Media A2 Level Evaluation Question 4

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

2. Through the course of my two year A Level study of
media, the way in which I use technologies has
developed through the process of trail and error and
developing my skills.
Over this entire project I have used Blogger, Google,
Youtube, Edublogs, Facebook, Twitter, Premiere Pro,
Imovie, Prezi, Iphone Camera Slideshare, Bubbl,
StoryboardThat, Abdobe Photoshop, Pintrest and We
Heart It, in the research stage, planning stage,
construction stage and evaluation stage.

3. Planning
Initially, when beginning the project, I was
using Edublogs to organise and present my
planning and work. I and used a different
blogging site, Blogger, in my AS study, but
decided to try Edublogs as it is increasing in
popularity and usage. However, once I had
started using it, it became apparent very
quickly that it didn’t allow me to add Youtube
videos to my post, which wouldn’t have been
plausible when it comes to researching music
videos and their codes and conventions. This
prompted the decision to revert back to using
Blogger.

4. Planning
Blogger is the main technology I used
throughout this entire project, as all my
research, planning and documentation of
construction was put onto my blog,
alongside images, videos and links. My
familiarity with Blogger made it easier for
me to use, and it also allows customisation
of theme, so I chose a template and added
images and customised my page layout.

5. Research
In terms of research, I used basic search engines such as
Google and Youtube to search for existing material from which
we could take information and understand common conventions
of music videos. These search engines led me to existing music
videos, existing A Level music videos and past student blogs.

6. Research
I used Youtube as a means of researching existing A Level
music videos as it was an effective research tool in my AS
media study. I used it in all stages of the project;
construction, research, planning and evaluation, but
particularly in the research stage. Through Youtube, I
explored an abundance of music videos and took
inspiration from many of them. Youtube was used in the
construction of the video, as I used it to upload group
discussions and the actual video once it was complete.

7. Research
I used the slideshow site
slideshare as part of my research,
when looking into music video
theorists and codes and
conventions of music videos. I
also used Prezi in the same ways.
These sites are easy to use and
contain a lot of valuable
information. I also used slideshare
in the evaluation stage to present
an evaluation question in a simple
and coherent way.

8. Research
In order to further understand what
viewers expect of a music video, I
conducted a questionnaire using the online
survey platform Survey Monkey; I used
this platform in AS so I knew it was
effective and easy to use and gather
results. I chose this means of collecting
feedback because I was able to create a
list of questions quickly and distribute it
digitally; I could also reach a wide
audience by sharing the link to the survey
on my social media platforms such as
Twitter and Facebook.

9. Planning
When planning the music video, I used an
online mindmap service called “Bubbl” to
collect ideas on themes, plot, characters
and shots. I used this as it was one of the
best reviewed mindmap websites and
was easy to use. I began to use a site
called “StoryboardThat” to create a
storyboard but the site would only allow a
free account holder to create 2 storyboard
strips, so I decided to use a site called
“Canva” instead.

10. Planning
I used the sites Pinterest and We Heart It
to collect aesthetically pleasing images to
compile into a moodboard. I use both of
these sights personally and for other
projects so I had experience with using
them, and they are simple and easy to
search with. I organised and presented
these images onto a powerpoint which I
then uploaded onto my blog.

11. Construction
In my AS Level media study, I used an IPad to film, as
they were provided by the school. However, on
reflection of my AS Level piece, I realised that the
quality of the footage was poor and decided to film the
music video footage on an IPhone to improve camera
and sound quality. My understanding of the importance
of camera quality has developed hugely through my A
Level study. The footage from my AS Level piece was
grainy and the sound was difficult to hear, however
Iphone X quality is of a high standard and contributed to
the success of our music video.

12. Construction
In terms of editing, in my AS media study I
used premier pro to edit together my music
video. While the software is relatively easy
to use and contains interesting and useful
effects, the editing process was very time
consuming, so I tried to use an alternative
editing software this year. I used IMovie via
an apple mac to edit the music video; this
proved much easier to use and a lot
quicker. I used Abdobe photoshop to
construct my ancillary tasks as I have
developed skills on this software through
using it in my AS study.

13. Evaluation
When presenting my evaluation, I have
used Youtube, Iphone camera,
Slideshare, Blogger and microsoft
powerpoint. I used these methods
because I am experienced with all of
them, they are simple and easy to use,
and the present information and media
effectively and coherently. I used Youtube
to upload vlogs and then embedded them
into Blogger. I used microsoft powerpoint
to annotate my ancillary tasks and
slideshare for evaluation question 4.