Q4. How did you use media technologies in the construction and research,
planning and evaluation stages?
One of the main technologies I used
in the construction, research, planning and evaluation was using my Apple MacBook throughout the whole
process at home. I have used apple products for a very long time therefore I am
familiar with how to operate them. Because I was already familiar with this use
of technology, I didn’t learn many new things throughout using the MacBook. Although
one of the things I did learn was how to download the steel tongs font for my
poster film credits. Throughout the time of working on my project there would
be times I was not able to bring my MacBook to sixth form however this did not
stop me, when I was at sixth form, I used the school computers to research and
plan and work through the production of my project.
Another media technology that I
used was the online blog site called Blogger,
this was recommended by our media teachers. Blogger was used consistently
throughout my project in order to show the progress from the start to the end
of my products. I was also familiar with blogger as it was my second year of
using it; I used this during the process of my AS media project. I learnt
majority of the skills from the first year of using it such as, creating new
posts, changing dates/names, creating new pages and the background images etc.
Being able to post the process of my work on my blog allowed me to receive
audience feedback. The blog was open for anyone to comment under my work
however my teachers where the main individuals that would give feedback in
order to make improvements on my products.
Google was another major key for my project in order to gather research and planning different stages. I gathered a lot of new information from google such as, theories and general research on existing media products that would help me gain a better understanding for my personal products. I was able to research the history of horror films, when they began to show them in cinema’s, what are the most common conventions, what the main target audience is and much more information that I would not of known if it wasn’t for the access to google.
I also used YouTube as one a technology throughout the use of my project. Last
year, at the beginning of my AS media studies project, I used YouTube to watch
tutorials of other AS media students, this was to see what I needed to do and
how to use certain software’s to complete a product. I always watched secondary
videos that where mostly professionally made, to help me get a better
understanding and compare the conventions that were used. However, when I came
to the beginning of A2 media studies, I began to use YouTube for my own
personal reasons instead of watching other individual’s videos. I began to use
it to showcase my own products such as my finished film products which were
drafts at the time. I also used YouTube to export my own made sound clips onto,
which were eventually used for the short horror film.
Prezi, PowToon’s and Slideshare were included quite a bit in my A2
project. Using these websites showed that I was able to use other forms of
technology rather than using the simple word document or posting my work
straight onto blogger. These three websites allowed me to make my work more
exciting for me to produce and for the audience to view. Prezi is one of my
favourite websites to use, it allowed me to create a journey with my work,
making it exciting for the audience to read. I have used this software in
previous situations and with my AS projects therefore I am familiar with how to
use it. However, I did not know all of the skills within the use of this
website, last year I only used the simple tools. This year I was able to expand
my ideas and create my own templates which then made it ‘my’ work and not a
template from someone else. Slideshare is more of a PowerPoint website, it
allowed me to out my PowerPoints into much more exciting formats. Lastly,
PowToon’s was a very fun website to use. It allowed me to create a PowerPoint
slide/Short video that included soundtracks and stickers around the pages, to
make it more interesting and interactive. This was the first time I had used
PowToon’s but it was fairly straight forward therefore I got the hang of it
quite fast.
Lastly, I used Adobe Photoshop; I
am extremely familiar with this software as I have been using it for many
years, at home and at school. I began using Photoshop in year 10, since then I
have been determined to expand my knowledge on it and become a professional at
using it. I used this software for my poster and review, I used a range of
different tools from a simple paint brush tool to a magic wand and edits tools
to create different effects on my products. I went to using the same text for
both my poster and review, I did this by firstly creating the title with a
blood red colour and edits added onto. I then selected and copied the same
title from my poster to put onto my review, this is that it looked similar and
so that my work was consistent throughout.
