The document discusses how media technologies have changed over time and their impact on creating films. It describes progressing from using Adobe Premier 6.5 and mini DV tapes in previous years to uploading footage straight from memory cards using Adobe Premier Pro CS5. Digital technologies have made filmmaking more accessible. Websites like YouTube and software like Ribbet, Photoshop, Premier, Blogger and digital cameras were used at various stages of research, planning, production and editing of films and print materials. Media technologies have significantly improved the quality and efficiency of filmmaking.

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

2. How have media technologies
changed over time?
Society has changed massively over time and technology and is
still changing; it has a huge impact and is a major role of
people’s lives everyday. The progress of media technology
has made it possible to make such high quality films as we
have technological convergence. Even from making our films
at GCSE and A2, you can tell how much media technologies
have progresses in that short space of time, last year we used
Adobe Premier 6.5, mini DV tapes to upload our footage on to
the editing software. However this year we uploaded our
footage straight from a memory card and used Adobe
Premier Pro CS5. This saved us a lot of time and made the
quality of our film a lot better. Digital technology has made it
accessible and easier for us to make films and CS6 is out now.
You can clearly see the extent of how media technology is
progressing everyday.

3. Websites such as YouTube and Comingsoon.net played a huge role into our
research and planning. From these websites we were able to access
every teaser trailer that has ever been made. ‘The Roommate’ was the
trailer that we had a huge focus on and repeatedly watched it go develop
ideas on how we can take the structure of the storyline but make it
original. Google and Wikipedia also played a huge role in our magazine
and poster research and planning as we were able to identify the links
between the teaser trailer and the print work and take notes of what we
had to do for our work. We also used these websites for our planning and
research. Such as: the sub genres of a thriller, a typical thriller poster,
cover etc.
The Internet

4. We used Ribbet for our production of our magazine and poster
covers. Using Ribbet enabled us to change the effects of the
picture to make it more effective such as ‘auto boost’ and
‘sharpen’. On Ribbet, we were enabled to add text to our
pictures and change around the font, where we got our
“twisted” title from.
Ribbet

5. Slide share
Slide share enabled us to upload our power points on to blogger, instead of
writing on a word document we thought by using different media
technologies would be a better way to show our research and planning
stages. Also on slide share, we are able to upload pictures with our text to
highlight our examples. Also, signing up for slide share was easy as only
one of us had to sign up for it, and we could then copy the links and then
imbed this on each others blog which saved us a lot of time.

6. Adobe Photoshop CS5
Adobe Photoshop CS5 was the program that enabled us to make all of
our print work. On this website, we were able to cut out the images and
paste it in layers, by following the forms and conventions of an Empire
magazine cover and placing the image on top of the magazine mast
head. We also had to paste on blocks of colour for our banner at the
bottom of our cover, to do this we had to make a background block
cover of red and then white. We also uploaded a blank pug and the
scanner code to buy the magazine. For the text, we went back and forth
between Photoshop and Ribbet. We had some issues with our poster
as we couldn’t cut out the imagine and past out the background, in
order to edit both as it didn’t look real; therefore we had to edit the
whole image together, however the poster turned out well.

7. Adobe Premier
Adobe Premier was the software that made it possible for us to edit our
films. On this program we were able to take our footage and turn it into a
thriller teaser trailer. We were also able to follow the typical forms and
conventions by cutting all of our shots down a lot shorter, adding voice
edits such as echo’s and screams. We also used a lot of white and black
‘fade in’ and ‘fade outs’ which made the shots look like they were flashing
on the screen, what a typical thriller teaser would have. We also added a
black and white effect to one of the shots of Amy to emphasize the past
and that it cannot be changed and something dangerous is about to
happen. Adobe Premier also made it possible for us to add music on to
our trailer; for our trailer, the music completely transformed it. This gave
the trailer a real thriller feel and a build up of suspense as the trailer goes
on. When watching the trailer, you automatically want to see what
happens next which we wanted our audience to feel as well.

8. Black and White effect
This is an example of the Black and White shot that we used, the
shot says “I’ll be your new friend”, after the shot the word ‘friend’
repeats afterwards. This emphasizes how this is a shot from the
past and it cannot be changed. Suspense also builds from this shot
which distinguishes our teaser trailer as a thriller and as we can tell
something is about to happen.

9. Fade in white
This is another example of our white-dip ‘fade in’, this gives the
shot a flash effect, which is important for a teaser trailer as the
shots cant be too long as too much of the story would be given
away. This made a huge impact on the trailer as it gave it a real
thriller feel. However, we did have some trouble adding these
transitions to some shots where they were so short, however we
had to lengthen them on the time line and then add them on.

10. Slow motion
This was another important shot within our trailer. Adobe
Premier made is possible for us to slow this shot up. This shot
is important in the trailer because the character Amy copies
Rhiannah on what she is getting to eat in the café, the
emphasis on the shot creates suspense and starts to build
dramatic irony for the audience.

11. Sound effects
We had some problems at the end of the trailer, as we fastened
the shot up of Amy grabbing me and holding a knife up to my
throat, however the scream was more humorous than dramatic,
therefore we had to take out the scream from myself and
important a scream that we had on another disk we had and put
this on to the shot. This made the trailer a lot better and more of a
thriller.

12. Blogger
Blogger has enabled us to keep track of any research and planning we have
had and to put it on our blogs. For example at the start of the year, we
done a lot of research to what actually is a thriller, thriller genres, the
forms and conventions of a thriller, analysis of thriller teaser trailers, a
campaign on the links between the teaser trailer, magazine cover and
poster, the rule of thirds on a magazine cover etc and all of our ideas on
our initial idea of our teaser trailer. Blogger reflects the journey that we
have all been through and what it has taken for us to produce our teaser
trailer and print work that we’ve got. Blogger also enabled us to use links
to websites and clips from you tube on the blog which has been very
beneficial to us as everything we have put on has been in order and we
can clearly see in just a click of a button away our development stages.

13. Filming
Media technologies such as the digital cameras have made it possible for us to
have such high quality footage. The digital cameras have made it easy to film
as they are small and easy to carry around. Because we picked up a lot of
filming skills from GCSE and AS from the camera and tripod and had an idea of
what type of shots were needed for the trailer. However, what we did do was
experiment on many more shorts such as: canted angles, high angles shots
etc. The cameras are also stored with memory cards which we used to transfer
our data which can be put straight in the computer to upload footage. We also
had tripods that enabled all of the shots to stay still and steady which benefited
the quality of our film.

14. Editing
To edit our film, these are the computers that we used within the Media
Department. The program that we used to edit our work was Adobe
Premier; this was already installed on the system which we then used to
develop our film. Media technology such as the computer, speakers and
the memory card holder helped us as a group to essentially make our
film in a professional way. Like the filming, it was hard to get used the
technology and all of the effects that we can add on, however we got
used to the technology the longer we was doing the project and
developed a lot of skills. We wouldn’t of been able to make our media
products if it wasn’t down to the media technologies that exist today.