This particular SlideShare highlights the key aspects of technology used throughout the process of the creation of my promotional package consisting of a promotional music video, digipak and promotional poster in combination with one another.

1. Q4. HOW DID YOU USE MEDIA
TECHNOLOGIES IN THE RESEARCH,
PLANNING, CONSTRUCTION AND
EVALUATION STAGES?

2. RESEARCH:
Research was a key element in the course as it
enabled me to ensure that I collected enough
insight into the different products that allowed
me to understand the forms and conventions of
each individual piece and gave me time to think
about how I would go about making my own
products.

3. Google was a very important aspect
of technology when it came to
researching particular products. I
used Google to search for existing
products such as Pop Rock Music
Videos and existing digipak to help
me gain inspiration when it came to
creating my own material. Due to the
fact that Google is an incredibly
popular search engine I was able to
collate a varied amount of
information that I could use; giving
me a wider range of inspiration.
GOOGLE:

4. I used Blogger to research already existing blogs,
to gain an understanding of what previous
pupils created within the A2 course. This was
helpful as it allowed me to understand the
course structure a lot clearer and allowed me to
begin planning my own ideas, inspired by the
originality of past students work. I would also
look at close peers blogs to help me gain an
understanding within a particular area of the
course if I was confused.
BLOGGER/BLOGSPOT:

5. YOUTUBE:
YouTube was used once again to look at existing
music videos. I looked at existing videos from
official artists of those within my chosen genre;
Pop Rock, such as Colplay, The Script, The Maine
etc.
I also used YouTube to look at previous
candidates work to see the standard that was set
from the previous year and the ideas they had. I
took inspiration form these and added similar
aspects into my own work as I thought they were
interesting concepts to include.

6. PLANNING
Planning was another vital stage that required
technology in order to allow it to be a successful
process. The reason for this is due to the fact that
particular technologies enabled the information I had
collated to remain organised. It also gave me a clear, step
by step process of the different stages I was going to
fulfil and the targets I would set to fulfil as the planning
process progressed.

7. When planning the creation of my product,
Microsoft PowerPoint was a very handy tool to use
in relation to the fact that it allowed me to adapt my
research further with regards to being able to access
it all in one place and refer to a specific area of my
product when required e.g. analysing digipaks as a
whole or even look at the front panels and compare
them with existing products and music videos. I was
able to analyse a specific field within the planning act
and develop it in as much depth as I desired. The
most common tools used were text boxes, inserting
images and cropping images.
MICROSOFT OFFICE -
POWERPOINT

8. Slideshare was an effective way to add the
PowerPoint I had previously made onto my blog
without taking massive amounts of space. It acts just
like a PowerPoint and makes the content of my blog
appear a lot more media rich as a result.
Another advantage of slideshare is that it is easily
accessible making it quick to upload my content and
add it to my blog. Also, the majority of my
PowerPoint are very long due to it being an easy way
to pool my ideas together, so slideshare acts as a way
of compressing these into something smaller and
easy to read from the perspective of the audience.
SLIDESHARE

9. The main use for blogger at this particular
stage in production was to document my
planning development with regards to the
creation of my promotion package
consisting of a music video and digipak.
At this at stage I was also still looking at
past students work on their own blog to
gain further inspiration and apply it to my
already existing ideas.
Blogger also enabled me to add a poll to
my blog, this was very effective in
conceding the demand of my audience
with regards to their interests and media
they often use to access music videos and
buy an artists digipak.
BLOGGER

10. Prezi was used in a similar way to slideshare. I thought
this would be an effective, media rich way to display
my material as opposed to simply uploading a
PowerPoint. I already had some existing knowledge on
how to use prezi and therefore did not require any
tutorials or advice. If I was to come to a point where I
was unaware of how to do something I would ask my
peers and quickly resolve the problem. Due to having
pre existing knowledge I was able to be more flexible
with how I chose to present my material e.g. making
my own templates and uploading content other than
text and pictures, making it a lot more fun.
PREZI

11. As expected, a camera and tripod were used in the
planning of my products to make my blog media rich
and give a clearer insight into the ideas I had regarding
the production of my products. One of my peers,
Jodie and I used the camera to create a video regarding
different lights that were at use for us in the media
studio and how they looked when they were used in
different combinations.
The camera was also used to take test shots of my
video, giving be a slight insight as to what the final
piece is expected to look like. A lot of my shouts were
taken holding the camera to give a better insight into
the artists situation through the use of mise en scene,
however, it was still used to emphasise the unstable
climax of the video, which contrasted with the
cameras steady positioning
CAMERA/TRIPOD

12. Macs were used in the planning of my product
when footage was filmed as it was easier to piece
together footage using technology such as
iMovie as opposed to the PC’s programmes such
as movie maker due to the fact that the Macy‘s
technology was up to date, contributing to my
products looking a lot more sheer, professional
and industry standard.
Following the use of the camera, I used iMovie
for the first time to place together the footage
Jodie and I collated as a result of testing the
lights. Considering I was uneducated on how to
used iMovie I found it rather easy to get to grips
with programme and create a 'lighting’ video to
add to the planning aspect of my product
production.
IMOVIE /MAC’S

13. A scanning machine also contributed to the production
of my product due to having to add the lyrics to my
chosen song to my blog with annotations, I chose to
handwrite this as this allowed me to go into more depth
and was what I felt comfortable doing.
I also created and animatic using the hand drawn
storyboard after scanning each shot individually, on
average I had around 90 shots I wanted to produce. This
stage in planning was particularly time consuming due to
the fact that the technology is not massively advanced and
has not progressed in this field within the college
therefore the majority of things that need scanning have
to be done individually which can cause an issue with
regards to time management due to things taking longer
than expected.
SCANNER -

14. CONSTRUCTION
Due to the course being heavily focused around
media and technologies the construction phase
could not have been completed without the use
of technology being available for me and my
fellow students to use. The process of
construction relied solely on the availability of
technology in order to successfully create a
promotional music video and digipak to
accompany it.

15. Once again a camera was used, this time
the official music video footage was shot
over 3 days with shooting schedules
devised for each day to made the targets I
had a lot clearer and therefore more
attainable.
A range of cinematography was used
within my music video ranging from long
shots, extreme long shots, POV shots,
close up, extreme close up and two shot
Print screen shots used in relation to the
digipak, the images obtained were done
over one day as opposed to several, I
collected a wide range of shots to be used
on the different panels.
CAMERA / TRIPOD

16. PhotoShop played a prominent role in the construction of my
media products, specifically the digipak in relation to the fact
that a lot of the images taken had to be manipulated and
adapted to fit the layout I desired.
I already had existing knowledge in relation to the basic skills
of PhotoShop as a result of using it at AS level, these were
soon developed further and new skills were obtained along the
way as a result of the task being a lot more complex and
specific in relation to what needed to be produced.
PHOTOSHOP

17. Due to Photoshop having a wide range of tools
available to use, I had to take full advantage of these,
ensuring I understood the benefits from using each
tool and how to use them to the best of their
potential. The most common tools I used were:
PHOTOSHOP - TOOLS
Quick selection tool was used to eliminate any
unwanted backgrounds on images I had taken.
Blur tool was used to soften
any harsh edges on an images
to make it look more
professional.
The paint bucket tool
was used to fill the
background of an
image.
The text box was another
important tool used in the
production of my digipak
as it allows me to
personalise it in a way that
I wish with regards to
adding the artists name
and album title to my
work

18. PHOTOSHOP BLEMISH REMOVAL
The Eyedropper tool was used to identify a particular
colour that I wanted to use, in this case I identified the
colour of the skin around the characters blemishes and
used it to remove them
The brush tool was used to cover the spots on the
artists face
I then used the blur tool on top of the brush tool to make
the skin surface look more polished and natural

19. Due to having previous experience
using iMovie from admiring the
lighting video in the 'planning’ part
of the course, I was able to act
more efficiently with regards to
setting up my video to begin editing.
After realising how simple iMovie
actually was, I decided to using as
my main source of editing. The
editing process as a whole wasn‘t
massively time consuming due to
the fact that my video followed a
narrative as opposed to being
abstract/performance (Sven
Carlson-aspects of narrative)
therefore I didn‘t have to time the
footage to the song accurately.
IMOVIE

20. YouTube was an effective way of
adding the different drafts of my
video and being able to view
them as a whole, from the
audiences perspective. Due to
YouTube being a massive social
site I was able to gain feedback
from viewers which acted
constructively to the changes I
should make on my video and
allowed me to apply them
knowing it would benefit my
product.
YOUTUBE

21. The evaluation stage of the course requires
the influence of technology in relation to
the fact that it allows information gathered
throughout the production of the course to
be accumulated in a linear format to ensure
ease of access and made understanding the
content a lot easier.
EVALUATION

22. My evaluation is likely to be created using PowerPoint as I aim to
include as much content as possible, therefore enabling me to add
as much information as I desired without being to overpowering
on my blog and overwhelming the audience with irrelevant
information from their perspective.
These PowerPoint can then be compressed and uploaded to
slideshare so they can be accessed by my peers as though they are
still in PowerPoint form.
I have a lot of experience with this programme due to it being a
common piece of technology and I have used it over many years
therefore the simplicity of the programme allows me to use it in
combination with slideshare to add other influences of
technology on to my blog.
MICROSOFT OFFICE –
POWERPOINT/SLIDESHARE

23. Prezi acts as another media rich way to add my
evaluation information onto my blog, the reason
this is so effective is due to the fact that it
provides a modern platform for content to be
displayed on and therefore appeals to a broad
target audience, specifically those within the
younger generation.
Prezi was a programme that was new to me at AS
year, the fact that it is a simple programme made
it easy for me to use it within my work and make
it look a lot more professional and clear.
PREZI

24. In relation to the new media that is currently influencing the product in of many
products is the presence of web 2.0 and the social media within in. In todays era social
networking appears to be the largest and most effective way of connecting with an
audience as it provides ease of access from both artist and audience and allows direct
contact between the two, this being an incredibly vital aspect of the success in todays
media.
Different social media and the influences they have:
NEW MEDIA
Facebook allows individuals to share content with friends and also receive content as a
result of recommendations from mutual individuals. This site appeals to younger
individuals that are interested in what's going on in the world and also the older
generation of those that want to keep in contact with others.
Twitter provides individuals with even wider contact with the outside world in
relation to the fact that the privacy element is a lot less significant. This social
networking appeals predominantly to the younger generations therefore content
such as mine would have more opportunity to thrive, which is beneficial to the
upcoming, and currently successful artists within the music industry.