The document describes the various technologies and tools used to plan, create, and evaluate three media projects: a documentary opener, magazine article, and radio trail. During planning, online research was conducted using search engines and news sites. Storyboarding, scripting, and drafting were used to develop concepts. Video and audio were recorded using cameras and microphones, and footage was edited in Final Cut Express. A magazine article was designed in InDesign. Projects were evaluated through blog posts, slideshows, and videos uploaded to online platforms like YouTube and Slideshare.
2. Many different technologies were used when we were planning,
constructing and evaluating our three tasks; Five minutes of a
documentary opener, and the two ancillary tasks of a magazine
article and a radio trail.
During our research section we mostly used internet browsers such
as Google Chrome, Safari and Internet Explorer to use reliable
sources like Talk To Frank, The Guardian, The Independent and The
New York Times who all had stories, articles and facts that we could
use. However, we also used A-Level Biology books to discover the
effects alcohol has on the body which we desired to include in the
finished products.
3.
Youtube/iPlayer
These free to access websites of Youtube and BBC iPlayer proved vital into
looking for existing products for documentaries that others had created so
that could gather conventions and use existing products as our inspiration to
plan our own documentary. And Keeping a track of these websites was also
important in case we needed to go back to them and remind ourselves of the
techniques they used. For this we used Blogger heavily to record our findings
and address our opinions on what inspired us the most.
Slideshare/Scribd
These websites were useful in order to collect larger pieces of research such Bill
Nicholls’ (2001) Documentary modes and analysis into existing products
such as ‘Supersize Me’, ‘A Good Smack’, ‘Panorama’ and BBC’s ‘Risky
Behaviour”. Picking apart what modes they all were and conventions that
came with those modes were important in gathering a perspective of what we
wanted to produce in our documentary.
4.
5. Below are the devices used to edit and
manipulate our products to our liking
using many programs featured on the
previous slide.
These were the pieces of
equipment used to record and
capture Video and Sound that
would go into the documentary
and Radio trail.
6.
Storyboarding and drafts
Storyboarding and drafts proved to be essential as they help me transfer my
envisaged creation of ‘what-goes-where’ mindset throughout planning, and
creating a storyboard on paper, detailing the most essential features through
inherent description. Drafting also helped me create rough positioning and
layout thoughts for the magazine which were both done on paper and with
InDesign using frames and filling them with the context that they would hold
in the future.
Scripting
The main documentary and radio trail scripts were roughly done on paper to
begin with but once proof-read they were transferred onto Microsoft Word
which proved to be a useful program in which to script the Voiceover and
Camera shots to follow the VO.
7.
Filming
After all the planning was complete we had a direct approach mindset in
gathering the exact clips I had envisaged within my mind and tried to
express through detailed storyboarding, I looked over the plans and tried to
put them into action. Problems occurred in the we could not film inside
pubs/with pub staff without permission from their head office so instead we
could only record the exterior of the buildings. This set us back massively so
we had to improvise. Using a tripod to balance to camera correctly and
allowing for smooth panning shots we did manage to capture very
professional clips of pubs, clubs and bars.
When capturing all of these clips we did it was essential to me that my clips had
to look professional. When doing so I made sure I knew my way around the
controls of the camera/tripod/Microphone/Voice-recorder. The camera
angles had to abide the rule of thirds and I wanted to play around with
Manual Focus on some of the zooming shots to display different depths of
the field within the interviews and background footage (all of which are
shown on the upcoming slides).
8. Presenting the many voxpops and interviews that were shot
following this convention:
9. Original framing was adjusted using the image frame tool on Final
Cut Express to create a tighter angle otherwise the mise-en-scene
would be too distracting.
With this particular clip, the camera was setup on a tripod and
positioned to capture the expert in the rule of thirds (as shown
below). Also the depth of field was adjusted so that the background
was slightly out of focus whereas the expert was in crisp definition.
10.
Final Cut Express
Using the USB port in the Apple Mac we logged and transferred all our footage
from the Canon HG20HD camera onto Final Cut Express program. From there
we began editing.
We began by inserting all the raw footage into a sequence. From there we cut
down most of the clips so that most of them were around 4/5 seconds and
then we applied effects and transitions to them (as shown on the clip in the
bottom right). Also adding graphics over the top of the clips for facts and
figure and title sequences.
11. The insertion of text graphics moving
on screen using image frame tool.
12. Application of a cross
dissolve transition from
one clip to another. This is
there to separate one
section from another.
Here is the usage of a GarageBand document that we placed into our opening
title sequence of our documentary. We also used this software to create a
constant backing track throughout the documentary.
13.
InDesign
Using InDesign to create a magazine was relatively simple due to the fact that I
had experience in using the and Photoshop previously in Media AS and in
Graphics AS. When constructing the magazine, I familiarized myself with the
correct tools I would need to construct the layout that I had during the
planning. Using many tools from the toolbar such as: the frame tool, Text
tool, rectangle tool, eye dropper tool, both the selection/movement tools. I
also used the place tool in order to take manipulated images from Photoshop
into InDesign so they look edited and more professional. I had experience
within using the paragraph formatting tools also and used this to my
advantage: creating conventional drop cap and columns in the article itself,
Using effects like drop shadow on most of the text on the double page
helped enhance the look of it and really bring the text up off the page.
14.
Final Cut Express
Using final cut once again to create the radio trail did not take too long at due
to the fact that it was mostly made up of extracts from the documentary so
once that was complete, the radio trail was simply the piecing together of
extracts and the occasional voiceover.
15.
Question 1
Firstly, question 1of my evaluation I used Microsoft Wordpad and Word to type it up and
then using Scribd to transform it into a blog-worhty post, not taking up the entire blog
with writing.
Question 2
For question 2 I used Microsoft PowerPoint to construct multiple slides showing how each
product relates to one another. Then from that I used a website similar to Scribd, named
Slideshare where this allows you to transform a PowerPoint presentation into a smaller
HTML coded widget in which you can attach an embed code. Therefore, I used this to
upload it onto our group Blogger account.
Question 3
For this question I aimed to keep all questions different from the rest so I uploaded a video
showcasing the reactions and opinions of people regarding all three of my products.
This was done via YouTube which is also available to attach to blogger via an embed
code.
Question 4
The final question was done on PowerPoint once again due to the fact that to include
immense amounts of information in somewhat essay form would be simpler in brief
such as this. Therefore PowerPoint (leading to Slideshare again) was useful to attach
pictures and diagrams to the presentation to keep it from being entirely text.
