Question 4

How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

New media developments are changing the face of media production, research and distribution. This has been made possible due to highly quick and efficient hard ware and software developments. An example of advancements in new media technologies that improve planning is the website www.youtube.com the site features thousands of videos made by media companies and by regular people who want to produce and distribute their media texts for free. This website turns media consumers into media producers and the number of videos on this database is increasing daily. When given the brief to design a promotional package for an unsigned British band, You Tube helped me to research into existing media texts by searching the website for a similar music video of the same genre, in seconds I can review successful media texts and learn what works well and what does not. Another powerful tool at my disposal is a website called www.blogger.com this is an online blogging site where anyone can sign up and have a small webpage where they are free to post whatever they want. I use blogger to keep my ideas in check and review my thought pattern to review and re touch ideas. However this website is also useful due to the fact that I can also access previous student’s blogs and view their methods and paths in creative production. Unsigned band websites also drastically increased my research speed, and I could browse various different genres and pick and choose to find a genre or band that fitted my initial ideas. Without the development of new dedicated video and unsigned band sites this process could have taken weeks instead it took hours. Advancements in media technologies drastically helped me personally to creatively and quickly research and distribute my own ideas.

When begging the filming process I was given a digital video camera to record my footage onto. This was incredibly helpful as I could watch my footage back instantly and see how the lighting and mise en scene looked on camera. It also meant that if a shot was unsuccessful I knew immediately, therefore I could re take the footage as many times as I wanted and view it back saving a huge amount of time. Also because it was so easy and cheap to take footage I could experiment with different shots and angles to achieve a more creative music video. Digital footage is also very easily duplicated which meant that work can be saved and backed up so one master copy no longer exists, and work isn’t easy to lose or damage. Another advantage I had due to digital technology was my still camera (canon eos 500) This camera is very portable, so I could carry it with me where ever I went and if I saw a location or a costume design I could photograph it to remember the places and styles, this was very helpful as I could easily track my planning process.

After filming the actors in various locations in various different styles of costume I could begin to edit the raw footage in a programme called Adobe Premier Elements, this process was very easily done and only took half an hour. Digital footage is easily transferable and done very quickly with a high quality outcome. Once the footage was on a computer I could begin to cut down pieces of footage and put them into the positions that I wanted. I could also add transitions such as cross dissolve and fade to black. This made the footage seamlessly link together with a subtle smooth transition. I could also vary the speed of the video clips, I used the time stretch tool to make the beginning dancing scenes slow motion, and I also used this tool to speed up the guitar playing to get it in time with the music. Another aspect of time stretching is time reverse where you can easily reverse footage and get it to play backwards. I used this technique in a small shot sequence where monopoly money is grabbed off a table.  Without the development of digital technology I could not have edited my video in this way. I also added titles to the beginning of the clip made easy by digital editing software. Throughout the post production stage I was being given continual criticisms and comments to help me improve my video. Once the video was completed I quickly and easily uploaded it to www.youtube.com.

 I instantly got feedback from the actual band, who told me they were very happy with the music video I had made for their song. I could also use my social networking sites such as www.facebook.com to share the video and gain feedback. Peers and friends viewed the music video and I received very constructive comments and feedback. I then went back to adobe premier elements and made a few small changes and re uploaded the video to www.youtube.com. The response was very positive and people were pleased to see I had taken their advice on board. These new media websites improved my distribution and feedback time massively and I had a huge response in a very short time. New media websites such as Face book and you tube are hugely sociable meaning people can share and express their thoughts freely and openly generating a massive sharing and media capable community. I could also use www.blogger.com to post my video and gain tutors responses on my ideas this media website was also a large help as I could post each idea after each idea and let peers and teachers know my thought pattern and where I aim to be with my media texts being produced.

In conclusion, I used advancements in media technologies to complete my entire project without these technologies I would have spent months on each stage of development and production. The technological updates and upgrades saved me a huge amount of time consuming work and also allowed me to produce a better end result for a cheaper amount.