The document discusses what the author has learned about technologies from constructing a media studies project. For the preliminary task, the author used the internet for research, Blogger for planning, a video camera for filming, and Final Cut Express and Prezi for editing and evaluation. For the main task, the author's skills improved in using Blogger, Final Cut Express, Prezi, SlideShare, YouTube, and Final Cut Pro. The author also learned how to record an acoustic soundtrack, convert videos, and burn the finished product to a disc. Overall, the author felt their final product was much better than the preliminary task due to improvements in technology skills and other areas like research, planning, narrative, and adding soundtracks.

1. AS Media Studies,
Evaluation Questions 6 & 7
Maisie Hesketh

2. 6. What have you learnt about
technologies from the process of
constructing this product?

3. 7. Looking back at your
preliminary task, what do you feel
you have learnt in the progression
from it to the full product?

4. Preliminary Task

5. During the process of constructing this
product I feel that I have learned a lot about
technologies and that the level of my skills has
increased greatly.

6. Whilst planning, creating and evaluating our
Preliminary Task we used the Internet for
research, Blogger for the planning, a standard
Video Camera for filming the product, Final
Cut Express- in its simplest form- for the
editing and creation of the product, and Prezi
for the evaluation.

7. Main Task

8. Although many of the technologies that I used in
my Main Task are the same as those I used for
the Preliminary Task, I feel that in each of the
areas my skills have improved a lot;
particularly Blogger, Final Cut Express and
Prezi! I have also used new technologies such
as SlideShare, YouTube, Final Cut Pro and
XtraNormal.

9. www.blogger.com
I put a lot more posts on to my blog and added
more detail to each of these, and tried to make
it more interesting by using links and quotes,
and embedding YouTube videos, Slideshare
presentations,Powerpointpresentations, Prezi
presentations, photographs and images.

10. Final Cut
I think that my skills developed greatly in all
aspects of Final Cut Express. When editing our
second draft we also imported it into Final Cut
Pro and used this more advanced program to
edit our video; it was hard work learning to
use the confusing technologies at the last
minute but I really think it paid off!

11. Prezi
My Prezi is also a lot more advanced than in my
Preliminary Task as it now also includes links,
images and embedded videos to make it more
interesting for the viewer. I also looked at
different ways of making my Prezi flow, but I
thought that these looked too busy and
confusing, and distracted from the
information being shown so decided to stick
to a simple looking presentation!

12. Also, we watched and analysed past films of the
genre, showed our film to an audience and
collected feedback in addition to the Internet
for our research. In addition to this, we made
sure that we used a HD Video Camera for all of
our filming in order for it to be the best
possible quality, lighting and sound for our
product.

13. Moreover, (with the help of a friend) adapted
our chosen song and used an electric
keyboard to record the accoustic soundtrack
for the latter half of our opening
sequence, which we then had to adapt the
track in order to upload it to Final Cut Express-
and later, Final Cut Pro.

14. Additionally, we learned how to convert the
video on the Mac in order to upload it to
YouTube, and how to burn our production on
to a disk from the Mac to show it to our
audience on the big screens.

15. Finally, I think that our overall product was
much, much, better than our Preliminary Task.
Not only because of all the improvements in
the use of technology, but for multiple other
reasons…

16. We researched our genre and target audience
more, planned our product in more thorough
detail, and made our narrative and storyline
more interesting to grasp the attention of the
audience more effectively.

17. As well as this, we added a soundtrack and
sound effects to our product to create
atmosphere and set a mood for the film and
also to create more interest for the audience.

18. I think that each of the targets and aims we
made and areas which we had planned to
improve on were successful and I am happy
with our final product. 