Evaluation - Question 3 How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

RESEARCH

 The most important form of media technology I used throughout this coursework was Blogger. This is because blogger is the website we use to blog and record the progression of our coursework which included the the research, planning, production and evaluation stages. Blogger is a very useful form way of recording our coursework stages down because, you can access ir anywhere (at home, in college on your mobile) which means I can always blog. It has features which allows you to add images, videos, links etc and you can label your own work. I used most of the features during my coursework especially when it came to adding images and videos from YouTube (during the planning stage) very quickly.

YouTube was used a lot throughout this coursework, particularly the planning stage as we needed to research, watch and analyse many music videos in relation to ours. in order to gain inspiration and to actually look for the song we were going to make a music video for. 

In order to create my artist I had to ensure that he either challenged or conformed to the stereotypical grime artist persona. Although I listen to some UK rap and grime music, i wanted to understand their personality further therefore, I had to get up close and personal and snoop around their twitter. The reason why i used Twitter or their website is because celebrities tend to interact with their fans much more on Twitter. Furthermore it is an application that can be used on smart phones whilst artists are on the go. Unlike FaceBook and YouTube Twitter does not need to be regulated by an artists 'assistant' etc, many tweets come from the artists themselves. Occasionally we see artists fight over twitter, they tell fans when new albums are going to be released etc. Therefore using Twitter in order to see how grime artists personalities are worked well. Two things I can say about them is that they are funny and supportive of other artists which i showed throughout my music video and advertisement through the feature of other artists.


When delivering presentations such as the pitch, Prezi became very useful. it is a programme that allows you to create very unique presentations, edit them and also add features such as different themes, images and videos. The programme is web based and you do not need to download it therefore, it is a programme you can use in a public or private computer. 

In order to access the above applications/programs I needed access to the internet. I use google chrome just because it is quick and efficient for me. However using the internet was also needed for research purposes, particularly for research purposes on the theories we learned and more information on the conventions of music videos, information on grime artists and locations.

PRODUCTION

Much of the filming equipment used were brand new state of the art camera's which ensured a good quality music video. We also had enough memory cards for filming and taking pictures during the filming and also for our ancillary products. The equipment used for filming were expensive yet simple to use so we never really had problems setting them up. We also used a flip cam for recording behind the scenes of our music video. However we had to be sure of the safety procedures beforehand.

The form of technology used the most throughout this coursework was definitely the MAC OS X computers. Many of the programs we used for editing and creating our ancillary products were provided through using the mac's. 

Final Cut Pro was the software we used to edit our music video. My group decided not to use effects such as the green screen because our music video consisted of a narrative and we wanted it to be as realistic as possible. For my evaluation I also used Final Cut Pro to create a short clip.




QuickTime and MPEG Stream clip were used especially when converting our music video and any other clips we created, in a format suitable to be uploaded onto Blogger.

Photoshop Elements was used to create my ancillary products and I used it for both of my products. I was much more comfortable using Photoshop Elements as I have experience using it however, I have broadened my knowledge and my skills much more compared to how it was when I first started. I particularly liked the effects I could use on Photoshop and the fact that it was accessible for me to use at home. For example in order to adjust and create effects on the photo below used on my Digipak cover I had to do the following

Use the Magic Wand Tool to get rid of the white background, use the blur tool in order to make image look less 'sharp' and not simply stuck on the black background (even though it was) and lastly I adjusted the lighting using brightness/contrast.

EVALUATION

For some of my clips I created for my evaluation I used Windows Live Movie Maker which is an updated version of Windows Movie Maker and allows you to directly upload videos onto YouTube and save your movie with different formats including mobiles devices, HD, standard and variable sizes. This was also a very simple program to use however.. when I uploaded my clips onto blogger the texts came out fuzzy. No problem though, I used my blackberry to create a voice over.   

I also used Photoshop to annotate many of pictures and screen shots to compare.


A new software I came across on Windows during my coursework was using 'Snipping Tool' I personally LOVE it! For a while I was angered at the fact that I had to press Prt scr in order to screen shot an image then copy, paste, crop and resize it. Then I googled a program or software I could use that was similar to the screen grabber on MAC pc's which allow you to drag the cursor to the selected area you want and automatically saves. 


C:\Users\Mariama\Desktop\2012-01-25_2200.swf

**COPY AND PASTE THE URL ABOVE INTO THE URL BAR FOR A VIDEO TUTORIAL**

This tool allows you to create screen shots similar to the ones on MAC softwares

- Press START

-  Click All Programs

- Then Accessories

- Press Snipping tool

Once it opens the screen may look like it fades, just as shown in the video above drag the '+' cursor selecting whatever you want a screen shot of (the software I used to record this does not move in time with the mouse hence why you couldn't see me drag the cursor). Once you have selected what you want to screenshot VOILÀ! 

The tool allows you to annotate it using a pen however, I was terrible at this. It also allows you to save the snip with different formats therefore your snip can be used for a range of suitable devices i.e. mobile phones, in a clip, document etc

ANIMATIC/DIGITAL STORYBOARD