media studies

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

2. Research…
Blogger has been one of the
main technological sources I
have made use of. It is the way
in which I have presented the
research and planning I have
carried out.
I have found this a very useful source, as being able to refer back to earlier posts,
means that the whole learning journey can be seen in order for the final outcome
to be the best it possibly can.
Blogger allows you to present your posts in a variety of different creative ways,
which makes the information easier to interpret.

3. Research…
Google has enabled it to be
easy to discover already
existing products in order to
look into specific codes and
conventions that have been
undertaken.
This involves visiting sites
such a Channel 4 and
watching the documentaries
that could potentially have a
link into the narrative I am
putting across.
I carried out most of my initial research
on the Channel 4 website, by
watching the documentaries available.
I chose to focus my attention on the
expository type documentary, as this
is what I had initially planned to create.
Below is a screenshot from a textual
analysis I have carried out for
‘Extreme Cake Makers’ and have
placed this slide share on my blog.

4. Research…
Another source that came in handy
when researching was YouTube. I
managed to find some lifeguard related
videos on here, which I then went ahead
and analysed as a textual analysis.
I struggled to find lifeguard specific
documentaries on Channel 4, so
YouTube came in very handy when it
came to wanting something more
specific.
Here are some screenshots of an
analysis I have carried out. I identified
the different shot types and the effect
they then had on the audience.

5. Research…
I also made use of my iPhone 6 as a tool to help with my research
process. I used the camera to take pictures of magazines to analyse, an
example is the TV listings editions I purchased.
I then used the airdrop tool to transfer these images onto my MacBook, in
order to analyse them in further detail.
This is a very easy application to use, and made researching different
hard copy products easy to carry out.

6. Planning…
I used the application ‘pages’ on the
MacBook to put together a camera shot
list as part of my planing.
This made the production stage a lot
easier when it came to shooting, as I
was then able to tick off the different
shots as I did them. Therefore, I then
didn't forget any vital shots and made
the most of the time I had at each
location.
https://advancedportfolio3164.blogspot.c
o.uk/2017/07/production-list-of-shot-
types.html

7. Planning…
I also used pages to construct a risk assessment form prior to shooting my
footage. This ensured that when it came to collecting the footage, it all ran smoothly
and the cast weren't put in any danger.
Due to filming my footage around a swimming pool I didn't find it very hard to put
together a list of risks that could potentially occur.
https://advancedportfolio3164.blogspot.co.uk/2017/10/generic-research-risk-
assessment.html

8. Planning…
As part of my planning I also got in touch with the record company who
produced the main song I am having in my documentary. To do this I used the
mail application to send an email in order to request using the song.
I got hold of an email address from the description in a YouTube video so I
could get in touch with the company. This application made this possible to carry
out.

9. Construction…
I filmed the majority of my documentary clips on my
iPhone 6, I found that the resolution on the camera was
good enough even when it was blown up on iMovie.
Furthermore using my iphone was also very practical when
filming around the swimming pool at Clements Hall
because it is small and light enough to avoid dropping it in
the water.
In addition to the iPhone, I also used the Nikon D5200 to
shoot the outro of my documentary, which involved
going down to the Southend Lifeboat centre.
I also made use of this when collecting the still images
for my ancillary products. This is so the quality was the
highest it can be and the image is clear enough when
blown up to a larger size.

10. Construction…
Using the GoPro became quite a large part of my
documentary. I think this makes my product slightly
more niche, and also looks really effective at the
same time.
It took some attempts to get the perfect shot, as you
have to hold the GoPro at a certain angle in order for
the shot to be of a good standard.
I used some of the shots I collected as cutaways to
make the documentary entertaining to consume. An
example is when one of the lifeguard’s dives into the
pool, the screen then cuts to an underwater shot,
which acts as the point of view of the lifeguard.

11. Construction…
I decided to use iMovie to edit
my documentary. I am familiar
with a lot of aspects of this
application. However, I
wanted to ensure I made the
most out of imovie, and made
my product look as effective
as possible, so I made use of
YouTube and watched many
tutorials of elements I couldn't
work out how to do.
An example of a tutorial that I
watched for iMovie is above. I
have the latest version of this
application, so some parts I was
slightly unfamiliar with. The
YouTube videos helped me make
my product as professional as
possible.
I wanted to record this to put on my
blog, so I used Quick time player
to record some of the processes I
carried out when I was editing.

12. What did I do to become familiar with
imovie?
Here is a link to my phone call video
It was helpful to become familiar with iMovie
prior to using it to edit my documentary.
Therefore, as well as using Youtube it was
beneficial to make this short video called ‘The
phone call.’
I filmed the footage within a small group of
people, and then we all edited our own
versions from the clips we had collected.
It also enabled us to become used to the
camera, and the different settings that are
available to enhance the quality of the footage.

13. How has this impacted society?
Making is connecting- David Gauntlett.
Due to society now having easy access to camera
equipment, producing a YouTube video and uploading it
for millions of people to consume, takes seconds. A simple
video can even me filmed on an iphone, due to the fact that
the resolution of mobile phone cameras has improved
considerably.
Henry Jenkins highlighted the due to the advancement in
technologies, it has enabled people to create a publish
media through the internet.
Jenkins has described this new culture as Web 2.0, which
sums up how much social media has expanded in the
recent years.

14. Construction…
I also used this microphone that plugs into an iPhone when
filming my footage. I found this very helpful especially when
I got footage from the lifeguards on the beach in Mallorca.
This was because the wind would have prevented the
lifeguard’s being heard by the audience.
The microphone also has a long lead, which was helpful
when having to hold my iPhone to record the cast. The lead
was long enough to reach the mouth of the person speaking.
However, for my voice-over I wanted the quality to be
extremely clear. So therefore, I used the Nikon camera
that I used to capture the still images for my ancillary
products.
I put these onto my laptop, and inserted the footage as a
sound file into iMovie.

15. Construction…
InDesign is the application that I used to create my
ancillary products. This was ideal to use as it enabled
me to incorporate many typical conventions that other
already existing products have undertaken.
An example is the drop-cap that I have used at the start
of the article, as well as the border around the each of the
double page spread.
Again, I made use of YouTube tutorials in oder to find
out the easiest way to use these conventions.
Furthermore, DaFont enabled me to use more niche fonts
across both of my ancillary products. I wanted to create
a unique house style, and the font ‘Bebas’ ensured that I
did this effectively.

16. Construction…
I used Lightroom to edit the central image for my
newspaper advert. I wanted to ensure the
brightness wasn't so dark, and the image would
stand out well enough to the audience.
This worked really well, and the red and yellow
uniform that lifeguard’s are wearing now stands out
the most in comparison to everything else.
I briefly used Photoshop as well when constructing
my ancillary products. I wanted to remove the white
background behind the Channel 4 logo. Therefore, I
made use of the magic wand tool. Removing the
white background makes the image look a lot more
professional and fitting to the product.

17. Construction…
I also used iPhoto to enhance some of the
images I used on my double page spread, and
also as cutaways in my iMovie. This was very
useful as it only makes subtle adjustments, and
the changes are not too obvious. To most of my
images I simply just enhanced them.
iMessage made getting feedback throughout
the production process easy and efficient to
carry out. I sent my focus group images of the
aspects I wanted to receive feedback on, and
then I would therefore, be able to adapt my
product as I went along.

18. Evaluation…
I began my evaluation by using Office 365 as a source of creating a questionnaire. I
used ‘Forms’ which makes constructing a layout for a questionnaire really simple to
carry out.
I decided to construct questionnaires as I was carrying out the production process for
all three of my products. I found this helpful as Office 365 enabled myself to easily view
what each person has responded with. Below is a screenshot of the constructive
criticism I received in response to one of my questions.

19. Evaluation…
However, even though Office 365 was easy to use and fitted the purpose I was
aiming for, it meant that I could only send the questionnaire to people who had an
Office 365 account. This restricted myself as to who I could ask to complete my
form and gain feedback from.
Therefore, I decided to create my final questionnaire on Google Forms, as it is
more than likely that a lot more people have a Google account. Below is a
screenshot of the questionnaire that I put together, I received a total of 20
responses, and all of the feedback was helpful in regards to improving my product.
https://advancedportfolio3164.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/production-audience-
feedback.html

20. Linking it all back to the Foundation
Portfolio…
Research… Planning…
The research differed because I
analysed still images in the form of
Pop magazines rather than moving
images. The codes and conventions
I was looking out for differed due to the
two products being of completely
contrasted purposes.
Below is a video I put together in
imovie when analysing ‘Q’ magazine
and identifying different techniques
they have used.
In terms of the planning aspect, I used
‘Pages’ as a way of typing up the article I
wrote for my double page spread on my
Foundation Portfolio. This then enabled
me to be able to copy and paste the article
straight into InDesign, knowing that there
were not any spelling mistakes due to
having been checked prior to this.
Here is a link to the article I wrote from my
blog:
https://foundtionportfolio3164.blogspot.co.
uk/2016/11/production-double-page-
spread.html
Furthermore, I have also carried this out
with my Advanced Portfolio, as it is more
efficient to copy and paste the article.

21. Construction… Evaluation…
Linking it all back to the Foundation
Portfolio…
For both of the Portfolio’s I used
InDesign. This meant that I had
become familiar with many things
before it came to creating my ancillary
products for A2. However, I used
YouTube for both stages to make sure
I made the most of all of the tools in
InDesign.
Overall, I made more use of Google Forms to
create questionnaires more so in the
Advanced Portfolio. However, in the
Foundation I only constructed one
questionnaire. I carried this out during the
production stage of my products , which meant
that I could act on the feedback that I received
along the way.
Here is a link to some of the pie charts I
presented on my blog:
https://foundtionportfolio3164.blogspot.co.uk/2
016/11/researchmy-audience-opinions.html

22. Overall…
Overall, technology played a huge roll in all aspects of my Advanced portfolio.
It has enabled me to be creative with my ideas, in order to produce a set of
products that are professional enough to mirror already existing components.
The applications I used made sure that I had the ability to do this, as well as
having access to sites such a YouTube for tutorials on how to get the best of
these applications.