Evaluation Question 4 (draft)

How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Don't simply think about the technology you have used but also consider how they 'connect' together. Also comment on how much 'easier' technology has made the research, production and evaluation of your work.

Post Production;

iMovie – I used this to create the animatic on. This allowed me to practice editing things together, and also get the shots in time with the music, so that we know exactly how long each shot needs to be. I also used this to create the test shot video on. YouTube – We used this for our research and planning, when researching artists and looking at ideal shots and different real life conventions we can use into our media product. I’ve also used it for uploading things such as the animatic and the test shot video. 
Blogger – Blogger is where I’ve published all my work on, so both me and Sophie can keep up to date with one another and be organised with our coursework. Blogger is also where we get given feedback on from our teacher, so any improvements can be made. 
Twitter – I’ve used twitter to talk to Sophie with our teacher to discuss different ideas for our music video and ancillary texts. Me and Sophie have also set up a twitter account for our artist ‘@PoppyMillsMusic’ where we’ve tweeted a couple of tweets of things our artist would say. Twitter is also a good way of getting audience feedback or advice for anything, as it’s a well known social networking site which all of our target audience properly use. 
Scribd – I’ve used this to upload some of my work, which have been produced on Microsoft word. This website allows my work to look a lot neater and be put on my blog in a better format. Its also somewhere where I can upload my work onto, incase I lose it, and also easier for me to embed and download from different places.
Animoto – This is where we produce our pitch on. This helped us make a short video, allowing us to add all the detail needed. This made our research easier, as we were able to put all of our ideas into one thing, to produce something which tells everyone what exactly our video will be like. 
Screen Grab – I’ve used this to screen grab things of youtube videos, twitter feeds and different pictures of artists to help with my research and planning. I’ve screen grabbed different shots of youtube which I’d liked to of included into my own work. 
MacBook – This is what I’ve used to do the majority on my own work on. However all the joint work has been done on a iMac. Using my Macbook has made it easier for me to import anything that has been done on my iPhone or Sophies iPhone because we can just simple import it to iPhoto and then use it straight away. Also I've been able to download PhotoShop for a month on a free trial where i've been able to do any of the work done on this software at home as well as at school.
On the iMac we imported all of our videos which we have filmed onto this, which automatically imported them onto Final Cut Pro. 
PowerPoint - This software has been use when research UK Tribes. This was easier when splitting the work load between Sophie and I, as we would take it in turns to each complete a slide with different information on it. 
PhotoShop - This software was used to create our ancillary texts. As I was already familiar with this software, it was easier for me to use. I used the research that I had done into digipaks and posters, to help me produce a layout, and also the final products. It was easier to link both of my ancillary texts together, because I could work on them at the same time, to ensure that they were both following the same style and gave off the same pop/folk, simple but neat look. It also made it easier to work on separate panels of the digipak, I didn't have to work in an order, I was able to start on the back cover, and then the front.
Camera  - Canon - used to take photos of our artists on for our ancillary texts. We were lucky enough to use a high spec camera, and the white screen and the parachute lights in the AVS room. This made our artist look very well presented against the white screen, and the lights also made her a lot lighter and got rid of any shadows. This was easier for me when editing the photo on the digipak and poster, as she was already well lit, and there weren't any shadows which meant we could use the grey/white background on the poster and digipak.
Slideshare - I used this website to upload the power points which i've produced, so that they can put published on my blog in a slideshare format. This makes it easier for people to read, and also easier to get information off. Varies the formats that we've used. 
 Flickr - This website is were we have published all the photos that we've taken from the photo shots of our artist. Its easier for both me and Sophie, because then we both has access to the photos. It was also easier to narrow down the photos that we could possibly use for our media products. This is because having them all next to one another, you could tell which ones stood out and looks better with the lighting and angle, and which ones would look better on both media products.

Production;

Camera - Panasonic HD - We used this camera for filming both the draft and final media product. It was useful for us as it was a HD camera, meaning it was a lot better quality, and it also helped with the lighting, and lighting her face up. We used the parachute lights when filming in our second location, the sweet shop. This made the mise en scene look well presented, and it was easier to maintain a good lighting in the sweet shop. After researching several pop videos, a lot of them as well lit, bright and colourful. We had an advantage of using the sweet shop and also the parachute lights, so it was slightly easier for us to present out artist well.   
Final Cut Pro - This software is what we used to produce both the draft music video and the final product. As both me and Sophie were familiar with this software from previous tasks in the post production section, we were able to start editing straight away. We were able to adapt the shots to the correct timing, and also make sure the lip syncing was in time. We separate both of the locations into two different events so that it was easier for us to find the correct clip. We went by our storyboard when editing, however some things were changed and added in. This software also allows you to add different effects, and any sound effects. We used the cross fade effect right at the end, to smoothly link in our last shot and the '#wayintheworld' hashtag trend. We also added in on screen text at the begging and ending, which said the name of the artist, the artist song, the record label and the directors. This is basic conventions which are on real life media products which are published on TV programmes like MTV. 
Google - We used Google images to add into our media product. This is because we wanted to make it look more professional. We added in the 'MTV' logo and also the artists name and song. This is so that it makes it look more realistic, and makes the video fit into our genre of pop. As our video would be something you'd find being played on tv programmes such as MTV, we thought it would be easier for an audience to identify the genre of our music video, and also add in more conventions of real life media products.
YouTube - This is were we have uploaded on final video on to. This helps us to embed the link onto different website, and also link people to watch our video for feedback. People who have internet, have an easier access to the video. It also allows people who we don't know to watch and give us feedback. Uploading it onto YouTube also makes it more professional, and more realistic.