4th evaluation qustion for A2 media

1. HOW DID YOU USE MEDIA
TECHNOLOGIES IN THE
CONSTRUCTION & RESEARCH,
PLANNING & EVALUATION
STAGES?

3. RESEARCH stage
Survey monkey
Survey Monkey is an online tool which allows you to create questionnaires, and then interpret the responses given into graphs and
easily comparable data. We decided to use closed questions in order to get quantitative data that pointed us in the right direction when
planning our music video, as well as the ancillary texts. The biggest benefit of this type of survey is that it’s incredibly quick and easy to
send it out to large quantities of target audiences via social media, such as Facebook, or email. The link can also be posted on blogs or
websites to be accessed that way.
For example;
You can see from the response to this question that 90%
of participants said they likes to see a correlation between
the lyrics and visuals in a music video, so therefore we
took this on board and ensured there was both literal and
interpretive links between the lyrics of All Star and the
narrative in the music video. Using digital technology was
the most successful way to gather responses quickly, and
in a format where they were instantly comparable.

4. We also used a DSLR camera, along with a tripod to ensure a steady shot, to conduct some informal,
semi-structured interviews, in order to expand on the quantitative data gathered on Survey
Monkey. We then used windows movie maker to edit these clips together to create a structured
series of questions and answers, again making it easier for us to analyse but also more viewer
friendly for those accessing our blogs.
Abercrombie suggests that ‘part of the pleasure is knowing what the genre rules are’ and that
‘audiences derive pleasure from the way in which their expectations are finally realized.’ In this
sense YouTube played a key part in the research stages, as this allowed us to access existing media
products (music videos) and analyse them, finding conventions and codes which we then chose to
use or challenge.

5. PLANNING stage
Technology played a huge part in the planning process, as we used Facebook group
chat and iMessage to communicate as a group throughout the whole process. This
allowed us to bounce ideas off one another outside of limited lesson time, and
keep updating one another with any issues or questions that cropped up along the
way. By utilising these group chats it meant that everybody was aware of what was
going on at all times, keeping us all in the same boat and spreading the work load
more fairly.

6. CONSTRUCTION stage
Premiere
Adobe Premiere was the programme we used to construct the music video. Having never used it before it took
a bit of trial and error but we found it allowed us to manipulate the footage quite extensively and allowed our
creativity to show through, creating a sophisticated, none linear video. Video transitions such as cross fades
were used to transition more smoothly between opening shots, giving that feeling of passing time and making
it softer on the audiences' eyes.
Another feature of this programme we utilised
was the ability to layer footage using the
different video platforms, meaning two clips
could run simultaneously. This meant, by using
the cropping and moving tools, we were able to
create a split screen effect- a typical convention
of music videos. This meant we were in keeping
with the genre conventions, as well as creating a
more interesting visual experience for viewers.

7. Photoshop was another media technology utilised within the production process of our promotional package.
We were able to play around with different layers and text tools to create a
magazine article that we felt met the conventions of existing music magazines and
sold the album clearly. As well as this, features such as levels, contrast, vibrancy
levels and the dodge and burn tools in Photoshop came in handy when producing
the cover artwork for the digipak, as we wanted a very pop art/cartoon like style.
As we were conscious of maintaining a house style across all elements of the promotional package, we used a website
named ‘dafont.com’ to find an ideal font which matched our theme, and could become a recognisable aspect of the
greatest hits branding. This was then imported into Photoshop using the programme ‘run’, allowing us to place it into
both the digipak and advert documents.

8. EVALUATION stage
Blogger
One of the most important technological tools I used was blogger.com, as I used this as a space to collate all the information
from my advanced portfolio. It’s easily accessible through the internet, and the flip card feature allows you to jump straight
to a specific post, rather than having to scroll through the entire blog. It also allowed be to embed videos that I used for
analysis, as well as images, both scanned from a printer and taken from the web. This convergence of technologies meant it
actually helped me to organise my work, as well as making it easier for examiners and tutors to access my work and give
feedback.
Slideshare & Powerpoint
This leads on from the point above, as another feature of
blogger is being able to embed power points through a
site called Slideshare. This is something I was familiar
with from my foundation portfolio and used the
technique again as it was so successful. Sometime writing
straight onto a blog post results in a lack of structure and
whole chunks of heavy text. By using Powerpoint, I was
often able to break down my analysis and ideas into
more manageable sections, and then just place this into
my blog for easy access. Again, his utilises the benefits of
technological convergence, being able to access a
number of different areas from one platform.