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

Justine Mason

Mobile Phone

Throughout my coursework, I relied heavily on my mobile phone. For instance, I used it to contact my actors so we could arrange when to film the music video and take photos for the ancillary tasks. I also used it to keep in contact with my group for organisational purposes. My mobile phone also allowed me to upload ideas onto Facebook for my focus group to respond to, which made it much easier to contact them when a computer wasn’t accessible. In addition, some of the photos taken when we were location scouting were taken via a mobile phone, as it was much easier to use this camera than carry around a professional one.

YouTube

During the research and planning stages, YouTube enabled me to look up different folk musicians and bands which I could analyse and use as inspiration for my own music video. Also, I found tutorial videos on YouTube that taught me how to use a Canon camera, as well as software such as Final Cut Pro. Finally, I used YouTube to showcase our final product as it broadcasts videos on a worldwide scale which enables it to be easily accessible for a wider audience.

Blogger

A key media technology I used throughout the entire process was blogger.com. It enabled me to see a progression through my work and allowed me to reference back to previous ideas I had posted. It was extremely easy to use which made it easy to upload images, Prezis and PowerPoints so I could keep all my research in one place.

Photoshop

I felt Photoshop would be the best software to use when creating my ancillary tasks, due to the wide scale of tools available which would allow me to effectively edit and adjust my photos. I used the programme to airbrush my models and add the layering/merging effect on the digipak cover.

Canon 500D

I initially found it hard to adjust to the features of the Canon 500D camera, as I had no previous experience of making films before. After watching tutorials on YouTube, I learned how to adjust certain features such as the ISO which increased/decreased the light intensity which was helpful in both the ancillary tasks and main task; when taking photos and filming.

Facebook

I used Facebook to contact my focus group as well as my main actors and the other group member because it is a quick and easy way to send messages as well as photos and videos. In addition, Facebook enabled us to contact the band to ask if we could use their song in our media project.

Prezi

I made multiple Prezis for my blog in the research and planning stage, as well as my evaluation. I found it an easy and useful way to present research and ideas in creative and visually appealing ways. It was also very easy to upload the Prezis to my blog by copying and pasting the embed code. In addition, many other former media studies students have used Prezis to present their own information which are easily accessible and clear to read, further helping me with my research.

Final Cut Pro

I chose to use Final Cut Pro to edit the footage we had filmed, and although it was initially quite difficult to use, after watching tutorials on YouTube I found it the best programme to edit on. I liked the wide use of effects available that you can add to your footage, for instance the black and white effect we used in our final production. In addition, it allowed me to zoom into a specific part of the video to edit it more sharply and effectively.