How did you use Media Technologies in the CONSTRUCTION, RESEARCH, PLANNING and EVALUATION stages?

Q4

Q4

RESEARCH

Q4Creating My Preliminary Task: We were placed in a group and told to film a short trailer as our preliminary task. We

watched different trailers and used scripts from existing episodes of Hollyoaks.

By watching existing products , we gained a feel for the conventions of soaps, and it

allowed us to practice different camera movements to understand different shot types.

Q4Researching similar products: To research existing products, the main search engine that I used was GOOGLE.

This enabled me to find images of soap magazine covers, billboard posters and soap trailers in which I could base my research on, at ease.

I also took trips down to my local stores to purchase existing soap magazines as a basis for comparison. By doing this, I was able to study the front cover, but I could also study the content.

It helped a great deal that I always watch soaps on TV, and so for further research I

was able to watch more- to my enjoyment. I watched soaps on both the TV, iPlayer and ITV catch up. These allowed me to get print screens of the soaps to use

when studying the forms and conventions.

Q4

CONSTRUCTION

Q4Saving Files: Once footage was filmed, to prevent them getting lost or damaged whilst being uploaded

to the computer hardware, I stored my files on an external hard drive.

This allowed me to keep all my files in a specific area, and if there was any trouble

e.g. Computer crashed, then all my work could be easily located on the external hard drive.

Q4Using iMovie: To import my footage into iMovie from the HD camera (SLR), I selected ‘Import’ and

then ‘Movies’ which were found in the shared area.

By scrolling through the titles of footage, I was able to select the clips that were of relevance to me to use within my trailer. To select these clips, I simply clicked on the footage and dragged it to the appropriate place on the time line.

Q4Using iMovie:

By scrolling through the titles of footage, I was able to select the clips that were of relevance to me to use within my trailer. To select these clips, I simply

clicked on the footage and dragged it to the appropriate place on the time line.

Q4Using iMovie: Towards the end of my footage, I have a transition where the page curls from the bottom right hand corner.

To do this I clicked on this button and dragged the transition in between footage.

The hand has been curled away to allow the title page to appear.

Q4Choosing a soundtrack: To add my soundtrack, I ripped the audio from a YouTube video before

adding it to my trailer. To detach the audio from the original video, I used

“YouTube to MP3 converter” which immediately placed my music into my iTunes.

Q4Adding the Soundtrack: After downloading the audio, I had to upload it onto iMovie to play in the

background of my trailer. I dragged it to below my camera footage to ensure it played throughout.

I added the ‘ducking’ effect, so the dialogue could still be heard whilst the soundtrack was playing.

Q4Making the Title Cards: I used ‘Keynote’ to create my title cards.

I chose the purple that is used

within the E4 logo for the background of my title cards.

I also followed the conventions and

used the ‘American Typewriter’ font.

I saved the slides as a movie so that I could import them into iMovie. I placed them in position by

dragging them into the timeline.

Q4Making the Logo: To make the tape logos featured in our billboard ancillary, we used Photoshop. We typed the name

of our soap into myfonts.com and selected ‘American Typewriter’

We then print screened the tape logo and removed any existing text, allowing us to add our own.

Q4

PLANNING AND EVALUATION

Q4Using BlogSpot: When I had signed into my blog, we were able to choose a design that best suited myself. I chose a

calming blue theme.

Q4Uploading to YouTube: After logging into my YouTube account, I clicked upload> Upload Video> and then

selected the file I wished to upload> open.

Whilst the video was uploading, I

was able to add titles and descriptions.

Q4Embedding YouTube Videos into a Blogger post: Once my video was uploaded to YouTube I had to click the share button and click ‘Embed’ to gain the HTML code.

To upload the video to my blog, I copied and pasted the HTML code into a new post by

selecting the HTML option. This then became a link and my video was visible on my blog.

Q4Slideshare: In order to make my power points accessible and allow me to upload them onto my blog, I had to

firstly upload them publicly onto slideshare.

After uploading into slideshare, I used the ‘Embed’ button to copy and paste the HTML and placed this into a new post within my blog.

Q4Twitter & E-Mails: To keep in touch with our teacher and fellow classmates, we used a twitter feed for any updates

or advice given to us by members of staff or other students. We also followed people’s blogs for inspiration.

When a member of our group was absent, to ensure they didn’t fall behind we used e-mail and attachments to keep them up to speed with the progress we were making.

Q4Evaluation:

For the majority of my evaluation, I opted to use Microsoft PowerPoint as I am familiar with this technology. I knew that I could successfully evaluate my product effectively by using a

combination of print screens; images and annotations.

The ability to use text boxes, word art and images, have made it possible for me to insert

graphs when evaluating my audience feedback as well as existing soap operas.

Q4Evaluation: I also used a combination of PowerPoint and iMovie for my question one, as it was easier to narrate to the examiner what I did and why.

I also used Microsoft Publisher to create our Ancillary Task- TV listings magazine as I am familiar with the software.