The document discusses the various media technologies used at different stages of a coursework project. During the research stage, online video databases, flatbed scanners, and The Radio Times website were used. Blogger was used to organize work and present it chronologically. In construction, HD video cameras, iMac computers, tripods, microphones, and software like Final Cut Express, Photoshop, InDesign, and GarageBand were utilized. Final Cut Express was used for video editing, Photoshop for photo editing, InDesign for layouts, and GarageBand for the radio trailer. Various features of the technologies are described, like using tripods, normalizing audio, and creating graphics in Final Cut Express.

1. A2 Media Coursework
Evaluation Part 2
Question 4
Alex Breeze
5209

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

3. Research
We underwent a large amount of research before we began the
main task. Numerous media technologies aided the research
process and made the task easier to complete. Examples of
technologies range from basic TV’s to powerful computers.
One of the first tasks we set out to do was to analyse existing documentaries in our
category. This was easily achieved with thanks to large online video databases
such as 4OD, BBC iPlayer and YouTube.
Some work was not always available on the internet so we made use
of the colleges flat bed scanners when placing this work on the blog.
Generally it was a simple process where we could just upload a .jpg to
the blog.
We also had to take time to research the different broadcasting
institutions. For example BBC or Channel 4 are both public
service broadcaster and we had to make a choice of which
company we would choose. Since we chose BBC this also
meant researching The Radio Times which is where BBC shows
generally have articles.

4. Blogger
Blogger is a free weblog publishing tool from
Google, for sharing text, photos and video.
Blogger was an essential tool in completing our
coursework. It allowed us to bring all of our
individual tasks together in one centralised location
which we all had access to. It allowed us to be
organised and efficient throughout the coursework
period. It helped us present our work in a
chronological order which appeared professional
and organised.
Blogger like anything had a few draw backs.
Different file formats sometimes made it difficult to
upload and certain formatting in word for example
was lost when uploading to blogger. Also there
seemed to be some compatibility issues with the
tool when using it in older web browsers e.g.
Internet Explorer 7 or 8.
Overall I thought it was a good tool in completing
and keeping track of coursework.

5. Construction
Throughout the construction stage we made great use of many
cutting edge technologies made available to us during the
coursework period. We used a mixture of hardware and software
when creating our media products. We ranged from using
Microsoft Word for basic word processing to Final cut Express for
professional video editing.

6. Hardware
HD Video Cameras-
The Video Cameras we were provided with were
Cannon VIXIA HG20’s.
They had many cutting edge features which greatly aided us when
creating the documentary. They recorded in high quality HD video
creating a very professional look with no blur or graininess which
plagued older style cameras. They included many features that correct
colour and other picture related problems They also recorded straight
on to a Hard Drive which allowed for quick data access and a clear file
system but also a much greater capacity. Transferring the video to the
computer was easy due to the use of USB the standard in computer
I/O. It was literally a case of drag and drop and you had your footage.
This was a great help and definitely emphasised how technology has
changed since Video cameras that recorded on to tapes. They
simplified the process and definitely saved us time.

7. PC’s and
Macs
I have used both Windows and Mac OS X for a while now so had no problems
when we were asked to work on Macs (iMacs) to create our documentary and
media products. The Macs we worked on were well specked and made
completing the tasks quick and efficient. They were Intel based allowing them to
make use of apples newer software packages. We used many Mac only
applications for example Final Cut Express and Garage Band.
Overall I found the Mac computers to be stable and very easy to work on when
producing the media products.
Some of the problems with using the Mac were that they weren’t networked like
the Windows based systems so we couldn’t access files on any machine we had
to use the same one each lesson.
We also used Windows based computers when using the Adobe CS 3 sweet of
applications like InDesign and Photoshop. Both platforms provided us with a
range of good software and features in completing our documentary, radio trailer
and double page spread.

8. Microphones and
Tripods
Microphones and tripods were both important tools in completing our media
tasks.
The tripod allowed us to create steady and level shots which looked
professional. It also allowed us to move the camera smoothly for example
when we did our opening establishing shot. We used the tripod to pan
around the front of the college.
We used Uni -directional rifle Microphones to record our interviews and Vox
Pops. This choice of microphone was important as it doesn’t capture
background noise and only picks up from the front end of the microphone.
Some problems that we did encounter is that sometimes it would only
record audio on one sound channel meaning when we listened back the
audio only came out of one speaker (mono). This was a problem but was
easily corrected in Final Cut Express.

9. Software
We used numerous software packages on both the Windows and Mac Platforms.
Final Cut Express is the consumer version of
apples professional video editing software Final
Cut Pro X. At first it proved difficult to use but in a
small amount of time we all found it quite intuitive
and easy to use which I have found with most of
Apples software.
Photoshop is part of the
Adobe suite of applications
and is a professional photo
editing programme. This
programme was very
useful in editing the stills
for the double page spread
GarageBand. Another great
apple programme giving home
users a recording studio on InDesign is also part of the
their desk. I think this was the Adobe suite of applications and
easiest application to use out is a professional desktop
of them all publishing programme

10. The browser shows
you video and sound The viewer allows you to The Canvas is where
clips and allows you to preview your audio or you view was is on
add them to the video clips before they your timeline
timeline are on the timeline
Toolbar
Sound level
indicators
The timeline is The voice over
where you order you The backing track ran
Montage along the bottom track ran along the top
sound and video of the track
clips for viewing.

11. The first step when we began using Final Cut was to log
and transfer all of the footage we were going to use for
the Documentary. Once we had done this all we had to
do was drag them onto the timeline.
The next step was to arrange all the audio
and video on the timeline in a rough order of
which we wanted it to run in.
After this it was a case
of fine tuning which I
thought was the longest
We then chose to adjust the speed of some process. We added
of the background footage which we transitions while finely
recorded as an over the should shot. This cutting the footage and
allowed us to fit more of the footage in that audio to size. We also
we wanted to include. It also stopped the added text and
audience for being board of the same long graphics in the allotted
sequence. places. One of the last
things we did was add
our backing track to the
piece and checking all
of the voice over was
normalised so the
sound levels were all
the same.

12. Through the use of final
cut we were able to
create numerous
graphics and apply
effects to the
documentary.
Final cut allowed
us to add
transitional effects
to the
documentary to
provide it with a
The graph was imported professional edge
from Microsoft Excel and which worked
then we animated it using
well.
final cut. This made the
overall effect of the graph
more interesting and the
information more appealing
to the audience
For both of our
professional interviews we
created a band across the
bottom of the screen with
their name and job title.
This worked well with the
drop shadow
authenticating the
interviews.

13. Normalisation in Final Cut
Due to different background noises, how close or far away the microphone was or
how loud the Interviewee talked sound levels generally differed greatly. This was a
problem as it sounded unprofessional. To fix this we had to apply normalisation to
all of our sound clips to the suggested -5dbFS. By doing this all sound levels were
the same.

14. InDesign and Photoshop
When creating the Double Page spread we used Adobe InDesign which was
part of a bundle of applications for Mac and Windows. I personally found it a
very difficult application to get to grips with.
We chose to use this application because of its professional features and great
integration with Adobe Photoshop. The application is all about boxes in which
you place text, graphics photos etc. The programme allows you to effectively
experiment with the layout and choose what looks best.
We used Photoshop to correct some problems we had with our stills. We
corrected any imperfections in the pictures using the wide variety of tools.
Personally I found Photoshop much easier to use than InDesign.

15. Garage Band
Garage Band is an application created by Apple for Macintosh and iPad and is part of the iLife suite. I had
already used GarageBand before at home and back at school so was already familiar with how it worked.
We chose to used GarageBand for creating our radio trailer because of its large collection of right free
loops and tracks while also providing many professional features to the average home user. GarageBand
is an easy application to get used to.
Time line. Similar
to Final cut
Tracks. One is
the speech
while the other
is the backing
track
Allows you to add
apple right free
loops and tracks
It was simple to add our voice over it was a case of drag and drop and GarageBand automatically created a
new track.