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

2. Throughout the process of making our music video , technology has
been a big impact. Technology has evolved through generations and
has been a major influence on society. The evolution of cameras and
how it has come from a basic winding camera to now high tech DSLR’s.
For our music video we have used technologies such as cameras, Final
cut pro, blogger and Photoshop etc.

3. Camera
While working on the music video and for our print products we used the
DSLR cannon. We used this particular one as it films and shoots in HD and we
wanted to follow traditional conventions as all music videos are filmed in HD.
The camera was especially great for our print products as it made the
pictures sharp and we didn’t have to Photoshop most of our pictures. As we
explored the camera we started taking use of the depth of field on the
camera to emphasize the actor in our music video , this use of effect made it
stand out more. We set the exposure settings to depend how much light we
wanted in the shot so that in the final cut it looked professional. We used a
shoulder mount which helped as it helped steady the camera and
contributed to the quality of our music video. As we never used this camera
before their was difficulty setting it up and making sure that it was on the
right settings especially setting up the shoulder mount which was very
confusing. However as a team we was able to work together and make sure
everything worked correctly.

4. YouTube
Throughout this project we used YouTube quite a lot. We used it for our
pitches and also to upload our final music video. I used it especially to
find case studies that suited the genre we were producing. I enjoyed
uploading on YouTube especially for our final music video as you was
able to see the rise in views and see the difference everyday. Overall,
YouTube for me was a great technology to use especially it being easy
to navigate as well.

5. Final Cut Pro
When editing for our music video we the software “ final cut pro”.
When I first was introduced to this software I was wary of being able to
use it correctly. However, we was shown step by step the basics of
using final cut pro. I was able to learn the shortcut keys such as the
stop, cut, play , forward, rewind and zoom in& out I really was looking
forward to using it as there was so many features that I thought would
be great for our music video. As time went on final cut pro was quite
easy for me to use I didn’t have much difficulties and if I did I was able
to research it online and find out the solution.

6. Photoshop
We used Photoshop on our print products. For me personally I didn’t
really enjoy using Photoshop as I found it too complex. Although I used
in AS I found that the tools we used in AS was not enough for what we
needed in A2. We didn’t really use much of the tools in Photoshop but
we did use the airbrushing tool, smudge tool and the blur tool. I think
we didn’t want to Photoshop too much of our print products but we
did want it to look professional. Overall, Photoshop was not my
favourite technology to work with but I was able to develop my skills.

7. Whatsapp
To organise shoot times and meeting we used Whatsapp. Whatsapp
was very convenient for me as it was free and also saved a lot of time.
We was able to quickly contact our actor and also make sure that she
knew the dress code as well. Overall, It was a great technology and was
a major technology that we used throughout our project.

8. Blogger
Throughout this whole process I have been blogging regularly which
has been stressful but is great to keep up to date on everything I have
done. I have been able to upload videos, music and pictures and has
been working great. I have gained experience while working on blogger
as it has prepared me for my evaluation as I have had to write quite a
lot. I have also developed my skills since AS and have used my
knowledge from AS and have added it onto my new skills in A2. Blogger
has enabled me to easily access my blog as I can blog from my IPhone
which is great for me as I can blog on the bus and wherever I am.