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

1. Evaluation Question 4: How did
you use media technologies in
the construction and research,
planning and evaluation stages?
By Alex Hunt

2. Introduction
• Me, Alfie and Will used several media technologies in order to
construct our media product. If we weren’t to have used some of the
media technologies which we used, our media product wouldn’t have
been as successful as it was. Some of the media technologies which
we had used were new to me and had meant that I had gained more
experience using different media technologies. In addition to this, I
have already used some of the media technologies which we had
used before which had allowed me to have an understanding of the
software I was using.

3. Google
• I had used the search engine, Google, in order to research existing
media products to help us with the creation of our own media
products. It was crucial for us to research existing media products as
otherwise, the media products which we were creating may not have
fit in with the genre of music we were aiming to merge in to. Google
was a reliable media technology and was necessary to use in order to
research the information which we needed to know in order to
ensure that our media product had fit in to the genre which we were
aiming to merge in to.

5. Blogger
• Blogger helped with the construction and research stages of our media product
as we were able to store all of our research on to our blogs in order to show the
progressions which we have made. If we didn't use Blogger to store the research
and information which we had found, then the research and construction stage
would've been harder to complete as we may have struggled to find the
information that we had found from the lesson before. I had already had
experience using Blogger in order to store all of my existing work on there from
AS Level Media Studies which allowed meet be more familiar with the
technologies I was using. However, as I was using Blogger, it had meant that I had
to link a google account to the Blogger in order to prevent losing my work and
being able to log on to my Blogger account whenever I wanted to. Blogger
allowed me to store my completed work on the website which can be viewed by
anyone who visits my Blogger page. However, I was able to save unfinished work
as a draft which allowed me to edit it without anyone being able to see my
unfinished work.

7. Final Cut Pro X and iMovie
• In order to create the final media product, we had to use software which would
allow us to do this. We were able to experiment with two different software’s to
see which one suited us best. The first draft music video was iMovie which was
created on my MacBook. This had allowed me to be able to edit the video
whenever I wished to as I could use my laptop. However, the other draft music
videos were attempted on software called Final Cut Pro X which was the same
layout as iMovie, but we wouldn't be able to edit the video when we wished as it
was on the school iMac's. I personally preferred using the iMovie software as I
had gained experience using it after making several draft music videos on my ow
laptop but my other two group members preferred Final Cut Pro X. Originally, we
were all going to make our own music videos as we had different interpretations
to how we wanted to video to look but instead, we all contributed for the final
media product and had made separate drafts where we would be able to use our
own creative minds in order to link the song with the actions of the band
members. There were advantages being able to work off my MacBook which is
why we had chosen to use the software, iMovie over Final Cut Pro X.

9. YouTube
• Another media technology which we had used was YouTube. In order for us
to make a successful music video within the genre of music that we have
collectively chosen, YouTube had allowed us to do this as we were able to
research existing media products in order forms to get inspiration on the
genre which we are making our media product on. We were able to watch
the original music video for the song which we had chosen to make a new
music video for which was Jamie T - Sticks 'n' Stones. If we didn't use
YouTube in order to research the genre, we may have made a music video
which didn't fit in with he genre that we wanted to create. This could've led
to an audience not being satisfied with the product we had created.
YouTube also allowed us to store the media products which we had made
on to a safe area where they can be viewed by the public but also doesn't
risk being deleted.

11. iTunes
• iTunes was a media technology which we had used when purchasing
the official Sticks ‘n’ Stones song in order for the song to be placed in
the iMovie software for us to be able to make the lip synching fit in
with the lyrics of the song. Purchasing the song had made it easier
than using an MP3 converter which could’ve allowed us to put the
song in to the iMovie software for free, we didn’t want to risk there
being any problems with lyrics or any intro noise which may be
included within the official music video. Purchasing the song helped
with the post production editing as we are able to link the
background noise of the song which helped us perform good lip
synching when recording the artists singing in the filming locations
which we had chosen.

13. Nikon D7000 (The Camera)
• The camera which we used to record the music video was a Nikon
D7000. This had allowed us to take better quality videos making our
music video high quality. On top of that, the lens was a Nikkor 55200
which allowed us to focus in and out on certain features within the
shots. This had allowed the audience to know what the focus was for
that particular shot. We also tried using a tripod which was with the
camera, but it made the shots too still making certain shots look
boring and uninteresting compared to when we filmed without the
tripod. Due to the camera being good quality, it had made it easier for
us when coming to post production as we didn’t have to alter the
lighting of the shots as the camera self-adjusted depending on factors
which may have affected the outcome of certain shots.

15. Adobe Photoshop
• I used Adobe Photoshop when creating the ancillary texts such as the
digipak and the advert for when our digipak will be released. Photoshop
allowed us to edit our media products as well using the templates from the
internet in order to create our digipak. Photoshop was important to me as
otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to create the media products which I
needed to and therefore wouldn’t have been able to complete the
coursework. In order to make the digipak, I used a website which gave me
a template to use when designing the aesthetics of my digipak. As I had
already researched all the information which I needed to know, I was able
to create/attempt digipak drafts in order to then be able to receive
feedback on how I am able to improve it to help it to fit in with the genre
we had chosen to focus our media products on, Indie.

17. Twitter
• Me, Alfie and Will had made a band twitter page for our fans to be
able to keep updated with the band making the fans appear as closer
to the band members. We aimed to keep the twitter page as updated
as possible. As I was already experienced with this media technology,
it allowed our twitter page to have no problems as we knew what we
were doing. The benefits of using Twitter was that it allowed the team
to have connectivity with our fans. With us using Twitter, we followed
conventions as the majority of bands use social media platforms such
as Twitter in order to be able to keep the fans updated with band and
what they are getting up to such as dates of tours, gigs and possible
meeting points of the band.

19. Conclusion
• Using several media technologies allowed the construction and
research stages easier as we were able to use the media technologies
listed in order to find out information about existing bands within the
Indie Genre. If we weren't to have used the media technologies listed
to research and construct our media product, our media product may
not have followed conventions and our audience may not have been
as big as there may only have been a smaller number of people who
appreciated our media product. However, for the planning and
evaluation stages, the media technologies used helped us as we were
able to use media technologies such as Blogger to hold our work and
to be able to edit it until it is ready to be published on to our blog for
anyone to be able to view our work.