How did you use media technologies in the construction

and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Research and Planning Research: To research the codes and conventions of film magazines, trailers and posters we had to use multiply technology, the main device was the internet on the PC. The internet allowed us to view real media products- often used trailer addict and YouTube to watch trailers. The system meant that we could hear and see them in detail. When focusing on sound we used to video player. The video player was as effective however the internet meant we could explore the web to find products fitted to our chosen genre. Google is another source of our research, it meant we could find how many websites were on offer, and it meant is was less time consuming.

Blogs: Through out our research and planning we needed to present it somehow, we have used the blogs, through the internet. Without the internet it would not be possible to represent our coursework so effectively.

Photocopier: we used the photocopier so that we could scan our initial ideas onto the computers, eventually uploading them onto our blogs. This allowed us to express our ideas clearly to show our planning process.

Construction of Trailer

Filming Procedures Night mode: within our shooting we wanted to try our shots in night mode when filming the ‘dead’, this creates

an eerie effect and gave them impression someone was watching them. We tried it with and without night mode in case when we uploaded it, and it wasn’t as effective as we wanted. We decided this in our planning when we were trying the cameras out, for practice.

Camera: We used the camera to film our trailer, we had previously used these cameras so we knew exactly how to work it. We often forgot to charge the battery, so we learnt that. The camera helped us with the construction, planning and evaluation. We used the camera to tell the sound, in order to find out if it worked well with the microphone; this helped with our planning as it prepared us for filming. The camera was involved in the construction, this because we used it to film, and lastly to present question one, we filmed ourselves explaining the question.

Sound: We used a boom microphone, to emphasis the speech, we learnt from last year that the camcorder did not always pick up every piece of speech intended. We tried the boom microphone before we began filming to make sure it worked, and taught us how to use it. While filming, we used it in every scene what involved speech. Once we uploaded the shots we found that it improved the sound.

• Editing: We had to use Moviemaker to edit our trailer, once we had uploaded it from the camera it meant it was saved and ready to create a trailer. Because of our first year of experience we knew how to work them; our main thought was to keep saving it throughout the editing process. The Macs allowed us to try different effects to get an eerie feel; the transitions gave us a varied idea on how we could move from shot to shot. When dealing with the Macs I have learnt you have to be patient if you want your media product to be as good as intended.

• Titling: we needed to add titling, this took quite a lot of time to get it correct, however it was worth it. The titling made it look professional and unravelled part of the story. We wrote down the font so we remembered it, and kept to the same theme.

• Internet: The Mac eventually was linked up to the internet his meant that we could compare our trailer to other trailer on traileraddict.com, pointing out what we are missing and how effective we could make it. This helped with construction; it gave us motivation to do well and advice. Furthermore when finding music we could play it with playing our trailer to see if it fits before downloading the record.

MACS

Music

During our editing we had to find music this fitted our trailer appropriately, it took a while, this is because our options where to make our own on Garage Band or create music with instruments, or download a non-copyright song. Last year we used Garage band, and had a fiddle however we didn’t think it would be as effective, which lead us to the web again. It meant we could listen to the music while playing our trailer to see which went the best. We finally found our background music which went well with the paste. It took a few tries to apply it to Moviemaker, however we found a quick and simple way finally.

Construction of PosterCamera: We used a camera to shoot the picture of the film poster. We had many difficulties with one

particular shot we wanted to use, this was involve the candle. The candle light was having an effect on the camera, creating the image to often be out of focus. This was annoying for us because the flash did not help, we wanted to lighting to be eerie and with the flash it should everything. We took many pictures hoping to get the best angle and lighting, fortunately for us we found the perfect shot which emphasised the candle’s flame, but also being able to see the woman’s face at the back.

Photoshop: Once we uploaded the photos via a cable, it was time to edit. We found the best angle and lighting picture and began editing. I was fortunate enough to have a little knowledge of photo shop with helped because it meant It wasn’t a new experience for me. We trialled and tested a lot, and learnt you should use as many layers as possible! We began by looking through the effects given, and although they looked professional, it wasn’t eerie like we wanted.

On the side bar, it gave us the most useful tools to use, we used the colour fill, this helped when it came to the text, it allowed us to try different colours in order to get the more eerie colour scheme. The blur tool, gave us the fade out effect, this was our initial idea however we were having

difficulties finding a tool appropriate.

Construction of Film MagazineCamera: The camera we used worked well, we had difficulties we the modes, we wanted to use flash however

it meant we had to pose in the dark. We had a routine of one of use situating the camera and then quickly turning off the light. This allowed us to get into position but also photo graph in the dark. It would have been easier for this not to be the case, it look a while to get the best shot, and a lot of the time it meant the model was not in the centre.

Photoshop: We used Photoshop to edit our magazine cover, because we had had some experience with the poster, we had more knowledge of the tools, this meant it was a quicker process.

The side bar gave us some useful tools which we could use on our magazine cover. We tried the lasso tool, this meant we could cut around the girl, which allowed us to put her on top of the text, however when we discussed it together, we decided we preferred her behind the text. This tool took a while to use however, once we got the hang of it, we had our own technique of using it. We also used it on the pictures in the corner, we wanted to border them, and in order to do so we had to lasso them first, then click on border from the ‘select’ option. This was a lot more difficult because the selection needed to be perfect in order for the border to be straight. We also used the ‘Spot healing tool’ this meant that we could get rid of the blemishes of our model, making her face to look like perfection. This was a simple tool to use, and it is effective to captivate our male target audience. The red eye tool, although it was only a small adjustment, it meant that she looked natural with brown eyes instead of red.

Evaluation Question One: I used the camera and the MAC to present question one, this allowed to us make mistakes while filming and cut the

useful pieces of evaluative speech in. The filming took a while because we were ill prepared, we had problem like the tape ran out and the battery went, however these were quickly fixed by recording over our old film and using the adapter to keep the camera energised. Because we have used the MAC plenty, it was easily for us to edit, we could add in titles which meant that it was clear what area of our media we were talking about. It took us a while however to stop editing, moviemaker allowed us to watch it through and because of this we kept seeing this we wanted to change, you could argue this to be good or bad.

Question two: I used a Prezi to present this question, this was a fun programme which allowed me to create a mind map online. They gave you directions on how to work it, so it was a simple and quick process. I would use this website again, I think the end result looked professional and eye catching due to the use of shapes and colours I have used.

Question three: To present this question I have used a podcast, this allowed me the write out little notes, which could prompt me on the correct pathway. I think using the podcast has given the examiner a clear view of my thought process when it came to feedback. It was simple to use, I had to plug a microphone at the back of the computer, and the blog allowed me to talk straight onto it. I only made one mistake, so I had to restart one podcast. Apart from this, I had no other problems.

Question four: PowerPoint is a quick and easy method to use, It has given me a chance to present my information, and because there was a lot to be evaluated, although it is not as visually creative, I thought this was the best way to present the fourth question.

I used a wide range of technologies to represent my coursework, and media products. Although there were difficulties, we worked through it

and I think the overall result was well worth it.