching for locations we could use to film, but
to also find directions to our locations, as some members
didn't know how to get there.

7. SurveyMonkey was a helpful tool in the processes of our project.
We used SurveyMonkey originally to send a questionnaire out to
find out about Avril's fanbase, to generally find out more about
them. This made it easier for us to choose an appropriate song
and start thinking about what we are going to do for the video.
During the planning stage, we sent out another questionnaire to
the same people, asking them more specific questions about
what they would like to see in a Digipak and a video. We used
their responses as a guide as to how we should create our
products so that they appeal to our target audience. We sent out
our final questionnaire during the production stage, to find out
what people thought of the video so far, and what improvements
they would make. This proved very helpful in tweaking our video
to make it that best it could be and also make it appealing to our
target audience.

8. We used a group member video camera to record
footage for our video. We chose this over the
cameras provided at college because Chris knew
how to work his camera to get the best quality
footage we could, instead of having to learn how to
use the ones at college which would have used up
valuable time. Chris also knew how to frame the
shots so that they could be edited easily, and to give
us the best shots we could get. The camera was an
essential piece of technology in the production of our
music video.

9. Our mobile phones came in very handy during the
planning and production side of the project. We used
our phones to keep in contact when we were out of
college, if one of us came up with a good idea, or if
we weren't sure on something we could get in
contact quickly without having to wait until we were in
lesson again. During the filming, I used my IPhone to
play the song for the actress who played Avril in our
video. This helped her with the timing of the song so
she knew when to start singing so it was in sync with
the actual song. We also used my phone to conduct
interviews with people about Avril to get more
research.

10. For our group, we felt it was important to find the right
font to use on our Digipak and advert. We wanted to
use a font similar to the one that Avril Lavigne has
on some of her products, as it is well associated
with Avril, so any of her fans who saw our products
would know straight away that it was for Avril
Lavigne. After looking on Microsoft word and not
finding what we wanted, we went to Dafont.com,
where we found the perfect font to use. This font
fitted well with the genre and style of music that we
were promoting, and was clear to read and
understand.

11. To edit our footage, we used Sony Vegas, as a
member of our group had used this before to edit
footage, and was very confident in using it. We
though that by using this, it would save time learning
how to use a different format, and also we would get
a better result using technology that we were familiar
with. The editing software was perhaps the most
important technology we used throughout the project,
as we couldn't have produced our final film to the
standard that we have without it.

12. Looking back on this project, I have realised how
easy it is to forget about all the different
technology we need in order to make our
products. The technology we had around us
made it quick and easy to access information, or
edit our images and film. Without the aid of all
the technology we had, I doubt that we could
have made a product that is up to the same
standard that we have produced with technology.