Evaluation Question 4

How did you use new media technologies in the

research, planning, construction and

evaluation stages?

O In this essay will explain how important technology was during the making of my short film and the skills I gained. I will also explain the advantages and disadvantages of the use of technology and the different platforms available.

O Throughout my project, I used lots of different varieties of technology. I used hardware such as DSLR cameras, mac minis and iPads; software such as iMovie, Garageband and Prezi and also I used lots of useful websites to help with research and planning such as my VLE blog, Freeplay music and YouTube. As I started my research, I had to use the VLE blog quite a lot to upload any work I had done such as audience research, background research, print products etc.

O As I started my research, I had to use the VLE blog quite a lot to upload any work I had done such as audience research, background research, print products research etc. The VLE blog was a great website to present my work as it was simple to use and I had previous experience of using it because I used it on last years project. I used software to present some of my research to then be put onto my blog. I learned how to use a new application called Prezi which allowed me to present my research in a unique format to upload to my blog.

O The websites we used were very useful in the research and planning stages of my project as they helped me carry out my research and present them in a creative way. I used YouTube to find clips of well-known documentaries to analyse and use in my textual analysis. These clips helped me with my research because I was able to benchmark against the project I was going to create and I gained help such as which types of shots to use and add-ons that could be used in my film such as voiceovers. I presented my work through websites such as Prezi which showed my creativity and enhanced my technological skills.

O Once I began the construction of my short film documentary, I started to use more software and hardware to create my project. DSLR cameras were used to film all the shots such as fly-on-the-wall and interviews. The cameras were a very important and useful piece of hardware that was needed for our film. Once, I had learnt new skills with the cameras such as, how to operate them correctly which includes learning how to zoom in and out, flick settings depending on the lighting your in, how to change from video to camera and even more complex things such as when filming, putting camera focus on the subject and blurring out the background, they really increased the quality of our film and improved the standard to make it seem more professional.

O We used the Mac computers on a regular basis from research to construction and I found that they were very complex to work with. The layout is very different from that of regular PC’s and practice was needed to understand how all the applications worked and how complex it would be for me to produce my film. However, the applications downloaded onto the Macs were extremely useful and I would have been hopeless without them.

O I created my short film using iMovie to edit and upload my shots from the DSLR cameras. The uploading process was slightly complicated but got easier each time it was used. When editing my project, iMovie was a good application to use because it was easily compatible with other hardware and software such as the cameras and Garageband and could be used on different platforms. It was also a useful application because iMovie allowed me to take control of the editing and there was hardly an restrictions as to what I could upload or add-on.

O Another software that I used for part of my short film was Garageband. As I mentioned previously, it was useful because of its compatibility with iMovie and an overall easy application to use. The layout of this software made it user-friendly and simple to mix together any tracks you wanted to create something suitable for your project. As Garageband and iMovie are both Apple applications, they worked well together and made the process of uploading tracks from one application to another. If we were given more time on our project, I would have played around with different tracks and sounds and created a tune to perfectly comprehend with the mood and tone of our documentary to tie it all together. A disadvantage of to using this application would be the length of time it takes to specify the genre or mood of a track that you are looking for because you only have a selected few genres available to choose from.

O For the production of my print product, I used Microsoft Office Publisher. This document helped me produce a professional looking review and film poster. I chose to use publisher over any other program because I was already familiar with it and it had less limitations as Microsoft Word, for example. Also, by creating my print products on Publisher, it allowed me to layout my review like one out of a magazine and to be able to give my images on my poster a blue tint to tie in with the theme of social media.

O Using all these applications, hardware, software and websites, my short film is made with good quality and produced to the highest of my standards. I have gained new skills by using hardware and software that I have never used before or come into contact with such as the DSLR cameras and Garageband.