How did you use media technologies in the construction

and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Sam Clark

Research and planning stages

With the research and planning stages being one of, if not the most important part of producing a documentary, radio trailer and double page spread, we used media technologies to the best of our abilities in order to have the most successful product.

To the left is a mood board which as a group we created, to give a brief outline of how the documentary would work. This gave us guidelines to build upon. This piece of research was done totally by hand without the help of technology.

Not all of the research could be done by hand however, this is where technology comes into play. Our main source of research was internet explorer where we would browse various sites to gain the information we needed. An example of a site we used to gain information was the mens health website, as it was relevant to our topic.

Other key examples of a media technology we used are YouTube, BBC3, BBC iPlayer and also Sky Sports. These sources were vital in the research and planning as it allowed us to watch videos based upon our topic and use this as a rough guideline to create a successful product.

BBC3 and BBC iplayer where good media technologies to use as they are the sites where our documentary would be shown. Therefore it was suitable to watch other documentaries shown on these sites in order to get the best chance of emulating those.

Sky Sports however was a slightly different choice, I chose this site to conduct research on because it is entirely based upon my chosen topic. It often shows documentaries about fitness related topics, therefore I though it would be useful to see what sort of camera shots and backing tracks they used etc.

Besides using the obvious websites on the internet, I also used the colleges media centre, this has other documentaries which are shown during class time, and also examples of other students work.

The college media centre is where the class and I first watched the Supersize me documentary and the Fire and Rescue documentary. After watching these documentaries we gained an insight into the basic conventions and how a documentary works, and what its aim and purposes are.

Examples of media technologies we used:

We used apple mac’s and computers to conduct research into our topic and find all the relevant information.

We used televisions and projectors to screen the documentaries that we watched in class time, this allowed us to watch them as a group rather than individually.

Whilst using the Mac and computers, we used several pieces of software to interpret our research and document it.

Word PowerPoint Excel

These three pieces of software are key pieces of technology within the research and planning stages. When typing up a document with our research finding we would use Word. When creating a graph or chart to show statistics we would use Excel and finally, when wanting to present some work, PowerPoint would be the most useful. All of these technologies allowed us to present our work in an interesting and unique way.

After typing up and presenting all of our research and planning we would need away to show this to our fellow peers and teacher. This is where the next three media technologies we used come in.

The progression of technology in recent years has been mesmerising, yet it has had an effect on education as well as the obvious things such as computer games or mobile phones. Rather than handing in pages after pages of paper documents, we now are able to upload all of our work direct to our class blog. By using Blogger. This is where the work shall be presented and visible for the teacher to mark. To upload your work you have two different programmes, Scribd for your word documents and Slide share for your power point documents.

Filing and production stages

Moving onto the media technologies we used to film the documentary and radio trailer. We used the cannon HG 20 HD to film the camera shots and use during interviews. In order to have a steady camera for those interviews, or when we needed the camera to be steady for those turning establishing shots, we used a basic tripod. Also, when recording the interviews and vox pops, we used a professional recording microphone, and also the Sennheiser headphones to check that the quality of the recording was to a good standard.

The Cannon HG 20 HD camera was a very basic camera to use, which allowed us to complete the task set without any major problems or difficulties. The quality of the camera was to a very high standard which allowed us to capture the best camera shots and video footage to allow our documentary to be to the best standard possible.

The tripod was the most effective piece of equipment we used. It allowed us to get high quality footage to really emulate a real life documentary. It enables us to capture steady shots to really give a professional look. Also, when we needed to turn the camera during recording, it allowed a smooth transition rather than an unprofessional one.

The Sennheiser headphones we used really allowed us to understand how much the quality of the recording is important. Rather than listen to our recordings through speakers, where we can get disrupted by background noise, the headphones allowed us to engage with what we where listening to.

Using a professional microphone really made the difference throughout the recording process. Rather than use a cheap, lower quality mic, we where able to get the best quality recording for the documentary and also radio trailer, which really made the difference.

Editing and production

stages

The editing and production stages of both the documentary and the radio trailer where just as important as the filming and research and planning. We made sure we edited the footage we had to the best of our ability so the documentary and radio trailer could be at the best and highest quality. To do so we had to use the software Final Cut Express which was on the Apple Mac.

At the beginning of the task, the group and I where no experts with this software and the Mac itself, as technology has improves so much since the basic computers which we would be so used to using. Yet with the help of the teachers and independent training, we where able to use them both to there potential.

To the left is the basic layout of final cut express.

Above is where all of your imported clips would be located.

To the right is where actions such as cropping or zooming can be performed.

For the Radio trailer, production was a lot more simple, we used a piece of software called Garage Band. This is a unique piece of software which allowed us to create our own backing track for the radio trailer. Not only could this be done, but we could also import our own clips, such as voice over's into garage band, to create the radio trailer.

To begin a new project on garage band, you had to take the simple step of creating a new music project. Then you can begin to make the radio trailer.

Above are the two key images which can describe creating the backing track. To start off with you have to select the genre of music you like, and from then on, the creating is up to you. You can add or take away instruments to have the song just as you wish. For us, because our topic was one of a serious matter, we did not have any up beat music, instead, used a mellow, slow song, to help put across the important message.

In the above image is where the creation of the radio trailer begins. You can import existing clips from our documentary, from Final Cut Express, and add them to the radio trailer. There are several different sequences where you can play around and decide which clips you and where you can place them. There is also sections where you can play around with the sound levels, to ensure that you have the highest quality radio trailer possible.

When creating the Magazine double page spread. We used to pieces of software. In Design and Photo Shop. Both are new, high tech pieces of technology which allow you to create the best photos/images you can. The two pieces of software allow you to edit the pictures. This means cropping out parts of the image you do not need, allowing text to run across the image, and also changing the appearance of the image e.g. the shade. When we started to create the magazine double page spread. We started with a plain white background, and began to add the text and/or images.

To the left is our magazine double page spread. The completed version includes many different magazine conventions. One of the key elements of the double page spread was having the images overlap, this was done in photo shop, where the editing capabilities are very high.

We kept the article to a traditional 3 column format, to allow for easy reading and no confusion. We also used the text tool to include the page numbers, and subtitles, to give that real professional look.

We also used different tools, such as the drop shadow tool, to add a unique effect to the images, to allow the readers to stay interested within the article.

The evaluation stages

During the evaluation stages, we had to use several pieces of software in order to present and upload our work.

We used Scribd and slide share to upload or documents onto blogger. Blogger is a unique website which allows you to upload your work ready for the teachers to mark and for your peers to see, rather than the old fashioned method of handing in paper documents.Below are the three different programmes which I used throughout the evaluation. All three of them are different in there own way, some allow you to create graphs and charts, where as others allow you to present your work in a more, visually appealing way.

Microsoft Work allowed me to type up my findings in a basic way, and also include images. Yet still put across the important information to the viewer.

Microsoft Power Point allowed me to present my findings in a more visual way, which can be found to be more appealing to the viewer.

Microsoft Excel allowed me to present statistics in an interesting way, through charts rather than typing them up.