1. Evaluation Question 4
H OW D I D YO U U S E M E D I A T EC H N O LO G I E S I N T H E
C O N S T R U C T I O N , R E S EA R C H , P L A N N I N G A N D E VA LUAT I O N
S TAG E S ?
B y M a rga re t A n s u

2. Construction
As I was the camera person I worked with a video camera in order to
capture the footage for our film. The video camera I used was a:
 Sony HVR-A1E Digital HD Video Camera Recorder
The camera was easy and simple to use. As the camera was small in size
transporting it was simple. When trying to execute tight shots I also found
the small size very convenient. The quality of the camera was to a high
standard and our film was recorded in HD so the small size did not mean
that it wasn’t as good as the other larger models which and our film’s
quality was not compromised.

3. New Media Technologies
New media technologies are mediums that enable the transfer of
information in a digital format. An example of new media technology
is the internet 2.0 it allows interaction and file transfer so that people
are more connected and information is more accessible than it’s ever
been in history. This new media has given rise to social networking
sites such as Twitter and Facebook which are their own new media
technologies. Other examples are CDs, USBs and Smart Phones as
they all enable the transfer of information in digital form.

4. Blogger
Our group blog was created on blogger a
blogging site. Therefore blogger has been
used through all phases of unit G324. Blogger
was mainly used to embed our work and
present it all in one place but I did use the
actual site to write up our weekly updates as it
was quick and added to our technologies used.
I also created my personal blog on blogger as
I found it easy to organise my work on the site
even though I could’ve used other blogging
sites as tumblr and wordpress for my personal
blog.

5. You-Tube
You-tube was one of the most important interfaces that I and the team
used throughout the whole process. Within construction we used
You-Tube to present our film and make it available to other to view.
Within planning, You-Tube was mainly used to look at other
relatable media products, creative camera shots and filming
techniques. It was a great source when looking into ways that we
could incorporate in out filming process enhance the all around
creativity we put into our film. Then within evaluation the annotation
features came in handy as I was able to annotate the film to answer
questions .

6. Final Cut Pro
Final Cut Pro was used by me as the camera person
to log and capture footage during the production
phase, for it was my responsibility as would
have had the best idea of how much was
captured was actually needed. I found using the
software easy as I had already gained experience
from the previous year, however I did have to
refresh how to use certain features as logging
and capturing and how to save it so that I would
be able to find the films clips in quicktime
format after as the editor needed the clips and he
was using a different programme that he was
more familiar with.

7. Digital SLR Camera
I used a DSLR as I needed to take
pictures for my ancillary task which
was to create a film review and a
poster for our film. I also used the
DSLR to take some pictures for
location notes. Using the DSLR was
not difficult as the technology was
rather simple if you just wanted to
achieve a simple picture however as I
have had previous experience using
DSLR and how to use it to
manipulate imagery I did play around
with it a bit more. My camera person
skills also came in handy.

8. Photoshop CS5 & CS6
Photoshop was a new software to me as I hadn't used it prior to unit
G324. The programme was an image editing software and even
though I had no knowledge how to use it I eventually learnt how to
use it by watching tutorials on You-Tube and asking those within my
media class who'd been using the software for a long time and were
known novices of the software.
Learning how to use the programme was challenging and it took me
about 3 months to master it at a basic level to create both of my
ancillary tasks; poster and film review. However once my confidence
in the programme was attained I started to appreciate the true value
of the software as it enabled me as a student to produce a pieces of
work that had a sense of professionalism to them which wouldn't of
been achieved if I used such a programme as publisher. I was able to
enhance photos and manipulate the presentation of texts and other
aspects that were featured within my works to the finest detail.

9. Photoshop Products

10. Photobucket & Flickr
We needed a way to present recee pictures on the blog and we decided
to use photobucket as it allowed us to present the pictures we'd taken
in the form of a slide show. It was only used in the planning phase
by the group and I personally used it to present proof of signed
location release and actor release forms. Flickr was a site used at
first to upload the original filming location. However I found flickr
to fiddly and decided to just use photobucket.

11. Survey Monkey
Survey Monkey is an online software that allows you to create a survey
that could be shared digitally so I was able to put it on our blog and it
was easier to publicise the questionnaires that I had made. The
programme was great as I was able to make my surveys quite quickly
as there were template options available to use. Using survey monkey
saved me a lot of time as it was a straight forward method in creating
questionnaires for audience feedback and pre-production. The only
thing I would say about Survey Monkey is the restriction of service
unless you had a premium account was annoying at times that I
would've like to use certain services, however reasons as to why they
were not available is understandable

12. Scribd&Docstoc
Unlike last year in Unit G321 Scribd was not
used a lot. The online interface allowed us to
upload word documents and embed them onto
our blog. However it wasn't very interactive
so as a group we agreed to keep it's use to a
minimum. I personally did not use Scribd
once as I opted for other similar programmes
however it was used within pre and post
productions at a total of 5 times.
I used Docstoc within the planning stage as it
contained a lot of written work and Docstoc
like Scribd allowed me to embed word
documents onto the blog. It was a simple and
quick option but it wasn't really interactive so
again I tried keeping it's use a minimum.

13. ISSUU
“Issuu is a free digital publishing site that attempts to simulate the
experience of reading a print publication online.” - Wikipedia
I used this site within my planning phase again to upload documents. I
came across the site after looking for alternatives to Scribd. I decided
to use the site as it was well presented and I liked the way it
presented my work. I also found it more interactive than the other
publishing sites.

14. Prezi
Prezi is the most interactive site I have used throughout the whole of
Unit G324. I came across it in Unit G321 and thought it was a great
way to present my work so I continued to use it. The online
presentation site was used in planning to present some pieces of
work as I liked a variety of how my work was presented. The site
offers templates to individuals for them to use when creating a Prezi
presentation. The large selection of templates that were created for
many purposes meant that I was able to use the site very often. The
site also allows you to include musical feautures into your Prezi as
well as videos and images from the internet.

15. Slideshare
I used slideshare to embed my
PowerPointsonto my blogs. It was
straight forward and all I really had
to do was upload my presentation
onto their site then copy the embed
code. However it was really simple
in terms of interactivity and I
would've preferred to use
Sliderocket a more interactive site.
Unfortunately I was unable to use
the Sliderocket site as it was
closing down.

16. Bubbl.us
This site allowed me to create a digital version of our groups
brainstorm for our film. The brainstorm consisted of discussed
proposals as to how much we are to spend on the film, who is to
carry out what role, what each role entails, relatable products,
locations needed, characters and who are target audience was to be.
After completing the group brainstorm this website was of no use to
me as it’s only feature was to create brainstorms.

17. MacBook Pro
When in class we used MacBook Pros to complete our work written
work. The features of the MacBook made it easy for me to take
screen shots for such task as film analysis and questionnaire
analysis'. The MacBook wasn’t easy to use for all things as I found it
difficult to use Microsoft word as it was different from the usual
programme found on windows computers. Therefore when it came
to typing up work on word for coursework I usually didn’t use the
MacBook . On the other hand, using the MacBook was better for
programmes like Photoshop at school. Reason being is that they
were the only computers at school that I was given permission by the
server to download and save fonts on for my ancillary task.

18. USB
Without the use of a USB things would've been more complicated. The
USB allowed us as a group to transfer files between each other
quickly as we all had our own personal USB. All of my work is
saved on my USB as it is an easy and convenient option to transport
digital files and it means that my files are always accessible to me
wherever there is a computer as long as I have my USB. As Daniel
and I both had 32GB USB we were able to save copies of captured
raw footage of the film between us.

19. Whatsapp
A downloadable app that is available on android, apple and blackberry
phones was the main way of communication within our group. When
setting filming dates and meetings we discussed it in our whatsapp
group. The app was also used to discuss ideas and our film day
schedules. It was a great way to communicate and it meant we were
always kept updated when something went wrong or plans had been
changed.

20. Facebook & Twitter
The use of these social networking sites were mainly due to promotion
of our film. We didn't use it much apart from the state reason mainly
because the use of social networking sites are mainly to get word
around about a film but we depended more on word of mouth. In
addition to that I also used Twitter to contact actors and other
members of the group as I personally do not have Facebook.

21. Conclusion
 To conclude, it’s clear that new media technologies have
played a major part in my ability to complete units G321 and
G324 throughout the stages of construction and planning.
Without such technologies, I do not believe I would have
been able to complete my work to such a standard of
interactivity, presentation and quality. I have learned how to
use these new technologies better over the two year period
and it shows in unit G324, as my gained confidence allowed
me to tackle new software that enabled me to createa better
product than I did in unit G321. In addition, I was able to be a
better cameraperson as I understood more how to I could
use a video camera creatively e.g using manual focus.