EvaluationHow did you use Media technologies in the construction,

research, planning and evaluation stages?

BloggerBlogger has been useful throughout my entire project, as it has been the means of presenting my work. It has allowed me to structure my work in a fashion that is easy to view, and moderate. It has meant that I have been able to work efficiently from home, without concerns of handing work in to a teacher, and it has meant that I could upload content from any computer that has an connection to the world wide web. I have been able to embed videos, presentations, and photo links, which has made for a very multimedia-filled experience, making my project more modern, and reflecting the need for modern technologies within the media, as an ever-changing, ever-developing, part of society.

Research & Planning Stages

Internet

The use of the Internet, for my research, has been a necessity. The Internet has been very reliable, especially with sites such as Blogger, which were used at the very core of the production of my Advanced Portfolio. The only real disadvantage with the Internet is that due to Web2.0, it has become accessible by anyone, and so a lot of the content that has been uploaded is false (such as Wiki definitions, etc.) and unreliable. The three most important sites that I have used throughout my project, have been Blogger, YouTube, and Slideshare. I will go on to talk about these in the next couple of slides…

YouTube

YouTube has been useful during the research stages, as it has allowed me to view many music videos, by real artists, in order to analyse them, and gain inspiration for the creation of my own. The advantage of using YouTube, is that the site allows for embedding videos into blogs, and other such sites, so I could actually present the videos as part of the blog, rather than merely providing links. The only disadvantage with YouTube, is that due to a lot of material being copyrighted, videos get taken down, which means finding alternative copies of them, and re-linking them on my blog posts, which is time consuming, and doesn’t guarantee the same thing won’t happen again.

Slideshare

The use of Slideshare for publishing presentations to the Internet, in order to embed on my blog, has been of paramount importance in the creation of my project. I have been able to present my research findings in PowerPoint form, which has allowed me to easily separate content into slides, which is then easier to access and use later, without having to trudge through long lists of text. Similarly with YouTube, the main advantage of using the site with this project in particular, is that it allows presentations to be uploaded, and then embedded directly into my blog posts, so that they can be viewed without even having to leave the blog.

Production Stage

Apple iMacThe use of the Apple iMac in the production stage of my project was an absolute necessity. It allowed me to import, edit, and colour grade my footage very efficiently. The advantages of using it over a Windows-based alternative are huge, as applications work well together, which allowed me to consider my production in terms of a fluid workflow, as opposed to separate stages that had to be done step by step. The high specifications of the piece of equipment meant that there was minimal lag in the process of editing, which allowed me to concentrate on being creative, rather than allowing the technology to make the process harder than it needed to be, which probably would have been the case if I’d have been left with Microsoft. The use of the iMac did not cause me any problems, and I felt much more comfortable using the operating system than I would have done with Windows.

Canon EOS 7DThe use of the Canon EOS 7D meant that I had far more creative control over the creation of my footage than I would have done if I had used a more basic alternative. The large sensor allowed me to experiment with depth-of-field, and the on-screen grid allowed me to make a success of following the rule of thirds. The use of the Canon EOS 7D allowed me to overcome and issue with lighting that arose when shooting the video, as being able to manually control the exposure (through aperture, shutter speed, and ISO adjustments) meant that I could compensate for the darkening natural light source. This, in turn, made the editing process somewhat easier, as if I had lost all detail within shadows and highlights, I would not have been able to bring them back in the post, given the footage being recorded in a compressed form.

Adobe Editing SoftwareThe use of Adobe Premiere Pro in editing the video footage, and Adobe After Effects in colour grading the final video, made for a very effective, and professional workflow. They offered many advantages over the simple iMovie and Movie Maker editing packages, as, for example, there is a multi-track timeline in each of the programs, which meant I could add all of the footage from each of my recorded takes, and then sync them manually to the master audio track, with maximum control over frame by frame increments. Similarly in the colour grading stages, maximum control was made possible, through use of the colour wheels, which allowed not only for precise colour correction of the red, green, and blue channels, but also, of each of these colours for the shadows, midtones, and highlights. Overall, the use of the software meant that the only thing that could have limited my production, was my own creativity. My skills with these software packages developed, and I became more confident with them as I used them throughout the production process.

Evaluation Stage

Microsoft PowerPointThe use of Microsoft PowerPoint has enabled me to present my evaluation in a more visually accessible way than merely pasting a huge chunk of text onto my blog. I have been able to break up the evaluation process into sections, which would not have been so easy to keep separate on a single blog post. There weren’t really any negatives to using the piece of software, as it made both the creation of the evaluation, and the consumption of the information I presented, more accessible to the reader.

Apple iMac (iSight)The use of the iMac during the evaluation stage of my portfolio meant that I could record the audio for use in the creation of my director’s commentary. It had the advantage of allowing me to capture the audio directly, without the need for an external capturing device. This saved both time and effort in the production of my evaluative piece of work. The only negative to using the inbuilt iSight device was that if I was to have wanted to use the video footage as well, I’d have had no control over the background, due to lack of portability of such a hefty piece of equipment. Due to the fact that I didn’t intend to use the video footage, this didn’t pose me any problems.

Adobe Premiere ProThe use of Adobe Premiere Pro has enabled me to import my captured audio, from the iMac’s inbuilt iSight device, and edit it to create a director’s commentary suitable for the purpose of evaluating my project. With other, more basic, editing software packages, this wouldn’t have been as simple, as the likes of iMovie, designed for amateurs, make simple task a lot harder than they need be.