How did you use media

technologies in the

construction and

research, planning and

evaluation stages?

Ryan Willis

Why Technology ?

• Technology was very useful throughout the entire set project, as it allowed for creativity – meaning our potential raised as a result.

• Various means of technology have different effects, which is why I choose to incorporate a wide variety, as this meant I was able to explore several areas of making and experimenting with the product.

• Technology can also work for us. Therefore I also used outside portable technology to fulfil the criteria.

• Helps to promote interactivity. E.g. This allows for a more hands on approach to creating ideas which are easy to change

Technology in construction

and research

One of the great modern ways of research include the use of

exploring the internet. This form of technology played a key

role in the creation of our overall project, as it allowed us to

explore and gather information about other peoples work

(famous, and not so famous), as well as then compiling our

ideas into a moodboard using Photoshop.

The advantage of using a technology based program meant

it was easy to adjust using certain tools, as well as to re-

arrange our ideas, to get the ideal result. This in effect

helped to promote creativity

Technology in planning

Planning was key to the success

of our video. There are several

uses of technology that I used in

order to make sure tasks where

handled appropriately and in a

way in which I would not forget

them.

Firstly using Outlook Email

shown below, I used the calendar

option to help organise the key

dates required for the project.

This was useful as the program

gave reminders when dates were

close, as well helping to break

down specific tasks for each day.

Portable technology

The iPhone is a diverse and portable from of technology as it allowed me to do everything needed on the go. The ranged from making phone calls, to updating blogger, to reviewing emails, to taking photos on location, to reviewing my calendar.

This allowed me to become up to date, which was particularly important when it came top organising times for actors etc.

Media 2.0

Websites including YouTube – where you are able to search millions of videos of user generated content as played a role in the evaluation stages.

As Media 2.0 suggests the idea that content is no longer being streamed directly to the public, as media is now being published back (to a point where it can influence big media industries; including newspapers). When publishing our music video to YouTube this is also a good example.

As a result this allowed us to share our video wirelessly to collect feedback from places including Facebook and other areas.

However all technology has its down points – i.e. when feedback was gathered on Facebook, due to its post-based structure, this resulted in one-way feedback.

Planning with technology

There are many factors of technology that can be used to

plan project. This includes program such as Microsoft

Project. In the end I used Microsoft PowerPoint, as this

allowed for images and content, which could then be

broken up per-slide, to break down all the bases I would

need to cover. This proof is shown in my Project Plan

earlier, which features dates, images, and generalised

ideas.

Panasonic HD Cameras

Capturing an image is vital, however capturing a high quality image all comes down the specifications of the equipment used.

When it came to filming our music video, we decided to use Full HD to get maximum quality of footage. When I was filming this was truly apparent and as a result increased the professionalism of our video – thus making it look more realistic.

Features of the camera also helped cross of specifics we had listed in our plan:

Using Autofocus

Holding a steady shot using a Tripod

Zooming

Etc.

Adobe Photoshop/SLR

Cameras

Using the latest Photoshop, I was able to create high quality images including the use of an SLR camera – to give my images a high resolution.

Photoshop allowed me to manipulate my image to create effects which could never exist in real life – which resulted in boosted creativity.

In terms of Technological determinism I would say that the technology available played a key role in what I was able to create, which gave me the specific tools which allowed me to craft exactly what I wanted to do.

Adobe Premiere Pro

Knowledge is everything when it comes to using software. When using Premiere Pro for the first time I felt it unusual to get used to due to computer problems (this would be an example where technology stifled creativity)

After getting past the basics of Premiere Pro, including the use of the razor blade tool and importing video files, I felt that I was very intuitive as there was a large range effects that could be used to increase the overall qualities of the work we created.

Eventually with the help of Photoshop we were able to create a vignette effect, as well as other auto contrast options and sounds adjusts to increase the quality of the video.

Blogger

With Blogger I felt it was a love/hate relations ship. I liked it because of its ability to combine all the uses of technology into one, as well as providing a place to jot down quick ideas wirelessly so it can be accessed everywhere. However I also feel that the media concept is fairly linear in the fact that you can only add text in one long scrolling page. This I feel is fairly boring as it uses the same tendencies of non-technological features, but instead it being placed on a screen.

Blogger was mostly useful in the research stage of my product only.

As a result I tried to limit my use of Blogger

Technology- a limitation

story

As it has been shown, technology is very useful when it

comes to everyday tasks which are simplified due to a

computer making content more accessible. However there

are some limiting factors which could in fact stifle

creativity.

Prezi

Prezi helped when researching as well as designing our

overall product. Sometimes not very intuitive, it helped to

create and make use of more technological aspects, by

making the presentation I would create very interactive –

allowing the user to navigate off in their path if they so

wish.

Limitations!

Even though technology is useful to help spark creativity, i

feel sometimes it can limit the amount someone can do

due to several features which may include:

• Your ability to use to software

• Ideas preventing you from using the software

• The software being too slow to handle your creative ideas

– thus impairing the overall work produce (evident when

using Premiere Pro)