education

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

2. For the making of ‘The Calling’, everyone in the
group have learned to use various types of
equipment as well as software on computers that
we had little or no experience with to begin with
e.g. Canon camera’s, Tripods, Final Cut Pro etc. For
this question, we will explore each technology we
used at each stage, how we used them and why we
chose them as the most appropriate option over
others (using a Canon DSR camera over a regular
handheld video recording camera). This question will
also explain how each technology influenced us and
the limitations of the influence.

3. RESEARCH AND PRE-PRODUCTION
• For our first set of tasks, we were asked to conduct a project of
the history of film trailers. This of course required information
that we weren’t sure of, so our main source of information came
for Wikipedia. However, as Wikipedia as a main source cannot
always be reliable, the group member handling this task also
cross referenced the information from online sources.

4. RESEARCH AND PRE-PRODUCTION
• The first piece of hardware introduced in this project were the
Mac’s and each group was appointed a single one. Since no-one
had everyday experience with these computers, there was a bit
of a struggle to adjust of using this hardware as it’s so different
from a regular windows pc. After using it a couple times, we
learned that there were various applications that were going to
be of use to us within this project. Using Photoshop became
easier for us to use as it was initially made of macs and we were
able to carry out more advanced processes for certain sections.

5. RESEARCH AND PRE-PRODUCTION
• Weebly was the platform we used to store all work we had
done for the duration of the project In the form of a website.
As we had experience of using this from last year’s project,
there were no problems for the group with using this. Weebly
allowed us to design each page with almost complete freedom.
We were able to put images, videos and also links to other
social media such as twitter and Facebook . Different ways
were used to make our site look different from the others,
making it presentable and attractive.

6. RESEARCH AND PRE-PRODUCTION
• In order to know the basic concept of a horror trailer, we
needed examples and guidelines to use for a source of
inspiration and understanding. So we watched various trailers
off of YouTube and IMDB, to pick out important factors that
reoccurred in each trailer. Such as a ‘Jump Scare’, which is
normally used at the end of trailers to cause a disturbance in
the equilibrium of the trailer.

7. NEW MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES
• During the production of this horror trailer, I used several new
applications on the Mac including Adobe Photoshop CS6, Final
Cut Pro X, Motion, e.g.
• Using these technologies at the start of the course was fairly
difficult but the more we became dependent, we adjusted to
the functions and tools of the software.
• These technologies greatly benefited the group, as it allowed
us to present our work in different ways every time.

8. RESEARCH AND PLANNING
• Whilst developing the projects required for my A2 Coursework, a
lot of the new technology used allowed me to present my work
appropriately and professionally each time.
• For our first major project, we had to use to green room to film my
trailer analysis of the films Insidious 2, Sinister and Last Night on
Elm Street
• Using the green room allowed us to add photos, video and text
final cut pro without reducing the quality of the trailer analysis. As
this was the first time our group used final cut pro, we gained a lot
of experience which was transferred to the making of our trailer.

9. RESEARCH AND PLANNING
• Resulting the making of our trailer analysis – with final cut pro – I was able
to export the trailer analysis as a mov. File and upload it on to our Weebly
blog.
• This was helpful as it allowed us to see our projects as actual videos. This
was useful as we evaluated and analyses any mistakes we made in our
videos, leaving us to make improvements in the future.
• YouTube was useful technology which our group were familiar with. With
this application we were able to convert youtube videos in to MP4 files and
download them on to our desktop. Leading to the videos being cropped
out and input into our trailer analysis to give the viewers more of an
understanding of what we were referring to.

10. RESEARCH AND PLANNING
• For our audience research section of our project. One of the platforms we
used was survey monkey, which enables you to create an online
questionnaire to send and share across various social network sites via
hyperlink or embed code.
• I created 10 simple multiple choice questions which I sent via through
email (Outlook) and received answers from my targeted audience.
• I also conducted video interviews with 4 people, with more in depth
questions and also questions from the survey monkey questionnaire.
Questions included ‘What’s your ideal setting for a horror movie’. We
conducted this interview as it’s something different from asking questions
on social media. Also allowed us to obtain experience with using different
cameras.

11. CONSTRUCTION
• During the construction section of my trailer, New Media Technologies
such as Final Cut Pro X and Adobe Photoshop were used in the making of
our Magazine Front Cover, Poster and Film Trailer (Final Cut Pro X).
• We used more advanced technology such as DSLR Cameras and
professional Video Cameras to organize Photo-shoot's and Video shoots.
These professional tools allowed us to film and capture footage the way we
wanted. This increased our chances of attracting the right target audience.
• The green room was very valuable to us as it was available for the photo
shoot . It helped us produce the crucial photos we need for the poster and
magazine front cover. Cropping the green screen behind our antagonist
allowed us to input her on the front cover without any problems.

12. • As YouTube is such a universal application, anyone is able to upload videos
on to the site for anyone in the world with a computer to view. It was a
massive help in allowing us to market the trailer to our target audience –
teenagers.
• After finishing editing our trailer using final cut pro, we were able to
upload our trailer on to YouTube. With this we were able to present our
trailer on the Demon Productions Weebly blog with incredible ease by
simply embedding a hyperlink to the website.
• Throughout the duration of the course, we were able to keep referring
back to other horror trailers due to YouTube for continuous ideas of
inspiration. E.g. Jump scares, Fast cuts & building suspense.
TRAILER MARKETING

13. POSTER & MAGAZINE
• The magazine front cover, in addition to the poster, was created using the
application Adobe Photoshop CS6 which we had previous experience with
in last years coursework.
• With our experience, we were able to devise the text on both magazine
and poster without struggle.
• The pictures for both pieces of media were taken in the green room on a
DSLR Canon camera and were input into Photoshop enabling us to crop
around the background to solely have the model in the shot.
• After they were edited and perfected, they were converted in to a Jpeg
image file from Photoshop allowing us to place them on the Demon
Production Weebly blog.

14. Evaluation
• The evaluation requires us to explore various and different ways of presenting our work whilst still answering the four
questions to a professional standard. Also to evaluate the media work and answer why and how I carried out things the
way I did.
• We used different media applications and technologies such as
PowerPoint, Emaze, slide share and Prezi to present each of our
evaluating questions.
• Using these new technologies, we were able to go in to depth for
each question in different formats whilst also providing visual aids
so the answer maintains to stay interesting. These sites use an
embed code (except PowerPoint) which allow you to share your
presentations on the Weebly blog site.

15. CONCLUSION
As we were introduced to new media technologies in last years coursework, I
believe the introduction of even more and complex applications was
constructive as it allowed us to more creative methods of presenting
information for our A2 Media Unit G324 coursework.
New applications such as Motion – which allowed to create an animated
production logo – and Final Cut X Pro enabled us to showcase our products
in a professional and Initiative style making it possible to captivate the
correct target audience viewers.
In summary, new media technology and applications enabled me to create
more professional and better standard products making our coursework look
a lot more presentable and unique.