Tumblr was used extensively for blogging work, research, and receiving feedback. Photos were taken on phones and uploaded to Tumblr. Prezi was used for evaluations and research presentations. A DSLR camera was used to improve the quality of footage for the focus groups and final music video. Premiere Pro was used to edit the music video and focus groups by cutting footage and adding transitions. Photoshop edited images for the digipak and advert designs. Sound Recorder captured audio commentary. The music video and additional materials were uploaded to YouTube. Google allowed access to research sources like Tumblr, Prezi, and YouTube as well as finding images.

1. Question 4
HOW DID YOU USE MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND
RESEARCH, PLANNING AND EVALUATION STAGES?

2. Tumblr and Slide Share
 Tumblr is the main format used for our media coursework. The social media site
allows students to blog their upcoming work as well as research and planning. We
have uploaded our coursework as well as our final piece, with all the marking taking
place on the blog which means we must present it in a strong and professional
manner. We have rarely interacted with Tumblr on a string level, apart from using it to
upload all kinds of features, in particular YouTube video’s and using slide share to
cross word documents and PowerPoints towards Tumblr. The school allows us to
access Tumblr via the app as well which means that we can post on the move which
is very useful for us especially if we cant access any computers. In conclusion, Tumblr
is the format where all our work is placed, especially with the help of embedding
videos and Slide Share. Our work will all be marked within this format, which is why
using different formats is important such as the quoted format, or allowing
embedded videos on your blog etc.

3. Phone’s and
 Phones weren’t a huge part of the production or research of our work, however we
used the phone to take easy pictures of the setting which we blogged, due to the
pictures being instantly uploaded to Tumblr due to the app. This was the only major
use for the phone however, taking pictures and uploading certain blog updates,
mainly for the research of our music video. Prezi however has been used in particular
for our evaluation as it’s easy to use and produced something abit different to
PowerPoint, with a more expansive and embracive feel. I have used Prezi for the first
question of our evaluation, as it allowed me to import videos and clips integral to the
point I was making. Prezi was useful for this evaluation point and if I could, would use
for more blog entry's. It was also used for Laura Mulvey in the research of her ‘Male
Gaze’ theory. Prezi is something which can easily be used as it allows different
designs and styles which may link to the point you are making. Prezi has been used
twice by myself and has been used to maximum effect in both research and
production.

4. Camera’s
 The Camera we used was DLSR 3200 which was an improvement to past cameras we
used for the pleminary task last year, as well as the main task. We also had a focused
lense which allowed us to focus onto a particular depth of field a lot more. The
camera was used for the research into both focus groups as well as the actual
production which we created, with the camera being used to good effect. The focus
group was of a poorer quality to the second focus group however we are content
with what was produced, however the main task was the best camera quality we had
created. The camera was used a lot throughout our coursework and was a big step
up for me from last year. The lense made a big difference as well as adjusting the
aperture which is something we didn’t learn to do last year, therefore the quality this
year with the DLSR is much stronger. Camera’s were much more important than last
year as the maturity of producing professional work was increased, and therefore
focusing on different styles of the camera were very important such as exposure and
the lighting being adjusted by the camera setting, as well as using the different lenses
which would allow more focus to our music video.

5. The Film
Here is the final piece of the
coursework created, this
being our final music video
production, this was all
created by Premiere Pro and
uploaded to the ‘Chew
Valley Media’ YouTube
channel.

6. Premiere Pro
 Premiere pro was used multiple times by the editing and adjustment of certain films which we
produced. It was involved with the research, of what to produce for our music video with the
focus group, and in particular the main music video. The format was only used to allow the
editing of the music video and also the focus groups. The editing we used for both was merely
cuts and a dip to black in the music video. This shows a lack of editing however shows a more
mature take into our work, making it look more professional. The music video also required us to
cut on the beat of the music, as we used the music as a separate import, which made us able to
simply follow the beat of the music carefully making it more professional and clean. In
conclusion, the editing was lacking however this fits the connotations of the music video etc. The
editing we did use were the razor tool, which was used to link to the beat of the audio, as it
linked to conventions of music video’s etc. Another convention was the bleak and intense black
and white filter used which allowed all kinds of connotations which linked to the earthy and
dreary feel of the indie acoustic genre. A dip to black was also installed to change the transition
between two shots, to allow a smoother movement. Premiere pro was also involved in the
animatic but to minimal effect, as the editing needed was miniscule.

7. Photoshop and Sound Recorder
 Photoshop was used for creating drafts and the final piece for the Digipak and
advert. I would import pictures that were already took, and then edit the images
using brightness and contrast and messing with the blending options to create a
professional image for the music video. Photoshop allowed me to manipulate the
image and import other images into it. Another format I used was that of the sound
recorder, which allowed us to record what we wanted and import the audio file to the
original clip. This was the directors commentaries which we produced and uploaded
to YouTube. Sound recorder was successful however we had trouble with the volume
and therefore we struggled with the volume of the microphone and wished for it to
be slightly louder. However I used Photoshop the most out of most formats due to
my experience of it and amount of production. The next slide which look at the
Digipak and the advert and the techniques used to create the final piece.

8. The Digipak
 The Digipak involved surprisingly less editing and only
included placing the images and adjusting the hue and
colour balance. The top three images were easy,
however the bottom three required more editing, such
as the first panel, which allowed me to magic lasso Ben
out of another image and then smudge the face to
further hide his identity from the audience. I then used
text to place in the name of the artist and the name of
the album. With the second panel, I simply used the
clone tool to go over the sign, and then use to text go
over and show the names of the song, then rasterizing
the text and warping it to my fitting. The colours of the
red were simply done using the paint bucket tool and
then going over the parts which I wanted to make solely
red.

9. The Advert
 The advert had more editing than the Digipak, with
more clear involvement with the text, duplicating
the text giving it the 3D effect, whilst then applying
the magic lasso to get Ben to another image, with
the shadow being more prominent and then
applying the brush tool with a low sharpness
allowing the fade effect on the left of Ben. The stars
and the island were imported from Google images,
with the stars being blended using blending
options as well as applying a slightly more
transparent feel, whilst using the opacity tool.

10. Internet Sites such as
 YouTube and Google were used a lot as google was needed to access other
websites such as Tumblr and Prezi. The other sites accessed via Google were
YouTube which was accessed via the Research as I used it to look at music videos
to analyse as well as other A2 pieces of media to look at. I also used YouTube to
look at music videos which would be similar to the music video which we
produced, including Ed Sheeran ‘A team’. YouTube was used to place our
YouTube videos onto there. This was done by the Chew Valley Media YouTube
account which has all the final pieces and other pieces of work on there such as
focus groups and animatics. Google also allowed us to look at images which
would be used for my advert, such as the starry night which is applied to the
advert. Google allowed us to access all kinds of sites which aided my media
coursework.