Task 4: How have you used new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Construction:

In the construction of the actual music video we used the editing software Final Cut Pro to aid us with the quick and developed editing that was essential for our video. The software allowed me to fully comprehend how a video is edited in the industry and use professional equipment to help maintain the professional quality of the video as it allowed us to cut beween shots easily, layer the different shots together giving the effect that the band members were on screen at the same time which we regularly used within our video as it was an effect that gave it a quirky yet professional look which we wanted to portray to the audience. In addition, the programme also allowed us to crop the shots and move them which we used to give the impression that the band member (i.e. the drummer) was moving in a circle. this emphasised the absurdism of our video and once I learnt how to work and edit with this programme to create such effects, I was able to simply enjoy myself and have fun when editing, placing different shots with each other to give a quirky effect. This technique is similar to the one used in the White Stripes video to create a similar effect:

The timeline in the screengrabs of Final Cut Pro is an indication of how the different shots were seperated and how we layered the different shots on top one another.



PhotoShop
Tools



In addition, the green section at the bottom of both screen grabs is the music and we made sure all our shots were syncd up against it. Another technology that was used within the construction of our project was of course cameras and when filming we used a Sony NX5 which allowed us to film at a professional quality where the colour acuteness was significant in a video where there was such a limitation in lighting. Additionally, with the Sony NX5, we also had the priviledge of testing out the 3D add-on to the camera which we wanted to shoot the go-pros with, unfortunately it did not completely work with the concept of our idea but it meant that as a group we were introduced into a new piece of technology when filming our music video. Moreover, I was also introduced into how a lighting and sound desk works and from this I was able to control the lighting within our video by pressing certain buttons on the system. However, although it sounds relatively easy, if I were to press the wrong number or the ALT key instead of ENTER then something completely different to what you intended would happen, meaning that it was essential that I paid complete attention when using the lighting desk. Similarly, with the sound desk, although easier in terms of what I had to do, on the CD we had different tracks starting at various points in the track and so it was essential to start the right one at the right point. The simplicity provided when using a CD rather than a cassette meant that we were able to easily upload the track onto the computer, meaning that the overall editing was a lot easier as well as allowing us to use a larger range of digital technologies. Finally, we also used Photoshop when creating the Digipak and poster for the band; it is an editing software that is particularly quick and easy to use, it allows the work to be a lot more flexible as well as enabling experimentation. I was introduced to Photoshop last year but did not fully understand how to use the various tools such as cropping, the 'move' tool, the 'gradient' tool, the 'blur' tool and the 'lasso' tool on the programme whereas now I feel more comfortable in using the software.

Research:

Before the actual shoot day we used a large range of new media technologies to help the research for the video, in particular the use of the internet. I regularly used YouTube as a way of researching into the target audience, the Eels as a band and similar artists that fans liked; YouTube is a phenomenon of communication and has enabled us when researching into the song to watch the original video, as well as other videos also by the same band.

This gave us an insight into who would be our target audience for a type of song such as this, I also used the video sharing site to research into other bands and how they portray themselves and the differences between them, for example a band such as Green Day all wear black clothes within their video and it is usually focused on their instruments or backstage of their tours to emphasise that they are focused on their music but the use of dark clothing is also used to suggest that they are a band that does not focus on their looks and want to appear quite rebellious. However, a completeley contrasting band that I used to help further my research was One Direction, who use their image as 'young, good looking, british boy-band' as their selling point which is emphasised with their music videos where one comment stated "it looks like an advert for Jack Wills" because they are all wearing clothes that signify that they are British but it is also a brand label that is particularly popular among teenagers at the moment, indicating their youth and using it as a selling point for girls as their target audience. Additionally, apart from YouTube I also used the band's website, Twitter page and Facebook page to further my research into the band as a whole because I was aware that YouTube would not give me all of the essential information that I wanted to create my own band. Before deciding on the definite idea as to what our concept would be we each chose our individual ideas and songs and when doing this I explored the fan site and band site of Snow Patrol and used iPhoto on my macbook to help me analyse the different aspects that they were advertising on their website. I used the information I had gathered from the website to create a Facebook page for the band which although does not have a mass amount of fans it was a way of indicating what type of band 'Suckers for Watchmen' were. We also used 'The White Stripes' music video as a strong reference of inspiration for our video because it used the similar technique of layering the different shots to create the effect of multiple shots at once.

Planning:

When planning the final project I was introduced to the multimedia software of Prezi; it is an online software that allowed me to use a wide range of multimedia technologies (e.g: images, YouTube videos, text etc.) in a way that visually expresses the concept for our band. I used it when researching the typical audience member for the band because it allowed me to link different aspects of the band together in a similar way to a mind map. Additionally, because it is online, it means that unlike a mind map on paper, a Prezi gave me the oppertunity of continuously editing the same Prezi in various stages as well as signifying my point with the evidence of the different forms of media because as the saying goes "a picture speaks a thousand words". I also used powerpoint presentations throughout the stages of planning because it allowed me to visually express myself in a way that a blog or piece of written work could not. Additionally, using the powerpoint also meant that all of the slides connected to one another and that they were not random and as a result helped quicken the planning stages of the music video. As a group we also used Google regularly to research into the different types of lighting that could be used for our video which we eventually decided on having simple spotlights that could be attached onto the ceiling in the studio which is where we did all of our filming. I also used my blogger account to keep a continuous track record of my planning stages within the process; doing this meant that we were more aware of what exactly was needed for the actual day of filming. Moreover, I also made a Facebook group for my group which we could use to discuss the different necessities that needed to be purchased for the video when it was the half term and we were all in different countries. I felt that it helped us keep in contact with each other, but unfortunately was not taken enough advantage of and so when we returned to school were slightly underprepared for the shoot. Here is a screen grab of the Facebook group I made so that we could all keep in contact with each other while away:

Evaluation:

When getting the feedback from the AS media class, we made sure that a member of our class outside of our group was filming it on one of our mobile phones, allowing us to upload it to YouTube and use it to analyse what each person said. It also meant that I was able to embed it into a Prezi file which enabled me to use the fact that with Prezi you can include many means of technology and took advantage of it. Additionally, within that particular Prezi I also made sure that I embedded quotations to emphasise where we went right in our video's concept and where we went wrong. Additionally, another use of my phone was downloading the App for Blogger to enable me to continuously update new feedback and evaluative responses to the video. Furthermore, Blogger is online which means that unlike a diary or journal which may have been used 30 years ago, it is flexible, permanent, published and holds the ability to use multimedia in one post. Additionally, the music video was also uploaded to YouTube meaning that we were able to recieve a multitude of comments from users that were not part of the school, which meant that we were getting response that was in a way better because it was given at a distance of knowledge of the people involved in the process. The evaluative process in ongoing but the use of new media technologies has enabled me to continuously keep up to date with everything that I am doing.