How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stage?

For the researching stage it was necessary to use multiple different forms of media technology in order to carry out research and present research in the appropriate way. YouTube was used in two ways for the researching stage of my coursework. Firstly, it was used to enable me to watch similar music videos from our chosen genre, therefore allowing me to identify generic conventions of the pop genre. As well as this, at the beginning I decided to research into music videos more generally so that conventions of music videos could be established, I decided to use YouTube in this case to not only watch the music video, but also to annotate and show what conventions I had identified from the videos. Once we had researched into music videos from the pop genre, we then used these videos for planning purposes. By using YouTube and watching the videos again, we planned to have the star construction of our artist based around existing artist (Olly Murs in particular). Therefore we planned the costumes that would be worn by our artists around costumes that are worn by pop artists (smart/casual clothing). As well as planning the image we wanted for our artist, it also helped with planning the locations we would use in our video, as we identified common locations used within our genre (such as parks and restaurants) and planned for similar locations that we would be able to use. Seeing, through the use of YouTube, what artists usually look like it allowed us to also plan and arrange an actor that we could use for our artist. We originally casted a white male due to what we found on YouTube, however, since he was no cooperative we instead chose Maajid who, whilst not white, fitted the role a lot better.

In order to show the research that was carried out I first use Microsoft power point so that screen grabs and text could be used to establish and explain the conventions I found and to explain how planned o using this research. Slide share was then used so that I was able to upload this research onto my blog. Once we established the locations we wanted for our music video we then spent a day location hunting around London. In order to do this we used Google Maps so that we could find our way around and see where green areas were when looking for parks. Since we were using Google Maps whilst we were out it was therefore necessary to use our phones as well. Another reason why mobile phones were a good source of technology is because they were a means of communication between our group and our actors. Whatsapp was often used to establish dates and times of filming that would suite everyone as well as enabling costumes to be chosen by sending images of outfits to one another. In terms of constructing our video and print task we used cannon DSLR cameras to film the footage we needed and to take pictures for the ancillary task. When filming scenes in the bedroom (where we decided to film lip syncing) we knew that there could be an issue with lighting, as natural daylight would not be there for the whole time we were filming, and we didnt want any drastic lighting change in our footage. We therefore decided to use portable lighting in the bedroom. This meant that the lighting was of a good standard and it also meant that the lighting in the bedroom didnt change dramatically in any of the footage, regardless of what time it was actually filmed at. Lights were then used again when we done our photo shoot, because the room we used was poorly lit and also because we wanted out images to look more professional and one aspect of that is to ensure that the artist was professionally lit. When filming the lip-syncing in the bedrooms, our phones were again used, as we played the song via YouTube on our phones in order to make sure that the artist was singing in time with the song, as this then made it easier to match the footage with the song on Final Cut Pro.Once we had filmed the footage on the cameras, we then used Final Cut Pro to edit the footage together in order to create the music video. In Final Cut Pro it was essential to make sure the footage was cut to the beat of the music (as this is a convention of a music video) and it was also important to ensure that the lyrics matched visuals where possible and finally that the footage filmed for the lip syncing was in time with the lyrics from the audio on final cut (making sure that song and lip syncing is in sync). Since we had decided to have a sketching theme in our video we also used final cuts effects in order to create the effect of a sketch on the footage we had filmed. As well as this, we noticed from looking at multiple music videos on YouTube that the size of the video was reduced, we therefore made the framing size smaller so that it was similar to the framing size (scale on the screen) as a professional music video, this was again done on Final Cut Pro.

In terms of the images from the photo shoots we had, we used Adobe Photoshop to edit them. Although our artist has good skin, it was still necessary to edit out any small imperfections from his face. For example, he has a small scar on his face and in the images small blemishes on his nose needed to be edited out. By using the tools available, we were also able to neaten his hair up (in particular his beard, which in the back cover image was particularly messy). We also used Photoshop to put together four separate images (which we used for the right inside panel), in order to make sure the images sat well together, we needed to blend the background colours together. For the background colour we wanted both of the inside panels to be the same but due to slight lighting change when the pictures were taken, the colours were slightly different. We therefore decided to blend the background from one of the images, making it look more professional, and inserted this colour onto the other image background, ensuring that the background colour across both sides of the inside panel matched. Finally, Photoshop also allowed us to continue the sketching theme on our magazine advert, which allowed for synergy across all media texts that we created. The sketching effect was added to half of the picture by using more than one effect layered over each other, and was applied to where we wanted it by using the clone stamp tool. The final part of creating the ancillary task was adding in text. In order to be able to choose from a wider variety of fonts we used .. which meant that we were able to choose a font that we thought best suited our images and the style of our artist.