Evaluation Question 4 – How did you use media technologies in the construction, research, planning and evaluation stages?

Adobe PhotoshopWe used Photoshop in the construction of our digipak. The benefits of this software were we were able to create a professional design for our digipak, however it was difficult in navigating and using tools in the construction of the piece.

Photoshop enabled us to import image files and edit the files to our liking. The array of tools allowed us to be more creative in constructing the digipak and to tailor the digipak to our other media texts.

Blogger

In the course of the research, planning and evaluation stages, I used the website blogger as an online diary to track the progression of the construction of the media texts. This website served as the template in organizing sources of inspiration in my research stages.

As a diary, it was effective and highly beneficial as it was compatible with various media formats, allowing me to embed a variety posts on the blog.

Also, I used blogger as a platform for synergy to help, cross-promote the music video, website and digipak. Ultimately, blogger allowed me to be very resourceful in marketing and distributing my media product.

Canon 550DIn our music video we used the Canon 550 D to construct and shoot our music video. The benefit of using the DSLR over the Sony HD cameras is that we get a higher quality resolution for starters. This gave a more professional polish to our media text. Secondly, the

menu, allowed us to be more creative and shoot in monochrome, which helps the audience to distinguish reality, that was shot in Standard and the surreal reality our character A enters, which in monochrome.

Thirdly, the focus ring was smooth, so we could easily play with the features to create the notion of dizziness. Which directly led on to the hallucinated induced state she soon enters.

However, the only major hindrance that arose with using the Canon was the short lens, which consequentially meant longs shots turned into XLS.

Final Cut ExpressFinal Cut Express was the software I used for editing the music video. The benefits of using Final Cut Express were that I was able to use a variety of transitions such as a ‘cross-dissolve’ and ‘fade-to-black’ to generate the sense of losing consciousness and also produce smooth transitions . The video allowed me to make practical decisions of placing clips in the sequence to make them more effective. The navigation and keyboard shortcuts were very easy to use to help construct the music video. The shortcuts allowed me to work more efficiently.

PreziIn the planning stage, I used prezi as a way of brainstorming and organizing ideas in the inspirations for our music video. The format, allowed me to express my thoughts both through visuals and text concisely. The visuals amplified and aided my writing

Also, in the research stage, I used it to analyse how real media texts were able to market their product to their target audience and deconstruct how the buzz in social networking sites help to promote the artist.

In the evaluation stage, I used prezi to go through step-by-step how our media product conformed to the conventions of an alternative hip-hop video. The large space in prezi allowed me freedom to explore and the transitions presented the opportunity to fluidly construct a presentation that was both engaging and informative.