1. Dan Sgarbini
Question4:How didyou use mediatechnologiesinthe constructionandresearch,planningand
evaluationstages?
Throughoutthe constructionof my three products,itwasmy dutyto adapt to variouscomputer
software devicesinordertoexecute varioustoolsallowingthe creationof aprofessional and
attainable product.Itwasalso essentialthatIutilizedmultiple programmesaswell ascompleting
manytasks duringmyplanningandresearchstagespriorto creating the productsthat would
combine topromote the soapopera ‘WaltonHill’.The evaluation of mysoapoperapages wasvital
to gainaudience feedbackthrough contrastingmethodssuchasSurveyMonkeyandPrezi.
Duringthe constructionstagesof my twoancillaryproducts,Iwas instructedto‘repeat’(Steve
Neale- 1980) myeditingskillsonPhotoshopCS5as mirroredatmy foundationlevel lastyear.
Althoughinstructedtomirrormypreviousunderstandingof the software fromlastyearitwas also
my dutyto developmyphotoeditingskills, where the usage of multipletoolsandthe precisionof
layoutare expectedtoalterinmy secondyearof practice.WhenusingAdobe PhotoshopCS5for
producingmysoap operafrontcoverI utilizedthe ‘clippingmasktool’inordertomerge an image
withinaselected background orshape withinmycoverstories. The clippingmasktool isperformed
infull effectbylayeringthe layersrequiredforthisselection,once highlightedyoumustnavigate to
the layermenuinwhichthe optionto create a clippingmaskisavailable. Thisisacommondevice
usedbythe likesof ‘What’sonTV’and ‘Inside Soap’ inwhichacommunitybackgroundismerged
withone of the charactersthat feature withinastoryline,the likesof ‘EastEnders’commonlyuse the
‘QueenVictoria’pubtoalteraudience familiarity.Iusedthisconventiontoheightenthe professional
aspectsof my page and ensuredthatthe backgroundimageswere of a highqualitywithasense of
relevance toeachstoryline.
My firstancillaryproductalsoenabledme toaltermyprecisionwhenplacingalayerontothe page
as I usedthe rulertool thoroughly inorderto produce a well alignedstructure.Thisallowedmypage
to followthe existingformatsof othermagazine productsasitincreasesthe presentationof the
product.The physical appearance of mymagazine frontcoverwasalsoheightened throughimage
adjustments whichallowedme todictate the vibrancy,saturation,scale andmanymore physical
conventionsof aspecificimage. Thiswaspracticedinmymainimage as I dictatedthe skinvibrancy
of mycover star I alsousedthe technologyof aNikonDSLR 5300 to take my mainimageswithina
confined environmentwithadjustablelighting whichallowedimage manipulationtobe performed
at an efficientlevel andallowedthe softwaretodifferentiate variousfeaturesfromanotherwhen
usingthe quickselection tool astheywere all takenagainstawhite backgroundtoenable arapid
croppingprocess. The ‘QuickSelectionTool’(W) wasanimportanttool touse whencroppingthe
image to desiredformatandselecting/de-selectingareasneededforthe final outcome. Thisisa
basicstepthat is simplyfollowedposttoselectingalayerinwhichyouclickon the quickselection
tool and highlightthe areatobe croppedout.
WithinAdobe Photoshop(CS5) Ialteredthe qualityof myimagesthroughthe quickmaskmode (Q)
whichportraysa red outline behindthe sectionof alayerdeterminedbythe quickselectiontool.
The concept of white revealsblackconcealsdeterminedthe additionof featureswithinthe layerand
the removal of a backgroundor sharpenededge.These layerscanbe switchedthroughthe use of X
on the keyboardhoweverthe brushtool (B) mustbe put intoplace to construct the image toa high
2. Dan Sgarbini
standard. QuickMask Mode isa highlyeffective featurethatassiststhe desiredshapeandbasic
editingof animage,howevercannotremove abackgroundfromthe hairof an individual without
creatingan unnatural appearance.A superiortool torefine edgesandcreate a natural appearance
withinalayeristhe advancedhairselectionsmaskingoptionsthatwere usedwithinmymainimage
postto editingthe layerthroughquickmasking. The advancedhairselectiontool iscompleted
throughnavigatingthe windowmenuinwhichitisinstructedtocreate a clippingmaskandrefining
maskedge.Inorder to improve the visibilityof the toolseffect,Iensuredthatthe image was
presentedonthe layerwhenusingthe brushtool torefine the qualityof mymainimages.
In orderto improve the organisationof myfirstancillaryproduct,Ilinkedmanyof mylayersinorder
to create sub groupsfor a fasternavigationandtoensure thatmy social mediaiconsremained
aligned.Inordertocomplete thisaction,Iselectedalayerandpressedshiftwhilstnavigatingon
anotherchosenlayer.FromthispointIright clickedbothlayerswiththe optiontolinkthe
conventions.Thiscanbe reversedusingthe same formattounlink layers,whichallowsthe
previouslygroupedconventionstobecome separate forfurtherediting.Itwasthereforecrucial that
I linkedmylayersasitallowedmany of myconventionstobecome alignedwithanevenspacingto
remaina professionalandsustainable format.
Furthermore,IalsousedAdobe PhotoshopCS5formysecondancillary productthatwas a soap
operaposterbasedaroundthe theme of my maintask trailerforcontinuity.
My prime adaptationthatdifferentiatedmyposterfrommyfrontcover wasmy editingof the
backgroundthroughthe scratch and burn tool,whichbothmanuallyeditedthe lightanddarkness
withinthe sceneryinordertocraft juxtaposingatmospheres. Icompletedthismanual adjustment
throughselectingthe backgroundandcreatingamask on the window dropdown,thisallowedme
to use the scratch, burn and sponge tool inspecificareastoalterthe brightnessanddarknessof my
colourlessposterbackground. Thisimage adjustmenttool alsoallowedthe physical qualityof the
sceneryinwhichI createda darker,intense backgroundtocorrelate withaparallel theme.
WhenconstructingmyposterI alsoprogressedmyapplicationskillsonAdobe PhotoshopCS5
throughthe fire brushtool whichI had to download fromanexternal site (www.brusheezy.com) in
orderto ensure the activityof the tool whichwasplacedaroundthe external reviewsfromexisting
magazinesonthisproductallowinganincrease of intensitywithinthe qualityof mysoapopera.
Priorto creatingmy poster,Iwas unaware of thiseditingaspectwithinPhotoshop, howeverI
watcheda tutorial onYoutube and have mastereditsrelevancewithinmypage.Thiswasappliedto
the external reviewsfromothermagazines andimprovesthe intensityof external opinionsas
previouslyusedbythe likesof ‘EastEnders’whenitwasthoughtthat longservingcharacterPhil
Mitchell wasdead creatinga sense of unrestamongst‘EastEnders’viewers.
In addition, the fontstyle installationformyposterwasanotherprocessthat I followedinorderto
secure the house style of mysecondancillaryproduct.The fontof bebasneue wasinstalledthrough
www.dafont.co.uk inordertofollowthe brandidentityof mymediaproductsformmyfrontcover
to the poster.I alsoperformedagradientonthisfontto implya sense of darknessintothe narrative
as the fontfadesfrom,lightto darknesssubvertingalossof hope.I alsodownloadedthe fontof
‘roundedelegance’,whichisthe ‘WaltonHill’textfont,andhasbeenaprominentfeature
throughoutcreatingmyproducts.It wastherefore essentialtodownloadthisfontasit createsa
sense of recognitionbetweenthe audience andthe soapopera.
3. Dan Sgarbini
The image manipulationwithinmypostercreationwasvital due tothe applicationof the advanced
hair selectiontool thatwas mirroredfrommy magazine frontcover.Ialsousedthe quickmask
mode (Q),whichallowedme toeditthe edgeswithinaselectedimage inashortspace of time.This
ensuredthatthe backgroundwaseffectivelyremovedfromthe image andallowedthe image tobe
ina prestige state forthe advancedhairselectionprocess.Furthermore,imageadjustmentswere
alsovital to determiningthe physical appearance of myimagesasI ensuredthatthe lightingof each
character was inparallel toone anotherandthe clarityof my imageswasmaximised.
Additionally, mymaintaskgrouptrailerwascontrarilyproducedanddevelopedonAdobe Premier
Pro CS5 whichisa videoeditingsoftwaredesignedforediting movingimage footage.Priorto
producingmytraileramongst mygroup members,Ihadno experience of usingthis software;
howeverIwasfamiliarwithothervideoeditingsoftware packagesfrompreviousICTprojectswhich
allowedme tograspa basicunderstandingof PremierProCS5. Duringthe creationof my 2 minute 3
seconds trailerIusedvarioustoolsinorderto insert,remove,editandadjustvariousframes
ensuringthateachcut was as smoothand consistentaspossible.A primarytool thatI usedduring
the production of my trailerwasthe ‘ripple edittool’(B),which enabledme toadjustaneditpoint
betweentwotransitions toensure asense of continuitywhenthe mainfemaleprotagonistrapidly
stirsthe bowl to representsthe deconstructionof themesinabrand new soap and to importother
clipswithinthe timeframe thatwaspreviouslyadjusted. Thisensuredthatmytrailerwasconsistent
and allowedme tomake variousdecisionswhenorderingmysceneswhichwerechosenby
relevance tonarrative aswell asitscontinuityincomparisonwiththe previous cut.
As a group,we alsorotatedthe utilizationof the ‘rate stretchtool’(R) thatallowedthe control of
clipdurationas well asitspace.For example duringthe drugscene for‘WaltonHill’we ensuredasa
groupthat the clipwaslengthenedinordertoreduce itspace soour audience are able tosee the
brutal act of drug use and the realityof soapopera themesusuallyeverpresentinthe genre.The
‘razor tool’(C) wasalsoessential duringourproductionstagesdue tothe factthat itsduty wasto
cut a clipor multipleclipsinto two,which wasvital whencroppingscenespriortodivertingintothe
nextclip. Thiswasusedbetweenthe transitionsfromthe presentdaykitchenscenestothe
flashbacksthatpresentedmultiple themeswhichcreateda sense of differentiationuponmytarget
audience.
There wasalso a filmingdate formyMediaStudiesclassinwhichwe all hadto filmeachscene
withinourrequestedsceneriesandlocations.Onthe day of filmingwe were grantedwiththe
technologyof aNikonDSLR 5300 whichwasattachedto a tripodinorderto ensure thateach shot
was steadyandwhenperformingcameramovementiswastoa smoothand professionalstandard.
Thiswas inplace before myintroductiontoAdobe PremierProandgrantedme with a greater
understandingwithspecifictechnologies.
I alsousedAdobe AfterEffects(CS5) tocreate the external review effects,whichpossessedan
additional smoke affect.Thiswascreatedfollowingavideotutorial bymyself andthe inclusionof
framesdeterminedthe flow of the smoke acrossthe text.A keytool usedwithinthistechnologywas
the inclusionof keyframes,whichallowedthe horizontalsmoke effecttotake place withinthis
technology.Ialsoimportedthe smoke effectfrom http://cgi.tutsplus.com/articles/download-10-
stock-smoke-clips-for-free--ae-19089 that allowedthe physical presence of thiseffecttobe mirrored
whencreatinga transparenteffectwithAfterEffects.Thisisnow completedtoa highstandard,as
4. Dan Sgarbini
the textremainsparallel tothe smoke effectandisalsopresentedonablack backgroundtoremain
withthe a natural colourscheme thatensuresthe prominenceof the text.
Overall,duringthe constructionof myA2Media productsI wasable to furthermyknowledge on
Photoshopaswell asgaina newskill setonAdobe PremierPro due tothe availabilityof avarietyof
highqualityresourceswhentakingthe imagesandfilmingformytrailerinspecificsceneries. The
successof my pageswas primarilydue tothe developmentwithinmyplanningandresearchaswell
as my progressionsince myASMediateachings12 monthsago.
Despite the highqualityconstructionof mythree A2tasks, the planningandresearchthatwas put
intoall three fieldsof creationwasjustasvital as the creationitself.Withinmyplanningand
research I ensuredthatI wasable to self-review myownperformancethroughablogpage on
wordpress.com.Thiswasperformedinmyfirstyearof advancededucation,howeverinregardsto
my A2 blogpostsI was more familiarwiththe site andensuredthatthe examinerwasupdatedona
regularbasison myprogressionandmyfuture plansonthe course. The inclusionof myprogress
updatesandimagesof my pages/incomplete productsallowedme tobuilda‘personal relationship’
(Katz) withthe examinerandalsoensuredthathe/she wasaware of myannual progression.
Throughthe formatof WordPress,I alsoensuredthatmypage presentedeachsource of planning&
research,all of my pagesas well asa brief descriptionalongside eachpiece of work.Thiswas
presentedthroughthe methodof Slideshare inwhichIhadpreviouslycreatedanaccountformy AS
MediaStudiesandhave continuedtocreate a slideshowformatof myworkin orderto portray my
academicyearwithin the subject. Iembeddedall of myplanningandresearchpiecesthatwere
presentonMicrosoftwordand PowerPointforexample mymagazine andpostermindmapswere
placedontoslide share andexportedtomywordpresspage thatis visible toportraymyprogresson
a publicscale.
Before participatingwithinmanyof myplanningandresearchtasksitwasrequiredtoemail a
managerat a mediainstitutionformysecondarymarketresearchwhichcommonlygrants
researcherswithhighlyaccurate statisticsina specificfield.Anemail wassentto‘Hearst’andbeing
one of the largestmediaconglomeratesinthe UKtheyrepliedandgrantedme withtheircirculation
figuresforthe likesof ‘Inside Soap’andotherexistingproductsinanE leafletformat.
Priorto creatingmy twoancillaryproductsI alsocrafteda mindmap forboth mymagazine front
coverand poster.Each mindmap allowedme toplanbothpagesindepthinwhichoptionsforthe
fontstyle,colourscheme,mastheadandmainheadlineswere all inplace inashortlistedformat.
Whencreatingthese pagesitwasmy dutyto follow the preferenceswithinmymindmapinwhichI
alsodisplayedmultiple formsof social mediaandsynergyina MicrosoftPowerPointtemplate.
Moreover,the additional taskof creatingasurveyon the technologyof SurveyMonkeywasalso
requiredinwhichIcrafteda 10 questionsurveyformytargetaudience afterproducingmymain
map.I usedthistechnologyasit providesmanyquestiontemplatesandisa fast,accessible method
of collectingdata.Ialsosentmy surveylinkthroughemail tomanyschool studentsandteachersas
well asexternal sourcesinwhichthe onlinereplieswere instantlygatheredintoaresultstable on
SurveyMonkeywhichIcouldaccess on the site.
5. Dan Sgarbini
Furthermore,IusedMicrosoftPowerPointtodisplaymySurveyMonkeyresultswhichIpresented
throughscreenshottingthe tablesandprovidedaparagraphof descriptionunderneatheach
questionandtheirresults.Thistaskallowedanaspectof evaluationtobe implementedinthe
planningandresearchprocessasI had to reflectuponthe resultsandlinkedeachstatistictomedia
terminologyaswell asthe currentindustryof UK soap.
Overthe stage of evaluatingmythree mediaproductsIamexpectedtouse a minimumof four
technologiestocompromise myfinal thoughts. The technologiesthatIhave usedwhenevaluating
my pagesisPrezi, Slides,StupflixandVisme.Eachone of these technologies,analysesthe
deconstructionof myA2 course as questionone focussedonmyinspirationof magazines,question
twoanalysedconsistencyandquestionthree ensuredthatIgainedaudience feedbackforprogress.
Therefore,all three of these technologieshave servedacrucial purpose astheyall portray an in
depthanalysisof mysecondacademicyearwithinmyMediaStudiescourse.
Prezi allowedme toexportexternal imagesandfileseffectivelyandalsocreatedzoominslidesin
whichI editedcustomizedpathstoportraymy work.Thisissimplistictoworkas itprimarilyconsists
of imagesandtextinorderto denote informationandalsocreatesspace fora greatamountof text
whichwasimportantdue to the depthinvolvedwithinhow I‘followed,developedandchallenged’
existingmediaproducts.
In addition, Google Slides, isanotherbasictechnologythatsimilarly portraystextandprogress
withinaPowerPointformat.UnlikePrezi,thissoftware hasafree flowingstructure asnopaths are
createdand eachslide remainsstationary.Iusedthissoftware asmysecondquestion requiredthe
smallestamountof detail howeveralsorequiredimageevidence,whichthissoftware also
illustrated.
Stupflix isanothertechnologythatIusedtoportray audience feedback,whichisavideoserverwith
images/customscriptcombinedwithavoiceovertocreate a personal experience withanaudience.I
usedthisto illustrate myaudience feedbackfrommultipleanglesthatwaspracticedthroughmy
illustrationof images,textandsound.All of these aspectscreatedanaccurate illustration of my
audience feedbackwithinthiscomplex software
Thisquestionhasallowedme toevaluate myconstructionof all three mediapages aswell asmy
evaluationslides.Ihave usedVisme asitisa text-basedsoftwarewhichiscompatible withlarge
contentwhichthisquestionrequiresdue tothe indepthevaluationof myA2 MediaStudies
coursework.
In conclusion,throughoutthisA2Mediacourse it has beenmydutyto use and execute many
technologysourcesinordertoapplyto a vast range of products. DuringmyplanningandresearchI
was dependentonfamiliarproductssuchas PowerPoint’s,SurveyMonkeyandWordPresswhereas
the constructionstage enabledme touse Adobe PremierProforthe firsttime and I wasalso
grantedthe responsibilityof using professional equipmentwhenfilmingandtakingimages.
