The document discusses the use of various digital technologies for research, planning, construction, and evaluation of a media coursework project on drama films. It describes how the group used search engines like Google and YouTube, databases like IMDb and BFI, and blogs to conduct background research. Planning and organization was done using Blogger, WhatsApp, and Final Cut Express. Digital cameras, camcorders, and editing software like Final Cut Express and LiveType were used to construct video and graphic elements. Evaluation was conducted using Blogger, Photoshop, filmed presentations, text with images, and PowerPoint, taking advantage of the multimedia capabilities of digital technologies. Both advantages like ease of access to information, and disadvantages like an

1. Evaluate your use of digital
technology

2. Use of Technology for Research

3. Search Engines - Google
 We used Google carry out
background research into our
coursework.
 For example, we were able to
look up our genre and read
articles on its general
characteristics.
 We also researched production,
distribution and the problems
we might have faced during our
filming.
 It was useful because there is
so much information in one
easily accessed area. We were
able to find lots of helpful
information which we posted
on Blogger.

4.  Search engines were a vital part
of our research stage.
 They enabled us to quickly and
efficiently research trailers,
posters and magazines covers.
 We were familiar with search
engines as they are a part of our
day to day lives.
 This meant that we were aware
of the disadvantages of them as
well as the advantages, for
example filtering out the
unreliable sources.
Advantages of Search Engines

5.  A disadvantage of search engines is that you get such a wide variety of
results and not all are useful.
 This has to be filtered through as there are a lot of results that were not
right for what we were looking for.
 For example, researching ‘drama’ often brought up websites about novels
rather than films.
 We also found a lot of blog posts from other Media students, which we
would prefer to avoid seeing.
Disadvantages of Search Engines

6. Search Engines - YouTube
 We used YouTube to view opening sequences which we
could evaluate and gain a sense of genre conventions.
 We also used it to watch an extract from
‘The Vampire Diaries’ which gave us ideas
of how to film a memorial.

7. Search Engines - Netflix
 As well as using YouTube to watch
different opening sequences, we also
used Netflix.
 This was useful because we could easily find films from our
genre.
 It also gave us an idea of what sub-genres there are for
drama films.

8.  Easy to have such quick
access to literally 1000s of
opening sequences without
having to move out of the
classroom / home.
 Sheer volume of choice
could be bewildering.
 Easy to get ‘lost down the
rabbit hole’ and find
ourselves watching more
than was needed or was not
strictly relevant.
Advantages andDisadvantages of
Film Hosting Sites

9. Search Engines - IMDb
 We used IMDb to look at different drama
film ideas and plots.
 This helped us, as at first we struggled finding a plot that
stayed in the drama genre.
 We also used it to look at reviews so we could see problems
people picked out in these films so we wouldn’t repeat
them.

10. Search Engines - BFI
 We used British Film Institution to research what
audiences the drama genre targets.
 This helped us because we were able to see how well drama
films are doing in cinemas compared to other genres.
 However, even though it was useful, there was also a lot of
unnecessary information that we had to skip through in
order to find what we were looking for.

11.  Again, amongst the useful
information, a lot of
irrelevant material which
we lost time to identifying
 In general though, these
very specific sites were the
most valuable resource as
we could quickly find facts
and figures that we
wouldn’t have known
where to find elsewhere.
Advantages andDisadvantages of
Film-Related Sites

12. Music
 Because we have to use copyright free music, two websites
helped us to see what tracks were available for us to use.
 The first one was Yooka music. This was the most useful of
the two as we found our way round the site easily.
 The second one was FreeOnlineMusic. This one wasn’t that
useful as it wasn’t set out as clearly and some of the music
wasn’t purposeful.

13.  As with all digital technology for research, the problem here
was finding too much information and having to take the
time to filter through it. This was particularly time-
consuming in the case of the music as we needed to listen to
many tracks before making final decisions.
Advantages andDisadvantages of
Music Sites

14. Use of Media Technology for
Planning

15. Blogger
 Throughout our coursework, we have used Blogger
as a way of planning our ideas and to write anything
down that we thought would be useful to us.
 Blogger was very helpful for organization because we
are able to access it at home and in school. Also it
means that all our work is safe in one place.

16. Blogger Organisation
 Blogger lets us post individually, this is good because it
means we are able to keep all of our work organized.
 We also use Blogger to store recordings of our
conversations so that no ideas are missed, we then
individually comment in certain colors to evaluate.

17. WhatsApp/Group chat
 Our group decided it would be useful to create a group chat,
which we can use to discuss ideas or if any of us need to do
anything.
 For example before our filming day we discussed what
props we would bring and where we would be filming.

18. Final Cut Express
 We used Final Cut Express
to edit our filming pieces.
 It was useful because it
allowed us to be familiar
with how to use it for
editing our coursework.
 It also let us see what
editing techniques are
available to use.
 We could edit practice
filming and replicate
techniques and editing
ideas we wanted to use in
our actual coursework.

19. Live Type
 We used Live Type to produce titles and credits in our practice
filming.
 This was useful because we could learn how to use it before
having to do our coursework.
 Also, it was quite easy to understand how to use as everything
was set out in a clear way.

20. Nikon Cameras for Stills Photography
 We used the Nikon cameras for photos. The
first photos we took were of the story boards
so as well as having a video
perspective we also have photos to refer back
to. These photos were stored on Blogger.
 We also used a camera on filming day to
show us filming and as evidence of our
filming/work. These were also stored on
Blogger.
 These cameras were relatively easy to use,
although we did have some initial difficulties
with focus in the manual settings which
needed some practice.
 We were left with an easy visual reference of
our work.

21. Canon Camcorder for Video Filming
 We had to learn how to effectively use the camcorders so we
did a lot of practice filmings where each time we would
develop our skills a little further, switching to the manual
mode as we became more experienced to play with focus
and lighting settings.
 This allowed us to have more control over the look and feel
of our filmed work.

22.  Allow for amateurs to achieve
reasonable results in auto
mode while still learning the
basics.
 Have a range of functions and
menu settings that can be
used in the manual mode once
experienced is gained.
 Transfers easily onto a digital
editing package, taking away
the time that used to be
needed for real-time capture.
Advantages of Digital Cameras

23. Digital Technology in Construction

24.  In Final Cut Express you can quickly arrange clips into the
order that you wanted.
 It was easy to change the order as when we changed the order
we could still make changes as nothing is permanent in this
kind of digital editing.
 You can change the lengths of the clips and return it to its
original length if you didn’t like what you had done.
 We were able to cut and trim the clips to the length we wanted.
We were also able to add text, effects and transitions.
Cutting and Ordering

25.  The clips that you have recorded are all in the main area and you can
drag each one on to the timeline separately or all at the same time to
edit as a group.
 It was easy to see how the sequence looked by looking at the sequence
on the viewer.
 You could also see how well the editing was coming along by watching
on the timeline.
 Being offered these different views made the editing process much
easier.
Different Views

26.  In Final Cut Express we had the option to
pick from many different transitions to put
into our sequence.
 The transitions make the work look more
professional when you are changing from
scene to scene and can add different
meanings.
 In our sequence we used fade in and fade
to black as our transitions to show the
beginning and end of the sequence.
Effects and Transitions

27.  We were able to add sound to our sequence from websites that had
free copyright tracks.
 We chose to add some at the start of our sequence and the end.
 We could also add sound from different clips and put it over a
separate clip.
 We could also adjust the volume, speed, pitch and add effects such as
reverb.
 Final Cut Express accepts most file formats – this gave us a lot of
control.
Sound

28.  For creating our ident we
also used Final Cut
Express.
 It was good once we learnt
how to use it, as it was
easy to move everything
around and change it if
you had made a mistake.
 But it was very time
consuming as we had to
create the letters in
LiveType and use the
motion paths to create the
desired movement.
Ident

29.  We used LiveType to create the series of letters needed
for our ident. We created each letter separately and
saved the file as a jpeg at each stage. This is a very
useful package but was tricky to use and required us to
master the use of layers.
Ident

30.  We used LiveType to create our credits. This programme allowed
us to choose from fonts, colours and sizes and to add animations
to our credits if we wanted. This programme is totally compatible
with Final Cut which is ideal – digital technology is not useful if
you cannot use programmes together.
LiveType

31.  Can be very complicated to learn how to use it.
 Takes a lot of time to learn how to use, very time
consuming.
 Your work can be lost very easily if you aren’t careful when
saving.
 It is only available to use on Apple computers and laptops.
 Expensive to purchase if you wanted to do it at home.
 We all couldn’t edit at the same time on a shared document.
Disadvantages of Digital Editing

32. Evaluation Using Digital Technology

33.  When evaluating, we used
‘Blogger’ as a way of presenting
our progress and recording our
evidence as we had with our
research and planning. Many of
the comments that we made
about Blogger in that section
also apply here.
 For example, we used labels so
we could easily identify our own
work. We were also able to look
at each other’s work.
Evaluation Using Blogger

34.  We were able to get students from another school to
look at an early cut of our work and offer their
comments and advice. This was a really valuable use of
digital technology – we really needed this unbiased
help and the blog made it easy to get this.
Evaluation Using Blogger

35.  Probably the most
important use of Blogger
for the evaluation was
being able to present our
work in a multimedia
format. We were able to
choose what kind of format
we wanted for each task
depending what we wanted
to convey. Our Photoshop
mind maps, for example,
could easily be added to
Blogger.
Evaluation Using Blogger

36.  By using Photoshop
we could create a
contact sheet that
could be uploaded
to Blogger and used
to help us explain
our work. This
collage effect really
gave a good visual
impression of our
genre.
Advantages Disadvantages
Easy to use. Sometimes became
quite tedious.
Evaluation Using Photoshop

37. Advantages Disadvantages
A really unique
way of presenting
our work.
Some people were
camera shy and
this could have
effect our
performance.
It was an
interesting way of
evaluating and
allowed us to role
play a bit and find
out a lot of
interesting facts
from other people
in the group.
It was live and not
practiced so there
were some
mistakes.
Evaluation Using Filmed Presentations

38. Advantages Disadvantages
A great way of
editing what we
needed to see and
adding in pictures
that we needed to
show whilst we
were talking about
them.
Forever rendering
and needing to
place images in the
right place.
Evaluation Using Filmed Presentations

39.  When uploading pictures
this was good because we
could add a picture to back
up what we wanted to say.
 Pretty much any picture
could be uploaded as long as
it was saved as a JPEG. As
film is such a visual
medium, we preferred
having a mainly visual
record of our work.
Evaluation Using Text and Images

40. Advantages Disadvantages
Easy to use most of the time. Sometimes it would be hard to
control and wouldn’t do what we
wanted.
A unique way of publishing our
progress.
Trying to upload pictures to put
up on the blog could sometimes
have been a hassle.
People could give you constructive
criticisms and this was helpful to
us and were easy to find.
Although it would have been hard
to find, there was a chance it
could have been seen by anyone.
We could see our progress and
our history of work and we could
always go back and change our
other piece of work when needed.
There was also the risk of getting
comments that weren’t meant to
help us and could be abusive.
Evaluation Using Text and Images

41.  This was an efficient way of
evaluating our work and was a
really good way of presenting
our work as a group as we
have all been able to create
slides in the presentation.
 It is a very visual way of
analysing technology and the
slideshow format makes you
be concise.
Evaluation Using PowerPoint

42. Advantages Disadvantages
Easy to use and an
interesting approach to
evaluating.
Couldn’t be edited once on
Blogger.
Evaluation Using PowerPoint