How have you used new media technology in the research, planning, construction and evaluation stages?

We used new media technology in the research stages of our product. We used websites such as Yahoo music and YouTube in order to watch music videos and learn about typical codes and conventions. These sites gave us a diversity of choice, as they categorised the genres of the music videos they possessed. The wide range of genres (including rock, indie, RNB, dancehall, hip hop etc) enabled us to go straight to videos of the indie genre. This led us to video’s such as Florence’s “Dog Days” in which the obscurity is presented in scenes in a forest. We took from this the idea of filming the ambiguous mask shots in a forest, in order to enforce this obscure theme with an obscure setting. YouTube helped us tremendously, as we were able to view extensive archives of music videos efficiently, without having to wait for videos to be played on the TV. It also meant that we were able to pause, rewind and fast forward our specific video so that we can re-check or enforce our research. YouTube was considerably less time-consuming and made our research easier to gather.

Another way in which we used new media technology in the research stages of production was through specialist and minority sources. For example, we used the online magazine NME to aid us in our research. This ensured that we were able to look directly at the genre we are studying, as the magazine is dedicated to rock and indie. We found an article in NME about the band we are using, “The Joy Formidable”. This helped us as it gave us a link to their website with pre-made videos and so we were able to further our knowledge on the band. NME online magazine was useful as the website link was instantly accessible, being that we were already on the web. In the past, we could have had to purchase multiple newspapers and magazines in the chance that we may find an article on the band we were using- making NME online magazine a more economical and less time consuming option. NME online magazine also helped us to research our advert, as it had a wide range of adverts all of the indie genre and so we were able to quickly and effectively view adverts such as The Killers- an advert very similar to ours regarding font and colour. This was useful to us, as in the past we would have had to look out for posters and those of our particular genre, which would have been

time consuming and there would have been a possibility that we may not have found any.

We also used new media technology in the evaluation stages of production. I order to do this we used the website YouTube. We decided to upload our video onto YouTube instead of straight onto our blog. This ensured that we could gather feedback in terms of comments on YouTube. By uploading our video onto YouTube and embedding it into our blog, the viewers are able to click on it, be redirected to YouTube and add a comment. By using the “comments” application on YouTube we were able to gather feedback from others outside of the group and draw an evaluation. For example, the comments we received on YouTube included, “Good video! I really liked the use of masks!” and “I am confused about the ending? But otherwise, very good.” Using YouTube we are also able to message back and ask them to expand on a specific point. In the past we would have had to gather a group of people in a room, on the same day, at the same time, in order to hold a screening of our video and would have had to create questionnaires in order to gather feedback. By using YouTube people can comment on their own time and so can work it around their schedule, unlike a planned screening. This method is also more economic as we do not have to spend money printing questionnaires for the viewers to fill out. YouTube also helped us in the construction stage of production, as we were able to make amendments according to their comments. For example, one viewer left a comment on our video, suggesting that the video “might look more authentic if it had performance shots.” As a result of this, we were able to ask others if they agreed and after consideration, did in fact introduce performance shots into our music video.

New media technology was used in the planning stages of making our product, in the form of YouTube. This website ensured that we were able to watch videos whilst listening to audio. This introduced us to a multimedia experience and was useful in learning about cutting rhythm, as we were accurately able to see whether the cuts in the video were to the beat of the song. For example, we looked at Oasis’ “Don’t look back in anger” video and saw that the cutting rhythm was inline with the song, and strove to do this in our own video. We did this by ensuring the beat on the audio track fitted with the cuts in our editing. In the past, we would have had to wait for the music video to be played on a

music channel and we would not have been able to rewind or pause, like is possible on YouTube.

Another way in which we used new media technology in the evaluation stages of production was via our blogs. We used the site blogspot.com, on which we have the option to make the blogs live. This ensured that we were able to view other student’s blogs and perform a self-evaluation of their work in comparison to our own. For example, I saw that other groups had taken photographs of their group members working. We thought this was a good idea and so decided to take photographs as we were filming, for both aesthetic purposes and as a documentation. In the past we would not have been able to view the work of others unless we got in contact with other schools- a more time consuming and less ethical method. Another benefit of blogging is that we are able to store work which can be accessed from any location. This means that we were able to begin work on a post at home and continue it from school. For example, I was writing a blog at home about the times of filming and I forgot the timing for Tuesday. To solve this problem I saved the post and accessed it at home in order to fill in the missing time, after having consulted my group. In the past I would have had to phone my group members- being both more expensive and more time consuming.

Lastly, we used new media technology in the construction of our product, through the use of email. Whilst researching digipaks of the indie genre it became evident that art played an important role, such as seen in Kate Nash’s “Made of bricks” digipak, in which the background is drawn. In light of this, we were able to manually draw the layers of our digipak and scan them in. We were then able to email the images to another member of our group using fronter.com/wandsworth. This meant that he was able to access the images at home and layer them using PhotoShop. In the past, if we wanted to combine digital imagery with art, we would have had to print the image on photo-paper and glue it on top of a drawn background. This would not have looked as effective and could not be accessed online.