1. Evaluation Question 4
How did you use new media technologies in the research, planning, construction,
and evaluation stages?
Web Based Services
These services are basically pieces of software that don’t need to be downloaded and are simply used in
one’s web browser. This means everything is generally free and open to everyone. They act as effect tools
for sharing products and creates from everyone on earth. They are built off the implementation of Web 2.0,
which was a movement from simple text and pictures to moving elements and interactive services. This
made it a versatile tool for anyone to use in sharing one’s creations whether it was a media student or a
large company.
Blogger
I used this service to create one area where all my work can be stored and easily viewed
and is very is to navigate creating a flow for the user. This software has many features such
as labels and embedding external features into the pages. These features created a
functioning website that was very useful storing all my work completed on the project in
one place. The website was very reliable in provide its service to my project. The website
uses web 2.0. This was the same service I used in my first year, which meant I had past
experience with the software so I could navigate the service effectively.
SurveryMonkey
SurveryMonkey was only used once but it was essential for gathering the data
needed to complete important design decisions. As an online survey, it allowed
me to publish the survey and collect a large number of results in a short
period of time. It also showed breakdowns of the results which helped
give a general idea until I transferred them to a more suited software. As it was web based it meant the
survey could be sent to anyone with an internet connection so I could receive a wide range of opinions from
anyone I sent it to. This was the same service I used in my first year meaning I had past experience in
creating surveys so I was able to do this quickly and effectively.
Prezi
This software allowed me to create a presentation that looked attractive and
flowed well between slides. This software was browser based and often crashed
but when it was working, it was perfect. As this was the first time I’d used the
software it was a challenge at first but after a while, it became easy to use. This software
had lots of useful tools such as the transition tool allowing for the attractive design. This was the same
service used in my first year and since the first year, it was updated to work better and crash less so this was
advantageous in creating attractive content.
SlideShare & Flipsnack
These two pieces of software were very simple in allowing me to upload and
publish documents. They only took PDF’s which was an advantage in being un-
editable and universally available. They also allowed the option to embed files
into websites which were perfect for the blogger posts. Both were spate
websites but ultimately did the same job with varying options e.g. Flipsnack using a

2. flipbook method in the presentation of the content whereas SlideShare was simple in just showing the
content on a slider.
YouTube
This web service allows me to upload videos to a public space. This works well as I can
share the content I put on the site to anyone. The service is also free and open to anyone
to sign up to. I’ve had experience with the service last year meaning I am able to use it
effectively. It also provides an embedding option, so I can embed the video in my blog. This is good as I can
still keep all my work in one location for people to navigate easily to find the desired content, instead of
going from website to website to find all my work.
Hardware & Tools
Hardware is a very important element for creating electronic content. When creating content, it is important
to have the right equipment to do the job properly, otherwise, the content could not be to the desired level.
For example, when editing our trailer together we used an iMac computer. This was done for two reasons.
The first was because they were the only computers in the college that had the software on. The second
reason and most important reason was they were powerful enough to run the software we wanted to use to
create the best content. If we had used a slower computer it may have taken a longer amount of time to
create the trailer and they might not have been able to run the tools we need to make the trailer a
frightening cinematic experience. Once we had the correct hardware, we need certain tools to assist in the
use of the hardware. For example, we needed a high-quality tripod to hold the camera when we were
recording to have stable shots.
Computers (Microsoft’s PCs and Apple’s iMacs)
I used this hardware type as it was essential to complete all of my work
from production to research this tool was incomparably important to the
project. This hardware allowed me to create my products and publish
them online. As I’ve had a lot of experience with PCs before it was easy to
adapt to the college PCs. The PCs were powerful enough to process the
demand for the software which made the production process quicker. My
only complaint would be the access to better monitors to show true
colour and definition in the magazine and film poster design, to make the
process easier to design and analysis. The iMacs were used to edit the
trailer together and these were used due to the software only being on
the Macs and the power of the Macs was greater than the college PCs.
iPhone 6S
The hardware has a high-quality camera for small scale images. I used this hardware as
it was convenient and easy to transport. This hardware was easy to use as it is my
phone that I use daily. The video on the camera was high-quality but in this project, I
mainly used it as a tool for communicating and planning elements of the production.
Due to the messaging functionality of the phone, I was able to communicate with my
group to arrange work for our production but also note done shots and elements I
wanted to film whilst working instead of a piece of paper and a pen.

3. Canon 700D
I used this hardware to take all my main images for my poster and magazine. This
was also the camera we used to film the trailer. This hardware is a very high-
quality camera. It is very useful with a wide range of customizable features such
as the ability to change shutter speed, contrast, aperture, focus, focal length, and
zoom. This was the best piece of hardware available to create the images and
video. It took a while to master as I lacked experience in the hardware due to the
cost of such equipment. The hardware was equipped with features to implement
different lenses to provide different looks to the captured image and is able to
use specialised microphones onto the camera to record higher quality audio when people were talking. With
the addition of a touch screen and well-crafted user interface, this was the best camera available to us to
use.
Tripod
This is an essential part of practically all filmmaking. It was used to mount the camera to a
stable structure to get a stable shot. This adds to the professionalism of the trailer as it
stops there from being any wobble in the shots from shaking hands.
Directional Microphone
As mentioned earlier, a specialised directional microphone was an important tool to use
with the camera. IT allowed us to record high-quality audio with dialogue scenes. This
improved the production value of the entire production and gave our product
professional sounding dialogue.
Sony Wireless Bluetooth Headphones
These were used for two reasons. The first reason was due to the high-quality nature of the
product. This meant that once the headset was connected to the iMac (The product we used
it with), we could get high-quality audio through the headset to edit the content precisely.
Another reason we used the headset was because of the Bluetooth function. The headphone
jack on the iMac we were using was broken so we had to use a pair of my own Bluetooth
one’s so we didn’t disturb the people around us.
Lighting
This was done using LED lamps that I owned. This was used to light characters and
settings so the audience was able to visual all the elements in the shot we wanted
them to. Sometimes an effective tool was to use a lack of light to create an element
of mystery. We also used built-in lights on the iPhone 6S so it didn’t cost us any
money to buy a new light and due to the manoeuvrability of a small light meaning we
could have creative lighting in a wide arrange of positions.

4. Software
Software is a programme that is downloaded and installed onto the device to provide a service. This is often
a better service than those online for two reasons. The first is they’re often paid for so they’re of a higher
quality than free web-based services. The second is they’re built from the ground up and are often more
developed because they’re made to be a stand-alone product with more features.
Adobe Premiere
This software was the one we used to edit the trailer together with. It is a professional
piece of software and this was my first time editing with this software. In the past, I have
used Windows Movie Maker and iMovie. This software is leagues above these two as it
has a wide range of options and graphical design elements. It also has cross-software
compatibility. This means I can add products from other adobe products (Photoshop &
After Effects) but still have them editable in their respective software’s so the product
could be tweaked to how I wanted it as we worked on the project without having to start again or re-export
and re-import elements, which was one of the biggest hassles of the previous editing software. The software
also had a lot of developed features, making it a leader in the market. This should be expected with how
expensive the software is but the college provided the software so that element was covered. It worked well
in performing the task of editing.
Adobe After Effects
After Effects is a video graphics software that is specialised in making text and edited
effects for movies. This software was the only one available to do so and was exactly what
was needed to create a professional looking title and final “coming soon” text card. This
was my first time using the software and took a little while but once I had, I made a
professional looking trailer title that matches the conventions of all the content I have
studied. This was needed to make the title match the conventional products in the
professional market.
Adobe Photoshop
This software is fantastic in allowing me to create professional looking content by having a
wide range of features and tools. It allowed me to design my products efficiently with
tools such as rulers and colour picker speeding up the production process. The software’s
complexity was a challenge at first but after a few hours, I mastered the software to
complete the task. I used this for many different tasks but mainly my magazine cover and
film poster. I learnt how to use the software in my first year, so I was able to transfer the
skills I learnt in my first year into the design process.
Microsoft Excel
Excel worked really well for creating charts from the respondent’s data from the
questionnaire. It had useful features such as the editable charts and a wide range of chart
choice. I have a lot of past experience with this software and it’s why I chose to use it as I
know it’s reliable and its functionality is excellent. The only downside is it is awkward
when it comes to the presentation so the charts had to be copied over to a more useful
software. This is a piece of software that you have to buy but the value of the service it
required was worth its price. Additionally, it came pre-installed on the college computers so I didn’t need to
buy it but also the college had paid to allow us to use the software at home, so there was no direct cost to
myself. This software was also one I’ve had past experience with so I was able to use the software
effectively.

5. Microsoft PowerPoint
This software allowed me to present my questionnaire data in an easy to use format,
which left the data looking clear and space to analyse the results. This software had
many useful features such as compatibility with the Microsoft Excel software allowing
the Excel file to have the document data embedded in the PowerPoint file. This software
is excellent in creating a presentation and can be made into a video for presenting. This
is a piece of software that you have to buy but the value of the service it required was
worth its price. Additionally, it came pre-installed on the college computers so I didn’t need to buy it but also
the college had paid to allow us to use the software at home, so there was no direct cost to myself. This
software was also one I’ve had past experience with so I was able to use the software effectively.
Microsoft Word
This software allowed me to type up my written work and was great as it had many
features such as a wide range of fonts and layout options. I used this to type up almost all
of my evaluation work as it is the most useful software on the market and it can be
published into a PDF file so it can be uploaded to a file sharing website without being
modified. This is a piece of software that you have to buy but the value of the service it
required was worth its price. Additionally, it came pre-installed on the college computers so
I didn’t need to buy it but also the college had paid to allow us to use the software at home, so there was no
direct cost to myself. This software was also one I’ve had past experience with so I was able to use the
software effectively.
Conclusion
Overall, the technology used to create my products has a wide range of positive and negative aspects for my
project. The best aspect of the production was the high-quality software that we had access to for the
creation of my ancillary products and editing the trailer. Normally, the products would cost hundreds of
pounds to buy but we were lucky enough to have the college provide them to us free of charge. This allowed
us to have access to high-quality software with more features than the other free software we would’ve had
to use if we didn’t have it available to us at the time. The only negative aspect was having to learn how to
use this complex software which I’d previously never used before but this was relatively easy to achieve. The
web services used were a fantastic piece of software which was integrated into web browsers meaning there
was no need to download and install software like you normally would. The services used were to a very
high standard, offering free access to create a platform for my work to be collected together in one location.
The only negative aspect could be said to be the volatile nature of web services with several sites updating
regularly, meaning there is a constant need to relearn whilst using the sites, but having said that the future
of software is moving towards this type of service just to the accessibility of the platform which is something
I’d promote. The hardware would be the only negative aspect of my use of technology. The hardware we
used was satisfactory for our needs but with better hardware, we could’ve made an even better product.
The use of iMacs was needed to edit the trailer, but the iMacs were constantly crashing creating problems
whilst editing. If we had better computers for editing this problem could’ve been avoided. However, due to
the limited budget of the group and college, this was not possible. This is seen again with the access to a
high-quality camera. The camera we used was a very good camera but professional cameras have a much
wide range of shooting methods and features which could’ve been used to our advantage. This is relatively
minor but in a professional shoot, I myself would look to use the highest quality hardware available.