1. How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation
stages? – Question 4
Having done Media Studies for many years now, I have been able to get to grips with many different
technologies and software’s which have allowed me to research, plan, create and present my
projects. For example I used Photoshop and InDesign to create my AS coursework last year, so was
able to use if efficiently this year in my A2 coursework when creating my digipak and magazine
advert. However, this year I did have to learn how to use a new software; Adobe Premiere which
was key to creating a good piece of coursework.
Planning and research:
In terms of the research and planning stages of my coursework I relied heavily on the internet to
gather facts and information for the given tasks. I then use a variety of programmes to present my
work, i.e. PowerPoint, Word and also a programme called Prezi. I also used YouYube.com and
Vimeo.com to present video based information (and later on to upload the first draft and the final
drat to my blog). These tasks were then embed onto my blog which I set up through the Google site
blogger.com. Having a blog has allowed me to document all my tasks that I have undertook and also
has allowed me to document my journey of creating my coursework throughout the year. I
commented on the journey I have taken this year through production diaries, which came in both
video and text based format. I posted these on my blog weekly to talk about changes that I had
made and what I planned to do in the upcoming week. These production diaries were either in a
video or text format. Using a variety of programmes to upload and illustrate my research and
planning tasks and also to document my coursework on the whole showed that I was skilled in
multiple formats and also that I am versatile. Having a blog also helped me to organise myself to
make sure my coursework met deadlines. I was also able to refer back to previous research and
planning task and alter or add to them.
The internet also proved helpful when trying to collect feedback on the first draft of my music video.
I used SurveyMonkey.com to create a questionnaire for my target audience of 16-25 year olds to fill
out. Survey Monkey also analysed the results for me which saved time when it came to documenting
the feedback on my blog. I also found it convenient to use social networking sites such as Facebook
and Twitter to advertise my first draft and my questionnaire as I knew that I could reach my target
audience effortlessly, and gain the data I needed to make improvements to produce a music video
that my target audience wanted.
Music video:
With reference to the construction stage of my coursework I used a variety of new media
technologies to make my music video, magazine advert and also digipak. A familiar technology to me

2. was the camera which I used to film the footage for my music video. The camera used was the
Cannon 550D with a 50mm 1.8 prime lens. This particular lens allowed me to film in a variety of
focuses, i.e. deep, shallowShallow depth of field is where the subject is in focus and the background
is out of focus. This meant that the focus was on my main protagonist meaning that the audience
could connect with my protagonist in a more intimate level. The only issue with using the specific
lens was that I could not zoom out so had to physically move for example away to shoot a long shot.I
used this camera to film in multiple locations such as outside and also in the studio. When filming in
the studio, which was a room with black walls, ceiling and floor, I used the 800 watt Red heads to
lighten the room and give a mysterious, dream like feel to represent my protagonist’s conscious
mind. I placed the lights parallel to each other on either side of the room. The lights were place
slightly behind my protagonist, allowing her face to be seen clearly through the camera lens.
When editing and my music video together I used Adobe Premiere Pro CS6 as it allowed me to cut
up my footage with the razor tool and rearrange the shots in the order I wanted and also add the
desired audio into the timeline. Premiere Pro also allowed me to add titles i.e. the songs name and
who it was by at the beginning and at the end of my music video. I placed the text on the bottom left
corner and applied the transition of ‘Cross Dissolve’ to the text so that it entered and left the screen
smoothly, as it would on professional music videos that would be seen on music channels such as
MTV, VIVA or 4MUSIC
Digipak and magazine advert:
I also used the Canon 550D a with cinematic speed shutter with a 1.8 aperture lens when taking
pictures for my ancillary tasks. This allowed me to take high quality, professional looking images of
my protagonist. I took the images in a studio infront of a black background. I used Interfit lighting
and positioned one light to the left of my model and one light above my model which pointed down
towards her, creating a softer look to my images. I use a black background as I wanted to create a
moody feel to the images as I felt this was more fitting the narrative of the song, which included my
protagonist becoming intoxicated by her and in turn feeling alone. The black background also suited
my genre of drum and bass; a white background would promote a pop genre in which the genre of
my music video is contrastingly not. Moreover, I used familiar software’s to edit and create my
ancillary tasks. I used Adobe Photoshop CS6 to edit my images. All my images where taken against a
black background, however I felt that this colour would be too harsh on my digipak and magazine
advert and watched a tutorial on Youtube on adding at saturation that softens the image. I changed
the gradient map to violet and cream, and changed it from ‘normal’ to ‘lighten’. This then gave a
really nice purple colour to the background and also enhanced my models features. From then I
decided I would apply this to the photos I wanted to use for my digipak and my magazine advert. I
also used the ‘blemish tool’ to remove any blemishes from my models skin, which gave a flawless
finish, in turn making my images look high quality and professional. When it came down to creating
my ancillary tasks, I used Adobe InDesign CS6. I had used this software before to create my music
magazine for my AS coursework, so felt it essential to use as I knew that it could allow me to
produce high quality and visually pleasing coursework.

3. Evaluation stage:
Media technologies were also key in the evaluation stage of my coursework. Microsoft Word was
the prime software used when writing up the drafts of my evaluations. In using word I was able to go
back with ease and correct and alter what I had already written and also change the structure of my
evaluations if needed. When I was happy with all my evaluations I then changed them into different
formats to make them more visually pleasing. A great example of something that is visually pleasing
is Prezi. Prezi is an interactive PowerPoint and allowed me to split my text up into smaller chunks
and support my points with images, making it easier to digest. I also used a Dictaphone to read aloud
a longer evaluation. I embed this into my blog via the website called Soundcloud.com, which allowed
me to embed my audio file into my blog. In reading aloud, my evaluation became personalised to me
and my blog. I also used PowerPoint, InDesign as a format for my evaluations; I felt that having
different formats for each of my evaluation showed that again I am versatile in the software’s that I
can use, and also illustrates that I can be creative.