1. Question 4:
How did you use media technologies
in the construction and research,
planning and evaluation stages?
2. • The use of technology has lead to exceptional
advancement in my work this year within my
Year 13 Media Studies Coursework. Similar to
year 12, I have used a blog to present my
planning, research, construction and final
products, which readily are available online
for feedback from teachers and other
students. I have used many online platforms,
as well as physical technology to assist with
my coursework.
3. • The Internet has been one of the most principal factors
contributing to the construction and validity to my
music video allowing me to use a range of websites
and search engines in the process of researching and
gaining inspiration for my work. I used search engines
such as Google in the initial stages of research and
planning to investigate the Folk and Acoustic artists,
and the genre itself. Not only did this allow my
research and portrayals to be realistic, it also helped
me create representations with intertextual links to
illustrate the in depth thought and planning behind the
concept of my music video.
4. • Blogger is a weblog publishing tool owned by Google.
Using a virtual space is the most effective way of
presenting Media coursework, as it is accessible from
almost anywhere with virtually no fuss. Furthermore
the user has the ability to upload a potentially
unlimited amount of data to either be broadcasted
publicly, or password protected. Blogger also allows
fellow users and teachers to give feedback via the
comment section, and revise posts if needed. Storing
work online almost eliminates the possibility of loosing
work, as each post saves every few seconds in draft
whilst writing, and also stops any student from
“forgetting” their work, as it is accessible online.
5. • In the initial stages of research and development, after I had chosen
my artist, I spent a large amount of time searching the Internet for
inspiration in order to develop the narrative of my music video.
Websites such as YouTube, a popular video hosting site, which was
launched in 2005, allowed me to research Folk and Acoustic artists
which I was able to refer to at a later date. After input into the
search engine, the site provides a list of closely matched content to
watch. And after watching, it then provides a list of
recommendations based upon what you have previously viewed
and related content.
• When I researched “Joni Mitchell”, similar Folk artists such as Steely
Dan and Neil Young appeared in the sidebar. These videos are also
available to embed into blog posts via the URL or HTML code.
6. • Another video hosting website which I used was
Vimeo. Unlike YouTube, Vimeo is essentially used for
more “professional” video and some music video
uploads rather than amateur footage. Through this, I
found such videos as “Lovely Bloodflow” by
Baths, which fundamentally influenced the forest
scenes in my music video. Vimeo users also hold many
competitions and trends, for example the “One
Minute” challenge, whereby each user is supposed to
film a still one take shot for a minute, and the best
ones are featured. “Crows at Dusk” by Christopher
Michael Beer, which also inspired some scenes of my
music video.
7. • Social networking sites such as Facebook have
allowed me to easily contact my artist, Daisy
Vaughan, and request permission to use her
single “It makes me tired”. Furthermore, I was
able to view a variety of similar unsigned bands
and research their audiences’ through their “Fan
pages”, which users are able to “like” and post
support or criticism on. In addition to this, I used
the Facebook app on my iPhone to contact my
artist, and actress to arrange schedules.
8. • Wikipedia was one of the main
sources for specific information
I used regarding artist
background information and
genre. Not only was I able to
embed intertextual likes such as
the reference to Ophelia in my
music video, but I also gained
inspiration from artist Paul
Gauguin along with Joni
Mitchell’s album covers for my
own print productions.
9. • With the majority of my posts, I used Microsoft Word
beforehand to check any spelling mistakes and make overall
corrections before posting the text into blogger and
publishing the content. I also used Microsoft PowerPoint to
create engaging slideshows such as the one on (question 3)
of my evaluation to present some of my findings such as my
audience feedback. I was then able to upload this
PowerPoint presentation onto the hosting and creation site
Prezi, Slideshare or Scribd, which transformed my
document to presentations which are available to be
embedded into Blogger. I also used Microsoft PowerPoint
to create graphs and pie-charts, to present my findings
from the written questionnaires.
10. • After purchasing my artists CD, I imported the
songs onto my laptop and into iTunes, which I
transferred onto my music video in Adobe
Premier Pro CC, whilst I edited it, to ensure
the visuals matched up with the lyrics.
11. • Soundcloud, the online audio sharing platform, which
enables users to upload, record, promote and share their
original “sounds” allowed me to explore unsigned artists
and identify their influences by simply type in the artist,
or a genre, and the result would link me to many
examples with tags related to my search. Soundcloud is a
well used platform for promotion, due to its easy access
and ability to share, additionally, the website allows users
to interact with producers through messages, and also
comment on each “sound” with feedback.
12. • The entire of my music video, along with the shots of locations, print
productions and some of my evaluation where all taken using a Canon Eos
600D camera rather than the traditional camcorder rented from the school.
This DSLR is not only a stills camera, but also records video in 1080p, which
allowed me to create a much more cinematic and professional appearing
music video in the highest definition. The Canon Eos 600D camera features a
medium-sided adjustable screen, which can be adjusted like a typical camera,
or rotated so that the footage or stills can be viewed during filming, and
played back afterwards. The ability to review the raw and freshly captured
shots allowed me to identify key angles, or reconsider some, thus improving
my footage selection. Conveniently, the camera is extremely useful when
under time management; the memory card easily pops out the side, and can
be directly inserted into a computer or laptop to transfer or view images or a
large screen.
One of the most significant features on the camera was
its ability to switch between automatic and manual
focus. I often used this effect, particularly in the forest
scene, as it allowed for a “shift” in attention between
two subjects, E.g. the scenery to Alice.
13. • For my Year 12 coursework, I edited my music
video using iMovie, so using Adobe Premier Pro
CC was very educational, and an advancement to
say the least. Although at first appearing
daunting, I quickly adjusted to the adjustable
layout and began my edit. Firstly I placed all my
shots into narrative order, and precisely edited
them to the exact millisecond. On some of the
shots, it was necessary to alter the speed of the
footage, increasing or decreasing the percentage
to make it slow down, or become faster paced.
Additionally, I adjusted the colour gradient and
added a hue to the latter part of the footage, to
purposely make the atmosphere more
despondent, added transitions such as “fade to
black” and “cross fades” in order for the video to
appear more professional.
• I used a trial version of Adobe Photoshop CC to
construct my print productions, magazine
advertisement and promotional poster. This
program was essential in the construction to my
ancillary task, ensuring them to be the exact
required measurements, with the highest quality
editing. After using my Canon Eos 600D to take
my photos, I manipulated each of my photos to
achieve the desired effect.
14. • Additionally, I used a HP PhotoSmart Premium
all-in-one printer to scan in documents such as
my questionnaires, storyboards and album
sketches.
15. • Another photo editing software which I used
was Picasa. It is extremely convenient to keep
track of your images, and do basic edits, or
crop images. Specifically, I used it to remove
red eyes from the lenses glare on some of my
images, and lighten them when needed.
16. • One of the most useful programs
I used in the process of this
evaluation was an app I
downloaded on my MacBook Pro
named Screen Recorder Tool,
which enables you to either
select a portion of the monitor,
or the full screen, and record it.
This was exceptionally useful
when doing question one, as I
captured many videos from
YouTube to place in my video
evaluation.
