Evaluation question 4- How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages

 The process of creating our media product has required us to use many different types of technology. Although at the beginning of the process there were members of the group who were very efficient with certain types of technology, through the filming and editing process, all of us have learnt new skills relating to these various technologies.

The use of web 2.0 sites, such as Youtube during the planning and research stages was absolutely vital, and in today's age of technology, I doubt that we would have been able to plan to the degree that we did. Through using Youtube, Wikipedia and Blogger, we were able to learn and understand the conventions in  Genres, the conventions of videos within the genres, and of the different types of music video.

Through the planning period of our project, we frequently used Blogger, or Blogspot, in order to update teachers and examiners of our current progress. We used the 'embed' feature on Youtube in order to share videos we analysed or used as inspiration to our own video.
It was through exploring the various songs in the rock genre that our group discovered the song, Muse-Feeling Good.Blogger has also been used throughout the entire production process, updating our own individual blogs whenever we went out to film a shot, a well as continually sharing pictures and short videos showing our group when working.

As well as using the internet to research and update others of our progress, we also used sites such as Prezi and scribd, in order to create presentations of our research, and for different pieces of work.
We also used various websites which use pregrenerated fonts in any sentence you type. These particular websites were very helpful in the design of our digipak, and the poster for the album.
The internet has helped us massively in the production, for if something exists, then it is more than likely it can be found somewhere.

After we had chosen our song, we used HD video recorders to film preliminary shots for our video, that were basically practice filming sessions for our group, trying out new shots that we wanted to use in the actual video. The HD recorders were also used in the actual filming of the video, so we would always have a camera on hand to film pieces that we could use in the final edit.
I also own an a Digital SLR, which allowed us to take very high quality photos for the digipak, while also using it to film in HD, which meant that after borrowing one HD camera from the school, we would always have access to at least 2 cameras, with the capability to film high quality shots. The DSLR also allowed us to use the focus on the lense to perform focus pulls, adding interesting depth of field to all scenes shot with the camera.

After we had assembled footage, we used Final Cut Express to edit all of our clips together. With the extended use of different transitions and video filters, we eventually created the final edit of our music video.

Final Cut Express is among the top when it comes to video editing, and is used by professional film makers very commonly. The opportunity to use this piece of software is a privilege, as although it allows us to cut out parts we do not want, as well as putting footage together,  it also includes plenty of special effects and video transitions that can be very complicated to use and is not as simple as it look. I have learnt a lot about final cut, such as the use of markers, which you can use to mark where the lyric begin, in my case. Using Final Cut, we were able to complete our music video in just under 3 months, which is a great achievement, when the amount of footage we have is taken into consideration.
One great thing about final cut is that even if there are shots that are not fantastic, you can add a colour gradient, a filter or special transitions in order to improve the aesthetic look of it.

In order to create and edit our digipak and advert, we used Adobe Photoshop CS5, the latest version of the leading photo editor. The process of creating the digipak consisted of researching other digipaks, both professional and amateur.
I researched different text effects that can be created in photoshop, learnt how to use some of these effects, and then adjusted them to fit to our own song and genre style, before we even began t create the digipak. We also took plenty of pictures of our lead singer and the main character, as we wanted to use them both in the digipak. These pictures were manipulated, and if we did not like the way they looked, we would try something different in order to gain the effect and look we desired.
Eventually, we managed to create 4 panels that we think look very good, with the extensive help of Photoshop.

To sum up, throughout the process, we have used many different forms of technology in order to plan and create our music video and similar products. I feel that I have learnt many new skills during the process, from learning how to perform certain shots, to how to create a neon lighting effect in Adobe Photoshop.