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1. How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning
and evaluation stages?
Throughout the process of A2 it is essential that I am able to use digital
technologies for all elements of my work. Settling into A2, it began significantly
easier for me to understand and utilize all types of digital technology to the best
of my abilities. In this year of my course, we were introduced to a new way of
presenting all of our work. In AS we were using blogger, however this year we
used word press. This gave us the ability to create our own website and post our
blog post on there. This was a positive as it gave me a lot more creative freedom
than blogger did. It did take a more time to set up but it made the entirety of our
website look that little bit more professional which is key in presenting who you
would like to be as media student.
In the research and planning stages of my work I had to use a variety of digital
technologies, which mostly was conducted in online sites. To actually collect the
data I needed I would refer to Google to search for the research piece. For
example music video theory required me to use different sources on the
Internet to gather what I needed. Fortunately for me in the 21st there are many
websites and tools I could use to present said research. There was however,
Emaze was one website that I found to be most beneficial. This gave me the
ability to create digitalised power points with a specific theme. I enjoyed using
this because it looked highly professional and let me create post, each different
to the previous. Although, there are many new forms of digital technologies that I
could use, it was often essential that I stuck to traditional forms such as word;
these were used for task such as treatment or actor release. This was the
quickest way of me producing these post which when time was limited was a
major positive for me.
The construction part of our task was the part I was most excited to endure. I
had some previous experience with DSLR camera but that was taking pictures, I
hadn’t yet had the chance to explore the filming settings on these cameras. For
this part I used a Canon 550 DSLR digital camera. This is a perfect camera for
filming as it allows you to look back on footage instantly rather than analyising
your footage afterwards and having to reshoot. Along with the camera, I also
used a 18-55mm Aperture Lens. This gave me the chance to capture the in-depth
shoots rather than moving the camera, which could result in the footage looking
disjointed or shaky. As previously mentioned, the use of intimacy within my
shots was pivotal and having this lens made it easier for me to do this without
the need for other equipment. In addition having the camera on an ISO of 100-
200 was pertinent as it allowed little lighting in which helped me achieve the
dark and somber feel I was aiming for. However, when lighting was need
predominately for the bedroom/date scene I used my own soft box lighting
which I have had pervious experience using
Editing was the lengthiest processes throughout the duration. The software I
used most often was Adobe Premiere Pro. This was relatively new to me but with
tutorials and the help of my teacher and peers it was fairly easy programme to
grasp. The software itself helped the process to be sped up because of its digital

2. nature. Being on a computer, it allowed me to rectify mistakes almost instantly
whereas using film you would not be able to that. It also allowed me to get
feedback on individual sections rather than the video as a whole. Another piece
of software I used throughout the process was InDesign. This was wear I created
both my magazine advert and digipak. Due to the previous year of my media
course, I had a lot of previous experience with using InDesign so for me this
wasn’t a particular challenge. This is also the same for Photoshop, although I
don’t have the same experience as I do with InDesign, I was still able to use the
programme swiftly and efficiently.
Finally, Evaluation was where I again used a variety of mediums. I began by
typing out all of my essay questions on word, which is something I find quick and
simple, as I am a type very quickly. The trouble came when deciding what format
to put the questions into, this is the drawback of having a variety of different
mediums to chose from. I firstly decided to separate all the questions in to
different forms of digital technologies, one a video, another a Emaze, and the
others magazines. This ended up looking unprofessional and disjointed so I
decided to follow what I did last year a place all question into a InDesign
document which did take a significant amount of time, but this was easier to
navigate through all the questions and looked much neater.
Overall, using digital technology is something I enjoy very much because it
allows you to have so much creative freedom. Being in the 21st century we are
exposed to a wide range of digital technology, which allows our content and our
work to keep growing in strength, which I hope is demonstrated within all
aspects of my work.