How I used media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages

1. How did you use
media technologies in
the construction and
research, planning
and evaluation
stages?

2. Apple Mac and
MacBook Air
 I have used my MacBook Air laptop and the Macs at school in order to
process everything. For example, during my research and planning, I used
the internet on both my laptop and the macs in school as this meant I could
access it wherever I was and also if I began something at school I could
finish it at home. In order to begin research and planning I used such
software like Prezi and Slideshare to create storyboards and mood boards
to help create and expand on my initial short film idea. I also used Prezi and
Slideshare in the evaluation stages to present my analyses and feedback in
a neat and easy way. I used the Macs and my MacBook Air during the
construction and post production stage of my short film. I started off using
FinalCut Pro to edit my film on the Macs at school but then I realised that it
cut me short for time as I was limited to the amount of time I could use the
Macs as I couldn’t always access the Macs, however this problem was
solved as I was able to easily access my laptop and work from home giving
me much more time which prevented me from rushing my work. I continued
using the Macs from AS to A2 as they are very reliable and easy to use so I
will ensure I will use them again in the future.

3. SONY NEX 7
 As a step up from my prelim task, I decided to invest in a much
better camera to improve the quality of my work. In the end I
decided to use a Sony NEX 7 because it was small, lightweight and
easy to use. By attaching the camera to a tripod supplied by the
school I found it very easy to film my scenes of my short film as it
did not require a lot of assistance. The camera also helped me
switch from in and out of focus helping me supply a shallow focus
shot in my short film. With all the different shots and angles I could
use with the Sony NEX 7 it improved the quality of my work a great
deal. I also used this camera to take pictures in my primary
research. For example, I took the camera out to all the different
locations to create a storyboard to follow during the construction of
my film.

4.  I have used blogger throughout my coursework to program
my work. Blogger has enabled me to arrange my work and
all my blog posts helping them look organised and neat. As
it was specified that I used either a blog or a website, I
decided after using blogger at AS, that I would continue to
use it due to it being very reliable. I used blogger
throughout my construction, research and planning and
evaluation stages to present my work clearly for people to
see. I blogged about my target audience, storyboards and
even different theorists and by keeping all of my notes
online on blogger it prevented me from forever losing my
handwritten notes.
Blogger

5. FinalCut Pro
 I used FinalCut Pro in the post production stage of my short film. I
used it in my prelim task when I was doing my primary research when
carrying out several textual analyses of real media short films where I
paid close attention to the camera work and applied it to my own
work. After testing FinalCut Pro in my prelim task and finding out what
does what, I was able to create a professional looking short film in my
final task.
 When researching about short films I realised that some editors in the
film industry also use this software to edit films, short films, music
videos…etc. This will provide me will a number of benefits as I will
have access to sound effects, transitions, filters…etc.
 However, FinalCut Pro hasn’t always been a success for me. For
example, once I had finished the post production stage of my short
film where I edited it all together, the app wouldn’t let me download it
to YouTube to then upload to my blog, in order to do so it meant I had
to delete a lot of my other work to free up some room on the app.

6. iPhone 6
 I also used my iPhone to access blogger. Through the app
store I was able to download blogger which was free so it
didn’t affect my budget either! This app enabled me to
access blogger wherever I was without having to carry my
laptop around with me everywhere. My phone is very light
so this meant that I always had it with me, this was
specifically helpful during the construction of my short film
as I was able to use the camera on my phone to take quick
photos of the set and my talent and then upload to my blog
to show my updates and progress on my short film.
 My iPhone has also played an important part when it came
to finding my cast. For instance. I was only able to text the
protagonist in my film as she does not use any other social
media network such as Facebook, so this meant that I was
only able to text her through my iPhone, this also applied
for all my other cast members too. Without my phone I
wouldn’t have been very oragnised and meeting up with
my team and cast members wouldn't’t have been very
successful, I literally would've been lost without my phone!

7. Pixlr
 I used Pixlr to edit my short film poster and film
review as it was free to use. I also used it because it
was very easy to get used to as everything is in front
of you and I didn’t get confused. With Pixlr I was able
to edit my poster and review during the construction
where I was able to adjust the colour by adding filters
or doodle, airbrush, add/overlap text…etc. For
example, on my film poster I was able to add a main
image, then overlap the masthead over the existing
image like you’d see on real media texts. I found it
really simple to create my film poster and review so
therefore I will continue to use Pixlr in the future.
 However, at the beginning I had some trouble when
discovering how to download the image once I had
edited it. I forever kept downloading it as a document
and not an image which prevented me from
uploading it onto blogger. After soon fixing this
problem, Pixlr became a joy to work on.

8. Slideshare/Prezi
 I used Slideshare and Prezi throughout the construction
and planning, and research and evaluation stages of my
coursework and most importantly, my short film.
Slideshare and Prezi enabled me to present and
document my work in different and creative ways
preventing my work and blogging from looking boring and
repetitive. For example, for part of my primary research
when presenting a number of textual analyses of real
existing film posters, I was able to use prezi, which abled
me to creative an interactive PowerPoint where each
slide comes to life as I personalised it with colour
schemes and attached images and videos. Or I used
slideshare as part of my planning when I created a
meaningful storyboard where each slide represented a
different scene consisting of images and text, this also
helped me during the construction of my short film as I
was always relied on it to help with each scene.
Slideshare has also evidently helped me with the
evaluation stages of my coursework as we can see here.

9.  I used YouTube mainly in the evaluation part of my
coursework, this is because after downloading my
short film to YouTube, I was then able to add it onto
my blog and my prezi slideshow to present it. In the
beginning I was using YouTube when researching
about short film and their conventions, I did this by
watching many other student short films and real
existing short films like ‘Cargo’, although it was hard
finding short films that fitted my genre and style.
Finding these conventions allowed me to use them
and challenge or develop them in my own short film.
For example, for convention I found was the
commonly used circular narrative structure where the
start and end don’t play a big nor important part,
whereas it’s the main event in the middle that’s most
significant. I incorporated this conventional narrative
structure into my own piece to keep it simple with it
only being a 5 minute short film, I didn’t want to
confuse my target audience.

10. Overall…
 Without technology I simply wouldn’t have
been able to construct, plan, research or
evaluate my short film and coursework.
Such technology like my iPhone and
MacBook Air, YouTube and FinalCut Pro
play a vital part within my coursework and
filmmaking skills and without them I wouldn’t
have been able to gain the knowledge I now
have.