The document discusses the use of new media technologies in the production of a documentary. YouTube and Vimeo were used for initial research and observing examples. A Weebly blog was created to analyze embedded videos and photos from location scouting. Prezi was used to embed YouTube videos and annotate them. The documentary was filmed using a Canon DSLR and Rode mic for high quality audio. Sony Vegas Pro was used for editing and After Effects for titles and graphics. Audacity removed unwanted audio noise. The completed documentary was uploaded to Vimeo for distribution, sharing on social media, and permanent evaluation online through viewer interaction.

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

2. Research and Planning
I used YouTube and Vimeo to find all of my
examples and research documentaries
(professional and student alike). This
allowed me to observe media texts created
to a very level, if not, the highest level.
From this initial research I was able to
distinguish many conventions that were in
my reach.
The choice of blog I picked was
Weebly. This is because I
believe it looks far nicer than
other blogging sites, such as
Blogger, and Weebly is far supiror in terms of organisation; you
can have a fully functioning menu which drops down!
Both video hosting sites and blogging websites work together really well. They enabled me to
embed videos directly on to my blog and on to other sites which let me analysis them.
As I did a documentary there wasn’t much ‘planning’ to do in terms of storyboarding. Weebly
allowed me to upload photos from the location recce and even the shooting schedule
document directly onto my blog.

3. Prezi is online powerpoint presentation software that enables
users to be more creative in their slide shows.
This piece of new media technology allowed me to embed
videos from YouTube directly onto the powerpoint, freely
annotate and analysis them, and then embed all of that onto my
blog. This then made Prezi a powerful tool for during my
research phase.

4. Construction
Production
During the production of my documentary I used many new
media technologies. About 30 years ago, I would be filming
on Super 8mm cameras, but in this day of age I am able to
shoot in full HD on my Canon 600d/T3i, as well as get very
good audio quality from the Rode VideoMic, and even using
my ever expanding lens collection to help create a better
looking image.
These types of new digital technology are making it easier
for anybody to create more professional looking footage. But
with digital comes more control over the shooting, which
means to get optimal performance, you need to know what
to do. I have a very good knowledge on the basics and
moderate level controls of the Canon 600d/T3i which means
I can get beautiful images from the camera easily.
If I could have expanded my production tools I would have
liked lighting units to artificially light the scene, and also
getting rid of the light changes we experienced during
filming.

5. I have developed over the year in editing with Sony Vegas Pro 11;
starting back in AS Media. I used Sony Vegas to make all of the
initial cuts, renders, and I use it for the timeline and as the final
render. Vegas is my primary editing software.
Adobe After Effects CS5 is an extremely professional and powerful post-
production tool; used for blockbuster special effects and motion graphics. I
will use this software however to create the titles, fonts and watermarks
used in the Documentary; this is because it is easier to do so than doing it in
Sony Vegas.
Audacity is free audio post-production software
that I will use to remove unwanted noise from
our recorded audio.
I have been using photoshop for all of my ancillary task creations. This
software let me do just about any type of manipulation to a photo you can
deem possible. Although my knowledge is limited, I still know the
fundamental basics.

6. Distribution/Evaluation
To distribute and get my documentary seen by people I have uploaded it to
Vimeo, from here I can add ‘tags’ to the video, which will then attract audiences
from other similar videos.
Uploading my video to Vimeo means that I am able to share it on social
networking sites, such as Twitter; this will enable me to get feedback. Having my
video on Vimeo also mean I cam embed my video anywhere, but the main
advantage of sharing your content online is the millions of potential people there
are to view it.
Online, or more specifically, Web 2.0 is the biggest new media technological
advancement as ‘going online’ can bring a whole host of opportunities to you.
Web 2.0 is also a two-way network, meaning people can interact with your
content, and you can do likewise.
This means that my documentary is now, in a sense, permanently going to be
evaluated; not by me, but by the world.