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

1. Evaluation 4
How did you use media technologies in
the construction and research, planning
and evaluation stages?
By Dawid Jurkowski

2. In my Foundation Portfolio I have researched and analysed film openings to gain information and
understanding about film openings before producing my own Horror film opening. I researched into
the genre and it’s History which allowed me to understand the conventions used within a Horror
movie as well as the essential titles needed within a film opening. I have used a microsoft computer
and laptop throughout my Foundation Portfolio therefore giving me easy access to all research
sources needed within my Foundation Portfolio. I have looked at existing media texts of film
openings on YouTube due to its easy access and use. Therefore improving my knowledge of film
openings and that of the genre. Hence, why I used Youtube as my main platform of research
because looking at existing products not only inspired me in the production but also gave me wider
understanding of film openings and what’s expected in them. I have used YouTube as my main
platform for research and ideas in the advanced portfolio due to the same reason because looking at
existing products gave me more accurate visuals and conventions needed within a music video.
Therefore I was able to understand all the camera work and conventions essential in creating a
successful Hip-Hop video. Furthermore, in my Foundation Portfolio I have used online websites such
as ‘Art of the Title’ which provided me with essential screenshots of film openings, the conventions
as well as the title sequence used within film openings. This allowed me to use the research and
implemented it into my own production. Lastly, my research consisted of online questionnaires which
were given to my target audience, and they allowed me to understand what my target audience
expect in a horror movie (conventions). This allowed me to gain understanding of expectations within
horror movies according to my target audience and implement them in my own work.

3. For my Advanced Portfolio I have started off my research with the use of ‘Google Images’ as
it was the fastest and most efficient way of researching ancillary texts such as the digipak
and magazine poster. Google Images allowed me to gain understanding of Hip-Hop
conventions needed in relation to the digipak and magazine poster, therefore I was able to
analyse the magazine poster and digipak and implement the research into my own work.
Whereas for my music video research I have used the platform YouTube as it was easily
accessible and free, therefore I was able to analyse the music videos and gain
understanding of expectations and conventions needed in a Hip-Hop music video. For my
audience research I have used a 20 megapixel canon camera in the production of my VOX
POP. I have captured my target audience digitally whilst they were answering my question
of ‘Expectations within a Hip-Hop music video’. This allowed me to gain understanding of
expectations and conventions needed according to my target audience to make a
successful Hip-Hop video. After receiving all the clips I have merged them together into one
with the use of ‘Adobe After Effects’, the VOX POP was edited with the use of microsoft
computer, due to easy access and use. Another form of research I have produced were
online questionnaires similarly used in my Foundation Portfolio. The questionnaires
(produced with Microsoft Excel) helped me to gain opinions and answers about music
videos according to my target audience therefore I was able to acknowledge that most
teenagers prefer performance Hip-Hop music videos or that YouTube is the main platform to
watch music videos according to teenagers. Therefore I was able to analyse and implement
the research into my own work, hence the decision of using YouTube throughout my
Advanced Portfolio as it was the most used platform according to my target audience.

4. My production within the Foundation Portfolio was based on the creation of institutional logo for my film opening.
The institutional logo was produced with the use of a microsoft computer and the programme used for editing
was ‘Adobe After Effects’. I have decided not to use the iMac's as they have lower specification than the
microsoft desktop therefore it would take me longer to render the logo, furthermore iMac’s lacked in the essential
editing tools needed for the production of my institutional logo. Therefore by using a microsoft computer I was
able to create a more effective institutional logo due to the editing tools available furthermore, it saved me a lot
of time when rendering the institutional logo. However, my editing skills were not developed fully during my
Foundation Portfolio as I was unable to do all the edits I wanted, such as a transitional moving logo, therefore
during my Advanced Portfolio my editing skill as well as ICT knowledge increased enormously compared to
Foundation Portfolio. This is visible by the fact that during my Advanced Portfolio my Record Label has clear
transition as well as more effective movement, which was not seen within my Foundation Portfolio. For my
Advanced Portfolio ancillary texts I have used ‘Adobe Photoshop’ because I already had some understanding
about this graphical software from the previous year. Whilst doing my ancillary texts I have improved my
understanding and knowledge of photoshop therefore I was able to create effective ancillary texts without any
problems, hence improving from the last years production. For example, for my ancillary texts I have
implemented tools such as smudge tool, transition tool which was not visible during my Foundation Portfolio.
Foundation Portfolio
- Institutional Logo

5. In relation to my film opening during the production stages of Foundation Portfolio. I had incorporated the use
of a digital camera to capture all my shots and footage. The whole film opening was captured during night time
therefore the digital cameras allowed me to capture my footage with the help of ISO. The ISO allowed me to
gain visible footage whilst at the same time still recording at night to create the thriller effect. The cameras
allowed me record at 1080p resolution therefore creating better definition as well as colour contrast. This not
only improved the visuals of the film opening but also made it more enjoyable to watch for the audience.
Furthermore, I have used a tripod to stabilize all by shots to ensure that there is no shakiness in my film
opening as it would be make my shots unprofessional due to the camera movement in the background. On the
other hand during my Advanced Portfolio, production stages of the music video I have implemented a very
different technique which improved the visuals of my music video. Firstly, I have used a samsung smartphone
with ultra-high resolution of 3840 x 2160 (pixel resolution). This allowed me to create more smooth and silky
visuals compared to the digital cameras used in previous Foundation Portfolio. Therefore making the music
video more enjoyable to view. Furthermore, it ensured that all of my shots are captured with the correct lighting
settings, colour contrast and ISO settings. Therefore making my video consistant throughout each shot without
any changements to the lighting or colour. I have decided to use a 4k smartphone device over an 1080p digital
camera because it has better resolution and is more effective when it comes to recording as it is smaller
therefore less set-up is needed, hence being less time consuming. Furthermore, the samsung smartphone had
much longer battery life which was essential in our 4 day production as we were able to record all the scenes
with one battery charge, compared to the 1 hour battery usage with the digital camera. Moreover, the
resolution was essential as all the scenes were captured during the day therefore the vibrant colours,exposure
and full focus of the subject needed to be perfect throughout the production. This is because unlike the film
opening were all the scenes are in dark (no issues with exposure), the music video needed to be consistent
throughout as even one differing scene would change the visuals of the whole music video. Therefore I have
improved a lot from my Foundation Portfolio to my Advanced Portfolio through the use of camera settings and
visuals.

6. During the post-production stages of my Foundation Portfolio, I had begun with the editing process with the use
of ‘Adobe After Effects’. To edit my film opening I have used a microsoft computer, as it was more effective and
had better specifications compared to the Mac’s used in school. ‘Adobe After Effects’ allowed me to gain all the
essential tools need for the editing process of my film opening. I have used simple editing process during my
Foundation Portfolio, due the fact that my video was captured during the night I needed to improve the lighting
as well as changing the HUE saturation to black and white which gave my film opening stronger visuals as it
made my video more thrilling. Furthermore, I have used lens distortion and colour corrections to ensure my
video is visually appealing to my target audience. I have used ‘Adobe After Effects’ to merge all the shots
together into one as well as overlaying the footage with non diegetic instrumental sound as well as adding
unnatural voices to my film opening. The music and sounds used within the film opening were downloaded from
the internet (copyright free) and converted into an mp4 file with the use of mp4 converter. By converting the files
to mp4 it allowed the music to be added and rendered into ‘Adobe After Effects’. The music video for my
Advanced Portfolio was produced with a microsoft computer using ‘Adobe After Effects’ as it is effective and
easy to use due to the knowledge gained after two years of doing media studies. ‘Adobe After Effects’ allowed
me to improve all the lighting and vibrance issues encountered within my production stages with the use of level
effect. This ensured I have no lighting issues within my music video as well as ensuring that my music video is
consisted in every shot with the same exact lighting. The censored music was downloaded from YouTube using
the YouTube converter which allowed me to download the file as an mp3 file, which ensured that the editing
process would be easier as I could tell the difference between each file composition therefore enabled me to
edit my production quicker. During rendering I have encountered a major problem with the software relating to
insufficient RAM size. I had to upgrade my RAM from 8gb to 16gb as the software required 12gh of RAM to
function sufficiently. Therefore once instoring 16gb RAM I was able to render faster. Therefore I have overcome
the problem of partial rendering from my Foundation Portfolio, which is visible through the fact that my
Foundation Portfolio film opening was partially rendered in 720p quality due to the lack of RAM.

7. My music video and film opening was presented on YouTube. This is because YouTube is the largest media platform according to my
target audience of young adults and teenagers. Furthermore, uploading my tasks to YouTube allowed me to gain audience feedback, as
with the use of YouTube my videos were easily accessible. For my research tasks I have used variation of platforms such as Slideshare
and prezi. This enabled my work to be presented in a more creative manner as well as making my presentation more visually appealing.
Furthermore, with the use of prezi I was able to upload videos and images which was not possible in google docs. On the other hand
some of my research tasks were produced with the use of ‘Word’ however my work seemed dull and simple therefore I have decided to
implement Slideshare in my evaluation tasks.
For my evaluations I have used Slideshare to present my task in an interactive format. Furthermore, with the use of slideshare my work
is more enjoyable to read and view. My whole tasks were presented on ‘Blogger’ due to free access as well as the fact that it was easily
accessible to view.