Evaluation question for media

1. Evaluation Question 4
How did you use media technologies
in the construction, research,
planning and evaluation stages?
By Elliot Wheeler

2. Analogue Vs Digital
Analogue
Analogue technology was common and successful in the late 60's until
the 2000's. Analogue technology laed to the development of cassette
tapes for music and streamed films onto video tapes. Films would be
recorded onto bulky reels, sizes normally ranging from 8mm to 35mm
followed by the footage being edited by hand on a 'Moviola'. However
analogue technology was exceedingly expensive and time consuming,
unlike the modern technology we possess currently.

3. Digital
Digital technology is often referred to as the 'new technology', being
introduced in the early years of the 2000's. Digital technology can
translate codes and numbers into smaller products i.e. DVDs, CDs
and digital files for example iTunes. Unlike Analogue technology,
Digital allows you to film onto hard drives directly making the process
faster and more accessible.

4. Advantages and disadvantages
Advantages:
Easy portability / Large storage capacity (iPod, Smart Phones)
/ Sound quality higher and consistent
/Accessibility to Internet i.e. quicker research /wider audience (marketing), free, online
streaming
/Downloading and uploading files (YouTube, Facebook, Twitter)
/ Increased verisimilitude
Disadvantages:
Relatively expensive / Piracy issues (streaming online, illegal downloads)
/ Negative attitude towards new 3D technology/films / Research/Pre-Production
The research and pre-production stages of my project were made a lot quicker and
easier thanks to digital technology.
It provided me with different websites to use, giving me intricate knowledge about
trailers and their ancillary products (posters and magazines) and provided me with
different ways to present the information obtained.

5. YouTube
YouTube is an incredibly popular video sharing website
which I used to research various trailers to inspire myself
and create effective film ideas. YouTube helped me figure
out what genre and style I wanted the trailer to adopt,
understanding the conventions of a trailer and identifying
the narrative structures, depending on the genre. YouTube
was also used in the production stage of my project I
watched numerous tutorials to increase my ICT skills in
various software's. Furthermore I used YouTube to upload
my own videos as well as annotate and analyse my own
work to improve the final product.

6. Google
I used this search engine consistently throughout the
process of the making of my trailer. I used it to help me
find various information about trailers, posters and
magazines and the many conventions used to create a
trailer, poster and magazine. I used images on google to
display my research or compare my work with previous
versions in order to improve. Google helped me complete
various tasks i.e magazine conventions, genre research,
costume ideas and poster design conventions, etc.

7. Blogger
Blogger is an online network where you can display, store and share
images, videos, music and research to people via timeline. I have used
Blogger throughout my project, it reveals the journey through my
project, from starting research to the shiny final products. Additionally
Blogger also allows people from around the world to view my work and
learn things from what I’ve experienced i.e. ICT skills. Moreover, I can
receive comments about my blog, so I’m always gaining audience
feedback from people around the globe.
SlideShare
Slide share is a user friendly website which allows me to import
PowerPoint's onto the internet and share them with different websites.
I have used SlideShare numerous times to embed PowerPoint's into my
blog i.e. Age certificate info, this evaluation Question, etc.

8. Prezi
Prezi is a website that allows for the creating and sharing of creative
presentations, which I used to show another alternative of displaying research
I found. Prezi is an interesting, unique and simple way to create slide shows
and mind maps. Prezi helped me display the research I did on trailers
genre/themes etc.
Word
A word processor, developed by Microsoft. Which I used to display the
research I found when getting to grips with the different narrative structure's
of a trailer and doing a timeline analysis. Word allows you to produce very
detailed pieces of research, along with the ability to upload the document into
'Scribd' so I can easily embed the documents onto my blog.
PowerPoint
PowerPoint was a convenient software which I chose to display some of my
research onto. Because conveniently my PC at home had the software, I could
produce blog posts in this fashion whenever needed. It's a fast and easy way to
display your work in an interactive way. It also allows you to insert images and
music for example I’ve made use of it in this presentation.

9. Hardware
iMac/ Toshiba Satellite Pro
The iMac was the most important piece of hardware I used throughout the
project. It enabled me to access the adobe suite of operations that allowed me
to create my film trailer, magazine and poster. The base of operations for all my
media work in short. My secondary alternative was of course my personal
laptop at home which though still well equipped doesn’t possess all the high
end software I.e. movie editing software like Imovie and FinalCutPro
Memory Stick
Throughout my project I alternated between two different computers and used
a memory stick to transfer and save documents and images between them,
hence speeding up the time it takes for me to finish my tasks.
Canon IXUS
A high resolution camera, which I used to take location shots, costume shots,
back stage footage and the magazine shoot. The camera has over 12 MP, it
produced very good quality images for my project.

10. Kodak Hero 5.1 Printer
The printer I use at home was useful for scanning in images,
printing out pictures and research that I needed in order to
produce my ancillary products (poster and magazine cover) .
Panasonic HDC LEICA HD camcorder
My HD camcorder for personal use at home was used to film the
footage for my project. Its HD resolution was invaluable for
getting good quality footage. I used this camcorder for the
convenience, because I could use and access it at any time.

11. Software
FinalCutPro
This was the first editing software I attempted to use to edit and finalize my
film trailer. As I had no prior experience with the program, I struggled with the
tricky new interface for quite a while. Last year I attempted to learn how to use
FinalCutPro and resolved to use Imovie instead and the same is true for this
project. I also stopped using the software because FinalCutPro’s rendering
causes a lot of time loss.
Imovie
Since last year my knowledge and understanding of the Imovie software has
grown by leaps and bounds. The interface is friendly and easy to use especially
when compared to FinalCutPro. With a simple click and drag action I could
select and arrange my clips whichever way I wanted. Rendering was over in a
matter of minutes, importing files was a simple and quick task and Imovie also
provides a huge easy to find host of filters, transitions and effects.

12. Adobe Photoshop
I used this software when producing my ancillary products (poster and magazine). To fit
my design ideas a lot of designing work on Photoshop was required i.e. manipulating
and changing pictures‘; I was completely new to the software, therefore when doing all
the editing, I watched YouTube tutorial videos on how to get the basics of the program,
which improved my skills greatly. Below are links to the tutorial videos used:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilJFFmqaPdM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EBwwXTURxc
SoundTrack Pro
SoundTrack Pro is the software I used when producing my trailers first score. The result
was not up to my ordinary standards because I was inexperienced with the software.
Last year I attempted to use soundtrack Pro and had the same problem so I resolved to
use Audiotool in its place.
Audiotool
Audiotool is a free google app that provides the user with a unique music studio with
thousands of varying sound samples and tools to warp, stretch and cut them into
whatever you choose. I chose to use this software because I am already a member and
an experienced track maker on the site (Username: Red Gate). Also because its easily
accessible from home, allowing me to complete tracks as soon as possible.
http://www.audiotool.com/user/elliot_wheeler

13. Distribution
If I were to distribute my trailer, I would display it through the internet/social media
sites. Because currently the huge 'craze' the internet has developed has made it the
hub of global activity. My target audience are teenagers between the ages of 15-18
therefore distributing on the Internet would directly address my target audience, as
teenagers are the most common age group on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
Technically, I've already done so by uploading draft edits of the trailer onto YouTube and
Blogger, letting people view it globally. Additionally, this way of distributing is extremely
cost efficient when compared to distributing using heritage marketing (poster,
magazine, billboard, premieres) highly expensive.
Social networking sites are useful as it allows people from all over the world to
comment, share and view the same things – useful feedback for the creator. If I
distributed my film on the Internet, this could potentially allow me to create my own
website, Twitter and Facebook page creating a 'buzz' and therefore a wider target
audience/fan base.
Having a website for the film would give the audience multiple opportunities to take
part in interactive games, quizzes , find out additional information about the film i.e.
the actors, set locations, story lore, etc. It would create a form of long tail marketing.
Additionally using the Internet would create 'pull media‘ - the audience could take part
in the marketing and distribution through by contributing themselves i.e. interactive
sites.
I’d also involve the UK Film Council with distributing my films because they work on
making non-mainstream films widely available they’d be willing to help.

14. Exhibition
In short time, the development of the Internet, along with 'Web 2.0'
has allowed the easy, cheap uploading of videos, images and music
for a tent pole audience to view at leisure. This has helped the
exhibition of my trailer and my ancillary products greatly. It means I
can receive feedback and other comments about my work in a very
short period of time, allowing me to make any necessary
improvements I can make.
I have used my own YouTube channel, and posted my rough-cut and
feedback video along with an annotated behind the scenes video
looking at the making of my final film trailer and the development
process behind it. This also allowed me to embed the clips onto my
blog in Blogger for yet another audience to view my work.