The document discusses the various media technologies used during the construction, research, planning and evaluation stages of a project. It describes the hardware, software, and equipment used, including MacBooks, iMacs, Windows PCs, Adobe software, web browsers, word processors, and cameras. It provides details on how each tool was used and its effectiveness for the tasks needed at each stage of the project.

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

2. • Throughout the construction, research
and planning and evaluation stages, a
variety of hardware and software was
used. This variety of technology allowed
us to carry out effective research and
gave us an abundance of tools to create
our products.

3. Hardware
MacBook Pro
Imac
Windows PC
Canon HD Camcorder

4. Hardware (continued)
• MacBook Pro- This was used at home to continue work on the media products, to update the blog and to
also produce the evaluation work. It was a really effective piece of hardware to use as most of the
production of our media products was carried out on an IMac, which allowed for easy file transfer
between the two mac systems.
• IMac- The IMac was used throughout the entirety of the production of our products. It was extremely
effective as it provided us with an array of media software to create the best possible product. However,
to begin with, the mac was difficult to operate, but as time went by my skills developed and by the end of
the production I am now confident in my abilities to use them
• Windows PC- A lot of the evaluation was carried out windows PC. This is because of the simple programs it
provides, such as word/ PowerPoint etc. that made the evaluation easy to write. However it was not too
effective for the production of the media products due to its lack of media design programs, and the
design programs it does have are inferior to the ones on the IMac, so it was more beneficial to carry out
the product creation on the IMac instead. Although compared to the IMac, it is a lot easier to navigate and
use.
• Canon HD Camcorder- Possibly the most important piece of hardware that was used. The camcorder
allowed to us to record our footage in HD quality. For our purpose it was highly effective and simple to
use. It was easy to start/ stop recording and to also transfer any recorded footage from the camcorder to
computer.

5. Software
Adode InDesign, Photoshop and Premier
Microsoft word and PowerPoint
Garageband
Safari
Google Chrome
Internet explorer

6. Software (continued)
• Adobe Photoshop- Photoshop was used in small areas to manipulate images that were used in our
magazine. It was effective for the task we needed it for as it gave the manipulated image a professional
look after being edited. (No rough corners etc.) It was confusing to begin with, but the more I used it, my
skills developed and I began to use the program with ease.
• Google Chrome/ Safari/ Internet Explorer- These programs allowed me to browse the internet and use
certain websites that were vital to all stages of the production. Including: Blogger, Slideshare, Prezi,
YouTube, Iplayer, Meta-chart, Google, ITV player, Netflix and so on. The internet provided access to these
sites which allowed documentaries which inspired and helped to produce our own.
• Word and PowerPoint- These two programs were used during the planning and evaluation stages of the
production. They allowed me to collate different ideas and work together in an easy to read file.
PowerPoint allowed for further creation of slideshows and to present work in a more organised and
professional way. These were both effective programs to use for the task I needed them for.
• Garage band- Garage band was used to produce copyright free music that we could use within our radio
trailer and documentary. It is an easy to use program, which allowed us to piece together a soundtrack by
dragging and dropping samples together. This was for us as we could easily create a simple soundtrack
without difficulty.

7. Adobe Premier (software)
Adobe Premier was arguably the most used and important piece of software during the production
of the Documentary. It was used to create both the radio trailer and the documentary itself.
Although complicated, it has many tools and features that allowed us to create the documentary
exactly how we wanted it, without having to use external software to edit certain sections. Premier
gives the user lots of control over the editing of the movie. Examples of these features include:
being able to overlap videos, slow motion, cutting individual clips, audio/video fade (pen tool to
edit these more closely). The program also has a preview window, allowing us to watch what we
had created so far, giving us an idea of what worked well or not.
Pen tool was used
to edit the sound
of the intro music,
making it gradually
louder
Screenshot of the
preview window,
that allowed us to
watch our
documentary pre
production
Example of
being able
to overlap
video clips
within
Premier

8. • After completing and reviewing our two
products that we made using Premier, I
believe that the program was extremely
effective for the task we were set. It provided
enough tools and functions to make a
professional looking documentary, but it was
still an easy program to use and navigate
around
Adobe Premier (continued)

9. Adobe InDesign (software)
• InDesign was used for the production of our magazine article. We chose to use InDesign as the
features it has allowed us to create a professional looking article. It was simple and effective to
use. Some of the features included text morph tool, drop cap tool, the ability to create pull
quotes and also came with a double page spread premade layout, which we took advantage of.
We believed it was best to use this as the layout was conventional of most magazine double page
spreads. Another tool that InDesign has is the ability to organise text into columns. This tool
allowed us to follow another convention of magazines which is having text in 3 columns. The text
colour tool also helped us to separate the text of the two presenters when they gave their reply,
making it easy for the reader to distinguish between who was answering.
This tool allowed us
to wrap text around
an image( as shown
below)
This tool allowed
us to follow the
convention of
using 3 columns
of text
Screenshot from
our article showing
the use of drop
caps

10. Equipment
External microphone
Sennheiser headphones
Camera Tripod

11. Equipment (continued)
• External Microphone- The microphone we used was extremely effective for the purposed we
needed. It provided a clear audio, not only this it was sensitive, allowing us to keep it out of
shot for a more professional look whilst still maintaining loud/ good quality audio from the
interviewees. It was extremely simple to use also, plugged into the side of the camera and
then just required someone to hold it in a suitable position out of shot.
• Tripod- We used a tripod for all footage that we recorded. This is because it helped give us a
steady shot, which in turn made it more professional as the shots were steady and in focus.
• Headphones- The use of headphones let the “soundman” hear exactly what was picked up by
the microphone without being disturbed by external sounds. They were effective in doing
this, as supported by our documentary where our sound is clear with no background noise
disturbing the audio we were intending to record.