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

Introduction:• My research, planning and evaluation skills have developed

significantly in my progression from AS to A2.

• I have used similar technologies in A2 as I had done in AS however my skills with these technologies have significantly developed in my progression through my Media Studies course.

• I have gained experience in using various online applications to assist me in the elements of construction, evaluation and planning but the most significant help from these application and technologies have came in the research phase of my production.

Planning:• In the planning phase of my A2 production I have

equipped myself with various technologies to ensure the planning phase was efficient and effective.

• I was able to create rough flat plans for my ancillary task with Microsoft Publisher which has an user friendly interface as well as the tools to create a flat plan which accurately reflected the final product I intended to construct. Since my experience with Publisher was a positive one I returned to it at A2.

• For my ancillary tasks I used Adobe Photoshop based on the experience I gained with this application at AS. Since AS I have excelled from amateur status in regards to Photoshop and have been able to effectively use the application in order to create an imaginative film poster and a highly conventional magazine cover.

Planning:• As I did at AS, I used blogger to keep a diary

of my progress throughout my project. This was helpful in reflection of my work and it was also key in the planning phase as it allowed me to post brief updates on the production and hold evidence of me gaining music permission.

• Through the use of Microsoft Word I was able to write the screenplay of my movie as a word document which allowed me to easily seek feedback on my screenplay and allowed the cast and crew easy access to it via emails. This proved valuable as it saved time as well as allowed me to make easy adjustments throughout the planning phase of the production.

Evaluation:• Seeking evaluation of my work was a key aspect of this

project and gaining online feedback was absolutely key in achieving a high standard for my main task. I was able to use SurveyMonkey to gain responses on my initial idea for my project as I did at AS level. I also made use of Social Media which played an important role as it enabled me to reach a larger demographic of people to respond to my survey.

• In answering evaluation questions I have been able to present detailed answers using various applications such as; Slideshare, Prezi and Stupeflix. I also used some of these applications for my AS evaluations however my skills with applications such as Prezi have developed and I have been able to use the tools Prezi offers increasingly effectively.

• I was also able to conduct a test screening of a rough edit of my trailer through using a media player application.

Research:• The use of technology was integral to the vast

research I have conducted before beginning production on my main task and ancillary tasks.

• As the research I conducted had to cover every aspect of the production of existing media texts which are comparable to the finished media product I wished to create, I had to conduct a significantly greater amount of research then I did at AS level.

• In my research I was sure to analyse in detail the conventions of existing mockumentary movies, generic documentaries as well as comedy films aimed at a broad adult audience. This was achievable through searching online for the scripts of episodes of the popular mockumentary television series The Office.

Research:• I was also able to gain access to clips of Louis Theroux

documentaries via YouTube so I could analyse the conventions of a generic documentary such as; camera movements, use of voice overs and talking heads.

• I was also able to look through a vast online library of existing movie posters. I did this to learn the key conventions featured in posters of comparable movies and in turn applied these conventions to my own ancillary task.

• Through the use of the internet I was able to compare various movie magazine cover pages to assist me in choosing how to present my movie as a magazine’s cover story while embodying the comedic and musical themes of my movie trailer.

Construction:• In the construction of my ancillary tasks I chose to

again use Adobe Photoshop as I was confident in my skills with this software after my experience with it at AS level. I was able to use the tools in Photoshop to create the ancillary tasks I had desired to whereas I was restrained last year due to my inexperience with software.

• I was also able to use Adobe Premiere Pro which is an editing software I was already confident with due to my experiences with it outside of my Media Studies course. I used this software to edit and craft a movie trailer to the best of my ability with the footage I recorded. I was able to insert title cards, music and audio transitions to ensure subtle editing and create a smoothly edited trailer.

Construction:• In the filming for my main task I was restrained

by the equipment and technology I was given. I experience difficulties with regards to audio, video and the battery life of the camera due to the abysmal equipment. I also had little experience with the camera technology as my AS project did not require any filming.

• Luckily I was able to amend most of the deficits in quality caused by these restraints through the use of Adobe Premiere Pro. Using colour balance effects I was able to manipulate the footage to appear a higher quality than the raw footage was.