The document summarizes the media technologies used by Abel Clarke at different stages of a short film production. In the research stage, YouTube was used to research similar films and Google was used to research costumes, locations, and shots. Blogger was used to document the research. In planning, an iPhone organized actors, and Microsoft Office programs created schedules, presentations, and storyboards. A Canon camera and tripod were key for filming. Adobe Premiere Pro edited video and sound, and free websites provided sound effects and music. Ancillary texts like a magazine review and poster were made using Microsoft Publisher and Photoshop. Evaluation questions were answered using Premiere Pro, a webcam, laptop, camera, and Power

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

2. Research and Planning

3. YouTube
For the research stage of the production, the
main technology used was the internet. As
there are many great examples of short films
on sites such as YouTube, it was used heavily.
It gave me the ability to look at similar low
budget short films that were fantasy based to
see whether it could be achieved. This helped
me decide it would be better to keep the film
contemporary as many fantasy short films had
a high budget. It then allowed me to research
thriller contemporary short films to see what
sort of conventions I could use.

4. Google and Google Maps
Another useful website was Google which let
me search and browse types of costumes,
locations, conventional camera shots and so
on so I could then decide what mise en scene
aspects would work well for the production.
Google Maps also furthered my research into
locations. Google maps allows the user to look
at both satellite and street view images of
nearly everywhere on the globe. This helped in
the research stage as I could looks at potential
locations without having to visit them myself.

5. Blogger
Finally, the website I used to document and
track the research I had done was Blogger.
Blogger is a blog website and came in useful
throughout the whole production. I initially
used it in the research stage to track
everything that I had researched but as the
production moved into the construction stage
it was used to document my progress and
show any changes that had been made.

6. IPhone
For the planning stage, I used a lot of the
similar websites that were used for the
research stage, which were Google, YouTube
and Blogger. However there were other
technologies used in the planning process.
One technology used was the iPhone. This
phone was used to organise all the actors
needed. This was done by either calling or
texting them to see if they were available to
act and if so when and where we would be
filming.

7. Microsoft Office
Another technology used in this process was
two Microsoft programs which were Excel,
PowerPoint and Word. Excel is a spreadsheet
program which was used in the production to
keep an overall schedule whilst PowerPoint, a
presentation software, was used to visually
present my ideas so that they were more
visual. The most important of the three for the
planning stage was Word. Microsoft word is a
word processing software so it allowed to
write up various documents such as shot-lists
and potential scripts. It was also used to create
the storyboard as it could be printed from this
software so that it could then be drawn on.

8. Construction

9. Camera: Canon Legria HF R506
By far the most important technology in the
construction process was a video camera,
specifically the Canon Legria HF R506. The
video camera allowed all the scenes to be
captured so that they could later be edited in
the post production process. Without it there
would be no production to view. This model
was especially good as it was designed to
reduce shaky movements. I used this camera
in my production to shoot every shot within
the production whilst making use of its
features. For example, using it movement
reduction, long battery life and its high
definition image.

10. Canon Tripod
Another key piece of hardware used in the
filming process was a tripod. The tripod is
useful as it can hold the camera stable in a
large number of positions. It is also good for
making smooth camera movements such as
pans and tilts. I used it for a number of shots
within the production, such as the one I had to
act in meaning no one could hold it. Another
example is when the main character entered
the bank and there had to be a smooth tilt
downwards.

11. Adobe Premiere Pro CS6
Adobe Premiere Pro is by far the most important
part of technology used in the post production
process. Premiere Pro is a video editing software
designed for beginners and professionals alike. It
has a massive selection of tools available so that
the most can be made of the video. I used it a lot
in my production to edit both the video and the
sound. I cut down clips and music as well as
adding video effects. It also allows the user to
adjust colour which can make the overall
production have a certain feel. As my production
was a thriller I added a 50/50 grayscale whilst the
character wasn’t using the pendant and an
enhanced colour whilst the pendant was being
used. This helped distinguish whether the
character had stopped time or not.

12. Sound Bible
A website that came in useful in the
construction stage was SoundBible. This
website contains an assorted archive of sound
effects that were completely copyright free. I
used this for the majority of the foley sound
within the production such as the footsteps
and the whooshing sound when the pendant is
activated. The best thing about this website
was that the sounds were copyright free. This
meant there was no need to contact anybody
about permission to use them and instead
could directly download them and implement
them into the production.

13. Incompetech
Another website used was Incompetech. This
website is similar to SoundBible however it has
an archive of copyright free music rather than
sound effects. The copyright on these tracks
are something called royalty free which means
it can be used without permission as long as
you credit the artist. This website was useful
for finding music that suited the theme of the
production. Every piece of music that is in the
production came off of this website.

14. Ancillary Texts: Microsoft Publisher
Another part of the construction process was
creating the ancillary texts. One of the texts I
decided to create a film magazine review. The
best technology to create this was the
software Microsoft Publisher. This software is
used to design and create documents such as
flyers, posters and so on. It was useful for
designing a two page spread for the film
review. It allowed me to add column text
boxes, easily add images and create visuals
such as titles.

15. Ancillary Texts: Adobe Photoshop CC
Another one of my ancillary texts that I chose
was a poster for the film. There are a lot of
image creation and editing software's available
however the best choice was Adobe
Photoshop. Like Premiere Pro, this software
has a range of tools available that can be used
by new users as well as experienced users. The
software worked well to create the poster as I
could take the background out of pictures, add
text and so on.

16. Evaluation

17. Adobe Premiere Pro CS6
Just like in the construction process, Adobe
Premiere Pro was used again. As many of my
evaluation question answers are mainly done
using video they needed to be edited. For
example, my first answer involved many things
that needed more advanced editing such as
overlaying images and adding other videos in-
between the directors commentary to further
answer the question.

18. HP Webcam
To answer the second question I used a vlog.
The best way to film this was using a webcam.
The webcam is a good way of filming yourself
as it is eye level and there tends to be no
distractions when filming with them. I set it up
with my PC in my room and then filmed myself
answering the question in detail.

19. Acer Laptop
Another technology used to answer question 3
was an Acer Laptop. As this question consisted
of the audience being filmed watching the
production, they needed something to watch
it on. The laptop was best for this as its
portable and has a good display meaning the
audience would have no problems in viewing
the video whislt they were being filmed.

20. Camera: Canon Legria HF R506
One technology that was needed for question
3 was a video camera. The camera used was
the Canon Legria HF R506. Like the
construction process, the video camera was
used to capture the visual content needed to
help answer the evaluation question. However,
this time the camera was used to document
the audiences responses and get their
feedback on the production rather than to film
an actual production. I could’ve got the
audience feedback via written feedback
however the video aspect helps emphasise
visually what the audience is trying to say and
therefore makes it easier to understand.

21. Microsoft PowerPoint
Finally for this question, I have used
PowerPoint to answer it. As there were many
things that need to be noted it may have got
tedious if done using a video. PowerPoint
allows information to be displayed clearly and
without it getting too tedious. I have used it
here to both verbally and visually show all the
technologies used in the production process
and how they were effective in enhancing the
final product.