1. Evaluation
Question 4

2. The research was a vital component in order to
create my ancillary texts and my music video.
Using a wide variety of media technologies
helped me quickly establish my target market
and different options I could take for appealing
to them as successfully as possible.

3. Blogger
Blogger was the main media technology that allowed me to
complete and post all research and planning surrounding the
ancillary texts and the main product – the music video. The blog
enabled me to post all ideas and inspiration during the research
stages of this process. This could be achieved in various ways;
either through embedded codes to videos from YouTube, images,
or simple text posts either produced directly on Blogger or
documents from Scribd. In addition, when completing both the
ancillary texts and the main product, it allowed peers to post
feedback, which I was then able to analyse and review. This
feedback was used when developing drafts and, ultimately, when
evaluating the overall success with the texts and main piece.
Blogger reflects the effort and standards that have been produced
throughout the research, planning, and evaluation stages.

4. MacBook Pro
My MacBook Pro contributed massively during
the research and planning stages, construction,
and evaluation. This allowed me to store all
footage, photos, and documents to then enable
me to post new information onto my blog. All of
the other technologies that I have stated, in
some way, lead back to this piece of equipment.
Without this, I feel that I would have struggled
to complete the research and planning stages to
a high standard.

5. YouTube/TubeChop
YouTube was extremely helpful to both my music and ancillary
texts. I first used YouTube to research the current videos that
suited my genre and fitted into my target market. I was able to
use the embed code from these and insert them into my blog
posts so that I could refer back to them later for inspiration. I
found this useful during the planning process of my storyboard
so I could refer quickly back to videos that I liked and take
inspiration from the conventions that they portrayed and that
were popular amongst the audience. When referring to specific
elements, I was able to capture screen shots from the platform
to pick out key shots that may have been useful for my own
product during the later development of the planning process.

6. YouTube/TubeChop
I used YouTube also during the editing process of my music
video. For example, I was able to quickly type in a function that I
could not perform on iMovie and find tutorials that other users
had created. This was relevant as I found a tutorial on how to
layer text over a piece of film, which was necessary for the
opening titles at the start of the music video.
I also used YouTube as a platform to present the different drafts
of my music video. This helped me further in other stages such
as feedback as it meant it was easily accessible by my peers and
also allowed me to see how my video would look completed.
During the final construction stages I used YouTube as the
platform to present my final video. By doing this, I was able to
share a link to the final video on the artist’s Twitter account,
allowing fans the opportunity to watch and comment.

7. Safari
By using the search engine, Safari, on my MacBook
Pro, I was able to compile a range of images that
fitted into the style that I decided upon for my
artist. This helped me quickly find new ideas and
inspiration that I did not originally decide upon. This
was a significant tool when conducting mood
boards on costume and makeup, as I was able to
gather images that, I felt, best represented the
image that I was aiming to achieve. Any inspiration
that I found would then be posted onto Blogger
open to feedback.

8. Animoto
Animoto was a really easy platform used to present
my ideas visually, which gave myself and my peers a
better indication as to what route I was taking. This
was especially useful as I was able to add images
and text alongside the song that I decided to base
my music video upon. This assured me that the
song would work effectively alongside my visual
concept. By presenting my idea in a creative and
visual way, I was able to transfer my ideas easily to
my audience and receive feedback quickly.

9. Microsoft Word
Microsoft Word is common platform to present
texts, which I have previous experience in using.
Therefore it was an easy choice to use this when
presenting materials that I have analysed. For
example, I used it during the research process of
analysing real digipaks and magazine adverts. I was
able to present this analysis and identify
conventions alongside the material. I could then
come back to it if I needed to, so that I could add
more detail and edit previous mistakes before
publishing the document.

10. iMovie
iMovie was used for the planning process of my music video.
This was used when creating an animatic of the shots that I had
decided upon for my music video, previously laid out in a paper
storyboard. This was a quick video-making format for presenting
this and I was able to export the footage, ready to present.
iMovie was also used during the editing process, as this was the
central platform in the construction of my music video that
allowed me to edit the raw footage I had previously captured on
the SLR D3100 Nikon camera and form them together to reach
my final product. I had vague previous knowledge of this
software, however never in such detail. Although, it was not
difficult to soon get to grabs with the software and I could easily
find YouTube tutorials on any issues that I had.

11. iMovie
iMovie gave me a wide range of options to explore when
editing my video; I could insert all of my raw footage into the
library, which then allowed me watch clips I had shot before I
began to insert them into the video timeline. This speeded up
the process significantly, allowing me more time to edit the
footage. I also used the timeline zooming in and slow motion
viewing mode to ensure that items such as the lip syncing of
the video was precise to the lip movements.
In terms of the editing features, the interior projection shots
were left to the default settings, as these resulted in the best
quality footage. However, I edited the properties of every
exterior shot to have 0% saturation. This made the shots black
and white, whilst maintaining the professional look, as the
natural lighting was not affected.

12. Scribd
I used Scribd in the research process to present
my ideas from documents that I had formed in
Microsoft Word. I prefer Scribd to host my
documents as it presents them clearly and can
be zoomed in and out. By uploading documents
into my Scribd account, I could then use the
embed code to then insert it into Blogger. This
medium could also allow my research to be read
by other Scribd users.

13. Twitter
I used Twitter to promote my artist. Twitter is
becoming one of the most popular social
networking sites that are used by music artists of all
genres to promote their new releases and gain fans.
Therefore it was an important platform in imitating
this process otherwise my artist would have lacked
a marketing strategy. I mainly used this social
networking platform via my iPhone as an app – by
doing this, I was able to take quick snaps of my
artist during filming periods and upload them onto
the Twitter account. This provided on-the-move
communication between the artist and their fans.

14. SLR Nikon D3100 Camera
For the construction process of producing my music
video, I used an SLR Nikon D3100 camera to capture the
footage. The camera functions were relatively
straightforward to use so the raw footage I caught was
filmed with ease. There was an issue with the focusing of
objects, however this was soon overcome through
practice and test shots. The camera’s advanced imaging
system assured outstanding quality and it’s subjecttracking AF kept subjects properly focused – this enabled
me to make the artist the main subject in the shot,
blurring out the background as and when I wanted to.

15. SLR Nikon D3100 Camera
After shooting, I could frequently review what I had recently
filmed on the large 7.5cm LCD monitor so that I was perfectly
aware of what I have shot and whether it was acceptable –
this was time efficient as I could re-shoot specific scenes as
many times during one filming session and know when I had
reached the final product that I was aiming for, without having
to retreat to my laptop to gather a clear view of the shots that
I had taken. I could also perform simple editing tasks, such as
trimming scenes before or after a designated point, even
before I began to edit on the iMovie software.
I think that without the quality of footage this camera
provided, my music video would not have looked as effective
– the high quality resolution gives detail.

16. Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop is the most accessible and widely used
platform to create graphic designs from amateur to industry
standards, therefore I chose this in the construction process of
my ancillary texts.
I had in depth knowledge of the software from previous
projects, so I found it easy to begin a new document and
create my digipak and magazine advert professionally.
Photoshop allowed me to achieve a more accurate colour
scheme using the colour palette, which I could save into my
own favourite palettes and quickly adopt later without having
to copy and paste the colour code. I also used this to compare,
which colours would work well together by creating colour
blocks directly next to each other. This allowed me to
experiment in the research and planning stages as well.

17. Adobe Photoshop
During the construction stages of my digipak and magazine advert,
the tools in Photoshop allowed me to create a unique design
specific to my artist. Firstly, I was able to insert a digipak template
and create a new file in which to begin the process of creating my
digipak. From my previous research, I had developed a concept in
my head that I was able to quickly transfer into my draft version.
After this, I was able to tweak my design as and when I desired
through different effects, such as ‘darken’ or ‘soft light’ and see
which would look the most professional to those I had seen in my
research stages. The same construction process applied to the
record label logos, which I ‘placed’ into the document to ensure the
highest resolution quality, where I applied the ‘darken’ effect again
so that the white background of the logo was removed and I was
left with the solid logo. This prevented any edges appearing rigid or
white pixels appearing outside of the logo, which would have
occurred if I were to have erased it using the selection tool.

18. Adobe Photoshop
All the elements of my digipak and magazine
advert – results of all the technologies that I had
used up until this stage – were combined using
Photoshop to produce my final ancillary
products.
Photoshop was a piece of technology that
helped me to edit photos and, ultimately, piece
together different elements in order to produce
a completed digipak and magazine advert.

19. Instagram
Instagram was extremely useful in the construction stages of my
ancillary texts. Instagram is an online photo sharing, video-sharing,
social network service. I was able to upload raw images that were
taken for my digipak and magazine advert, and apply digital filters
to them so that a certain effect was achieved on each photograph.
A distinctive feature is that the application confines photo’s to a
square shape, therefore I was assured that each photo had the
same dimensions and that they would be precisely equal once
placed into the Photoshop file.
When designing my first draft, I used the filter ‘1977’ on my
photographs, which gave the images a slightly pink tint to coincide
with the colour palette already established by other images.
However, when re-constructing my following drafts, using the new
set of photos that I had created on Flickr, I used the filter ‘Inkwell’
to edit the colour of my images.

20. Flickr
I used Flickr after I had taken images from a
shoot with my artist with my SLR D3100 Nikon
camera, ready to use for my second draft
digipak. This online platform allowed me to
create sets for each shoot, which were then
shared onto my blog for easy and quick viewing.
This also allowed me to browse through my
photos and highlight/select the appropriate
images that I was planning to use in my
magazine.

21. Attempting to construct the ancillary texts and
main product without the above technologies
would have had a significantly negative impact
on the quality and standards of the products.
Using these technologies allowed me to make a
digipak, magazine advert, and music video to a
professional standard. It also enabled me to
make a product and brand that uses, challenges,
and develops conventions – similar to a real
media package.