1) The document discusses the use of digital technology in the author's AS and A2 coursework, including recording interviews and editing audio for a radio bulletin in AS using dictaphones and Adobe Audition, and creating a film trailer, website, and poster using a digital camera and Adobe Photoshop in A2. 2) The author notes mistakes made in audio editing in AS and improvements applying that knowledge in A2, such as using animation software to make the website interactive. 3) The author concludes that using professional equipment throughout production and post-production helps create sophisticated media products and reflects learning that digital technology is vital for a professional look and audience engagement.

1. Digital Technology is all about the equipment used to create a media product. I believe that digital
technology is important to media planning and production as it helps make the product look or
sound professional.
For the coursework that I created in both my AS and A2 work, I was set briefs in order to meet a
task. The brief for my AS coursework was to produce a 5 minute radio breakfast bulletin for Oldham
Community Radio along with a 30-40 second introduction for the ancillary task. The brief for my A2
coursework was to create a trailer for a horror film and the ancillary work for this task included
creating a website homepage and a poster for the fictional film I came up with.
In my AS year, I used digital technology throughout the whole process.
To gain knowledge about my intended audience, I needed to do some primary audience research. I
decided to use Flip Cams and Dictaphones to reference the opinions of people that fall in the
category of my audience. This helped me to reference the feedback that I got when blogging my
research on Weebly.
I used digital technology in the production process of my news bulletin when interviewing people
and when recording the presenter parts from the script. As a group, we used microphones which
were plugged into Dictaphones with headphones plugged in to them whilst recording the input we
received from our interviewees. This meant that we could measure how loud the sound was and
whether it was recording properly. We also made sure that we were in a quiet environment so that
we didn’t pick up any outside sound, as we knew how delicate the microphones were. My thinking
behind using this equipment was to create professional sounding interviews that we could easily edit
when we returned to college.
At college, we used Adobe Audition to put in all of our sounds and edit them. We also used the
microphones to record presenter parts which would help the bulletin flow. Cutting, copying and
pasting allowed our bulletin to sound consistent. The music and sound bridges that we used were all
copyright free sources from Aviary and helped the bulletin to sound conventional.
I feel that we successful used digital technology to record our interviews and record the presenter
parts. However, the editing of our pieces wasn’t consistent. The levels were quite confusing and this
was also feedback that we received from both our primary audience, “the volume changes a bit” and
our teacher “Levels and popping P’s”.
In my A2 year, I used much more of a variety of digital technology in a different way. Although I used
the same amount of literal technology, I used more programmes to help me create my media
products. I also used previous knowledge and experiences from my AS year that meant my media
text would shape better in the end.
The levels of the sound and the length of the interviews was what made our radio bulletin sound
unprofessional and so I considered this when researching into my A2 work. I began by looking at
professional film posters and film website homepages to gain knowledge in the professional format
and layout of these texts.
I noticed when researching into Silent Hill (2006) and The Wicker Man (1973) that the promotional
texts were very animated and eye catching. I then began to look at past students work as I knew that
this would seem more achievable and I knew what I could work towards to get a higher grade. I
noticed that the higher graded students had used professional cameras and this was noticeable with
the quality of their pictures. I used a Kodak digital camera to take my pictures and they came out
very clear. I also noticed that the editing of the posters was very creative in the higher graded work. I

2. used Adobe Photoshop to edit my poster using tools such as the brush tool and the clone stamp tool
to make the picture look unnatural and thrilling. Using programmes such as Banner Snack meant
that I could create animation much more easily. I used Banner Snack to create a promotional
“Coming Soon” animation that would feature on my homepage to make it look interactive.
I feel that I successfully used digital technology to make my texts creative and look more unnatural
so that they fell into the horror genre. I took the mistakes of leaving all of the work to the post-
production process in my AS year and applied them in my A2 work so that my product would look
polished at the end.
Over the course from my AS work to my A2 work I have learnt that the use of digital technology is
vital in making a media text look sophisticated. Using professional equipment during both the
production and post-production process meant that my work developed professionally by looking
and sounding conventional.
I feel that my coursework has improved a lot over this course and this is due to how I have used
digital technology. In my AS work, I had the role of presenting the piece. Because of this I only really
had the chance to use the microphone. I would use the headphones and microphone to record the
parts I had to say but I didn’t really have the chance to edit the piece as a whole.
In my A2 work I had to create my own products meaning I had the chance to express myself and use
the equipment that I wanted to use. I have now had the opportunity to use more sophisticated
technology and I feel this is reflected in the way my work looks and sounds. An example of the way I
have improved can be proved in my mock up audience feedback, “I like how it is interactive”.
Ensuring that I used professional equipment in the pre-production, production and post-production
process meant that my products could develop into looking conventional and sophisticated. The
improvements from my AS year taught me that digital technology is vital in helping a product to look
professional and to gain an audience.