Evaluation Question 4 - How did you use new media technologies in the construction, research and planning

and evaluation stages?

Media technologies have played a vital role in my research, planning, construction and evaluation. They have not only helped me to make my products but have provided me with different ways of presenting my work. Whilst exploring these new media technologies I have learned new techniques and skills and have gained experience using these technologies which I will be able take with me on to new projects.

Software

PhotoshopI used Photoshop to construct my print products (poster and magazine cover), without this piece of software I would have not been able to produce them at a professional level. Photoshop provided me with many different tools that allowed me to produce professional looking print products, for example the filters and brushes. I used these tools when producing the layout , background and text of the print products. However I also edited my photographs on this software using the editing tools like adjustments and the magic wand. I also used Photoshop to create the inter-titles used in my trailer. Photoshop has allowed me to create professional looking products and using Photoshop for so much of my work has really developed my editing abilities on this piece of software.

Final Cut ExpressFinal Cut Express is the video editing software that I used to create my trailer, it has provided me with the ability to edit my footage into a trailer of a professional standard. It allowed me to edit our footage and position the shots in the order that we wanted them to appear in the trailer. This helped us to see what worked in our trailer and allowed us to easily make changes after we received feedback. Some of the techniques I have learnt whilst editing my trailer are video transitions/filters, key frames and how to add a soundtrack.

Garage BandGarage Band is the software I used to create the soundtrack for my trailer. I used sounds from the catalogue on Garage Band , recorded someone speaking and downloaded sound effects from the internet which I put together using this software. We used transitions and changed the volume at different points within the soundtrack so that it fitted with the footage. Garage Band was really beneficial to the making of our trailer, without a soundtrack we wouldn't have been able to create the atmosphere and mood we wanted to.

Photo BoothPhoto booth is a photo and video recorder that uses the webcam on the iMac to record you. I have been able to gather feedback by asking people to record themselves giving feedback on my work, this has helped me through the development and production of my work as I have been able to keep referring back to the videos to look at my feedback. I have also used Photo Booth to record videos and take photos when we were looking at make-up ideas. I could also import the videos into my blog to show as evidence for my feedback.

TwitterI used Twitter to collect part of my audience feedback. I chose to use social networking to collect my feedback as I knew it would be the easiest and quickest way to contact my target audience. It also allowed me to post my products online and ask people to leave feedback comments on them which I could then use to improve my work.

PowerPointPowerPoint has enabled me to present my evaluations in a different I have tried to present my work in many different ways in order to use a range of software's to show my progress throughout the project. PowerPoint has a allowed me to create this slideshow with information, pictures and screenshots.

PreziPrezi is another piece of software I have used to present my work. Prezi is like an online mind map, it has been great during the research and development stages as it allowed me to display my ideas in depth and change the parts I wasn't happy with, it helped me to construct my ideas and display them in an easy way for people to understand and follow. Prezi is a professional way to present your work as it allows you to add photos, links and videos that help to further explain your work.

SlideshareSlideshare is a website that has allowed me to present my work in another different way. It allowed me to embed my PowerPoint into an online slideshow which I could put onto my blog. I used Slideshare to display my research and evaluation work as it allows you to display a lot of information.

GoogleGoogle was really useful during my research. It allowed me to search for images of professional texts from the horror genre that I wanted to take inspiration from. It has allowed me to develop my ideas regularly by looking at many different professional texts.

YouTubeYouTube has benefited me throughout this project, I have used it frequently, especially during the research stage as I looked at a lot of professional trailers from the horror genre to see which ones I wanted to take inspiration from. I watched these trailers regularly throughout the production process to ensure that I followed the forms and conventions into my own products. I also uploaded my finished trailer to YouTube, this allowed people to view my trailer and I could share it onto my blog.

BloggerBlogger has been a way of displaying all my work throughout the whole process, like a diary for my project. It has also helped me keep up to date by creating posts such as ‘Planning Schedule’. It has enabled me to organise my work well, showing the process of my work. I have been able to add videos and images to further explain my research and development work and add PowerPoints to show my evaluation.

Dafont.com

I used dafont.com to research fonts that would be appropriate for my chosen genre horror, once I had chosen the fonts I wanted I could downloaded them and use them in software like Photoshop when creating my print products. It has gave my products a professional look and the fonts really suit my chosen genre. The fonts I have used have helped me to create realistic products that appeal to my target audience.

Hardware

SLR CameraUsing an SLR Camera to take my photographs for the print products, has allowed me to take professional, high-quality photographs. Having high quality images is essential in making my print products to a professional standard. The SLR Camera I used had guidelines on so that I could get the eye line of my model were I wanted it on the photograph, I wanted my model to appear authorative and make the reader feel fear so this was really helpful in creating this.

Video CameraDigital Camera's made by Panasonic are what we used to record our trailer footage. We used an HD video recorder to shoot all of our footage for our trailer, using a HD camera ensured that we would have high quality footage. The video camera has been one of the most crucial pieces of technology, as without this we could not have developed our ideas into a trailer.

TripodA tripod allowed me to make sure my footage was of a high quality as it kept the video camera still during filming ensuring all my shots were steady. It is important to film high quality footage because without it my products couldn’t look professional.

iMac is the name of the computer that I used throughout my project, these computers are produced by Apple and have only recently came onto the market. Using an recent and updated computer was very beneficial as it already had the software I needed installed. I used the iMac to store all of the work onto the hard drive, used the internet for research and to create my blogger account and learnt how to transfer footage from the video recorder and camera onto the computer. I have learnt a lot of new skills from this project.

iMac