Question 4

Question 4

• 1.
  Question 4 “HOW DIDYOU USE MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND RESEARCH, PLANNING AND EVALUATION STAGES?”
• 2.
   Luca andI used online programmes on Web 2.0 throughout as a forum to plan, construct and evaluate ideas. For example we used blogger.com as a place to research other texts to see the conventions of the genre and ultimately use as our creative e-portfolio. It also allowed us to discuss and collaborate on new ideas and concepts and develop them together, and get feedback from a supervisor. Similarly, Facebook Messenger and text messages allowed us to create groups to plan shoots logistically with our actors and ensure they could happen and that each person was aware of their duties in that particular shoot.
• 3.
   Whilst bothmyself and Luca were involved in aspects of each of the three products, in this project I was more involved in the process of photo editing the magazine advertisement and digipak than editing of the video. We used a wide range of technologies in combatting the brief, which new technologies enabled us to use – however, we were limited in a sense of the more complex the technology, the more time consuming and costly it would become.  In filming we used a DSLR camera, this contrasts from our AS project – in which we used a lower quality camcorder. This change gave us more freedom over filming. It enabled us to film at a higher frame rate and quality. It also allowed us to use manual focus and pull focus, which raised the professionalism of our video and enabled us to make certain things within the frame more significant.  We also used this same camera for photoshoots, and it allowed us to also toggle light exposure – meaning that it would be how we wanted it to be. We took a range of shots from a range of angles to ensure we had extensive choice. QUALITY TIMEAND COST Quality comparison
• 4.
   In editingthe footage we used Premiere Elements 9.0 and Adobe AfterEffects, the latter being used exclusively for ‘Warp Stabilizer’ to stabilise shots and eradicate any shakiness. Premiere enabled us to place everything on a timeline and cut in time with the music – although we were posed some issues in this through the audio and footage playing out of sync and several crashes within the software.  We used the simple editing tools to lay text on some frames – using ‘Title Animation’.  We also edited the playing speed using the ‘Time Stretch’ tool on certain sequences to make them play in slow motion.  Opacity is another tool we used, which allowed us to have a fade to black at the end of the video.  We also reversed the final shot on the train, so that it is travelling in the opposite direction to the first train – giving the impression of arriving and leaving.
• 5.
   In editingthe magazine advert PhotoShop CS3 predominantly, however also used an online photo editor named Pixlr in conjunction with this.  This allowed us to edit several aspects about the photos, most predominantly the darkness and contrast levels – as we wanted a dark and gritty feel. To do this we also drained the colour slightly within in Pixlr before moving to PS CS3.  This however made the artist appear too dark, and so we layered another lighter version of him and placed it on top of the other image in PhotoShop.  We then added the text and anchor it towards one side, positioning it based on our audience feedback, adding a review and the band’s label in the bottom corners as to not alter the reading path.
• 6.
   Our digipakwas created using PhotoShop CS3 exclusively – creating each pane individually before putting it on to a 6 pane template that we downloaded. This allowed us to have a consistent feel throughout the digipak, with the garage door significantly linking the inner panels to the outside.  In editing, we changed the brightness and contrasts slightly, to make certain things stand out, to make it more eye-catching, and to make the writing – put in using the internal text tool – more easily legible.  The crop tool ensured that each pane was cut to size and was suitable for the digipak template we were working towards.
• 7.
   We alsoused YouTube in many ways. We created a new collaborative account that we both had access to, and this would be purely for posting our media content.  This involved our preliminary task, our animatic storyboard, our rough cut, our final piece, and then our collaborative evaluation question.  This meant that all of our edited projects were in one place, and that we – and our audience – had easy access to all of our content: which allowed us to get feedback more efficiently and also see what the reception was online. Whilst this is a vague form, we had a 100% like ratio, amassing several ‘likes’ over the course and 0 ‘dislikes’ – showing a positive response.  Analytics also showed us success within our target audience – and particularly that it attracted the sub-demographics that we expected.