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

2. Overview
Throughout all stages of my work, I used technology frequently and
for a variety of purposes. Some were specific to a task, while others
were used multiple times throughout for differing reasons.

3. In my work I used a range of different
cameras. During filming of the music
video, I used a pair of video cameras to
capture footage. Using a pair of cameras
has advantages including the ability to
gather more footage quickly, and to
shoot a scene from alternate angles for
quick cutting in the editing suite. The
cameras themselves were high quality,
ensuring that the footage looks good
which also makes editing details easier.
For my ancillary task, I used an
additional photography camera. The
reason for using this third camera is
that it takes higher quality photographs
than merely using stills from video. A
photographic camera was also used to
take pictures of my research and
planning sheets for uploading.
The final result looks more professional
as a result of using the right camera for
the right job.
Panasonic HC-V250
Sony RX100 III
Sony HXR-NX70E

4. An important piece of technology I used
in the production of the music video was
a pair of frequency lights, which stood
on tripods during filming. The obvious
application of these lights is to make
dark rooms more visible, something that
certainly came in handy when filming
some places in the power station.
The second use however comes into play
during post production, in that the
lights make editing far easier. The
‘warm’ and ‘cold’ light frequencies for
lack of a better description add some
mood to a scene, but also highlight
small details which makes adjusting
elements such as contrast and
saturation much easier when the video
moves into post production. Washing a
scene in cold colours reinforces the
conventions of my genre by creating
distant, chilling mood fitting of settings
of dystopias.
Amaran H528C

5. My choice of editing suite for the music
video was Final Cut Pro. It is simple to
use yet capable of applying a range of
filters, transitions and effects to colour,
all things I utilised in my video. It is
also software I frequently use at home,
so I was proficient with it and knew how
to use it to create a professional product.
Many effects used were presets from the
software itself, or Pixel Film Studios.
Mixing these options allows for a good
amount of variety in effects. Adding
footage and images was also very
simple, which is useful when you have a
long list of fragments to sort through.
Changing the hue, saturation and colour
tint of the video allows it to fit the lower
key tones of the genre better, appealing
to fans in the process.
Final Cut Pro
An example of adjusting colour in a shot
Transition effects, from presets
Mail

6. While I decided to edit my video at
home, it was more convenient to edit my
research interviews as well as my
evaluation tasks at school. There I sued
Movie Studio Platinum. Although
somewhat more complex compared to
Final Cut, I believe it has more
functionality when it comes to what is
possible with the software. In hindsight,
using it to edit the less complex types of
videos means this choice of software was
not completely suitable, but regardless
they both did their job and I am happy
with using them. In addition, Movie
Studio Platinum felt easier when adding
titles and text, something more useful
and frequently in the research and
evaluation stages than the production.
It is also software I have experience
with from last year’s film opening task,
so very little practice was needed.
Movie Studio Platinum

7. Photoshop was the image editing tool I
used for the production of my ancillary
tasks. It is complex to use, with things
like moving around images becoming a
multi-step process. However, it makes
up for it by being a very powerful photo
manipulation tool. Using colour fills I
could black out my surroundings, while
hue and saturation could once again be
adjusted. The resulting dark colour
palette with sharp lighting contrasts
reinforces genre conventions. The
creation of a font and the choice of
bright blue for it also does the same,
evoking the sci-fi conventions that are
incorporated into electronic music. It is
the fulfilment of these that gives my
work a professional aura.
Photoshop

8. For research, the internet was
extremely useful for gathering
secondary research due to the vast
amount of information you can find.
Websites found can be bookmarked for
future reference, and screenshots can be
taken using the snipping tool to store
evidence for use on my blog. These tools
are used at all stages of my production
because of their versatility, as well as
the fact that it is required to access
specific sites such as Blogger, Prezi and
YouTube. Because print screen does not
crop or save images, the snipping tool is
a superior alternative for my platform.

9. To transfer drafts and other information
between the school and home computer,
I used Microsoft Outlook and Mail
respectively. These programs are
compatible with each other and allow
myself to send attachments, and so I
found them useful.
Blogger was where I post all my finished
work during all phases. It is easy to
embed work from different formats, and
you can change upload dates to order
work in a specific order, which makes it
useful when compiling work.
YouTube was the site I used to upload
videos before embedding them into my
blog. In addition to production, it is
useful for research as I can look for
previous examples of music videos that I
can incorporate elements from into my
own.
Mail Outlook

10. To present my work in both research and
evaluation, I used a range of software.
PowerPoint and Prezi fulfil similar functions,
allowing for structured presentations. Prezi
allows for more dynamic and complex
showcases, while PowerPoint is simpler in
both output and ease of use. Embedding
videos is easier in Prezi, making it useful in
research tasks where I am required to
provide video evidence of cited examples.
PowerPoint however is better suited for
image heavy presentations where complexity
is not required. The fact that Prezi is an
online service can also be a downside as there
are occasional connection issues alongside
the lag that appears when internet
connection is not at peak. Prezi however does
let you embed it to the blog without the need
to upload it elsewhere. Overall, I prefer
PowerPoint as a presentation tool due to its
lack of complexity.
Younger audiences who make up the target
audience of my genre are also more likely to
enjoy vibrant presentations over still
documents, hence the focus on that.
PowerPoint

11. Another piece of software I used to
present research and evaluation work is
Word. This is best suited to text heavy
formats that do not need to be
‘presented’ to a group. Evaluation tasks
presented in this format can therefore
be in an essay style of writing rather
than a presentation. Word allows you to
change font size, colour, as well as add
images. While this isn’t as simplified as
PowerPoint, it is still functional and
allows for some versatility.
Word is also compatible with the
printer, moreso that PowerPoint which
is in a different aspect ratio and
compresses work to fit onto a page. I
used a pair of printers, one for A4 prints
of research work as well as the
magazine advert, and another one for
A3 copies of ancillary work such as the
album cover.
Word
Phaser 6130

12. To embed the work on these various
formats onto my blog, I used a website
called SlideShare. It is compatible with
PowerPoint and Word, which makes it
versatile at its job. It is easy to use, and
uploads are quick, meaning that it is
also convenient to use on a tight time
frame. A criticism of the service is that
you cannot update a piece of work after
it has been uploaded, rather you must
re-upload the work separate from the
original upload. Compared to Prezi,
which you can update anytime and it
will quickly transfer the changes to
embedded presentations, it can be slow
to make uploads. However, it is still a
vital tool for letting me embed
presentations and word documents, and
one I would use in the future.

13. In conclusion, throughout my research, planning, production and evaluation, I have utilised a wide
variety of software and hardware. Using this technology correctly and effectively can enhance a
work, letting it fulfil genre conventions and attracting an audience. Most importantly however, is
that it helps to improve the professionalism of my work, increasing it’s standing and appeal to a
general audience and helping it stand out in comparison to other works of the same genre. Overall I
would use much of this software again if given the chance to do future projects.