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

evaluation stages?

Evaluation – Question 4

In my A2 coursework this year, I chose to use Wix. Last year I used Blogger, and this year I feel Wix allows me to be more organised as well as making my blog look more appealing with colours and layout.

http://ameerahmed1.wix.com/a2media

By Ameer Ahmed

Wikipedia (Software)

In the construction of my research stages a piece of media technology I used was ‘Wikipedia. When picking out facts and terms on Wikipedia, for example researching the history of music videos and researching artists, this site was quite reliable and useful in terms of its content and layout. Some of Wikipedia’s content is user generator content and is therefore classed as Web 2.0, this effects my research tasks as generally the facts on Wikipedia is accurate but not all of the content can be trusted. I also used Wikipedia to find out background information and history on music genres and artists, for example when researching the genre of Grime, Wikipedia allowed me to gain an insight of how Grime evolved and its progression to how it is today (acted as a timeline). When researching into mainstream artists like Wiley, Wikipedia allowed me to educate myself on successful Grime artists and there journey to there current position, this varied from generic background info like age, genre etc. to their achievements.

YouTube (Software)

Another way in which I used media technology in my research stages, is through the Web 2.0 service ‘YouTube’. In my opening post YouTube allowed me to explore music videos from what I felt was the very first music video to current activities. I analysed how the visuals of music videos have changed from the chorography to the actual narrative. Throughout my research task, using YouTube I analysed music videos from different genres as well as picking out elements from a variety of music videos for inspiration. Finding out information on UK Grime artists and directors appeared to be a difficult task as there was not a lot of content about them on the internet. Therefore, using YouTube I watched interviews from these people, and acted as a journalist in terms of absorbing information and formatting it in my own words.An example of me using YouTube in my planning stages can be seen when my partner and I was conducting a pitch and various different Vlogs on our ideas and inspiration for our music video. I found YouTube effective in this way as it was a quick, easy and reliable way of getting videos onto my blog, this is also an example of UGC. Other things I uploaded on YouTube in terms of planning is our lip sync, this allowed my partner and I to get a taste/feel to how difficult it is to match the lyrics from the song to the mouth movement of the performer. In the construction part of my coursework, YouTube was used as the platform for distributing our music video Danny Billz – East Side Story. We chose to upload our video to YouTube as from audience research we are aware this is the most popular and convenient way for our target audience to watch our music video. Fortunately, our music video did not breach any copyright issues on YouTube. For our evaluation my partner and I have used YouTube to upload are vlog on our audience feedback, similar to what I mentioned in the planning stages of our music video.

Slideshare (Software)

Throughout my blog Slideshare was used to upload PowerPoints or mood boards I have created.

In my research tasks I used Slideshare mainly for uploading PowerPoints like my music label research, the way my music video relates to music theories and mood boards as stated above. For example when researching different genres of music like Grime, Hip Hop and Rock, I used Slideshare to upload images of each genre which I feel best summarises the genre. When analysing my market research I used Slideshare to upload my answers and my response to my answers.In my planning tasks I first used Slideshare to present my PowerPoint of my pitch to my target audience. This included putting my ideas for my music video on different slides and pitching my ideas to an audience which was recorded and put on YouTube. Other examples for when I used Slideshare in my research task, is when uploading my storyboard, mood boards, location scouting, health and safety, shot list, website draft, filming schedule and costume list. As you can see I have been heavily reliable on Slideshare, as I find it reliable and convenient in uploading PowerPoint's to my blog. In terms of improvements maybe I could have used Slideshare less and explored different media technologies. Coincidently, the only time I intend to use Slideshare in my evaluation is in this question. I have chosen Slideshare as I am familiar with how to use it and when I got a lot of content to put on my blog, I feel Slideshare is suitable for this.

Prezi (Software)

• During my research tasks I used Prezi as a way of formatting my presentation, as I find Prezi looks eye-catching and flash, this will therefore make the text more enjoyable for the reader. An example of this can be seen when I did my artist and website research. Another way in which I used Prezi was when I was analysing websites and lyrics, Prezi acted as spider in terms of there's a main body of a presentation, then there's many branches flowing into different circles; this was effective when allowing me to go into detail.

• My use of Prezi in the planning process of my coursework is similar to the research process, as I used Prezi to design a presentation on my prop list for my music video. Prezi is simple and easy to access and use, so it acted a good reference when checking what props I used for my music video.

• In my evaluation I used Prezi for question 2, as this question was all about comparing media products. As Prezi has go a spider diagram format, I found this media technology most effective and suitable when comparing and explaining things in detail.

Survey Monkey (Software)

• In the research stages of my coursework Survey Monkey played an essential role in the construction of my music video, as it allowed me to get feedback for my target audience. This was very useful, as receiving feedback from the same people you expect to watch you music video is helpful as you know what to include to make you music video then appeal to them. When analysing my responses, Survey Monkey gave me my answers in percentages, I found this was effective as percentages give me an accurate response as well as making me sound intelligent when discussing my findings. Giving my audience various differences answers and an answer box allows me to receive accurate responses from my target audience.

• Perhaps for our music video feedback I could of used survey monkey, but I felt getting direct feedback from a focus group was more suitable, effective and easier.

Internet (Software)

For my research tasks I used the internet for practically all of it, as I was tasked with finding out information, as well as giving examples such as photos and videos to back up what I was saying and make the text easier for the reader to understand. An example of when I really needed the internet was when analysing artists websites, this included artists such as Nicki Minaj and Ghetts. I did this in order to educate myself on the conventions of a website and how features such as colour and layout is important.

E-Mail (Software)

• The only time I used the software e-mails is in the planning task when I had to contact Potter Payper, in order to get permission to use his song ‘TBH’ for my coursework. This was necessary to do as I did not want to my music video to breach any copyright issues, fortunately Potter Payper got back to us and allowed us to use his lyrics.

Google Maps (Software)

• Google Maps was very convenient when doing my location scouting in my planning tasks. Instead of actually going outside and walking around looking for places to film, I used Google Maps to skip through roads and try find the most suitable location to film a Grime music video. After scouting locations on Google Maps, I did actually go to the location to check if it is suitable, as some images on Google Maps is old and the area could of changed.

Twitter (Software)

From my audience research and being a fan of Grime myself, I am aware Twitter is a way were most fans find out information about the artist. Therefore, I created a Twitter page for Danny Billz, were I will tweet the latest news on Danny Billz such as the countdown to the music video, the release of the artist website and any other interaction. When our final draft of our music video, website and digipak was completed I uploaded this all to Twitter so that are fans were aware.

Photoshop (Software)

• In the construction of our digipak, my partner and I used photo shop to edit the images, in terms of colour and filter, as well as placing them into 4 panels. By watching various YouTube tutorials my partner and I had a vague idea on how to use Photoshop, experimenting with its different features. For example we lowered the saturation of the picture of Young Danny Billz, as we wanted our digipak to correlate with our music video. On the digipak, using Photoshop we also put text on the images, such as thank you messages and the titles of the album. Another way Photoshop was used other than for the digipak was by creating a logo for the channel that is distributing Danny Billz – East Side Story. ‘Underground Heat TV’ is a fictional channel my partner and I crated, other than distributing the music video, Underground Heat TV also conducted an interview with Danny Billz, so that fans can get a better insight into the artist.

Mixbook (Software)

• The only time I used Mixbook was when I was introduced to it in the evaluation stages of my coursework. I used Mixbook for my question 1 and I found it very effective and enjoyable to use in terms of the functions. I really liked the way Mixbook literally functioned as a digital book with pictures and text. If I knew about Mixbook earlier I would of used it for other posts in my research and planning stages.

Final Cut Pro (Software)

• In the construction stages, when editing my music video I used the editing software on the Apple Mac called ‘Final Cut Pro’. Having used this software last year when constructing a short opening to a film I was familiar of the functions of it, but this year making a music video I was allowed to be more creative and experimental. An example of this can be seen from the specific types of effects and transitions I used so that visuals flowed well with the lyrics looking professional and flowing well. To make our music video look like a real media product, I had to experiment with Final Cut Pro as much as possible , this included lowering the saturation of specific clips to make them look like the past. The hardest task that occurred when using this software, was matching the performance of Danny Billz to the soundtrack , I overcame this by zooming close into the files and matching them up to the beat as much as I could. This year I really enjoyed using Final Cut Pro as I feel I familiarised myself with the software more, this also allowed me to use it in other tasks within my coursework rather than just the production.

Tripod (Hardware)

The use of a Tripod makes media technology better in terms of professionalism, without a Tripod some shots will look wonky and unsteady. For some shots this is effective as some shots are good unsteady .

Lights (Hardware)

The use of these studio lights was used in the interview scenes of Danny Billz. This was necessary and effective as it creates a spotlight/interview picture which is what my partner and I thought was necessary for an intensive interview scene.

Wix (Software)

• Wix was used for the blogging and website construction of my coursework. Last year I used Blogger, and this year I feel Wix allows me to be more organised as well as making my blog look more appealing with colours and layout. We used Wix for our artist website as from reviews we were aware that the layout and features of Wix was easier and attractive.