.

1. Evaluation Question 4 – How did you
use media technologies in the
construction & research and planning
& evaluation stages?
Tom Ibbott

2. Introduction
 Throughout my project, the use of digital technologies has been absolutely vital and it would
have been near impossible to do the project without. I made use of physical hardware, such as
iPhones and a camera. However the use of software was also important, for example in the
production of the final music video.

3. General Media Technologies Used Throughout the
Project
 Throughout my project, I used:
 Blogger
 Slideshare

4. BLOGGER
 Throughout my project, the one constant piece of software used
throughout was Blogger. As I completed different sections of my work,
I uploaded them to Blogger so that they were all compiled in the
same place. It also means they could be accessed anywhere by
anybody, which was another positive aspect.
 I have presented all of my research, findings, planning, construction
and evaluation work on here.
 The reason I chose to use Blogger was that I had used it during my
AS year of Media Studies, when I created a music magazine and
during that year I believe I gained some expertise and experience,
thus meaning that I had no trouble using it when it came to this year.
Since I had the experience already, precious time was saved when it
came to using it this year and I was able to do advance skills with
Blogger, such as changing the design and layout. All of these skills put
together helped to create a professional look to my blog and
presented my work in a generally pleasing way to the eye.
 As a result, I have found that Blogger is a very reliable resource and is
something I would definitely carry on using in the future, as it is
simple to use and I have now gained a significant knowledge
regarding how to use it and its purposes.

5. SLIDESHARE
 Slideshare is another piece of online software that I discovered from my AS
studies. During the AS year, I struggled to figure out how to upload files to
Blogger, such as PowerPoints and Word documents. Yet after the discovery of
Slideshare I was able to do this and after using it successfully in first year, I
decided it was a good idea to use it for the same purpose this year.
 To use Slideshare, I simply have to log in using my ‘LinkedIn’ account and then
upload the file, where I can then retrieve an embed code to put into a blog
post. The file then embeds itself into my blog, from where it can be viewed
with the rest of the blog.
 When uploading a PowerPoint, it uploads in a format which means the
audience can view it as if it were just an actual PowerPoint rather than an
embedded file, which works well because it means there are no compressions
or changes made when uploaded and it gets uploaded exactly as I made the
file.
 There are so many benefits to using Slideshare, with the main one being that
it work with Blogger to enable one to embed a file into a blog post as
opposed to leaving a link for the reader to follow if they want to reach the file,
which is how some softwares work.

6. Media Technologies Used in Research Stage
 During the research stage, I used lots of media technologies to find and process my research:
 Survey Monkey
 Google
 Social Media
 Microsoft Word/PowerPoint
 YouTube
 iMovie
 Vimeo

7. SURVEY MONKEY
 In my AS research, I created a survey for my audience research to find out people’s
thoughts on existing music magazines and what they would like to see that didn’t
already exist. This went particularly well at AS, so as a result I decided to do it again
for my A2 studies.
 I asked the audience a variety of questions around music videos, digipaks and
magazine adverts and took the responses into consideration when doing my
production work. For instance, the results of this research told us that the majority
of the audience watch music videos on YouTube. Therefore, we conformed to the
wishes of our audience and when we had produced our video we uploaded it to
YouTube.
 I could have chosen to give out a paper questionnaire instead of doing it online
like this, however in the modern day it is much more common to do an online
survey as it is less time consuming and when using software like Survey Monkey, it
generates the audience’s quantitative responses into graphs automatically,
meaning I didn’t have to do this myself so it was much less time consuming for
myself. Another reason that online surveys are better is that there is no human
contact involved, so people feel less pressured to write positive comments and
give the answers that we want. It is much more representative of the truth. We also
had the opportunity to share them using social media so that it could open the
survey up to a wider audience than a paper survey would have done. It also saves
on printing costs.
 The software is actually very easy to use and it manages the data well. It’s very
simple, but it does the job that I needed it to do, therefore I would have no queries
or complaints about using it again.
 The only constructive comment I would make about Survey Monkey was that once
we hit 100 responses, we realised that we could not view any more, unless we paid
for the services. We were not prepared to pay to view any more responses that we
received, however this was not a problem as we felt that 100 responses was a fair
representation and it would mean that it was easy to work out the proportions and
ratios of results.

8. GOOGLE
 Google was a very helpful resource throughout the research stages of my project. I used it to
look up different artists within the genre that we were going to be making a video for, as well as
for finding images that I could put on my research findings to enhance the readers’ experience.
 I could also research common conventions and theorists so I was aware of what was common
and uncommon in the existing products. I searched up the conventions of specific genres and
artists as well as the music videos in general. I then saved this research and used it all when I was
creating my products. I believe this helped to boost the quality of my products, as well as
boosting my knowledge of the market at the same time, which all helped to make professional
products, which were also pleasing to the eye of the audience.

9. SOCIAL MEDIA
 Social Media was particularly helpful in the research stages of my
project, because it meant I could easily invite people to give their
opinions and form part of our audience research. I, personally, shared
the survey which I created on Survey Monkey onto my personal
Social Media accounts in the hope of receiving responses, which in
the end worked out very well. It allowed me to share the
questionnaire out quickly and gain responses quickly as well, which
saved me a lot of time and meaning I only had to spend a short while
focusing on this particular area of my audience research, before I
could move onto another aspect of it. At the same time, I was able to
do casual audience research such as sending people pictures or
videos and asking for their opinions on the products.

10. MICROSOFT WORD/POWERPOINT
 Microsoft Word and PowerPoint were both pivotal throughout
my whole project, but particularly in the research stage. Both
are basic forms of modern media technology and have been
around for a long time. But the reason they have continued to
be used is because of how good they are and the fact that they
are simple, but they do a job and most people like it when a
software is easy to use. In my research, they helped me to
present my findings in a professional way and structure it so that
it looked exciting. I could have chosen to write out all of my
findings and scan them into the computer, however as well as
looking more professional, the use of these softwares is less
time consuming.
 I am also very experienced with using both of these products. I
have used them for many projects throughout my life, including
for my AS Coursework. Therefore, with my experience and
knowhow I felt that it would be a good idea to just continue
with what I know rather than trying something new, as that way
I would run the risk of it not being as good, or struggling to
work out how to use certain aspects. Therefore, I played it safe
and used these two to present the majority of my research.
 They are both also easily compatible with Slide Share, meaning I
could embed them into my blog very easily.

11. YOUTUBE
 Without YouTube, I would have struggled with the
textual analysis section of my research. I used it to
research and watch existing music videos to look
out for common conventions and look at the
genre that we were hoping to follow.
 I could have chosen to watch the TV music
channels and analyse the music videos on there,
however YouTube allows me to choose the videos
that I would like to watch rather than just watch
whatever is on. This also saves time, because if I
chose the TV route, a video may have come on
that wasn’t appropriate for my analysis or didn’t
fit the general brief or genre of my music video,
thus I would have had to wait until one came on
that was appropriate.

12. IMOVIE
 As part of my research, I created two videos. One was a video recording of a focus group
interview between three members of the public, where they discuss the issues surrounding music
videos as well as some conventions that they like or expect to see. The other was a video of
myself and my group reacting to the music video for the song ‘Chelsea Dagger’ by The Fratellis.
We thought this was a different way of analysing a music video to just watching it and writing
about it through either Word or PowerPoint and added an extra element to our blog, while
showcasing our skills.
 We chose to edit the videos through iMovie as it is a simple video editing software that we all
had experience in, so it would be less time consuming than using a more advanced software,
such as Premiere. It was only a form of research, so the videos didn’t need to look or be
particularly professional, just as long as they were decent.

13. VIMEO
 We hit a bit of a stumbling block when we tried
to upload our ‘Chelsea Dagger’ reaction video
to YouTube, as it was not allowed due to
Copyright purposes with the audio track.
However, as an alternative, we uploaded the
video to another online video sharing site,
‘Vimeo’. From here, we were able to get an
embed code and put the video directly into our
blog.
 The use of Vimeo was a direct example of where
we, as a group, had to use our initiative to
overcome a problem, and it worked successfully.

14. Media Technologies Used in Planning Stage
 During the research stage, I used lots of media technologies to find and process my research:
 Microsoft Word/PowerPoint
 Adobe Photoshop
 Facebook Messenger/Email
 iPhone 5S
 SoundCloud
 Adobe Photoshop CS5

15. MICROSOFT WORD/POWERPOINT
 Just like in the research stage of my project, Microsoft Word
and PowerPoint were key in the planning of my project also.
Similarly to the research, I used them to present my ideas and
plans for the project. For instance, when planning the music
video I used Microsoft Word to devise a comprehensive shot
list/shooting schedule, which we used as we were going round
filming, so we knew what we needed to film and where and
when it needed to be done.
 Furthermore, both were then inserted into Slideshare where, as
previously mentioned, I could add them directly into my blog.
 Throughout the research and the planning stages, I chose to
mix up my use of Word and PowerPoint, because it would have
been dull for the reader and for myself if I just used the same
format every single time I produced something. It just
enhances the experience of the reader and also improves my
skills, as I am then able t become an expert in more than just
the one software.

16. FACEBOOK MESSENGER & EMAIL
 As part of the planning stage, once we had decided on a song, we had to contact
the relevant authorities to ask for permission to use that song for our video.
 Initially, as a group we had chosen the song ‘Not Nineteen Forever’ by The
Courteeners, so one of our members emailed their record label, Polydor for
permission. However, after a while, we made a group decision to change our song
as we felt the song ‘Not So Sad’ by Faux Pas fitted our brief better and was the
better song choice based on what we had found from our audience research and
textual analysis.
 Since they are only a local band from the same area as us, one of our group
members actually knows a member of the band, so he was able to contact his
through his own personal Facebook Messenger account, meaning we didn’t have to
spend time searching for an email address and contacting them. Therefore, the use
of social media in the planning stage was very important, as would the role of Email
have been had we chosen to stick with the initial song choice.
 The use of email was also significant for once we had recorded our group discussion,
as we were unable to transfer the file from a phone to the computer by using just a
lightning USB cable, therefore we had to email it from the phone to an email
account connected to the computer to transfer the file.

17. APPLE IPHONE 5S
 As part of our proof of planning, we decided to record one of our group meetings. Using an iPhone,
we set up a sound recorder and then we carried on our meeting as normal. We could have used a
professional sound recorder or microphone, however when we decided we would like to record it, it
was very last minute, so it was too late for us to book out a sound recorder and none of our group
owned one that we could use.
 However, the use of an iPhone actually went really well. The sound came out clearly and you can
understand what is being said.
 The use of phones was also important in the planning stages, as we could have group discussions
when we weren’t together if we had things that we didn’t have time to plan in class. As a team, we
used a group Facebook chat to communicate with each other and send across any files that needed
transferring between each other.
 In the modern day, it’s well known that phones are an important part of our society and within the
planning of our project, we definitely made good use of them as a group. Digital technologies were
extremely important here.

18. SOUNDCLOUD
 After we had recorded our group discussion, we then had to
decide how to present it. We discussed the possibility of adding
an image and creating a movie file, using this as the audio
track. However, as we had already showcased our movie/video
making skills through the Chelsea Dagger analysis and the
Focus Group Interviews, we felt it would be good to do
something a bit different.
 Therefore, we uploaded the file to Sound Cloud, which is a
common site for sharing audio tracks, and is often used by
unsigned musicians to get their music out there. In fact, the
band we are focusing on, Faux Pas, use Sound Cloud a lot to
upload their work for their fans to see.
 I also had prior experience using Sound Cloud, so I was familiar
with the software and how it worked, so I decided that it would
make sense to showcase our skills this way. It is a very easy to
use software and fills what was a gap in the market before they
came along, as there was never really a free online audio site
like this where individual artists could share their music.

19. ADOBE PHOTOSHOP CS5
 During the planning stages, I used Photoshop to create
mockups and draft versions of both the digipak and the
magazine advert.
 I chose to use this software as I had experience of using
it during my AS studies. As a result, this made the
process of producing the drafts and mockups quick and
simple, because most of the problems I encountered, I
had previously come across during my AS production
year meaning that I knew how to solve them. When I
found a problem that I was not able to solve, I used
Google to search up what to do and usually this gave
me the answers.
 Overall, Photoshop sped up the process due to the vast
experience I and my group already had of using the
software and this meant that it was a fairly simple
planning stage.

20. Media Technologies Used in Production
Stage
 During the research stage, I used lots of media technologies to find and process my research:
 Nikon D60 Digital SLR Camera
 iPhone 7
 YouTube
 Premiere
 Photoshop

21. NIKON D60 DIGITAL SLR CAMERA
 When first shooting our video and taking the images for our digipak and magazine advert, we chose
to use this camera as it is a modern, professional camera, with a lot of good features.
 Personally, I had very limited experience using this camera before, besides taking a couple of still shots
using it for my AS Coursework. However, all of my other group members had used this in other
contexts and were comfortable with how to use it. Therefore, we had enough expertise in the group to
use it to a high standard.
 As I was less experienced, I followed the lead of the rest of the group by watching how they use the
camera. After a significant part of the project had passed, I managed to pick up how the camera
worked and my skills of using it had developed massively.
 On our fourth shooting session, I was the only crew member present, therefore I had to be
comfortable with using the camera and I felt like I used the camera successfully and took professional
shots by using a tripod and shoulder mount to balance the camera. My skills developed and I was able
to use the focus and contrast comfortably as well as controlling the shooting mode.

22. IPHONE 7
 On our fifth shooting session, we hit a huge stumbling block. Our camera would not work and our reserve camera
was also out. Therefore, we had to make a quick decision whether or not to continue with filming or come back
another day and refilm using the camera.
 We decided, that since we were already at the filming location, we would use an iPhone 7, as we had seen a number
of past A2 music videos filmed on one and the camera quality is also very good. It turned out that actually our shots
looked better than the ones filmed on the camera! As a result, we used this device for all the rest of our filming and
also went back and refilmed a number of the shots that we had already recorded for continuity purposes. We kept
the live performance shots, which were filmed on the camera, however every other shot was filmed on the phone.
 The use of digital technology was so important here, because it completely transformed the quality of our video. If I
were to do the project again, I would use this from the start as the standard is actually lots better than that of the
professional camera. This is a perfect example of where we managed to overcome a problem as a team and it all
turned out for the best, as I believe our music video looks very professional and if you weren’t aware, it would be
very difficult to recognise that it was filmed on a smartphone.

23. ADOBE PREMIERE CS6
 For the compilation and editing of our music video we
shortlisted a few possible softwares that we could use. In the end
we chose to use Adobe Premiere, as we believed it was the most
advanced and professional and between us, we also had
significant past experience using it.
 We chose to use this as opposed to iMovie, because it produces
higher quality videos and although we used the former in our
research and planning stages to save time, the quality was much
more important than time here. We would prefer to have a
quality music video that took time to create than a bad one,
which we managed to put together in a week.
 Throughout the process, we all had a go at editing the video and
we all developed our skills. Adding effects, removing audio and
enhancing contrast were all techniques that I picked up along
the way and I now consider myself much more informed with the
project.
 Another benefit with using this software was that, unlike most
video editing softwares, you do not have to edit the video in
chronological order, and you can edit something towards the
end of the video, before adding something at the start and
focusing on the middle. This lacks with simple, less advanced
programs such as Windows Live Movie Maker.

24. ADOBE PHOTOSHOP CS5
 For the same reasons that we chose to use it in the planning stage of the project, we picked
Photoshop as our image editing software for the production section.
 We also used Photoshop to focus on the individual images, which is not something that we did
during the planning stage. When adding images to the digipak and magazine advert, we paid
particular focus to each one before adding them. I edited them all, so that they fitted the general
look that we were going for. For example, we had to make sure that they conformed to the
colour scheme convention that we were going for (See Evaluation Q.1) by the effect(s) that were
added.

25. YOUTUBE
 As discovered in our research, YouTube is a very popular
video sharing software in the 21st century. From our
research we found out that the majority of people that
watch music videos watch them via YouTube.
 Therefore, we chose to upload our finished video product
to YouTube to conform to the demands of the audience. I
have plenty of experience with using YouTube, so it was no
problem for me to upload it and get it quickly shared round
various platforms for feedback.
 The above is another reason that we selected YouTube to
upload our video, as it is so easy to retrieve a link that can
then be embedded into Blogger or shared onto social
media platforms to get feedback from the audience.

26. Media Technologies Used in Evaluation Stage
 During the research stage, I used lots of media technologies to find and process my research:
 Adobe Premiere/Social Media
 Microsoft Word/PowerPoint
 HP 15 Notebook PC

27. ADOBE PREMIERE/SOCIAL MEDIA
 Both of these softwares have been spoken about in detail
previously in the presentation. However, during the evaluative
stages, they were used for a slightly different purpose.
 Both of these were used significantly for audience feedback of
the products post-production. We interviewed three public
members and filmed them on an iPhone 7, since we discovered
this was the best thing to film on from our production stage.
These films were then imported onto Premiere, where we could
compile and edit them. Since we had spent a month editing a
video on Premier, we were very comfortable and familiar with
the software already, so creating a quick video like this was no
problem at all.
 Social Media played a different role in the audience feedback.
Similarly to the way it was used in the research stage, I
uploaded the video to my personal Facebook account and
asked people to leave comments giving their opinions, positive
or negative on the video, so that we could go and evaluate
them, make any last minute changes and decide what we would
modify for next time.
 Though we probably could have done our audience feedback
without the use of digital technologies, they were very helpful
and sped up the process hugely.

28. MICROSOFT WORD/POWERPOINT
 Once again, Word and
PowerPoint were used
to present the
evaluation in a
professional way. I do
not need to go over the
benefits of using them
again as they are
mentioned in fair detail
earlier in the
presentation.

29. HP 15 NOTEBOOK PC
 For my evaluation, I did it all on my personal laptop computer as
I am much more comfortable with using this, as opposed to a
college desktop device.
 This also meant that I was able to get the process done as quick
as possible, because I am very comfortable with using this device
and I know almost everything that there is to know.
 Furthermore, I could use the software to take screenshots and
upload images into the Word and PowerPoint files to enhance
the evaluation, so they weren’t all just text, as this would create a
dry experience for the reader, which I was intent on avoiding.
 Without the use of a laptop or any form of digital technology for
the evaluation, the process would probably have lasted longer
than the actual production work, because it would have meant
handwriting thousands of words. Yet, the use of a computer,
especially my own means this can be done quickly as I am used
to using it and typing quickly.

30. CONCLUSION  Throughout this presentation, I think I have clearly
demonstrated just how important digital technologies
were throughout the whole project. None of the project
would have been possible without the use of both
digital software and hardware. It helps to speed up the
whole process of the project, while it also means that I
was able to gain new skills that will only be a good
thing in the future, since we live in a world full of digital
technology and that is not something that will change
anytime soon.
How did you use media technologies in
the construction & research and planning
& evaluation stages?