The student used various media technologies in the research, planning, filming, editing, and evaluation stages of constructing their documentary on binge drinking. In research, they used online resources like the NHS website, BBC News, YouTube, and 4oD to validate facts and analyze similar documentaries. Planning involved creating storyboards, proposals, and blog posts. Filming utilized a Canon camera, microphone, and tripod. Editing was done in Final Cut Express, including adjusting audio levels, speeds, and adding text/music. A radio trailer was also produced by editing audio clips from the documentary.

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

2. Research and Planning

3. • Researching and planning our documentary was very
important so that we produced it well and to a
professional standard.
• We separated tasks between the four of us in our
group in order to get everything done efficiently and so
I mainly focused on researching into the topic of binge
drinking so that our facts and statistics were valid and
could be used in the documentary.
• For this research I used software such as the
internet, and to ensure it was true and accurate I found
three sources to validate the information I had found.

4. • This meant that we could confidently use the
information in our documentary because it
was true and therefore makes our
documentary appear professional.
• Examples of these websites include the NHS
website and BBC News which are well known
and official websites and will mean that the
research I found is correct.

5. • I also researched into what channel our documentary would
be showed on and what radio station it would be aired on and
therefore had to look on the Channel4 website and Capital FM
radio website.
• Doing this meant we found a suitable channel and station that
our documentary would appeal to the audience that
watched/listened to it.
• While researching a suitable channel for our documentary it
was important we researched similar documentaries to ours
such as ‘Ready, Steady Drink’ and ‘Party Paramedics’.
• We did this in order to make sure our documentary
conformed to the conventions of professional documentaries.
To do this I used software on the internet such as YouTube
and 4oD to watch the documentaries online.

6. • Other research and planning we did was
hand and paper based, such as creating
storyboards and transfer and logging
sheets.
• The first task was to research and analyse
TV Documentaries such as different
documentary types and modes.
• I scanned and uploaded my written class
work to blogger.com on our blog where I
had researched TV documentary styles and
influences and types of narrative structure
which could assist in the production of our
documentary.

8. • Task two was then the initial planning and final
proposal of our documentary.
• We did a mind map on paper as a group of
different ideas that we could do and I then used
the software Microsoft Word to write these
up, as well as creating tables of the strengths and
weaknesses of our top three documentary topic
choices.
• I then wrote about our final choice and included
information such as the time, channel and
influences of our documentary.

10. • Other paper work included our
storyboards which we discussed
as a group and the best person at
drawing sketched out.
• We decided to sketch the opening
sequence of our documentary first
as this is the first footage our
audience will see and so needs to
be the most dramatic and
appealing.
• All of the research that we have
done at this stage was uploaded
to our blog to show the
development of our project which
is a useful technology to use
because it meant we could upload
our work that we did
independently and as a group.

11. Filming

12. • After finished our researching and planning, we starting
filming. We used a Canon HG20 HD Camera to film all our
footage which was very easy to use. We were able to use the
zoom button on top of the camera to zoom in and out of shots
which was effective and can be seen for example in our
documentary where we zoom out from the College’s sign.

13. • The camera was easy to use for hand held shots for our vox
pops and just as easy for still shots with the tripod, although
putting the camera on the tripod was confusing at first, but
we figured it out. The tripod was useful to use for our
formal/expert interviews and establishing shots such as the
interview with PC Patel. Using the tripod ensured the camera
stayed still and didn’t shake when filming which meant the
footage looked professional.

14. • We also needed to use
equipment for recording our
sound which was a directional
microphone and was used in
our vox
pops, interviews, voiceover and
radio trailer. First we had to plug
in headphones into the camera
and then connect the
microphone to the microphone
lead and then plug it into the
camera. We took it in turns so
that one person was
filming, one had the
headphones on, the other held
the microphone and the fourth
person asked the questions or
did the voiceover etc.

15. • Before we started recording sound we had to
make sure the sound levels were right so that
there was no background noise being picked
up that wasn’t needed and that it would
sound right on the Apple iMac when we
uploaded it. In our vox pops, background
noise wasn’t a major problem but for our
expert interviews, voiceover and radio trailer
we went into a quiet, empty room to make
sure no background noise was picked up.

16. Editing

17. • When we finished our filming, we uploaded our
footage from the camera to the Apple iMac. This was
easy to do as we had to use the right lead to plug into
our camera and the Mac and then upload the footage
onto the media drive. Once this was done we copied
over the files from the drive into our own folders
where all our work would be saved.

18. • Then using Final Cut Express
which is software on the
Apple iMac we were able to
edit our whole documentary.
The first step was log and
transferring all the clips that
we possibly wanted in our
documentary. Using the log
sheets we organised and
named the clips and then
said if we wanted to
add/transfer them or not.
Once the clips we wanted to
use were imported into Final
Cut Express with the correct
label so we could find them
easily, we started editing.

19. Here, we selected then clip from PC
Patel’s interview

20. Here are the three different footages of his interview, when we watched and
found the one we wanted we clicked ‘Add clip to queue’ and once it had
loaded we dragged it into our documentary.

21. • We decided we didn’t want to over edit the documentary because
it is quite a strong and interesting topic anyway and therefore
used simple yet effective edits and effects. We changed the speed
on a few clips so that the footage was fast paced, an example of
this is in the opening sequence as its visibly quicker than the rest
of the footage, which was done to mimic a fast paced and exciting
‘night out’. We did this by selecting Modify from the tool
bar, selecting speed and then typing in the speed we wanted it to
go at.

22. • The sound levels were easy to change on the audio
levels by dragging the pink line on the sound up and
down until it was level and sounded right. We also
edited the sound and the background music by fading
it in and out. For example because we have two
different background music’s we wanted them to fade
in and out of each other when it was appropriate for
each half of being either fun or fatal.

23. • This was done by using the pen tool on the editing
bar on the right hand side of the iMac screen. Using
the pen I then selected the sound and dragged it
either up or down to fade it into each other.

24. • We also added text to our documentary such
as adding the expert’s name from the
professional interviews in the left hand corner
of the screen, as this is a convention of
professional documentaries.

25. • This was easy to do as I selected text from the
effects tab.

26. I then wrote the text and then
changed the font and size etc.

27. For our title at the start of the documentary we did the same but
we wanted there too be an outline on the text which we did by
adding the same text twice but changing the background colour
of it so it stood out and then fading them into each other.

28. • Once we finished the
editing the footage, we
recorded the voiceover
using the
camera, microphone and
headphones. We had
written a script for our
voiceover and had
separated it into parts so
we could record each
part instead of recording
one whole take. By doing
this it meant we could
just re-record a part if it
was said wrong, instead
of having to re-record
the whole thing again.

29. • This was useful when recording the voiceover but
also when it came to putting it on Final Cut
Express and editing it onto the documentary we
could just import and edit each individual clip
instead of one whole voiceover. This also meant
that it was easier to move around, adjust and
match other footage around the voiceover.

30. • We then chose our
background music for our
documentary. We had to
ensure we used non
copyright music and so we
selected music off a website
given to us by the College
which had music we could
use that wasn’t copyrighted.
We chose two different types
of music, one that was
upbeat and had a dance vibe
for the fun half of the
documentary called ‘dance
42-1’ and the other that was
slower and sadder for the
fatal half called ‘ambient 05-
1’.

31. Radio Trailer

32. • For our radio trailer we completed it in Final Cut
Express. We wanted to use clips from our
documentary so that listeners would be intrigued
and want to watch the documentary if they hear
teasers from it. So in the same way we created
our documentary, we added the clips we wanted
into Final Cut Express but deleted the visual
footage and just keeping the sound. We then
recorded our voiceover which we followed from a
script again, using the camera, headphones and
microphone and then uploaded it in the same
way onto Final Cut Express.

33. • We then selected the voiceover clips, deleting the
visual footage and just keeping the sound and added it
our trailer. We also used the same background music
from our documentary, keeping our unique brand
identity of having a fun half and a fatal half. Like our
documentary, our radio trailer followed the story of
binge drinking being either fun or fatal and so using the
‘fun’ background music first we had the voiceover ask a
rhetorical question of, “A night to remember?” this was
answered by a vox pop from the documentary
saying, “You’ll probably forget the night your
experiencing”. These contrasting question and answers
continued and the ‘fatal’ music then fading in and back
out again for the serious half, like our documentary.

34. • Once our trailer was completed we had to
export it into GarageBand. This software was
easy to use and meant we could upload our
radio trailer to SoundCloud easier.

35. • Firstly I highlighted the trailer and then
selected File from the top menu and then
Export and then Using quick time conversion.

36. • I then saved the
file as an AIFF
file into our
media drive
folder.

37. • Then, opening the GarageBand software I
imported our radio trailer from the media
drive folder where I saved it.

38. TV listing magazine

39. • To produce our magazine article we used the
software Adobe InDesign to create a double
page spread, in which we added our article I
had written on Microsoft Word. We divided
tasks between each other to create the
magazine article, so while I wrote the
article, someone else was creating the layout
etc. We all discussed what we wanted the
layout to look like and then it was created in
Adobe InDesign.

40. • I suggested we made a
few changes to the
magazine layout, as at
first we decided to create
it in the style of Radio
Times magazine but our
magazine looked more
like something off What’s
on TV. I then started to
change the magazine to
look more like a
professional one from
What’s on TV.

41. • Firstly I created a banner/header which is a
convention of What’s on TV where the name
of the documentary, time and channel is. I did
this by creating a rectangle using the shape
tool and then adding text onto it using the
text tool.

42. • The colour scheme of our magazine is red,
blue and white as it’s a simple and effective
and also relates to the colours of the British
flag as our article and documentary focuses on
teenagers in Britain.

43. • When creating this banner/header it was
important that it matched the other colours in
the magazine, so I used to the eyedropper
tool. I selected the tool and then clicked on
the colour I wanted from somewhere else on
the magazine and then clicked on where I
wanted that colour to be on the
header/banner.

44. • I also added captions to the pictures in the
magazines as they weren’t there before and
because they are a convention, it was
important to add them in. I did this by
selecting the text tool and writing the text into
the box, in the same way I did for the banner.

45. • When I uploaded the article to blogger.com I noticed
there was a thick line around the caption so the box
around text was more prominent. To get rid of this I
clicked the text, clicked the Stroke tab and changed
the Weight of the outline to 0pt so there was no
outline on the article.

46. • The circle with the information regarding hospital
admissions was blue at first but we decided it would
look better red as it would stand out more on the
page. I did this by using the eyedropper tool
again, by selecting the colour red already used on the
article and dropping it onto the bubble. Red is also
the colour of danger and relates to the information
inside the bubble.

47. • I also added a drop cap to the start of the text
which is another convention of magazine
articles by changing the percentage of the size
of the letter, as shown below.

48. • I also made sure the text was un-hyphenated
by highlighting the text and un-ticking the
Hyphenate button.

49. Final products

50. • In order for our final products to be available
on the blog to see, I had to upload the
documentary to YouTube, the radio trailer to
SoundCloud and the magazine article to
Blogger.com.

51. Documentary
• To get the documentary onto the Blog I had to
upload it onto YouTube. This was very easy to
use and YouTube is a very useful technology.

52. Firstly I logged onto YouTube using the Google username and
password our group has used for everything.
(a2columnd12@gmail.com). I then clicked the Upload button
and was brought to this screen.

53. Once I had clicked ‘Select files to upload’ I browsed for
our documentary and once I had found it I clicked
Choose.

54. The documentary then uploaded to
YouTube where I renamed it and wrote
a description etc.

55. Our documentary can be found on
YouTube on the link below.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQd-
Fitee2w&feature=youtu.be

56. Radio Trailer
• The next step was to upload our radio trailer
to SoundCloud. This was also easy to do and is
a simple and useful technology.

57. First, I opened the radio trailer on FinalCut
Express, went to File, Export and clicked Using
QuickTime Conversion.

58. I then saved the file as a AIFF file and
clicked save, where it saved to our
folder.

59. Next I opened GarageBand’08.

60. I found our radio trailer and opened it.

61. Here it is in GarageBand.

62. I then Exported the trailer. By doing this is
saves into music format so it can be
uploaded as a ‘song’ onto SoundCloud.

63. I then went to SoundCloud and logged
in.

64. I clicked the Upload button.

65. I then found our radio trailer and
opened it.

66. It then started to upload onto
SoundCloud, where I gave it a title and
description etc.

67. Magazine article
• Firstly I went to File and clicked Export.

68. • I then saved the article as a JPEG and clicked
Save.

69. I then made sure I clicked Spreads. This was to ensure
the article came out as two spreads in one picture and
not two separate images of each spread side.

70. Once I had done this, I went onto
Blogger.com and made a New Post.

71. I then clicked Browse to look for the
article, I then looked through my
folder till I found it and clicked open.

72. I then waited for it too load and then
clicked Add selected. The article is
then uploaded to our blog.