Laura used various media technologies throughout the research, planning, construction, and evaluation stages of her music video project. For research, she used the internet (YouTube, Spotify) to analyze trends in the acoustic pop genre and gather demographic data on the target artist and audience. She filmed interviews with Canon XA10 camera and edited them with Movie Studio Platinum. For construction of the video, Laura used the Canon XA10 camera with tripod and some handheld shots. She downloaded the song from YouTube and edited the video together with transitions, filters, and slow motion effects in Movie Studio Platinum. For ancillary tasks like the album cover and poster, Laura took photos on her phone and

1. Evaluation 4
How did you use media technologies in the
construction and research, planning and
evaluation stages?
By Laura Fussey

2. Research and
Planning

3. Internet
We used the internet throughout the generic and target
audience research. The internet helped us to clearly
establish the generic conventions throughout the acoustic
pop genre. We did this by researching different and
observing different music videos on YouTube to fine and
correlations or patens within the video. We would then
develop these into the main conventions.
I also used the internet throughout the secondary research.
YouTube was also used her to establish whether the artist is
mainstream or niche. Due to the high number of views on
his songs this told us he is mainstream. In addition to
YouTube we also used Spotify to help establish this due to
our research into him braking Spotify records with his new
album. We used websites such as You Gov to establish the
audiences demographics. This was very useful as it gave us
a clear idea about who our target audience will be.

4. Camera
We used a Canon XA10 on a tripod to film both our target
audience interviews and the pitch. We already had practise with
this camera from last year, therefore it didn’t take us long to set
it up. We thought that the use of a camera would be a creative
way of showing some of our research so that it wasn’t all
written work. Our used a shots didn’t vary throughout the target
audience interviews this was because there was no need to
change them as it was formal and we wanted to present not
entertain. We kept the angel still and at a mid show so that you
could see the persons face and upper body. The only time we
changed the shot was to zoom in our out to get all of the
interviewees into the shot.
We also used a boom with a microphone to record the sound
within our interviews so that they would be good quality and
clear to understand. Like the camera we had already practised
with this before so we had a good knowledge of how it worked
and her to plug it into the camera.
In addition to filming, we also used the camera to take still
pictures of us during our class feedback on both our video ideas
and ancillary feedback. Most of these were long shots from a
high angle as it allowed us to capture the whole class and also
what we were looking at.

5. Movie Studio Platinum
We used Movie Studio Platinum within our
research and planning to edit our target audience
interviews so that they flowed from question to
question smoothly. Due the extent of practise that
I had already had last year with this software we
found this very easy to grab snippets from each
video to make our interview look professional.
We also used the software to edit out any parts of
the interview which wondered off topic or that
would be unprofessional to show.
I also used Movie Studio Platinum to edit our
pitch. There wasn’t much to edit but it allowed us
to cut out any exec footage from the start and
beginning. We also used the editing software to
add in a title to the video which made it clear
what the video was about to anyone watching it.

6. Word and PowerPoint
I am very comfortable with using both Word and
PowerPoint due to using it widely last year and
through the rest pf my media studies. We used
Word to display most of our preparation for our
filming, this included the shot list and shooting
schedule. We chose to use this because it was clear
and easy to understand and it also allowed us to
print them off easily so that we could take them to
all of the different locations when we were
filming.
We also used PowerPoint to show both the editing
and filming updates of our video and ancillary
tasks. This was effective as it allowed me to talk
about each stage of the editing and filming clearly
on each slide so that it was easy to follow and
understand.

7. Phones and Emails
We used our phones and emails to
communicate between each of us in the
group. This allowed us to easily contact each
other so that we knew who could be doing
what task, this allowed us to not overlap each
other to make the planning and production as
efficient as possible.
Furthermore, we used our emails to send each
other our work or any embed codes that we
would need to upload things onto our blog,
this was useful as it allowed us to all have the
work on each of our computers.

8. Construction –
Video

9. Camera
Throughout our filming we used Canon XA10 because it would
provide us the best quality and also had the longest battery life
which we felt was most appropriate as we would be traveling
around a lot and not have the access to a plug to charge. Using
the same camera as previously in the project really benefited us
as we already knew how to set it up, therefore we didn’t waste
any time. Throughout the majority of our video we used a tripod
to get steady shots of the artist performing and the general action
of the video, such as on the beach and during crazy golf.
Furthermore, we used a few handheld shots such as at the start of
the video when it showed the pictures on the window, I felt like
this created a more visually interesting image. It also helped to
express the feelings and emotions of the characters as they were
from their viewpoint.
We had also originally planed to film a tracking shot of the ex
couple walking away from each other with the use of a dolly.
However, when it came to filing this the surface was not even,
therefore the footage wasn’t steady meaning that the quality was
very poor so we chose to change this to panning shots on the
tripod. I was disappointed that we were not able to get the shot
we intended however I feel like the new shot still worked
effectively.

10. Music Downloader
In order to acquire the song so that we could
use it to edit with and make our final music
video we needed to download the song from
YouTube. I used OnlineVideoConverter to
change the song into an MP3. This was the
most efficient way that I would have the
song and also edit it as well.

11. Movie Studio Platinum
We used Movie Studio Platinum to edit our footage into a full music video.
Our choice to use movie studio platinum was a good decision because we
already have lots of practise with the software due to us using it last year
when making our film openings. I was very confident with using the software
as I already knew how to edit, import media and add special effects. This was
helpful because it meant that we could start straight away at editing and not
have to waste time learning how the software works. We sued the software to
insert lots of transitions, such as fades. This was very easy to do and I feel
like it helped the video to flow better and also made it run better to the pacing
of the song. We chose not to use an text throughout our video as we didn’t
feel like it added anything to the video and was unnecessary.
Some of the problems that we faced during editing was the some of our shots
were slightly too shot for the time slot that we wanted, therefore we used the
program to slow down the shots so that they would. However, on reflection I
feel like this was a very good decision as it connotes some of the main
themes within the genre and also fitted very well with the pacing of the song.
Regarding the pacing I feel like we successfully created a video which flows
well with the song with the use of our slow motion and a mixture of long a
short shots which we matched to the beat.
Within the software we were able to insert filters over our footage to show
the different between flashbacks and reality. This was very simple to do as
we only wanted to use a black and white filter. I feel like these were effective
and clearly established the difference between scenes. Most of the transitions
that we were fades and straight cuts. This was because it fitted well with the
pacing of the song and expressed the themes well.

12. YouTube
We used YouTube to find the song for our music
video as we felt like this would provide us with the
best quality and also the whole song.
Furthermore, we also used YouTube to upload our
final video onto my YouTube channel. We chose to
do this as it would allow both us and anyone else
to watch and access the video easily and at a high
and fast quality.

13. Construction –
Ancillaries

14. Phone/ Camera
To take the pictures for both the album and poster I
used my phone, the Google Pixel. We chose to used
a phone instead of a still camera because to was
easily accessible, meaning that the photos could
have been taken at any point. The camera also has a
high quality, therefore the photos were still just as
clear as they would have been had they been taken
on a stills camera.
In addition, it was also easy for me and my group to
access the pictures as my phone uploaded them
straight to google photos. This meant that we didn’t
have to take time emailing them or transferring
them through memory cards, which would have
taken time away from our editing.

15. Photoshop
To make our ancillary tasks we used Photoshop as it allowed us to edit our
photos of the artist to create a poster and album. I was not very confident
when using Photoshop as we didn’t really use it last year when making our
film opening. This meant that it took both me and my group a while to
practise and become comfortable when using the software. This meant that
a few of our early drafts were poorly edited and didn’t look professional.
We used air brush to improve the quality of the main image by removing
spots and blemishes. I was fairly new to this so it look me some time to
effectively bled the changes to they looked natural. I also cropped the main
image so that the artist was more central and fitted the album template well
without the picture looking squashed or out of place. When using the
software we used filters to enhance the main images, for example,
developed a red and black filter with an old effect over it. I feel like this
made the album more interesting and gave it a unique selling point. I found
this very difficult and it took several attempts as it was hard to fir the
picture in the space without having to cut of some of the artist. We also
used Photoshop to add text and titles to our poster and album. Our choice to
add inner and our glows make the text stand out more and after we had
learned how to duplicate the layer it allowed is to have a consistent font.
We tested out many different arrangements for both our digipak and poster
to get the best combination so that it was all evenly distributed and in the
correct place so that it conventionally met the genre. I found this quite
difficult as it meant that I had to re arrange lots of layers and alter the scale
of most elements.

16. Evaluation

17. Prezi
For evaluation 1 I chose to use Prezi to present
and display my evaluation. I thought that this
would be the post effective way of showing a
lard peace of date as it is very flexible and easy
to use. Furthermore, I have had lots of practice
in using this software throughout this year and
last year, therefore it was a quick and efficient
way to present my evaluation.
By using Prezi it allowed me to insert lots of
music videos for examples to further back up
my point and also images. This made my
evaluation clear and very easy to understand and
follow.

18. PowerPoint and Word
As mentioned earlier I am very familiar with
PowerPoint therefore I felt like it would be the
best software to use for evaluation 4. This was
because I was clearly able to split up each stage
and hardware or software up, meaning I could
talk about each section separately and clearly.
For the Evaluation 3 I used Word because this
evaluation was mainly essay based therefore I felt
like it would be the best piece of software to
display this. I am also very confident with this
from using it previously in the project.

19. MP3 Recorder and Movie Studio Platinum
I chose to make a video for my evaluation 2 as I
thought it would be creative and visually
interesting. This meant that I needed to use an
MP3 recorder (Roland R-O5) to record my
evaluation essay. I was quite familiar with this
piece of technology as I used it a large amount
last year. Therefor it didn’t take me long to
record my voice.
I then transferred my recording to Movie Studio
Platinum where I was able to add in snippets
from my video and screenshots to illustrate
what I was talking about. I was able to do this
very easily due to my practice of editing my
music video. Overall I was very happy with my
finished evaluation as it clearly explained my
points and was visually interesting to watch.

20. Conclusion
Over the course of my A2 media project I feel like I have significantly developed my media
understand and skills when using different hardware's and software's. this is especially
prominent with Photoshop as I was very unsure about the software be begin with, however I
feel like I have successfully developed those skills throughout the year, which can be seen
through my finished digipak and poster. In addition I feel like I have also well developed
existing skills such as my use of movie studio platinum, I am very comfortable when using
this and now know how to add in slow motion and change the opacity, which I didn’t do
within AS.