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

Transcript: I utilised digital technology to my advantage, as I used as many platforms and software’s as possible. I used Prezi,Powerpoint, Microsoft Word, YouTube videos, Adobe Photoshop,Adobe Premiere Pro CS6, Indesign and even Vimeo.

Microsoft word and PowerPoint were a great format to have essay type documents, I used it a fair amount when I needed to have a description of something, for example I used it when I was analysing my equipment. Advantages of word and PowerPoint were that they were easy to use and clear when viewing it, so there is no complications when reading a document from the format. Both software’s are user friendly, it is commonly used so I am very familiar with the program, as are other people.

Prezi is a site online which allows you to create presentations online, it is more creative and visually more pleasing than word and PowerPoint, it enables you to navigate to each text box. With Prezi we are able to add text, pictures and even videos, it immediately catches your eye with the different formats available, and aka you can have your text on a world map or even brainstorm it. The zoom icon is one of the main features. It proves to be quite effective as we can examine the text in more detail and break it up from the other pieces of text. The fact that Prezi is nonlinear proves to work well, so when I was using it I didn’t have to go through a certain order to add to my work, I could just navigate my own path and go through it on my own accord.

 Recording video diaries I found that having my phone was a great advantage, as I could just upload a video of myself talking whenever I felt the need to explain something. Instead of going to the computer and typing it all down, I could just turn my front camera on and upload it straight from my phone. This is an example of how technology has evolved; beforehand it was not as simple as it is now.

Photoshop was very helpful as I was presented with plenty of tools and implements which helped me create a magazine. Since I had taken photography, I was familiar with shutter speed and aperture. I think I possessed the skills to take a picture, and actually was pretty proud of my chosen photographs. I had used Studio lighting, from the school and had to have a quite a few sessions practising how the lighting worked, either it was too bright or too dark, but in the end by shifting it around we worked it out. I practised using the DSLR CANNON 550D as I wanted to get as much experience as I could, this enabled me to create the best pictures of my ability. I had to change the IOS plenty of times, because I wanted a high exposure angelic them for the second part of the music video.

 Recording me speaking was quite hard, as I detest speaking in front of a camera, however I found that it was vital to do so,It was easier to do the magazine advert on Photoshop rather than InDesign.

I thought a lot about costume in my shoot (Mise en scene), so I made sure my artists were made to look like popstars, i had to go shopping and take pictures of clothes that would look good on my model, I made a chart on powerpoint showing how each outfit looked on the models chosen, which I think showed creativity.

After finishing my preliminary draft, I had to record myself through the webcam as my phone wasn't working at the time. So i was talking through what I did and how I did with my products. I found that using a webcam may not be as clear but it was easily accessible as nearly every laptop has one built in.

 Technology is used various times in my blog through the use of software’s and individual sites I used like IPICCY and the use of myvideos that I found online which helped boost my individuality. IPICCY is a great editing site, it is similar to photoshop, however it is more concise with tools, and easier for people to use. I found that I enjoyed using IPICCY more than photoshop as navigating around tools were a lot easier.

I liked using different formats, so that my blog didn’t look completely plain and had a splash of versatility. I remember beforehand using the same old resources, so i think I’ve added more range and creativity by having this.Voki was great to use, as it is entertaining and helps produce the information. I used windows movie maker, to make a lot of clips. I found it resourceful, as it was easy to utilise and the icons were easy to direct.

I think Creativity was vital, as i needed to make my blog look aesthetically pleasing, so i needed as much formats possible.

At the start of the year, i found myself just using the same old formats, for example. my work was bombarded with word and powerpoint, so it looked quite bland. Voki was very helpful, it gave out information and also provided a more entertaining way to look the information. I realised that i had to be more innovative and creative so Voki was really good. Voki was visually pleasing, entertaining and gave out the information that I needed to produce. It was aesthetically pleasing too. When making my production log diaries, I had to use my webcam and my phone to film myself as it was the easiest machinery available to film myself, this was quite daunting as I had to film myself talking (Which everyone hates)


The main purpose of the advert was to persuade people to inevitably buy the album, I created two magazine posters, one being very conventional and conforming to the pop genre with photoshop, but i also wanted to have another poster for the older more niche audience, for example the parents who buy the album for the teenagers/kids. My second one is more abstract, it has USP, a unique selling point. The creates an element of surprise and versatility, as well as conforming to the genre, by having two adverts it meets the needs of my target audience. With my second advert it has a picture of two animals (Deers) facing eachother. I utilised the crop tool, and had to have many layers to create the magazine advert. I also adjusted the colour, by levelling up the contrast and brightness. To take the actual picture i used a tripod and an aperture lens, the aperture lens enhanced my pictures quality.

I used my phone a fair bit to add certain posts like Production logs, i was able to get the Blogger app through the playstore, so it it was a lot easier to upload them. I also recorded some voice clips for my videos. This is another example of technology being used.
In order to get better at Adobe premiere pro cs6 i had to use a variety of tutorials online, with the help of youtube, it enabled me to enhance my skills by giving basic lessons.
 

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