The document discusses the use of new media technologies throughout the research, construction, planning and evaluation stages of creating a documentary. Key technologies used included: - Google and the Channel 4 website for initial research and inspiration - A WordPress blog to document research findings and get feedback - An HD camera and Pinnacle software for filming interviews and editing footage - YouTube to find copyright-free music and example print screens - PowerPoint and screenshots to present evaluations of the process - Audacity and Photoshop for ancillary tasks like a radio trailer and documentary poster

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

2. Research Process
During the research process of creating our documentary one of the first methods of new
technology we used was the internet search engine Google. We used to Google to gather
information and ideas on the types of documentaries that Channel 4 produce. Via Google
we also then used the Channel 4 website http://www.channel4.com/ to view some
examples of Channel 4 documentaries and from there the Channel 4 On Demand site
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/4od in order to watch the documentaries in full.
We used this site particularly to watch the Channel 4 documentary ‘Crazy About One
Direction’ which served as our main inspiration behind our own project.

3. Another new media technology feature we used in the research process was
the internet blog site Wordpress – www.wordpress.com. We used our blog on
wordpress (www.mastersofmedia12.wordpress.com) to document our
research and makes notes and print screens of what we found out.
By uploading our research on to wordpress it
allowed for others, such as other class
members and our teacher to view our
research and give us positive feedback that we
were on the right track, as well as offering us
help and ideas via the ‘comment’ button.
We also used the blog to document any changes in
ideas that we had. An example of this is when we
changed our original idea of doing a school based
documentary like ‘Educating Essex’ to the idea of doing
an obsession themed documentary. We chose to
change our idea for a number of reasons; the main one
being that we discovered doing a school based
documentary would involve a lot of asking people for
permission which due to deadline and time conditions
we felt was not practical.

4. Construction Process
During the production stages one of the new media technologies we used was the SD
HD camera. We used this camera to get some establishing shots and also to film our
interviews with Katrina. The camera was a very important element of new technology
which we used during the construction period as it allowed us to get multiple different
angle shots to use in our documentary, which we then put together on Pinnacle and
edited so that it ran smoothly.
As well as multiple angles the SD HD camera also allowed us to perform close ups by
using the ‘zoom’ option. We found that this came is useful when filming our
establishing shots as it allowed us to zoom in on important features such as the
Hanham High Reception sign. By using a HD camera it allowed us to perform these kind
of zooms without losing the quality.

5. Pinnacle was another new media technology
aspect which we used during the construction stage
of making our documentary. This was a new
experience for us as we had not used this
programme previously. Pinnacle allowed us to cut
and edit our clips together whilst also adding music
and narration over the top. Recording a nondiegetic narrative was something we were
unfamiliar with as we
had not used any form
of voice recording
software before
however the narrative
was a convention of
documentaries that we
felt we should conform
to as all of the
documentaries we
used as inspiration
incorporated this
feature.

6. Throughout the production process of our documentary Pinnacle proved to be a very
important means of new technology as without it we would not have been able to
complete the editing as well as we have. Though the programme did initially take
some getting used to in the end we found it to be a significant help towards creating
our finished product. Overall we feel that the new media technologies we have used
throughout the construction and production stages have made a positive impact on
the quality of our work, as if you were to compare our A2 work to our work from last
year the improvements in quality would be instantly recognizable.
Pinnacle also allowed us to add interesting effects and transitions on to our images, videos
and text. Using this feature we decided to add on the ‘leaves’ effect to our titles. We made
sure to keep this convention present throughout the documentary so as to conform to a
recurring theme. We chose this transition as we thought it looked quite magical and
fantasy like which we felt mirrored our Harry Potter theme well.

7. Planning Process
As we planned our documentary we continued to use wordpress to document
our research and ideas. We also continued to use Google and the Channel 4
website in order to research ideas for our ancillary tasks. We looked up Channel 4
documentary posters on Google in order to gain ideas and inspiration for our
documentary poster. We were given the task of creating a poster for our
documentary which conformed to the conventions of a Channel 4 poster. After
looking up a variety of examples we discovered some of the conventions involved:
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Date and time of broadcast at bottom of page underneath title
Text in white font against a darker coloured background
Channel 4 logo on right hand side of page
One simple image as opposed to lots of little images that overpower the poster
Simple colour scheme

8. Also in the planning process we used Hotmail to contact potential
interviewees. We found this helpful as sometimes it was hard to speak to
people in person and discuss times and dates of interviews, so by using email
it meant that our interview candidates could find out when they were free to
meet with us and we could film out interview footage. Similarly to this we
used mobile phones to contact interviewees when they were not available to
contact via email. This was a good communication method to use as it
allowed us to find out instantly when people were available. In some cases we
contacted potential interviewees via mobile phone and had a camera set up
within ten minutes as they were free to film with us.
For the majority of our interviews with our main subject Katrina the dialogue
was not scripted. Instead we asked her a question and then simply gave her a
minute to think of an interesting answer before starting filming. This was the
same case for most of our interview shots, however for our interview with
Miss Sharpe we gave her a list of questions we were going to ask a few days
prior to filming, giving her time to write out a short script of what she was
going to say.

9. YouTube was another new media technology that we used to gather information and print
screens for out documentary. We used YouTube to gather some music that we were going to use
as our non – diegetic soundtrack. Jack also discovered a copyright free website which we also
used to gather some music for our sound bed on our radio trailer.
We also used YouTube to gain some print screens which you can see we have used at the end of
our documentary. These print screens were collected from a YouTube clip from Harry Potter in
which Snape dies. We chose to add in print screen of other users’ comments which layer over
Katrina as she is speaking about her feelings for the character. As she goes on to state her
heartbreak when Snape died, numerous comments from YouTube users echoing her feelings flash
up on to the screen until it is filled up with similar comments from others regarding the character.
We chose to do this as it is a technique we have seen used in documentaries before and thought
that it would have an effective impact on the scene, showing that it is perhaps not only Katrina
who is so ‘Crazy About Harry Potter’.

10. Evaluation process
For the evaluation process we used a range of different new media technologies. Microsoft Word
played a significant part in our evaluation process as most of our questions and answers were
written out on word before copying and pasting them onto our blog or other means of
presentation.
Powerpoint was another method that we used to present our evaluation. We chose to present
this question (Question 4) via a powerpoint as we though it broke up the evaluation slightly and
made it more interesting to look at than just simply having a large word document filled with lots
of text. By creating a powerpoint presentation it allowed us to section off different parts of the
question, for example you can see we have added in titles when we reach a new ‘process’ in the
question (Planning process, Evaluation process etc…)
Using powerpoint also made it easier to add in images and print screens to further show
evidence of the methods of new technology we have used.
Audacity was also a programme used when creating our radio trailer ancillary task. Jack knew this
programme well as he had used it previously to create radio trailers. A final programme used
throughout the process was Photoshop, which we used to create our Channel 4 documentary
poster. We both found this relatively easy to use as it is a programme we have used many times
throughout our IT lessons.