The student used various media technologies throughout the construction, research, planning and evaluation of their three tasks. They created a WordPress blog to display their work and allow for easy editing and tracking of progress. WordPress allowed them to embed videos, pictures and documents from sources like SlideShare. They conducted audience research using sites like SurveyMonkey, Twitter and Facebook and recorded responses using their smartphone. YouTube provided inspiration and tutorials to improve their filming skills using a Canon 550D camera. Adobe Premiere Pro was used to edit video with support from Photoshop for still images. InDesign helped design the final digipak across multiple pages.

1. How did you use media technologies in the construction and research,
planning and evaluation stages?
To make sure my three tasks were completed on time, and were of the highest standard,
fitting into the genre that I was aiming for, making sure I used technology correctly was
extremely important. Firstly, at the start of the year I created my blog, using Wordpress,
which is an online blogging website, I had used a blog for my AS studies and therefore it
didn’t take long for me to learn how to use the site. I found it very easy to edit posts and
track my progress making sure all of my work was in on time. The blog displays all of my
work, including my planning, construction, research, audience feedback and evaluations.
Using Wordpress for my A2 coursework allowed me to go back to my past work and
make sure that my coursework was meeting the guidelines set. Wordpress was also very
useful as I could embed pictures, videos, PowerPoints and Emazes to show where I was
getting my ideas and inspiration from. Another online resource I used commonly was
SlideShare which allowed me to upload word documents and display them on my blog.
This meant I could embed all my planning documents and my pre-production
documents directly to my blog. I also used Wordpress like a diary, constantly uploading
diary like entry’s sharing where I was at my stage of production. This was useful, as I
could see my progress, and it was a constant reminder of what I still needed to finish or
complete. Additionally, I used software such as Prezi and Emaze, which are software
specifically designed for presentations. It allowed my work to look more interactive, as
the different slides move around the page and you are able to embed videos and voice
clips into the PowerPoint.
Audience research was also big part of the coursework and I used various different
technology when creating these. I used various different platforms when producing these
research and feedback, using sites such as SurveyMonkey.com, Twitter and Facebook. I
also used my IPhone to help me with my research, I used my phone to record responses
from peers about my music video. Because my phone is a smartphone it was easy to use
Apps to easily upload to Wordpress and YouTube. Additionally, YouTube was extremely
helpful in the research phases, I watch many videos on YouTube, trying to develop an
understanding of what is typical of each genre.
When filming and photographing I used the Canon 550D. I experimented with the
different settings on the camera and often used YouTube tutorials to see ways I could
improve things such as the aperture and focus on my lenses I used. I also found out more

2. about the ISO settings of the camera by asking one of my teachers to show me and tell
me more about it. The Canon 550D is really great for filming and photography as the 1.8
Aperture Lens creates an extremely professional and realistic look for my shots and
footage. For my digipak covers I used a manual setting on my camera, with LED lights
against black and white backdrops. For nearly all of my shots a tripod was also used
which made my shots sharp and not shaky, however, when I did move the camera, I
found that the footage was shaky, to correct his I used YouTube tutorials to find out
more about the Warp Stabiliser tool which was effective in creating a better look for the
footage, which meant I didn’t have to completely reshoot.
When editing my music video I used Adobe Premiere Pro CC, it is a timeline-based video
editing software application and supports many video editing cards and plug-ins for
accelerated processing, additional file format support, and video/audio effects. Premiere
Pro also incorporates with Adobe Photoshop which was one of the pieces of software I
decided to use when editing my photography for my digipak and magazine advert.
Photoshop files can be opened directly from Premiere Pro to be edited in Photoshop. Any
changes will immediately be updated when the Photoshop file is saved and focus returns
to Premiere Pro. I also used Adobe InDesign to create the final digipak as this allowed
me to add bleed lines and build multiple art boards for the work, allowing me to see
visually how the design would look all together.