I used a variety of technologies throughout my music video project, with different ones being useful at different stages. During research, I relied heavily on online tools like Blogger, Google, and YouTube to organize my work, find information, and access music videos. I also used the iMac computer in class to have multiple resources open simultaneously while analyzing videos. In planning and construction, I used software like Google Docs, Final Cut, and Microsoft Word. I filmed footage with a camera and edited it using Final Cut. Now in evaluation, I am using podcasting to present my reflections and Google Docs to create an effective evaluation.

1. Thisis questionfourof the evaluationstage inmymusicvideoprojectandis‘How didyou use media
technologiesinthe construction,research,planningandevaluationstagesof yourproject?’. Iuseda
varietyof differenttechnologiesthroughoutthe course of myprojectand differenttechnologiesand
software came inhandierat differentstages.
Researchwaspossiblyone of the biggeststagesof myprojectintermsof software andtechnology
used.AlthoughIdiduse more software thanI didhardware. One of the maintechnologiesIused
was Blogger,withoutbloggerIwouldn’thave beenable topostanyof mywork or progress. One of
the advantagesof Bloggeristhat it isaccessible anywhere,forexample,there isaBloggerappwhich
I downloadedforfree onmyphone andsimplyloggedintomyGoogle AccountwheneverIneeded
to checkor quicklyupdate myblog.Also,itisveryeasytonavigate andcan be modifiedtosuityour
needssuchas backroundcolours,labels,archive andnavigationtabs.Thishelpedalotintermsof
beingable toorganise myworkproperlyanddistinguishwhatstage of the projectthe workwas
fromand whetheritwasmine or Molly’s.The onlydisadvantageIfoundwithBloggerwasthatit did
not alwaysembedlinksfromall of the software Iused,one exampleof thisisGlogster,andittook
me numerousattemptstobe able to modifymyGlogsterpage sothat it wouldfitinthe blogspace,
evenwhenIhad the measurementsof myGlogsterpage correct,it still didnotloadproperlyon the
blog,soI hadto keeprepostingituntil itdid.ThisalsohappenedwithaPowtoonpresentation
althoughthishasbeenfixednow.One vital piece of hardware Iusedwasthe iMac, I usedthisnearly
everylessonandwasveryuseful asitwasable to access everythingIneededtomake progressinmy
project.One mainadvantage of usingthe iMac was that itallowedme tohave lotsof differenttabs
openat the same time whichmeantI didn’thave tokeepclosingandre-openingtabstoview at
differenttimes.Thiscame inparticularlyhandywhenitcame toanalysingmusicvideosasIwas able
to have Word and YouTube opensothat I couldwatch the videoandmake notesat the same time.
Also,Icouldhave the videoopentotake screengrabswhenIwasputting the analysistogetheron
Powerpointorsimilarsoftware. The disadvantagestousingthe iMacwas that I normallyuse a
WindowsLaptopso neededtogetusedtonavigatingaroundthe iMac software whichsometimes
got complicated.Also,Iwasn’table tosave workon the iMac and transportit withme home to
continue withthere.Asitwasa desktopcomputerIhad to leave itsavedonthere andfinishthe
workin myspare time ormy nextlesson.Anotherveryhelpful technologywasGoogle whenitcame
to the researchingstage.Thiswasparticularlyusefulasitallowedme tolookupanythingI needed
to findoutthat I didn’tknow,forexample,duringmymusicvideoanalysisitallowedme tofindout
release dates,receptionandawardsforvideosIanalysed.One of the timesthissoftwarewasmost
useful waswhenIdidmy ‘Historyof Music Videos’research.One advantage of Google isthatthere
isno endto its knowledge andisquick,simpleandeasytouse.One simple searchcancome up with
over900 millionresultstochoose from. A disadvantage tothisisthatit isdifficulttobe able totell
whatsourcesare reliable andwhatare givingfalse information.YouTube isone of the biggestuses
of technologyinmyresearchstage,asthisisa musicvideoproject Ineededtobe able toaccess
musicvideoswheneverIusedthe iMac, itwas alsohelpful infindingpaststudentexamples,
includingexamplesfromdifferentschoolsanditwasinterestingtosee whatotherA Level students
had createdall thanksto YouTube.One of the advantagesof YouTube isthat I couldview andpost
my ownvideosandgetfeedbackfromiteasilythroughthe use of the commentsbarand like/dislike
buttons.Itwas alsohelpful asitgave me access to all the musicvideosIwantedtoanalyse.The only
disadvantage Ifoundwasthat eventhoughmanyartistsdohave official videostotheirmusicvideos,
I couldnot alwaysfindthem,forexamplethe ‘SmackmyBitchUp’ took me a while tofinditas it was

2. blockedorremovedfromthe site a lot of timesfor beingsocontroversial. Vevoseemedtobe the
mostreliable accounttouse because itwas verifiedbythe artistandwas official.
Whenit came to presentationsoftware,Iusedawide range of technologiesandfoundsome more
useful thanothers.One of the typesof software IusedwasPowerpoint,Iusedthisona numberof
occasionsas thiswasprobablythe easiestsoftware touse outof all of themas I have beenusingit
for yearsand knewexactlyhowtonavigate itandworkit. One advantage tothiswas that itwas
reallyeasytoembedontomyblogand I was able toput inlots of transitionsandcliparts to make it
more creative.The onlydisadvantage IfoundwasthatwhenIuploadedanypresentationto
slideshare,andthenuploadedtothe blog,itchangedall the fontsIhad usedto somethingmore
basicand didnot supportthe transitionsor animationsIwantedtobe shown.Anotherpiece of
software Iusedon numerousoccasionswasPrezzi,Ihave lovedPrezzithisyearanduseditwhen
doingmyRepresentationinMusicVideos,AnalysingStudentExamplesandAnalysingMusicVideos.I
reallylike Prezziasitis verydifferenttoPowerpointandisfarmore interactive asitallowsyouto
playit like avideoandclickaroundthe screentozoom inon sectionsyouwantto view.One
advantage of Prezzi washowquickand easyit wasto get the hangof, andalso how funit wasto
workwithand create.I didn’treallyfindanydisadvantagestothissoftware otherthanhow longit
tookto load onthe blogsometimes,otherthanthatI foundthissoftware veryuseful.
In the planningstage Ididn’tuse manytechnologiesthatwere differenttothe researchstage,Iused
manyof the same.The onlydifferentonesIusedwere Google DocsandMicrosoftWord. I found
Google Docs reallyhelpful whencreatingmystoryboardastheyalreadyhadtemplatesavailableto
use for thistask.Thiswas an advantage as itmeantthat I couldveryeasilydownloadthe template
and change it to suitmyneeds,forexample,put inthe picturesandshotsI wantedtouse.Microsoft
Word came inhandyto do myshot listsasit was simple andeasytouse and I alreadyknew exactly
howto use it. The onlythingwasit seemedtoosimple andwasnota veryadvancedchoice of
technology.
Movingonto the constructionof the product,Final Cutplayedpossiblythe biggestpartinthisstage.
Thiswas usedto editandmodifythe footage thatwe hadfilmedforourvideo.One advantage of
FinalCutisthatit allowsyoutodo almostanythingto the footage that youhave filmed,youcanadd
colour,draincolour,add transitions,andmuchmore.There wasnot one thingwe wantedtoadd to
the footage that we couldn’tdousingFinalCut.The onlydisadvantage toFinalCutisthatitisquite an
advancedpiece of technologyandsotakesa longtime toget the hang of,althoughthiswasmade
easierthroughthe use of YouTube tutorials.The mostvital piece of hardware usedwasthe camera,
withoutthe camerawe wouldnothave a video.Ireallyenjoyedfilmingasplayingaroundwith
camera shotsand angles.Anadvantage tothe use of the camera wasthat it wasveryeasyto get
footage andchange the angle of the camera to getthe shots we wanted.The onlydisadvantagewas
that our camerahad quite a lowbatterylife andstorage systemsoitkeptdying!
In myevaluationstagesIhave usedmanyof the same as inmy otherstages,apart frommy use of
podcasting.Iam usingpodcastingtopresentthisquestionandthishasmanyadvantagesasit allows
me to talk ratherthan type whatI want to presentwhichismuchsimplerandalot quicker.Although
the onlydisadvantage iseverybodycanhearme talkingtomyself ina cupboardrightnow.AgainI
usedGoogle Docsduringmy evaluationstage asIfoundthistechnologyreallyusefulpreviouslyand
wantedtouse itagainto creativelybuteffectivelypresentmyevaluation.