This is my answer to the fourth evaluation question for my A Level Media coursework

1. Howdidyouusemediatechnologiesin
theconstructionandresearch,planning
andevaluationstages?
Evaluation – Question 4

2. Tumblr
 Tumblr is the website I used to create my blog for my AS work so it
made sense to carry it on this year. It is simple to use, with plenty
of features.
 I could easily embed other multimedia such asYouTube videos and
presentations to create a sleek look and make it easy to access my
other pieces of work
 I could also customise my website page itself so that it looks
professional and visually appealing.The posts stand out and are
colourful while also being easy to read and access.
 The hashtag system means that I can easily categorise my
different pieces of work to make them easy to find

3. Research and Planning

4. YouTube
 YouTube was a really helpful website during my research because
it gave me access to multiple music videos from other rock artists
so I could analyse them and take inspiration from them
 It was a great way to find out how to use new technologies and
specific features in software such as Premiere Pro so I could learn
from online tutorials
 I uploaded many videos that were part of my planning such as
focus groups and an animatic and was easily able to embed them
into my blog
 YouTube is also the website I chose to upload my final music video
onto and the platform that my audience will view it on

5. Wikipedia
 AlthoughWikipedia can be an unreliable source of information, it
was a really useful tool for finding out information about the band
I chose to use for my music video,The Kinks.
 As the song Lola was released in 1970 I found it really difficult to
find information about it, especially the original label and license
 Wikipedia allowed me to find out more specific information about
this so it was an invaluable part of my research

6. Slideshare
 Slideshare is a website run by LinkedIn which allowed me to
upload documents such as PowerPoints so I could embed or link
them from my blog
 This was really useful because I liked using different platforms to
present my work but while still being able to have it all accessible
from one place
 I found it very convenient and fairly easy to use and was a great
means to upload a variety content

7. SurveyMonkey
 SurveyMonkey is an excellent website that allows you to create
personalised surveys, send them to people and analyse the results
in a concise and clear way
 I used this as part of my target audience research and it allowed
me to find out lots more about my audience so I could adapt my
ideas for my music video to best suit them
 The results were then turned into graphs for me so I could easily
view and assess the results
 It was really user-friendly and easy to use

8. Production

9. DSLRCamera
 For the production of my music video I used a Nikon D3300. I had
had some experience with digital cameras so I was able to use it
relatively easily
 It allowed us to capture great quality video to make a professional
looking music video
 It also had both automatic and manual focus modes which allowed
us to be very specific for some shots
 A problem we had to overcoming was zooming as we found it very
difficult to make the shot look smooth
 We also used a 35mm lens for some of the extreme close up shots
which gave them a very shallow depth of field and close point of
focus so we could really emphasise what was in shot and create
more variety in the video

10. Adobe
Premiere Pro
 I was really fortunate to be able to use Premiere Pro to edit my
music video as it is very sophisticated and has lots of features
 I used it for my AS work so I am very familiar with it, however I still
learnt lots of new skills this year, such as slowing down the frame
rate and increasing the speed to create a time-lapse effect
 It is very easy to use once you get the hang of it and means I could
quickly create seamless cuts and transitions
 Importing footage and editing specific clips was very easy using
the timeline
 We had to render the entire workspace quite frequently because
otherwise it could lag, however editing and exporting was still an
enjoyable and straightforward experience

11. After Effects
 Another editing software I used was Adobe After Effects
 I needed to use this for certain shots that were a bit shaky and
needed to be stabilised
 Using the ’Warp Stabiliser’ tool made the videos incredibly
smooth and made them look a lot more professional
 It was very easy to use, sometimes it did take a long time to
stabilise the entire shot but the difference it made was worth it

12. Adobe
Photoshop
 I have had quite a lot of experience with Photoshop while studying
Media Studies so I am familiar with how to use many of the
features. However, it is still a very long process and can be really
difficult at times.
 I used Photoshop to create my poster/advert and digipak. It is an
industry standard piece of software so it has loads of great tools
and effects which means I could be really creative.
 I discovered many new effects and filters while using Photoshop
Elements such as the blur and glow tools.

13. DaFont.com
 DaFont is really helpful website that allows access to hundreds of
free fonts.They are really creative and different from the ones
that are available on programmes likeWord or Photoshop.
 I like how it is separated into really specific categories which
meant I could find a font forThe Kinks that perfectly represented
the rock genre and 60s/70s time period

14. Evaluation

15. Prezi
 Prezi is a really good programme for making really creative,
interesting and visually pleasing presentations. It is more difficult
to use than other programmes such as PowerPoint but it is much
more customisable.
 I used Prezi for my first two evaluation questions because I really
like the way I could break down the questions into smaller sections
and answer them individually. It also makes it easier to follow for
the reader because each segment can include more information
that is separate from the rest of the presentation.
 I also really like that it embeds intoTumblr perfectly so that the
reader can use it without having to open it separately.

16. Microsoft
Word
 Word is a really easy programme to use and I decided to use it for
writing up all of my work and ideas before publishing them on
Tumblr.The main reason for this is that I have experienced
problems withTumblr many times in the past and therefore it is
easier and safer to have a version of my work saved to my
computer which I can edit.
 I also used Word to make all my notes for my evaluation questions
so I could easily input them into my Prezi presentations
 I wrote my magazine interview inWord because it meant I could
make sure it was all written perfectly before I put it into
Photoshop

17. Microsoft
PowerPoint
 PowerPoint is a software that I am really familiar with as I have
used it a lot over the years.
 For my media work this year I have used it to create presentations
about some of the media theories we were looking at as well as for
my evaluation
 It is really simple to use and means I can present ideas and
information alongside images in a professional looking way
 It also embeds seamlessly into my blog onTumblr so it is easy to
access

18. MacBook Pro
 Recording a directors’ commentary was really important to my
group and I because it was a great opportunity to talk about all the
thought that went into our video and show it in more detail
 In order to do this we used a MacBook Pro to play the music video
so we could all watch it and speak about it
 At the same time we recorded the audio into iMovie so we could
edit it later
 We didn’t have any access to any professional audio recording kit
so this was definitely the best way to get good quality audio and
be able to edit it efficiently

19. iMovie
 iMovie was the only video editing programme we had available on
the laptop we used to record the directors’ commentary
 It is definitely more basic and simplistic than Premiere Pro and it
did take a bit longer to use, especially as we were used to using a
different software
 However, it worked for what we needed it for and it allowed us to
import our music video and record and edit good quality audio
over it
 We also chose to repeat certain parts of the footage so the viewer
can see exactly what shots we are talking about.This definitely
would have been easier on Premiere Pro but I am really happy
with the finished video