evaluation question 4 A2 media

2. TECHNOLOGIES I USED
Whilst producing our music video, I used a range of
technologies throughout my research, planning ,
construction and Evaluation. The use of these
technologies made it so much easier to document my
work on computers and on line and also enabled me
to find new ways of documenting and uploading my
work using multimedia technologies.

3. RESEARCH
For the research section of this project I used some internet services. The internet
provided the best way to get research as it gave me many sources which allowed
me to gain the information I needed in a short amount of time
What I used : For the research part of our project I used Google to research similar
artists to our genre and Music videos produced by similar artists. I also used
different websites of record companies to look at which artists they had signed
and their particular genre.
Why I used it : The technology of the 21st century allowed me to gain easier access to
online websites and information faster. Before technology like this, I would have
had to find another way of researching videos and then have to write up my results
which would have been time consuming. Google gave me information from
anywhere in the world, for example over 90,000,000 search results related to
Pop/Indie and within 16 seconds Google had shown me the list of the websites
where I could find artists in the UK or the USA so I could look at the way they had
been portrayed
What could have worked better?: Google was a very reliable sources and I believe that
it was the best website to use because of its free and easy access and the fast and
reliable results which contrasts to pre 21st century technology where everything
would have to be handwritten and harder to document.

4. RESEARCH CONTINUED…
What I used : I used a social networking site called Facebook to further my
research and look at the various pages of artists. I also turned to
YouTube for more research into music because I was going to be
making a music video and I needed some ideas of shots and angles
which would be good to shoot from, also what would look more
professional.
What I did: Facebook allowed me to search their names and took us to their
personal twitter page and official websites where we were able to have a
look around the website and get ideas for our own websites. We had a
look at artists such as Selene Gomez, Taylor Swift and Rita Ora, all
whom we based the ideas of our artists image on.

5. RESEARCH CONTINUED…
Once we had found our artists image, we needed to research other artists of the
same genre and same format so we could compare, so I used YouTube to search
up artists for example, I searched up Rita Ora, Taylor Swift and other artists that
fit the genre of music we were going for into YouTube and looked at the range of
videos I could use for my research videos.
What I used: I used Blogger to get down my ideas and to share my research.
What I did: Once finding a video I used Blogger to upload my findings and share
it with others. I was able to do this by using the ‘Embed code’ on every video on
YouTube. YouTube allowed me to use the embed codes for the videos so that I
was able to take any MP4 or MP3 file from YouTube and upload it anywhere.

6. PLANNING
For planning I used a mixture of internet
and presentation technologies to show
the planning of our product. For example
I used Final Cut Pro, Prezi, Word,
Powerpoint and as well as using all of
these I also used YouTube to post
videos.

7. PREZI
Prezi provides the services of creating a project/presentation and allows
you to present it in a specific way that you want. It allows you to use
different themes and ways of getting your ideas across. It also allows
you to change transitions between presentations and allows you to
embed videos from YouTube which was very useful when it came to
analyzing music videos and talking about them as Prezi allows you to
use pictures as well. What’s really good is also the fact that after you
create the presentation, you can use the embed code provided to add it
to sites such as blogger which allowed me to embed the presentations
onto my work which made my presentations easier. It mixes the
interactivity of a presentation with writing, which I think suits my style a
lot more. Free to use and a straightforward learning process I how to
use it.

8. SOCIAL NETWORK
Facebook and Instagram were used to take some images of our artist so that we
could use some for the website. Facebook is a social network website where
posting photos and videos is public or private to your friends. Instagram allows
you to post videos and short videos to your followers or the public depending on
what your profile settings are. The artists pictures were taken from her Instagram
page for the website and initially for the Digipak but we changed this later on.
Positives: Facebook/Instagram allow interactivity with other friends who could
comment on the videos I upload and give me feedback. The feedback was more
accurate according to our target audience because they were around a similar
age group as our target audience.
Negatives: Facebook didn’t reach the whole public because my account is a
private account. Only people who know me could comment, which meant that
only a certain selection of people could give feedback to me.

9. OTHER PROGRAMMES
An additional computer programme used whilst creating my planning blog was
Adobe Photoshop. Photoshop allowed Ellis and I to create the design for the
digipak. It allows the creation of posters and Layouts by using different shapes
and drawings. For example we created our Digipak using the tool where we could
create the template for our digipak, after this we could fill the box with any colour
for the background and then I took images that we obtained with the cameras
and copied them onto the programme to create the image of the female on the
front of the digipak. We also used photoshop to experiment with the different
effects we could used on the digipak.
We used Youtube to upload our animatic and video production, which meant that
we were able to embed them onto our blogs. This made it easy for us to share
the videos between our group, which were uploaded on our Youtube accounts.
We were able to transfer the music track for our video onto the computer we
would be using to edit using the bluetooth function from one of our MP3 iPhones.

10. CONSTRUCTION
We used blogging to organise all of our work and upload files.
The follow feature allowed us to share information such as initial
ideas for the video and possible photographs for the magazine
advert and digipak between our group easily, which saved us
having to email them to each other or using a USB stick/CD to
transfer them between computers. Another advantage of
blogging is that it meant that we could work on our coursework
from any computer, at home or at school. This was much easier
than having multiple word documents or powerpoint
presentations.

11. PHOTOSHOP
Using Photoshop, we were able to construct the digipak. We used a
copy of one of the pictures we took of our artist, then we used the lasso
tool in Photoshop to cut around the head getting rid of any areas
unwanted. We then used the shadow feature to give it that orange glow.
We also used the shadow feature on the website pictures to give the
artist a specific look. Similarly, we used the same technique to cut out
the pictures for the inside panels of the Digipak. We used the eraser tool
to remove some spots on the forehea to give the Digipak more of a
professional look. We were able to implement a red colour scheme with
the help of Photoshop. We also airbrushed the images to give them a
more crisp and professional look.

12. CAMERA
The camera that we used was known as a Canons DSLR HD camera.
Top of the range quality which allowed us to get better, high definition
quality shots which came out very well. The camera came with a normal
lens and a telephoto lens which came in handy when filming close ups.
Also came in handy when following the NFL athletes while they were
playing. The use of the high definition camera really helped our project
because, as a new media technology, the quality of film was amazing for
a compact camera whereas thirty or so odd years ago, getting such a
high quality image in such a small package was far from discovered. It
created a very cinematic style to the production and was far better than
the Flip Ultra cameras in HD.

13. SMART PHONES
Having access to this technology allowed easier filming and quicker uploading
time, it also created a blogging device picture wise as while I went around
London with my friend, I took some still photographs of the surroundings to see
possible locations of where to film.
Disadvantages: Images didn’t come out well as they had to be adapted using PC
programs and the quality on the phone was different to the quality on the macs.
Using a phone also proved difficult at times because we had to constantly make
sure it had battery and not to waste any memory etc.
Advantages: The phone allowed us to take quick shots we wanted and gave us
good quality images. Also if we needed to write down a quick memo, we could for
example, Notes on a iPhone.

14. MY LIVE SIGNATURE
Another website I used to do the writing on the digipak was
MyLiveSignature.com. This was a website that created a signature for
me. We wanted to have signatures on the digipak so that the artist could
add their own personal touch to the digpak, we also thought it worked
well with the style seeing as we had a biography page. This website
asked me what I wanted to say in the signature and then gave me
options of fonts , sizes and colours as well as the slope of the writing. I
downloaded the signature and then added it to the bottom of the playlist
page of our digipak.

15. FINAL CUT PRO
For editing purposes, we used the editing software, Final cut Pro which
was on all the Macs provided at school, in order to complete our
storyboard animatics, and rough copies of the music video, as well as to
show edits as I have done and then I uploaded it to my YouTube
channel. It proved useful and easy to use for what we wanted and was
familiar as we had used it for the project we completed the previous
year. The presentation allowed for the professional look we were going
for just with the amount of time and effort we put into it.

16. WIX – WEBSITE MAKER
The website maker Wix was the perfect choice in order for our group to
achieve the professional and independent style/look that we aimed for
but coincidentally proved to be simple and easy to use so it didn't’t
cause us many problems. The use of Wix is very similar to the use of
Prezi in the way you can edit specifics. The process of being able to
view edits made to each page link on our website was simple and
caused no long term problems. On top of this, the fact that it was a free
flashmaker meant that no expense was spared in making a professional
looking website.

17. EVALUATION
For the evaluation of the Media product I used Apple Mac computers and a
Presentation websites such as Blogger and Slideshare .
The Apple Mac computers Provided us with a built in camera and microphone
and we used this to film/record our audience feedback and ourselves for the
planning section of our video. We would be able able to sit big groups of people
in a room and film them whilst we asked them questions. This was helpful as we
didn’t need to find anyone to hold a camera and we could record straight onto
YouTube where we could upload it and then share it to various other websites.
This was one of our most helpful media technologies. The Macs also contained
all of our work so as soon as we entered we could start and get straight down to
work. Slideshare is a programme which allows you to upload documents from
other programmes such as word and powerpoint and allows you to embed your
work onto websites such as blogger, for example, this presentation right now is
on slideshare.

18. SUMMARY
By using all the different technologies to create and present my work, I have been
able to document, upload and share all of my work as well as keep it online so I
can create copies and access it easily. The technologies I have used have also
taught me about how different multimedia technologies can be used to create a
piece of work which I can then share with the public or my friends for feedback.
Using the ‘Google’ proved unreliable when I searched specific things as it gave
me multiple search results with only 60% of the results relating to my search
request, however, it was helpful when I needed to search up artists/bands and
music as it gave me results from different time periods and I was able to compare
different products. Many of my presentations and images were uploaded and
created using computer technology. The use of new media technologies has
allowed all the stages of my project to be quick and has made it as easy as
possible for me to produce and share my work.