The document discusses the various media technologies used by the author at different stages of their project. This included learning how to properly use a camera and boom microphone for filming, as well as software like Premiere, After Effects, Photoshop and InDesign for editing, adding effects, and assembling ancillary materials. Online apps like Slideshare, Prezi and Powtoon were also utilized to display information on the author's blog in an interactive way. The author had to overcome challenges with some of the new software and equipment through practice and online tutorials.

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

2. I was able to use the equipment for the production and
ancillary task better as I understood how to use the
camera better. This came across in my teaser trailer as I
was able to use improved camera shots, for example the
focus pull. This was easier to achieve as I was able to use
the functions on the camera better and therefore could
figure out how to do it.

3. As well as this, when filming my teaser
trailer I used the boom microphone. This
was something that I had not used before
so I had to learn how to use it. One
problem I had with using the boom
microphone was making sure that it was
not featured in the shot, however after
practice shots I was able to figure out how
high I needed to hold it for it to not ruin the
shots. Using the boom microphone came
with huge advantages because it
increased the quality of the sound on the
video.
Also, I used the lights for the photo shoot
for the magazine front cover; this gave the
photo a more professional look which
helped me to conform to the conventions
of a magazine front cover.

4. Using the internet for
research allowed me to
look at a variety of
sources for information.
To look into film trailers
and the romantic tragedy
genre I used YouTube to
watch different examples.
To source more
information about these
trailers I used IMDB as it
is a reliable website with
useful information.

5. I also used a website called Videocopilot this
helped me with using programmes such as After
Effects that I had never used before. This
website gives tutorials on how to make different
titles for my teaser trailer which helped add the
professional look of the trailer.

6. I used a variety of different software
for these tasks that I had not
previously used. The majority of them I
used during the production tasks. The
first programme I used was Cubase, I
used this to make the music for the teaser trailer
however I ended up not using the music I made
because it was not dramatic effect and it was
difficult to use loud drums due to the drum
machine within Cubase.

7. I also used Premiere to
edit the teaser trailer
together. This software
allowed me to add effects such as
lighting change to the video and
include transitions such as fade to
black.
I also used After
Effects for the titles
which I was then able
to put into Premiere. After Effects
allowed me to make professional
looking titles, however at first I
was unable to use the software as
I had not used it before so I
therefore used Youtube which
gave me tutorials on how to use
the different features in After
Effects.

8. When it came to
my ancillary
tasks I used
Photoshop to manipulate
my images. For example I
brightened up the colour of
the models dress on the
magazine front cover, but I
also darkened the colour of the sky on my film poster to
give a stormy look.
Once I had manipulated the images in
Photoshop, I put them into InDesign which
allowed me to put all the features
together for my ancillary such as images, titles and
shapes, such as the stars for my critics review.

9. Lastly, I also used Picasa for my research and
planning this software allows me to put photos
together in a collage which was useful for when I
had a lot of images and did not want to display
them singly on my blog.

10. Throughout the different stages of my advanced
portfolio, I used various online apps. As a media
student, it is important to use different online apps
to display my work in a suitable way to convey the
information in an interactive way by using new
online media. The three main online apps I
included on my blog was Slideshare, Prezi and
Powtoon.

11. Slideshare is a site
that allows you to
embed Powerpoints
on a website and I
used this to convey
large amounts of
information such as
the institutional
research that I carried
out because the
presentation is neat
and easy to read.

12. Prezi is an Interactional spider diagram which you
create through the website using a template which
you adjust to make it the theme of your blog. It is
an easy website to use as you can add text and
shapes making it creative. As well as this you can
change the path so that when you watch it, it
guides you through the text boxes making it more
interactive.

13. Powtoon is a useful app because you can
create videos of text and animations so it is
another interactive app. I used this online app
for my research into methods of film promotion
because it is a good app for a large amount of
information however it breaks it down making it
more engaging.

14. Overall, I used a variety of different online apps
to display information on my blog so that it is
more clear and engaging to read.