Evaluation - Question Four

Qu 4 :  How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

   New media technologies are forever developing before us, and at a very fast pace. They allow the audience of the product to experience new things, and view things in a different light, for example: the development of video recording over the years has led to a different experience when viewing film.

   At the beginning of my production, i produced a blog using blogger.com. Through-out the construction, research and planning of my music video and ancillary texts, i uploaded all written work, photography, prezi’s and videos that supported these stages onto my blog for anyone to view. The blog allowed tutorial as well as other blog users comments. This helped me a lot when needing advice and feedback from others, this was available to me through-out the course. The blog not only helped me keep all my work in one safe place but it also helped me to track my own progress and to see how my writing, directing and camera handling skills had developed. I was also able to improve my work to a better standard and my blogging skills also developed as a result.

   Within the construction stage of my course, I used two diverse cameras for different purposes. The first one being a digital video camera, this was used to film all of our music video footage. The camera allowed us to review our footage just moments after filming it, this helped us a lot because we were able to correct anything we didn’t feel worked well for example: lighting or shot angles etc. An example of this would be when Dalia was running down the street and we were unable to clearly see what was going on, we therefore tried the shot again with a torch light. Furthermore, we were able to correct the scene in which we were shooting in if anything appeared in the shot that shouldn’t have, for example: unwanted shadows from the torch light or camera leads. This saved us time as we were able to get more shooting done in each arranged filming schedule.

   The next part of my construction progress consisted of editing my captured footage. The software used for this was Premier Elements 5.0. This software allowed me to plug my digital video camera into the computer via a USB and capture the footage on the camera. The clips captured were then displayed on a side bar. I could then select my clips and put them in the order that i required. The next part to this stage was cropping down my clips, this was done with the razor tool, i found this easy and accurate to use. Adding the audio consisted of dragging the song audio from a file and placing it underneath the timeline of clips; I could then see how the timing of the clips fitted with the song. Myself and Laura found that we needed to edit a window out of one shot due to the lighting differentiation coming through it, we used a certain tool that enabled us to change the colour of the window to the same colour as the walls, we achieved the effect that we desired. We were also able to slow shots down to add suspense and make the shot more viewable by the audience. We used this opportunity on the shot of Dalia bouncing on the trampoline to capture her hair in the wind and give a more dream like affect. Furthermore on the shot of Dalia re-entering reality and the shot of the flower floating in the water as Dalia watches it. Like the slowing down effect we could also speed up our shots, we used this unusual effect along with its partner on the shot of Dalia re-entering reality, she slowing steps forward out of her dream like world and then the fast pace of reality hits her and the shots speed up as she continues to get screamed at by her domestic boyfriend. Lastly, we added transition effects that would determine how each shot flowed into another. We decided to use cross dissolve, as the title suggests, it nicely dissolves each shot into one another without an obvious transition. However, some shots needed to change at a faster pace in order to get a quick anticipation flowing through the audience so no transition was used at all.

   Another camera that was used in my production was a digital SLR (Canon 550D). This was used to take most location shots, all prop shots, most character profile shots and the photos used in my print productions. I was lucky to be able to use this camera for the photography element of my blog because the photos were captured to a high quality standard, not only making it easier for the audience to see what the photo was capturing but it also made the photos and my blog over all more pleasant to look at. Using a complex camera such as this one also developed my photography skills so i was able to capture more interesting and unique shots as the course progressed.

   After getting my desired shots for my album cover and advert, i edited them on Adobe Photoshop, a complex software that allows you to edit photos to a high standard, editing just about anything you want within the photo. It enabled me to completely transform my images into a more fantasy inspired production. With these complex features that the software holds, my imagination grew and i was able to come up with other possibilities that my productions could hold. Experimenting with the different tools and what they can do gave me a great insight into imaginative ideas. 

      New technologies have opened up a new passage for creativity for both the viewer and the creator. The creator is able to expand their world, using new developments to give a greater insight into what they are portraying. An example here would be Photoshop, a photographer can’t always capture something exact to how the naked eye views it, they may however be able to enhance the quality by using various tools on Photoshop, giving a greater perception of the photograph to the viewer. It not only opens up new opportunities for the creator but it also opens up new opportunities for the audience. They are now able to view things they may have never experienced before, for example: the development of 3D animation. Although this is far too complex to be involved in my production, i was able to if i wished to take imaginative ideas from fantasy films such as Avatar and use them in my video, these inspirations may never have caught my eye if they hadn’t been made more apparent by the 3D effect. A new bond is then made between the audiences and the producers, audiences praise producers for giving them this new experience. Furthermore, we have to realise that the audiences aren’t the only ones to be amazed by the new technologies; the producers are also fairly new to the experiences as well so they are able to enjoy them together. A wider distribution is also managed and can therefore reach wider audiences, making the vast development wider known. It also means that other companies and developments can get involved with this process and the audience can be exposed to much more.

Within the production a lot of research was needed in order for me to create my products for the right audience. Firstly, i was to find unsigned British bands to use for my course, listed below are the websites that we used in our search for a band.

Unsignedbandweb.com                                          

Liveandunsigned.uk.com

Totallyunsigned.co.uk

Unsigned.com

We found all websites very useful and we felt that they gave us a big variety of bands to choose from under all different genres. We finally found “Auction For The Promise Club” on totallyunsigned.com and felt they were just right for what we wanted to do. We then chose their song “Under China” and emailed the band for confirmation that it was okay for us to use their song. They were pleased to hear from us, and said we were welcome to use the audio. Below is proof of the confirmation email.

    The main website that help me when researching into similar texts for inspiration for my music video was YouTube. It gave me quick, easy access to every music video that i desired. It also enabled me to pause the video and enlarge the screen to get a better look at some of the details involved in the music video, for instance, props, lighting advice etc. Underneath each video it shows the video rating and user comments. This gave me useful feedback on the quality of the video, it also gave me an insight into what other people enjoyed about the music video, i would then consider taking elements from what the audience enjoyed and using it in my music video. I was able to make a careful and descriptive analysis of music video inspiration using YouTube as well as then embedding the videos onto my blog for others to see. Overall the website assisted me well in research stage of my production.  When researching into how bands market their music and how they contact their audience, i looked on many different band websites such as:

http://florenceandthemachine.net/

http://www.batforlashes.com/

http://www.ladyhawkemusic.com/

http://www.pjharvey.net/home.asp

http://www.yeahyeahyeahs.com/

They gave me a diverse insight into how each artist likes to get messages across to their audience and how they wish their music to be viewed. A clear genre can also be matched with the band as soon as the website is opened. Each website holds a certain theme, whether it’s for the artists most recent album or something they have as a hobby. I was able to see how each artist distributed their album and what kind of theme i could develop for my productions. I used the social networking site “tumblr” as part of my audience feedback. I felt that the audience that tumblr as a site attracts is much similar to the audience i wanted to attract with my music video, both the site and the band i am using hold the same passion for the indie/rock genre. I therefore felt that i would also receive some useful feedback from the followers of my blog. Furthermore, i asked my followers questions when i felt i needed advice, for example: what indie/rock artists would you most associate for “Auction For The Promise Club”. I then posted an audio of the band so that they could hear it. I received a list of bands that would be suitable for my research into similar bands.

Within the planning part of my course, i felt that i needed a better insight into other music videos and how they were made, to grab some instant, on the spot inspiration for my music video. I watched various music videos, also appearing on those channels were a couple of “the making of...” programs that give an insight into how a music videos are filmed, i watched one regarding Beyonce’s “Work It Out” and one for Oasis’ “The Importance of Being Idle”. This helped me a lot and gave me a better look into the directing of a music video.

New technology developments have also helped me in the last evaluation process of the course. I am able to embed videos into my work to support my ideas. Thanks to the development of YouTube i am able to do this straight from the video site. Underneath the video a link to blogger can be seen, where i can instantly post the video straight to my blog. I am also able to include stills of my music video in my evaluation. It’s an easy and instant way to show the viewer what i am talking about, without these, the audience may get a little confused as to what point is being made. Before and after images can also be produced regarding any stage of my production to show the viewer what progression i have made.

Overall, new technologies have helped me a large amount and i was able to achieve more for myself as well as the viewer of my work.