1. Question 4
How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning
and evaluation stages?
Apple Macs Padlet Blogger
Powerpoint Glogster Surveymonkey
Microsoft Word Wix Youtube
Final Cut Pro X Photoshop Google Chrome
Mindmeister
For the creation of my project, I primarily used Apple Mac computers that we
have in our media classrooms and around the college which can be accessed
easily. We used the online software ‘blogger’ to create an online blog which will
collate all of our work and allow us to access it anywhere and even on
smartphones through the blogger app. Posts can be uploaded from home or in
the classroom. We will be posting work during the next few months for our
Advanced Portfolio Media G324 project. Blogger has many features that allow
you to have access to a large amount of customization within your pages and
layout of your blog. Free website which contain blogger templates can be
downloaded to transform the look and theme of your blog for your audience. The
theme of my blog is simple and modern yet it establishes clear brand identity
through my banner image, which is of my two artists and below including the
headers for each of the stages of our journey, ‘Research, Planning and
Construction and Final Products’.
Blogger also enabled us to link posts and pieces of work that had been done on
other software applications such as Slideshare, Glogster, Prezi, Wix, Padlet,
Powerpoint, Microsoft Word and Mindmeister and also the importation of videos
linked from Youtube and images from our portable drives. Using these forms of
media in order to present my work in order to diversify the way my blog looks
making it more appealing. Glogster was a web-based format which allowed you
to create poster designed pieces of work which could then be embedded onto my
blog.
These online media technologies were free to use and made our blogs look more
interesting and creative, as it was another form of media to document our work
on.
During the research stages of my project, I used the popular video-sharing
website youtube to explore ideas and watch influential music videos that were
within the pop genre so that I could establish the codes and conventions of these
real media texts so that I could appeal successfully to my target audience. Using
google chrome I researched into the styles of current music videos which genres
typically followed these rules and styles, this opened up my ideas to more
varieties of music videos that I could explore and merge together when it came
to the construction stage of creating my own. Survey monkey became a useful
media technology when it came to my audience research, it allowed me to create
a music genre survey which the link could be sent through the college email in
order for students to respond and give their opinions. It was useful as it gave me
the choice to ask multiple choice questions and to rate certain scenarios in order
of likability which helped me in the planning stages of my project.
2. Whilst using screen grabs from Youtube music videos and also using Google
images, I created a music mood board and a Padlet which I used to collect all my
ideas for my products which I could update with new images/videos that I had
found inspirational whenever I pleased. Using the HTML code I embedded this
onto my blog, along with other pieces of work from Slideshare that were
uploaded documents produced in Microsoft Word and Powerpoint
presentations. Google Chrome therefore became a key media technology in
which I used throughout my research as it enabled me to not just view pre
existing music videos but also into other digipaks and magazine adverts which
we were also required to produce alongside our music video.
In the construction stages of my project, the CANON EOS 600D offers a full-hd
eos movie which is going to make the quality of my video much better as it
shoots in 1080p. This was used to record all the footage which I was going to be
using in the music video, I also borrowed my friends camera which was a CANON
EOS 650D a slightly better model than the one I used, and also a fisheye lens to
capture some interesting shots. As my friends camera was the next model up it
meant that during the video some shots are better quality than others but I tried
to separate these shots about so that it was not completely noticeable.
Final Cut Pro X was used to edit all of the footage which was recorded. This
media technology software was an upgraded version offering much more
advanced techniques, effects with the best thing being that no rendering was
necessary after every clip. Previously from Final Cut Express which I had used
the year before to produce my horroropening sequence. The 1080p recording
enabled high quality shots to be captured, specifically of the powder paint
ensuring the bright vibrant colours and its movement was effectively captured
due to the good quality the canon captured in.
Onto the planning stages of my project, I planned my ideas onto the media
technology Mindmeister, allowing me to collate my thoughts onto a online mind
map, being able to brand off from different music video designs, adding more
detail so when it came to storyboarding, I had a better understanding of what I
was doing as well as making note of other pop artists I liked the look of.
Using the popular social networking site Twitter, I tweeted their music record
company of Icona Pop which is ‘ZEN MUSIC GROUP’ requesting permission to
use their song. Photographs for my recce shots/call sheets were taken on my
smartphone (Iphone), this technology meant my photos could be uploaded
straight from my i-phone and onto a post within my blog, as blogger has its own
app which can be downloaded free from the app store enabling you to blog posts
where ever and whenever as long as you have an internet/3G connection.
The digital technology Final Cut Pro X was used to produce the animatic which
was a digital version of my storyboard, this enabled me to see exactly where my
shots would go to which part of the song which was then uploaded onto Youtube.
Microsoft word and Powerpoint were used to create a number of the documents
within the project; call sheets, treatment sheet, shooting schedule, prop lists, cast
recruitment. Slideshare then enabled me to upload these and embed the work
onto my blog.
3. To export the final video, we had to share/export it either as a master file or send
it straight to Youtube but this would mean a lower quality outcome than
exporting it as a master file.
After the video/during the editing process of the music video, the ancillary texts
had to be created next. The ancillary texts consisted of producing a digipak and
magazine advert to accompany the music video and to therefore
market/promote our artists.
To take the photographs, I used the Canon EOS 600D again, offering 18.0 mega
pixels, this was going to make sure my images had a professional look about
them making it more convincing that my album was real. Photographs were then
imported from the canon onto my portable drive and placed in a appropriate
folders which I titled ‘Photoshoot’ and ‘Ones to use’ which would be were the
shortlisted images would be held.
Photoshop was a useful media technology software in the creation of my digipak
and magazine advert as this was the platform in which they were produced on. It
allowed me to layer images, edit their colour, contrast and crop images and
merge them to others. It gave me access to a number of different and useful
features.
In the final stages of the project, I decided to use a number of digital media
technologies to show creative ability and exploration of a number of different
platforms and ways I could present my work. All four evaluation questions will
be accessible on a Wix which I have created so that the questions can be viewed
all on the same website and therefore easy to get too as the link will be placed
onto my blog. Wix has many customisable features so you can tailor your blog to
whatever style and theme you are after creating. Having a slideshow on the
home page of mine with numerous photographs of my artists helps further
establish brand identity and star image of the group, it also looks professional
and current.
To conclude, i used a wide range of media technologies throughout the stages
within my project in order to show my journey and experiences creating these
products. The media technologies used enhanced my work making it more
creative and visually pleasing to a wider audience and allowed me to successfully
research into my music genre in order to understand the pop world and product
three products which contain iconic conventions.
