2. This is the initial phase of the course, where
the development and research of the idea for
the documentary occurs. The planning
involved in this stage is working out logistical
issues like when and where to film, and who I
would be filming; in my case instead of actors
I would be looking for interviewees.
3. The majority of software that I had used to present my work was
through web 2.0. The key distinction between web 2.0 and the
worldwide web is that web 2.0 has been created to be more interactive,
the traditional worldwide web only allowed users to post, view and
download, whilst web 2.0 users are able to collaborate and share
information online.
Some elements of web 2.0 include:
User generated content (UGC) – Writing, images, audio and video
content, which is made freely available online by the individual who
made it e.g. Videos on YouTube.
Social networking – Where individuals can communicate and connect.
Popular social networking sites include FaceBook and Twitter.
Social curation – The collaborative sharing of content organized around
one or more particular themes or topics. Sites that are catergorised as
social curation would include Pinterest and Instagram.
Web 2.0 allows us to present work in dynamic ways as well as allowing
us to connect with our target audience in ways that were not possible on
the traditional worldwide web. As a result of this it proves to be vital to
this stage of the course
4. I had used Blogger through all stages of the course, however it
proved to particularly important in the planning and research
stage. The site itself allowed me to create blogs where I could
customize multiple features such as the layout, colour scheme
and links to other websites. As I worked individually I had
maintained all my work on one blog, Blogger helped keep all my
work organised and in one place which helped me see what
pieces of coursework needed to be completed.
I had chose to use Blogger over other blogging sites such as
Tumblr due to the fact that it was simple to use and was more
user friendly. An example of the simplicity of Blogger would be
organizing and uploading posts, this was done by embedding
pieces from where you had uploaded them and simply pasting
code and clicking post. Also I was able to tag posts, which made
it easier to see what pieces would have to be completed and
which pieces needed to be alterated.
5. I had used Microsoft Office throughout the whole of the course
excluding the production stages. Microsoft Word was the
programme that I had utilised the most as it was used for a
range of different pieces of coursework, from my evaluations to
my script. Microsoft PowerPoint was used to create presentation
for multiple pieces such as ‘creating my company logo’ to ‘BBFC’.
Microsoft Excel was used in sync with Microsoft Word as when
creating charts you have to put the data and results in Excel to
create the chart.
As I was fairly familiar with Microsoft Office I did not face any
implications or problems which made completing pieces more
efficient. I had also chose to work with Microsoft Office as most
computers/laptops have the software which made it easier for
me to do work everywhere for instance at school and at home.
Microsoft Office, as well as being very easy to function, it is also
compatible with all the websites that I had used to upload my
work onto my blog e.g. Scribd and Cameo, which made it easier
for me to upload work.
6. Scribd is a website that allows its user to read
documents as well as upload their own
documents via the websites uploading function.
Users are then able to embed these pieces onto
their blogs (In my case Blogger) for their
audience to access more easily. In my case Scribd
was extremely important and easy to use due to
its sharing capabilities which allowed me to
upload my pieces on my blog.
The only negative aspect I had faced whilst using
Scribd was that the layout of your document may
change which would disorder certain pieces of
my coursework an example of this would be
images moving around and overlapping text.
7. Slideshare is similar to Scribd as users are able to
upload and read documents, however instead of
word documents, Slideshare caters to PowerPoint
presentations, and allows its users to create
presentations through the website or upload a
presentation that was created before through the
use of Microsoft PowerPoint. It also had a feature
that made it easy for its users to share their
presentation on different social media platforms
and in my case it was share it to my blog
alongside all my other pieces if coursework.
8. Bubbl.us is a website that allows it users to
create brainstorms and mind maps. In my
opinion bubbl.us was easy to navigate which
made doing my work very efficient. I had
used bubbl.us to create mind maps for my
company name and to discuss my idea for my
production where I concluded that I was
going to create a documentary about cyber
bullying.
9. Piktochart is a website which allows its users
to create ‘infographics’, the website provides
a variety of templates which the user is able
to choose from, based on their specific
needs. I found Piktochart to be an excellent
way to present my research, and it is another
to way to present my work other than Word
documents of PowerPoint presentations. I
used this website to present my topic
research and target audience.
10. I had used survey monkey to create
questionnaires to target my audience, and
ask them to fill them out to help me provide a
documentary that would appeal to them. Due
to this it had played a key role in the planning
and research stages as the responses helped
shape my documentary. Survey monkey was
also used pre production to see what would
appeal to the audience as well as post
production to get feedback on the final
product.
11. A USB had played a vital role in planning and
research stage as well as the production
stages. I had used the USB to back up
coursework as most of my work would be
uploaded straight away from one laptop onto
a blog, therefore I would have to take a hard
copy of my work in case there is a fault with
my online copy. I had also used a USB to put
an mp3 version of the voice over I had
recorded to edit into my documentary.
12. I had only used my mobile phone in order to
take pictures when equipment such as
cameras were unavailable from the media
department. I had taken recce pictures and
pictures of completed call sheets to upload to
my blog.
13. Laptop/Computer were essential throughout
all three stages of the course. During the
planning and research stages I had used them
(Laptop/Computers) to construct written
work and ancillary tasks that were set. During
the construction stage I had used the
Computer (iMac) to store and edit my
documentary together. In the final evaluation
stages I had used them to produce and
upload my evaluations to my blog.
14. This stage of the course consisted of all the
elements needed for the creation of my final
product (documentary) i.e. Filming and
recording voice over’s. The editing process
and the production of the ancillary task occur
in this stage.
15. I had used the Canon 700D throughout the
filming process as the footage was of the
highest quality possible. Also the sleek
design of the camera meant that it was easy
to travel from location to location with no
hassle. As I had used this camera prior to this
production it meant that I was familiar with
all of its features and settings which made
filming more efficient and less time
consuming which allowed me more time to
focus on cutaways and paperwork.
16. The tripod was also as essential as the Canon
700D, as it was compatible with the camera it
allowed me to ensure the camera was level and
stable throughout filming cutaways and
interviews. The tripod is used instead of a camera
person just holding the camera with their own
hands as the shot will be more steady, which
allows for the overall production look more
professional. Also filming a single interview
would usually take 15 – 20 minutes which is a
long time for someone to hold a camera in one
position without moving, which was the reason
the tripod was used throughout the majority of
filming.
17. The External Rode Microphone was used to
record ambient sound, and the voices of the
interviewees during their interviews. The
Rode Microphone is plugged into the camera
and helps enhance the recording of sound
whilst filming.
18. I had used SD cards throughout the filming stages of my
production, SD cards were simple to use as you would just place
them in the slot within the camera and whilst your filming all
your footage would be recorded onto it. SD cards were also the
best option as the footage was easy to transfer from the SD card
to the iMac to edit the footage. One negative aspect of the SD
card was the size of them, as they were fairly small they were
easy to lose, if they were to be lost then all the footage that was
filmed that session would be lost and you were unable to recover
the footage. Another negative convention of the SD card was the
space, the SD cards that we were provided with were 8GB and
16GB although it is a fair amount of memory usually during a
session you would use the majority of memory which could mean
if you used all the memory then you were unable to film
anymore; one way that I had overcome this difficulty was by
signing out two SD cards therefore I would be able to carry on
filming but on two different SD cards.
19. Adobe Photoshop proved to be extremely
vital during the construction stage of my
ancillary tasks. Both the newspaper ad and
double page spread were created using
Photoshop, using images that I had captured
using the Canon 700D. Adobe Photoshop is a
professional grade software, which allowed
for my final pieces to be of a high quality.
After completing these pieces I would finally
save the pieces as JPEG’s and then upload
them onto my blog as images.
20. I had used Final Cut Pro 7 to edit my final production
together. The professionalism of the software had
allowed me to create a more professional looking
product, in comparison to other editing software such
as Windows Movie Maker. I had learned how to use
Final Cut Pro 7 this year as I have never taken on the
role of Editor prior to this production. From the offset
I knew it would be challenging, however after I knew
the basics such as cut footage and mend sound I was
able to edit fluently. As the editing of the
documentary was one of the key aspects to creating
the final production I had to take many aspects into
careful consideration such as what interviews to use,
voiceover to use, cutaways, ambient sound etc.
21. Cubase was used to record the voiceovers
within the state of the art music studio that
was available to me through school. Cubase
is a music software that allows its users to
record, arrange and edit sounds and music.
As I was only recording a voice over none of
these features were needed besides from
altering the pitch of the narrator to make
them sound more dominant.
22. The evaluation stage is used to asses how
successful my final production was. This was
done in multiple ways such as audience
feedback e.g. Questionnaires.
23. Social media had played a key role in the evaluative
process as I had used different social media
platforms to assess my audience feedback and to
share my final production to a wider audience.
YouTube was one of the main social media websites
that I had used to share my final production to my
audience. I had chosen to use YouTube over other
video sharing platforms such as Vimeo for multiple
reasons, however the main choice for YouTube was
that my target audience would be more familiar with
the website, also the wider public would be more
familiar with this website which could lead to gaining
a wider audience.
24. Prezi is a cloud based presentation software, this
means that presentation can be accessed remotely
from a variety of devices. I found Prezi to be
extremely useful as they had provided their users
with a wide choice of templates that you could
choose from to create a dynamic presentation. I had
used Prezi in both the planning and research stage
and the evaluation stage. Unlike normal presentations
that I had used and uploaded via Slideshare and
Microsoft PowerPoint, Prezi was a more interactive
way of presenting my work and allowed for my
audience to visually engage with it, an example of
this would be the colour and movement of the
‘slides’.
