Nina Chapman

How have you used new technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?Research and planning

Firstly, in order to gain wider knowledge and a better understanding in the area we were studying we used the Internet.

The internet helped us in researching relevant information about our topic and then using this information to put in our documentary. We explored different aspects such as zero

hour contracts, how many teenagers use the job centre per year, Youth unemployment rate UK, etc.

We also had to find information about what employment for teenagers was like in the past and archive footage to anchor this. We used YouTube in order to get a range of archive footage as this site has a wide variety of videos.

Here are some links to the archive footage we used...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cUc5GKHgJk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiyc4O81T9M

Links we used to gain a wider understanding...http://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/SN05871

https://middleearthnj.wordpress.com/2010/04/02/teenagers-and-part-time-jobs-benefits-drawbacks-and-tips/

https://jobs.telegraph.co.uk/article/job-interview-tips-for-teenagers/

The internet also helped us in finding people we could use for interviews and how to contact them.

We managed to contact the Job centre Wirral and have an interview however we were not

allowed to film inside of the building for an interview.

Nina Chapman

Even though we did not manage to film, the staff still gave us useful information about facts and figures on teenagers entering the centre and how they help them in finding jobs, this research helped us in our planning process as it gave us a deeper understanding of teenage employment.

As a group we also used the internet to research professional documentaries, radio trailers and print adverts in order to help take us in the right direction and gain a variety of ideas about what we wanted the theme of our documentary to be. This also helped us find more of the codes and conventions to professional documentaries and therefore help make ours to this standard.

We also used the internet to help research potential interview questions.

While researching and planning our products we used Microsoft Word to make our questionnaires. We used this as it is simple to use and is of the right format to create a questionnaire on. Aswell as Word, we used Excel as this software allows you to create charts, and charts were helpful to us while evaluating the feedback from the questionnaires.

Construction

One of the main technologies we needed in the construction process was the HD Camera (with tripod and microphones) in order to get all the footage we needed.We were able to stabilise the camera on the tripod which made the video camera easier to use and ensure in our interviews

the camera wasnt shakey. We were also able to adjust the tripods height in order to get the right positioning and frame for the interview. We did a few test runs of the video footage in which we asked the interviewer some practise questions and recording them answering.

We then played them back to see if the sound levels were good, the interviewer was looking at the interviewee and to also see if we followed the rule of thirds.

To create our title sequence we used the HD Video Camera and left it standing on a tripod for a few minutes outside of a busy shopping centre so we could later turn this into a time lapse.

Nina Chapman

When filming cutaways we used the tripod on some takes such as if we were outside and it was windy, for cutaways taken indoors we used handheld shots as this was more convinient.

In the construction process I also used a digitail camera which I used to take images as evidence of our filming.The camera was easy to use and we were able to use flash (on settings) depending on what the lighting was like. When we took the photo we took the memory card out and then placed it into the computer hard-drive so we could upload images on to the computer.

Futhermore, we also used the camera to take an image for the print ad. We took many test shots of this too see which ones worked best and anchored the genre.

Below are some practice shots...

Both these images were too dark therefore not very eye catching and did not anchor the theme. We stuck to the idea of using a shop however when editing

An important aspect within the radio trailer and documentary is the voiceover. In order to record the voice over for our products we used the

In the recording station there were two computers, one which had the recording levels and the other one could access and save files at the same time, both computers were linked. By using the audio switches and peak meters we were able to switch it on and adjust the microphone to a reasonable height for the person doing our voice over. The microphone was

Once we had recorded we listened to it to check if it was clear and understandable. We then dragged the recording over to another monitor to be then saved into the A drive which made the recording easy to access from

When constructing the print ad I used software named Adobe Photoshop. It allowed my group and I to edit the print ad and make it look professional. For example we used Adobe Photoshop to experiment with lighting and also add text. I used the tools on the right hand side to alter the brightness and

Nina Chapman

Adobe Premiere allowed us to change the sound levels of clips and make them all equal. By moving the yellow line we were able to alter the volume so the clips could clearly be heard. In Adobe Premiere pro we were also able to add text over video clips (graphics) like professional documentaries. By using the effects on Adobe Premier this allowed our documentary to look more professional.

Both these images were too dark therefore not very eye catching and did not anchor the theme. We stuck to the idea of using a shop however when editing

An important aspect within the radio trailer and documentary is the voiceover. In order to record the voice over for our products we used the

In the recording station there were two computers, one which had the recording levels and the other one could access and save files at the same time, both computers were linked. By using the audio switches and peak meters we were able to switch it on and adjust the microphone to a reasonable height for the person doing our voice over. The microphone was

Once we had recorded we listened to it to check if it was clear and understandable. We then dragged the recording over to another monitor to be then saved into the A drive which made the recording easy to access from

When constructing the print ad I used software named Adobe Photoshop. It allowed my group and I to edit the print ad and make it look professional. For example we used Adobe Photoshop to experiment with lighting and also add text. I used the tools on the right hand side to alter the brightness and

Adobe Photoshop was also used in resizing and moving items. By pressing ctrl&t, a box appeared around the image which we could then move to adjust the size.

Overall, Adobe Photoshop was easy to use when constructing the Print ad and there were many tools you could use. It was also appropriate software to construct a professional looking print ad on.

The software I used for the majority of the process was Adobe Premiere Pro as it had all the appropriate tools to create a video on.

Our title sequence was a time lapse. We filmed footage of a shopping centre for about 5 minutes, Adobe Premiere pro then allowed us to increase the speed of this to create a time lapse effect.

Adobe premiere has a select tool on the left which allows you to select imported items and drag it over to the sequence. When the clip has been moved to where you want it you can double click which moves it to the editing section in which you can snip the footage and make it the duration you want it to be.

Nina Chapman

As I have used Adobe Premiere in the past I had an understanding of how to use it, however there were some areas I found difficult such as adding titles and effects. I researched into this using the search engine Google and found a free guide on how to use the different tools and add titles on Adobe Premiere pro.

Evaluation

To present question one I used Prezi which is a presentational method which allows you to layout your text and images where ever you like and control the pattern in which the audience see it. I felt this method was better than just using a word document as it is more interesting and you can read sections of writing at one time rather than a big chunk of writing. Prezi also allows me to add images, therefore I can show evidence for question one about how my media product uses, develops and challenges forms and conventions of real world media. Once I made my presentation it was simple to then embed on to my blog.

I then used Smore for the radio trailer on question 1 which is an online platform that allows you to make flyers and design it whatever way you want by using the tools. You can add items such as text, images, audio ect. When finished I selected ‘Save now’ and embedded the flyer on to my blog.

Following on I used a Software named Slide Snack, in which I discussed my print ad on, this site allowed me to upload PowerPoint’s. Once uploaded I was then able to embed my Slide snack on to my blog.

Nina Chapman

For question two I used a site named Slide serve, this is similar to Slide Snack as it allows you to upload powerpoints.I decided to use this as power point was the right format for me to lay out my audience feedback and I could also use Excel at the same time to talley up and evaluate the feedback. I then uploaded my PowerPoint on to Slide serve and embedded it to my blog.

As a group we uploaded our product on to YouTube as this is a free and easy way to upload and also receive feedback. We could also briefly describe what the documentary was about.

I then used Slide share to present the feedback I got from social media as this format was a simple on in which you can clearly read the audience feedback on. When done I then copied the embed code so I was able to place it on to my blog.

Furthermore, for question four I used Powtoon which is presentational software in which you can create slides with animation. You can also add, text, images etc. It was simple to use as on the left hand side it has an edit section where you can add text/ images and design how you wanted your Powtoon to look.