The document discusses the various software tools used at different stages of a project to create music videos and related products. In the planning stage, a blog was set up using Blogger to document the process. Survey Monkey was used to design audience surveys, and results were analyzed in PowerPoint. PowerPoint was also used to analyze example music videos and digipaks. SlideShare embedded PowerPoints on the blog. YouTube was used for research, hosting audience interviews, and uploading the final music video. Photoshop and Premier were used for designing digipaks and magazine ads, and editing the music video. The evaluation discussed continued use of PowerPoint, SlideShare, and Blogger.

2. Research

3. Blogger
One of the first things we did when starting this project was to
set up a blog. We used blogger as it was an easy and
informative way of displaying what we were going to be doing.
Blogger was very useful for our audience research as we could
post the links to our surveys as well as our analysis of our
results on the blogs as well as our interviews we conducted
with our target audience. Blogger made it easy to keep track of
what we gad done and what we had left to do and was used
throughout the planning, production and audience research.

4. Survey monkey
◦ Survey monkey was another useful software that we used for our
audience research as part of our coursework. Using survey monkey
we were able to design a survey asking our target audience about
what they liked in music videos, what they thought of different
digipaks and what caught their attention in a magazine advert.
Survey monkey made it easy to create the survey and to organise
the questions in a clear order. Whilst we only used survey monkey
for our survey it was incredibly useful.

5. Powerpoint
As part of our research we had to choose three music videos and
there digipaks to analyse for the conventions of those two
products. PowerPoint made it easy to analyse these two products
in a clear way that wasn’t too wordy or bulky and was easy to
read. PowerPoint was also incredibly useful for the audience
research as it made it easy to display what we found out. We used
PowerPoint to analyse the results that we found from our survey
monkey questionnaire and then apply them to what we were going
to be doing for our coursework. By displaying our results on
PowerPoint it made a change from how we were previously
presenting our work.

6. Slideshare
◦ Slide share was used throughout the production of our
coursework as it was a way of embedding our PowerPoints and
work onto our blogs. This was useful as it meant that instead of
having to do all of our work exclusively on blog posts, we could
do our work as a PowerPoint and then embed them on our blogs.
This made our blogs far more interesting to read and meant tit
was a change from the rest of the posts that we used. Slide
share meant that we could present our survey analysis in a
different way than we had presented our pervious posts.

7. YoutubE
As part of our audience research we conducted interviews for our target
audience where we asked them questions about what kind of music
videos they enjoyed, what they looked for in a music video and what
music they listened to. By using the camera to film them we were able
to ask our audience more in depth questions than we could with the
survey. We then used YouTube to upload the videos to YouTube and
then embed them on our blogs. YouTube made it easy to upload them
and made them easy to find online. YouTube was also useful for finding
music videos to analyse as part of our research. Without using YouTube
to find the videos, researching the different conventions of music videos
and examples of them would have been far more difficult.

8. Planning and Construction

9. The majority of our planning was done on paper so in order
to get in onto our blogs we added our planning to
PowerPoint and analysed it, then used slide share to
present it on our blogs. PowerPoint was useful as it allowed
us to present our planning, such as our storyboards, on the
blog in an easy and informative way whilst slide share
allowed us to present in on them.

10. Camera
◦ We used a camera as a main part of the construction of our final
product. We used a camera for photographing our models for
our digipak and magazine advert as well as for filming our music
video. The camera was used throughout the production of our
coursework and was incredibly vital to it. We used the camera to
take photos of our models eyes for our digipak, and of our
characters faces for our digipak and to film all of our video.

11. We used Photoshop for both the creation of our magazine advert and for
our digipak. Whilst making our advert, Photoshop allowed us to set up
and lay out our advert as we had planned it. Photoshop also allowed us
to manipulate and create our main image through masks and layers.
For our digipak Photoshop allowed us to play around with the levels on
the images we used for the inside covers so that we could get the dark
and light contrast that we used to symbolise good and evil. It also
allowed us to create our track listing and front covers as well as the dvd
and cd templates. Photoshop was a vital part of the construction
process as it was very useful for creating our ancillary products.

12. Once we had finished filming our music video we used Premier to edit what
we had filmed. Through Premier we were able turn our footage into
sequences and edit it so that it matched our plan for the music video. Using
Premier we were able to get the video to match sound and action on screen
as well as have it flow in a rhythmic way that wasn’t unintentionally jumpy.
Premier was brilliant for editing as it had all the effects that we needed for
our video and it helped to bring what we had planned to life.
When we had finished our editing we uploaded our video to YouTube.
YouTube allowed us to upload our videos easily and embed them onto our
blogs so that they become discoverable to people. YouTube was used
throughout the stages of producing our coursework as it was a quick way of
presenting what we had created.

13. Blogger
Blogger was incredibly useful in all stages of our coursework as it allowed
us to keep track off our work and planning however it was very important
in the construction process as it meant that we had somewhere to display
our final products alongside all the work that went into the creation of
them. Blogger meant that we could do this in a creative and different way
than if we had done our coursework on a word document or on just a
series of PowerPoints.

14. Evaluation

15. Powerpoint
I chose to answer my evaluation questions using PowerPoint as it
allows me to answer the questions in a clear and informative way.
Had I used blogger to answer the questions I would not have been
able to organise my answers as clearly and they would have
looked far more bulky. PowerPoint was useful for me throughout
all stages of my planning, construction, evaluation and audience
research as it allowed me to present my work in a different style.

16. Slideshare
I used slide share to embed my evaluation PowerPoints onto my
blog. Slide share made this useful as it meant that they can be
uploaded quickly and easily and then embedded onto my blog
hassle free. Slide share displayed my PowerPoints in an easy to
read format and enabled me to change the way that I displayed
my work.

17. Blogger
◦ I used blogger in my evaluation as a way of presenting my
answers for my evaluation questions. Like with the other stages
in my coursework production, blogger was crucial as it allowed
me to display what I have done in a way that is both clear and
informative.