The document discusses how new media technology aided the development, production, post-production, music, ancillary texts, distribution, and exhibition of a student film project titled "I Shot Biggie Smalls". Research online informed planning and conventions. Digital cameras and editing software streamlined filming and post-production. Free online music was used. Photoshop edited photos for promotional materials. A viral marketing campaign on Facebook and YouTube distributed the trailer. In conclusion, new media technology was integral and improved the efficiency and quality of the film project.

1. EvaluationMedia technology Development/ Pre-ProductionProductionPost Production Music Ancillary TextsDistribution/Exhibition

2. Development/Pre-Production – The proliferation of new media hugely aided my group in the planning and development stages of the ‘I Shot Biggie Smalls’ trailer. The arrival of Broadband internet connection has lead to the rise of numerous video streaming websites, such as YouTube, which allowed my group to research a plethora of comedy film trailers which influenced our film in relation to form and convention. This included researching the seminal music mockumentary ‘This Is Spinal Tap’ along with ‘Borat’ and ‘Religilous’. After collating information from their box office returns, my group realised the re-emergence of the mockumentary as an economically viable film genre in the modern mainstream (hugely popular with major studios because of the significantly low budgets and potential earning power). Wikipedia and IMBD also enabled us to analyse their film posters and a wide range of film magazines in order to identify the main codes and conventions which we would eventually implement in our campaign. Without the use of new media, our planning and research stage would have been extremely difficult and time consuming, while most likely, significantly affecting the quality of our final product.

3. Production - We used a handheld digital camcorder which made it easier for us to give the film a naturalised and authentic look and further adhere to conventions of the cinema verite and new-wave - using a smaller, handheld camera and synchronized sound to film events on location as they unfolded. The advent of HD tapeless cameras in the modern age allowed my group the ability to film a substantial amount of footage without having to worry about technological or time restraints.

4. Post Production - After filming, we uploaded our footage onto the IMAC computers using Final Cut Pro, a non-linear editing software which helped my group in logging and capturing video onto a hard drive (internal or external), where it was edited, processed, and output to a wide variety of formats. Extracting necessary clips from our original footage was extremely easy as final cut pro allowed us to organise our footage into sub clips which we placed into separate correlating folders e.g. studio folder, rival gang folder etc. The coherent and ergonomic interface allowed us easy access to all the shots that would be needed for our trailer. Another advantage Final Cut provided us with was the ability to layer sounds and images, an aspect that made the editing process much more interesting as it enabled us to layer an individual piece of sound or dialogue over a completely separate scene - integral to establishing new meaning in our film trailer through the implementation of juxtaposing sounds and images. We were able to easily manipulate sound and music, raising the sound of dialogue for important scenes while simultaneously lowering the sound of background noises or music, helping to establish a sense of continuity and clarity within our film sequence. The Livetype program, that enabled us to create animated title sequences for video projects, was a useful tool and our group were able to select an appropriate title sequence that best suited our film and easily transfer it onto the Final Cut programme. The style of typography my group used was a combination of white/red font (connotes danger) placed over a black background - allowed the intertitles to stand out effectively in a professional manner.

5. Music - Instead of making a music track on the GarageBand application, my group decided to download a copyright free instrumental album from acclaimed dubstep producer 'Silkie'. Because of the artist's decision to distribute his music for free over the internet, my group were untitled to use a number of his high quality instrumental tracks without having to pay royalties-charge. The song used in our trailer is entitled 'Turvy'. The ability to download music instantly in the digital age was an essential factor in the group's decision making process and was again easily transferred into the film sequence in Final Cut Pro - essential to enhancing the quality of our film with a professional soundtrack.

6. Ancillary Texts - For the ancillary products, my group combined two pieces of equipment, indicative of our groups use of new media technology. We used a Sony LSR camera to capture photos for our poster and magazine cover. The digital camera allowed us to capture a large amount of high quality photos including shots of the two protagonists Bluetooth and Toothpick. We then uploaded our images onto the IMACs and were able to edit in Adobe Photoshop, a graphics editing program. We could easily edit the photos in a number of ways using a monochromatic filter to emphasise light and darkness (symbolising themes of reality and fantasy, audience and cinema etc). We also edited the large buildings from the estate in the background to create a sense of looming power and ominous omnipresence further creating meaning. The Photoshop application gave my group the opportunity to easily test out new techniques in a way that helped to establish meaning. Ultimately, my group used the ‘caracole’ effect on Photoshop for both ancillary products – creating a nostalgic, blaxploitation look to both the film poster and magazine.

7. Distribution/Exhibition- Due to the advent of the digital age, my group thought it was not appropriate to adhere to distribution and exhibition techniques of the analogue age (billboard ads, radio ads etc). Instead my group focused on a Facebook and viral video campaign, involving us setting up a Facebook page to advertise and promote our film. The proliferation of Facebook means that we can advertise our film campaign to a huge global audience for free, without worrying about the constraints from the major studio in relation to our film's promotion. This displays the true phenomenon of the digital age as it has done a lot to empower the filmmaker and also the consumer as technological convergence allows owners of the Iphone to watch an 'I Shot Biggie Smalls' viral video on YouTube and then find out information about the release date of our movie and where it will be exhibited - an example of augmented reality that both independent filmmakers and major studios are utilizing to their benefit. Our group filmed a series of quick talking heads interview with members of the public talking about Bluetooth and Toothpick - demonstrating our viral marketing campaign's incorporation of the business technique astroturffing - advertising and marketing campaigns formally planned by the studio but disguised to give the impression of spontaneous word of mouth enthusiasm. Our finished film trailer was originally uploaded onto video sharing website Vimeo, where it could be viewed and downloaded.

8. CONCLUSION Over the course of the I Shot Biggie Smalls campaign, my group have come to realise the integral role new media technology plays in the various stages of production and distribution. I have also come to the conclusion that my groups use of new media technology had a positive effect on my final product and without it, the entire process would have been arduous and time consuming while having an adverse effect on the finished film.