OUR USE OF MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND RESEARCH, PLANNING AND EVALUATION STAGES:

Blogger: I have used blogger throughout the entire project. I have created a blog, by creating ‘posts’, that creatively takes you through the research and planning, construction and evaluation stages. I did this by presenting a range of media technologies (Prezi, Tagul, etc) to produce evidence of my work and the development from where we started to our final products.

Microsoft Office: I have used Microsoft Word and PowerPoint throughout the entire project as well. We used Word to create a collection of research for the documentary (research record), also to create questionnaires to find out more about our target audience and get feedback on our final products. Word enabled us to script our voice over, radio advertisement and produce logging sheets and edit decision lists. I have used PowerPoint to present a range of tasks; documentary theory, codes and conventions of documentaries, print advertisements, initial ideas, recording and editing processes, this PowerPoint and others. I’ve created clear, easy to follow presentations using a range of ‘designs’ and ‘images’ which have then been uploaded to Blogger via SlideShare.

Slideshare: We used slideshare to upload all of our PowerPoint presentations and put them onto our blogs. We did this by clicking ‘upload’ selecting the PowerPoint we wanted and then ‘copied and paste’ the embed code into the html on the blog post.

Prezi: I used Prezi for the same reasons as using PowerPoint. However, with Prezi I was able to make the presentation more interesting and effective by using music and videos in them. The creative designs and use of a ‘path’ led to easy to follow and interesting presentations. I then uploaded to them my blog using the embed code like slideshare.

Tagul: We used Tagul to brainstorm the content for our documentary in our research and planning. Using Tagul we were able to manipulate the words into the shape and colours of a burger which relates to the topic of our documentary (fast food).

PowToon: I used PowToon in my evaluation to show how our documentary used, developed and challenged the forms and conventions of real media products. It allowed me to create a short video presentation using animation characters, text, pictures and effects on slides, which I was then able to change the duration of time each slide was shown. I thought that it was a creative way to produce and effective answer to that evaluation question. It also meant that I had learnt about and discovered how to use another media technology that I had never seen before. It was uploaded to YouTube and then ‘shared’ onto my blog using the ‘embed’ code.

Sony HXR-MC2000: We used this Sony HD camera in the construction of our documentary to film all of our interviews, vox pops, opening sequence and cutaways. We would begin by setting up the tripod to the correct height and then placing the camera onto the tripod. I discovered that it was much easier to set up the camera as a group or at least with two people, especially when adjusting the height of the tripod and securing the camera. We found it difficult to get the correct level to begin with (getting all of the tripod legs level) but using the spirit level on the tripod we were able to get it central and this got easier and quicker with more experience. We would then attach the microphone, headphones and test the sound quality to make sure the microphone was working and at a good standard, at our first interview we didn’t realise that our sound was static, so we made sure after that to test the microphone before recording the interview. We would then film the interviews, vox pops and observational footage attempting to use the rule of thirds as much as possible with relevant mise en scene. We would record the footage ‘pressing the record button to start and stop when necessary’ and then upload the videos onto a computer and log them. After this we would edit the videos on Adobe Premiere Pro if they were to feature in our documentary.

Lumix G10: We used this camera to get the photo for the print advertisement. We used the basic settings and did not use and filters on the original photo. We took lots of shots so that we would have a wide range to choose from.

Adobe Premiere Pro: We used adobe premiere Pro to edit and create the first five minutes of our documentary and our radio advertisement. We began by using it in our preliminary task which introduced us to the basics of the software and is evidence of hoe much we have learnt from our preliminary to our final product. Once we had almost all of the footage that we wanted we created a ‘documentary rough cut’. For this we began to place the footage that we had into the order of our documentary. From this we were able to see how much more footage we needed to get for the five minutes. We opened a new sequence in a HD setting and started to create our final product. Using the ‘razor’ tool we were able to ‘cut’ the parts of footage that we needed for the documentary, for example, relevant answers from the vox pops, and not the entire interviews all played at once, the removal of us asking questions. We edited the sound levels so that the voice over, vox pops and interviews were loud and the music when it was on its own was loud but when paired with the voice over it was faded, we did this using the ‘add-remove keyframe’ tool in the audio line. We used video effects for the banners saying who the person being interviewed was and their occupation; using a ‘push’ for it to come onto screen and then to ‘slide’ off. We made sure that the videos fit the screen on the left, resizing them if they did not.Using more than one line we were able to put cutaways on in ‘video 2’ and mute the sound of these cutaways on ‘audio 2’. On the radio advertisement because we did not need the video of the vox pops, only the sound we were able to ‘unlink’ them and delete the video. We used a ‘crossfade’ ‘audio transition’ on the radio advertisement which enabled the music to be faded throughout, enough that the audience was able to focus on the narrator and vox pops except at the beginning and end using an ‘expositional fade’. Once our documentary and radio advertisement were complete we exported them and uploaded them to YouTube.

Photoshop: We opened the image we had chosen (a magnifying glass looking into a McDonalds burger) to use for our print advertisement into Photoshop to use as our focal point to anchor meaning to our documentary. We ‘flipped’ the photo because so that we could locate the Channel 4 logo on the right-hand side in the middle to match the conventions of real media products. To make the image seem more professional we used Photoshop to edit it by adjusting the ‘brightness’ and ‘sharpness’ settings. We then went on to add the ‘text boxes’ and put them in the typical Channel 4 layout (tagline top left, title and scheduling bottom left). The text we used was ‘Trebuchet MS’ which is the closest font we could get to the one featured in the Channel 4 adverts. Next we put a rectangle box ‘behind’ the text using the ‘shapes’ tool and coloured these ‘white’ using the ‘fill’ tool so that we conformed to Channel 4’s advertising. Finally to complete the print advertisement we uploaded the Channel 4 logo and removed the white section using the ‘lasso tool’ so that it was a plain black ‘4’ that blended into the background after taking out the white making it transparent.

Audacity: We used audacity in the construction of our radio advertisement. In the radio recording room we used audacity to record the voice of our advertisement with the decibel sound at 6. Once we had recorded the advert we played it back to make sure it was suitable and then saved it as a ‘wav.’ file and proceeded to edit it on Adobe Premiere Pro; adding vox pops and music.

Windows Live Movie Maker: I used this in the research and planning stage when looking at the codes and conventions of real documentaries (The Devil Made Me Do It). I also used in in my evaluation to show the audience feedback we receive on social media. First I would insert the images into the order I was going to talk about them. I would then record my voice using the ‘voice memo’s’ app, e-mail to myself and upload it onto movie maker. I would then adjust the length of the images to match what I was saying. When I was happy with the video I would save it as a ‘Windows Media Audio/Video file (.wmv)’ and upload it straight to my blog, youtube or presentation.

YouTube: We used YouTube in all three parts of this project. In the research and planning we used it to give example of documentaries and their codes and conventions. In the construction of our documentary we used YouTube to get the archive footage of ‘the history of fast food’ and ‘supersize me’. We also got the music from YouTube ‘the fast food song’ and ‘food glorious food’. Once our documentary and radio advertisement were complete we uploaded them to YouTube. Finally in my evaluation I have used YouTube for my PowToon presentation and audience feedback via social media.