Evaluation Question Four

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

Throughout the project a variety of different media technologies have been used at all stages to aid the construction of our media products.

Research and Planning Technology has played a key part in the research and planning stages. At the research stage each member of the group individually conducted their own research into different genres of music, conventions of music videos and research on the music industry using the internet which we then brought back to the group. This helped us gain an understanding of the different types of music so we could decide what sort of song we would choose to create a music video for and the types of features we would need to ensure were included in our video such as the style of camerawork and editing. For this research we used our schools learning portal which contained links to various sources of information from different theorists. We also used the Google Search tool and looked at websites such as wikipedia, artists sites and record label sites. Therefore we used a variety of different sources to find the best amount of information and this demonstrates the importance of technology and the internet in conducting research.

Furthermore we used YouTube to search for and watch a range of existing music videos to analyse, to gain a better understanding of how they are exeuted and what they look like and should include. Youtube was a very useful source in research as it allows almost immediate access to the video you want, without it a lot of time would be spent trying to find the video. We used artists websites and the Google Image search tool to find and analyse existing artist's websites and album covers, which again develop our understanding of the style, features and purposes (promotion, star image etc) of these products so we can reflect this in our digipack and website. In addition, the use of Excel allowed us to visually present the results of our questionnaire in graphs much quicker than we could hand drawing them. Therefore time is is saved and we can look the graphs and spot the popular trends that helped us know what to include in our music video. Overall technology and the Google search tool in particular were very important in the research of our product as it allows an instant result from a search, meaning we can find a lot of information with relative ease.

During the planning stage we also used the Google search tool to find websites that featured unsigned artists for which we could search for a song to make the music video for. Each member of the group chose a different website to look for songs individually but we eventually all searched the site http://www.totallyunsigned.co.uk/. This site offered a useful search engine that allowed us to filter different artists and songs to specific genres of music and offered previews of songs and downloads, so we could listen to lots of songs to find one we liked. Therefore we had immediate access to search for songs, which meant the group was efficient in selecting the track and no time was wasted searching sites that were not helpful or not suitable. Without the internet this stage of the project would have been impossible as we would have had no practical and efficient means to find a suitable song to use. Furthermore presenting my work on Blogger has played an integral part throughout research and planning. Whereas in English or History work is presented in a straight essay format, Media involves a lot of other practical areas that are not easily incorporated into just writing without losing some of their effect. The use of Blogger aids this style of work as it allows direct inclusion of modern technology features such as website links and video embedding. This allowed me to visually present the items I am researching or analysing. Therefore Media work is being presented in a practical and technical way that suits the style of subject. Blogger also allows me to easily present the hand written work completed as group in lessons such as brainstorms and storyboards so that all areas of the project can be displayed in one area rather than in seperate sections of folders. In addition the post format of Blogger reflects modern trends of social networking and so keeps it interesting for me working on a project. Moreover, the Blog displays our research and planning to the final products, so the viewer can see the stages of production and what has gone into the construction of our products in chronological order. Therefore the viewer sees the working process and journey the group has gone on and reflects the working process in the actual Media Industry. However, Blogger also has some drawbacks:

• A lot of frustration occurs when trying to include pictures and videos as the post box is relatively small. This creates problems when inserting lots of pictures to aid the text and make the post more aesthetically pleasing because it takes a long time to drag the pictures down the box and position the images where you want them in the post and often inconviences can occur. Furthermore it can take a long time to insert videos that you cannot embed and often it has been uploading a long time and an error can occur meaning the upload has to start again. Overall, inserting pictures and videos is very time consuming. (The image below demonstrates the small posting box)
ttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt

• As blogger is on the internet work can be deleted easily if the post does not save and the connection weakens and pages cannot be displayed. Therefore time has to be taken to redo the work.Furthermore if mistakes are made there is no undo button on the post box, so you have to start what tou made a mistake on again.

Construction During the creation of our music video we used the Sony Video Camera we were equipped with creatively to capture a wide range of different shot types, angles and movements.