Evaluation Question 4

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

In the making of our film we had to use lots of different types of technologies, these all were used in a number of ways. We used technology in the planning, research, construction and evaluation. Without the use of this technology we would not have been able to create such a large portfolio of information on the ways of which media is used and created in everyday life.

In the planning of our piece I had to do a lot of research into similar products which where on the market and how they became large through advertisement. I had to do this research using the Internet. I used the network websites alongside fan websites, this is due to the type of information which you can find on each. The official websites give one sided views and do not give gossip and behind the scenes footage, whereas unofficial websites contain individual views which I could then use to gauge the target audience of each major soap which in turn allowed me to work out the target audience for my piece which resulted in me being able to target my audience specifically.

I used Youtube alongside other video sharing website in the research stage to allow me to view the ways of which other soap trailers where set out. This was done so I could view the conventions found in each so my piece would follow the same lines as others. I also used television to view the timings of soap trailers which again allowed me to view what type of audience the soap was after and enabled me to plan to target my audience in the same ways.

During the construction of my final piece I used a variety of technologies which would enhance each aspect of my piece. I used a HD camera (Sony HDR- CX700VE) for the filming of our piece because this would stop blurry pictures along side its better display and lack of jogging. This technology allowed us to achieve the shots which we wanted. We then used different editing software to enable the shots to be placed together in the most professional way possible. We used iMovie alongside Final Cut Express, the use of both software enabled us to edit all aspects of the piece to make the shots fit together over the top of a soundtrack which we had found on Youtube.

For my evaluation I tried to incorporate as many different types of media as I could. I used Scribd to allow pictures and documents to be placed within Prezi documents which improved the aesthetics of the piece. I also used iMovie to create a short film on the feedback which I had received for my final products.

When creating my poster and magazine I used a range of different computer programmes such as Microsoft Publisher and Microsoft Word. This was done due to the easy interface which would allow me to create the poster and magazine exactly how I had envisioned. When uploading the posters to Blogger I had used Scribd to enable them to be added to the blog post uninterrupted and as found on the initial programmes.

With the use of technologies I have been able to create these three media products with minimal problems, this is good as it allows me to achieve more work and create them to the best of my abilities. Without technologies these products would not have been achieved in the best way possible.

Will Howlett