The document discusses the various media technologies used by the author at different stages of their project. This includes using Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro for video editing, Microsoft Word for writing blog posts and research, PowerPoint for presenting research findings, SurveyMonkey for creating online surveys, Photoshop for designing marketing materials, YouTube for uploading and researching videos, and a Nikon camera for high-quality video recording. The author drew on skills from their AS year and explored new features of the software to improve the professionalism of their work. A PC with dual monitors and a MacBook were used for different tasks, while memory sticks and SD cards helped store and transfer files.

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

2.  I used premiere pro for the first time during the production of my music video so I
had to learn to use a whole new software. This is because I have previously used
final cut (another popular editing software available on Mac’s) so I decided to try
and learn a new skill. I found it challenging at first but after a tutorial I was able
to use the transitions such as ‘film dissolve’ instead of just a standard cut. This
made my music video look more professional. Equally I learnt how to manipulate
the colour of the shots individually making some black and white and others
bright and highly contrasted, this is a convention of music videos to have different
colours. I also learnt to adapt the speed of a clip by altering the duration it is
dispayed for and was also able to reverse clips this way. I could change the frame
sizes too so all my clips were the same size to create continuity.

3.  I used Microsoft word to type up my blog posts first and check spelling. I also used
it to display my research and make tables on. It is a software I have used before so
I was very familiar with all the features it offers.

4.  I used power points to show my research and upload the slideshows onto my blog
using slide share. I explored all the different templates to choose ones that fitted
in with my blogs style and create a theme for my blog. I was also able to create
tables to show my survey results and write about my findings on my slide show
about my research and results. This was helpful as it allows me to show the
contrast and similarities of the survey answers. Power point was also useful when
conducting analysis’s as I could use the shapes tool to draw and demonstrate what
I was writing about and where it was in relation to the products.

5.  Prezzi was useful when I needed to display my research in more stylish and
engaging ways. I have used prezzi in my AS year so I learnt how to use the
software then and was able to carry the skills over into my A2 year. I explored
more themes and ways to display my work on the software this year though, using
the shapes tool and by making parts smaller or larger, and creating my own
templates.

6.  I was able to upload my slideshows onto slideshare to post them onto my blogs
using this online software. I had to create an account to be able to use it which I
did through Linkdon. Once logged on I had to upload my slideshow from my user
area and write a few descriptive words about it before I could publish it onto the
site. I then copied and pasted the link to embed it onto my blog page.

7.  I used survey monkey to write up two questionnaires, one on data that would be
quantitive and one on data that would be qualitive. The software allowed me to
log on with my account I created in the As year and produce two questionnaires
that were online for anyone to answer. I could also email the questionnaires to
peers and target audience. They could email me back their responses so I could
produce my graphs and tables.

8.  Blogger is a site I used in the As year and I used it again this year to post all of my
work onto. I was able to alter my dashboard and create a personal touch as I
learnt how to change my blogs style last year, making sure titles were readable
and nothing overlapped was important. I was also able to transfer my skills I had
learnt from last year to upload things onto my blog such as photos, videos and
prezzis or slideshares.

9.  I used YouTube more this year than last year as I had to learn to upload a 5
minute long music video as well as the focus group videos and test shots in order
for me to then be able to upload them from YouTube onto my blog. Another way I
used YouTube this year was to conduct research into existing music videos and
music products to get the information I needed to understand how to produce on
for myself.

10.  I used Photoshop in my AS year so this year I knew what features I would need to
use and could make a product much better than I could’ve last year. I used the
software to produce a Digipak and a magazine advert to advertise the music video
and digipak. I produced two draft versions which I then went back and made
improvements to. I learnt of the conventions through my initial research and
followed them when making my products so that they would be recognisable to my
target audience. In Photoshop I used the shapes tool which I hadn’t used last year,
along with the filter tools and blurring tool. This made my products look much
more professional and more like a real product that would be consumed.

11.  I used computers to conduct my work on, however a majority of the time I have
been using a PC with two monitors in order to have multiple windows open while I
edit my music video and write up my work on my blog. Other times I have used
my MacBook or a Mac to produce my power points and research evidence as I am
able to work anywhere on my laptop and I’m not limited to only working in college
times. The PC was essential so I could use the editing software but I used my
MacBook for Photoshop as I personally find the software is easier to use with a
touchpad appose to a mouse.

12.  A memory stick was important so I was able to save my work and have a backup,
as well as transferring my work from one computer to another and being able to
open up my files at different sites. This enabled me to work at home and at
college. I used an SD card to save the footage I had recorded from my camera and
upload it onto a PC using a card reader or straight onto my MacBook and save the
files to be used in my music video and ancillary texts.

13.  I used a Nikon camera which is one I am familiar with, it allowed me to zoom and
record large amounts of footage. This is something that I would be unable to do if I
was recording on a mobile phone as phones do not zoom the simply crop the image
to make it appear larger, and they have limited storage. My camera was equally
very reliable and didn't’t go flat which a phone might have done, and the image
quality is much better.