4. How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and

evaluation stages?

Caitlin Hulse

Research and Planning

• Researching and planning our documentary was very important so that we produced it well and to a professional standard.

• We separated tasks between the four of us in our group in order to get everything done efficiently and so I mainly focused on researching into the topic of binge drinking so that our facts and statistics were valid and could be used in the documentary.

• For this research I used software such as the internet, and to ensure it was true and accurate I found three sources to validate the information I had found.

• This meant that we could confidently use the information in our documentary because it was true and therefore makes our documentary appear professional.

• Examples of these websites include the NHS website and BBC News which are well known and official websites and will mean that the research I found is correct.

• I also researched into what channel our documentary would be showed on and what radio station it would be aired on and therefore had to look on the Channel4 website and Capital FM radio website.

• Doing this meant we found a suitable channel and station that our documentary would appeal to the audience that watched/listened to it.

• While researching a suitable channel for our documentary it was important we researched similar documentaries to ours such as ‘Ready, Steady Drink’ and ‘Party Paramedics’.

• We did this in order to make sure our documentary conformed to the conventions of professional documentaries. To do this I used software on the internet such as YouTube and 4oD to watch the documentaries online.

• Other research and planning we did was hand and paper based, such as creating storyboards and transfer and logging sheets.

• The first task was to research and analyse TV Documentaries such as different documentary types and modes.

• I scanned and uploaded my written class work to blogger.com on our blog where I had researched TV documentary styles and influences and types of narrative structure which could assist in the production of our documentary.

• Task two was then the initial planning and final proposal of our documentary.

• We did a mind map on paper as a group of different ideas that we could do and I then used the software Microsoft Word to write these up, as well as creating tables of the strengths and weaknesses of our top three documentary topic choices.

• I then wrote about our final choice and included information such as the time, channel and influences of our documentary.

• Other paper work included our storyboards which we discussed as a group and the best person at drawing sketched out.

• We decided to sketch the opening sequence of our documentary first as this is the first footage our audience will see and so needs to be the most dramatic and appealing.

• All of the research that we have done at this stage was uploaded to our blog to show the development of our project which is a useful technology to use because it meant we could upload our work that we did independently and as a group.

Filming

• After finished our researching and planning, we starting filming. We used a Canon HG20 HD Camera to film all our footage which was very easy to use. We were able to use the zoom button on top of the camera to zoom in and out of shots which was effective and can be seen for example in our documentary where we zoom out from the College’s sign.

• The camera was easy to use for hand held shots for our vox pops and just as easy for still shots with the tripod, although putting the camera on the tripod was confusing at first, but we figured it out. The tripod was useful to use for our formal/expert interviews and establishing shots such as the interview with PC Patel. Using the tripod ensured the camera stayed still and didn’t shake when filming which meant the footage looked professional.

• We also needed to use equipment for recording our sound which was a directional microphone and was used in our vox pops, interviews, voiceover and radio trailer. First we had to plug in headphones into the camera and then connect the microphone to the microphone lead and then plug it into the camera. We took it in turns so that one person was filming, one had the headphones on, the other held the microphone and the fourth person asked the questions or did the voiceover etc.

• Before we started recording sound we had to make sure the sound levels were right so that there was no background noise being picked up that wasn’t needed and that it would sound right on the Apple iMac when we uploaded it. In our vox pops, background noise wasn’t a major problem but for our expert interviews, voiceover and radio trailer we went into a quiet, empty room to make sure no background noise was picked up.

Editing

• When we finished our filming, we uploaded our footage from the camera to the Apple iMac. This was easy to do as we had to use the right lead to plug into our camera and the Mac and then upload the footage onto the media drive. Once this was done we copied over the files from the drive into our own folders where all our work would be saved.

• Then using Final Cut Express which is software on the Apple iMac we were able to edit our whole documentary. The first step was log and transferring all the clips that we possibly wanted in our documentary. Using the log sheets we organised and named the clips and then said if we wanted to add/transfer them or not. Once the clips we wanted to use were imported into Final Cut Express with the correct label so we could find them easily, we started editing.

Here, we selected then clip from PC Patel’s interview

Here are the three different footages of his interview, when we watched and found the one we wanted we clicked ‘Add clip to queue’ and once it had

loaded we dragged it into our documentary.

• We decided we didn’t want to over edit the documentary because it is

quite a strong and interesting topic anyway and therefore used simple yet effective edits and effects. We changed the speed on a few clips so that the footage was fast paced, an example of this is in the opening sequence as its visibly quicker than the rest of the footage, which was done to mimic a fast paced and exciting ‘night out’. We did this by selecting Modify from the tool bar, selecting speed and then typing in the speed we wanted it to go at.

• The sound levels were easy to change on the audio levels by dragging the pink line on the sound up and down until it was level and sounded right. We also edited the sound and the background music by fading it in and out. For example because we have two different background music’s we wanted them to fade in and out of each other when it was appropriate for each half of being either fun or fatal.

• This was done by using the pen tool on the editing bar on the right hand side of the iMac screen. Using the pen I then selected the sound and dragged it either up or down to fade it into each other.

• We also added text to our documentary such as adding the expert’s name from the professional interviews in the left hand corner of the screen, as this is a convention of professional documentaries.

• This was easy to do as I selected text from the effects tab.

I then wrote the text and then changed the font and size etc.

For our title at the start of the documentary we did the same but we wanted there too be an outline on the text which we did by adding the same text twice but changing the background colour

of it so it stood out and then fading them into each other.

• Once we finished the editing the footage, we recorded the voiceover using the camera, microphone and headphones. We had written a script for our voiceover and had separated it into parts so we could record each part instead of recording one whole take. By doing this it meant we could just re-record a part if it was said wrong, instead of having to re-record the whole thing again.

• This was useful when recording the voiceover but also when it came to putting it on Final Cut Express and editing it onto the documentary we could just import and edit each individual clip instead of one whole voiceover. This also meant that it was easier to move around, adjust and match other footage around the voiceover.

• We then chose our background music for our documentary. We had to ensure we used non copyright music and so we selected music off a website given to us by the College which had music we could use that wasn’t copyrighted. We chose two different types of music, one that was upbeat and had a dance vibe for the fun half of the documentary called ‘dance 42-1’ and the other that was slower and sadder for the fatal half called ‘ambient 05-1’.

Radio Trailer

• For our radio trailer we completed it in Final Cut Express. We wanted to use clips from our documentary so that listeners would be intrigued and want to watch the documentary if they hear teasers from it. So in the same way we created our documentary, we added the clips we wanted into Final Cut Express but deleted the visual footage and just keeping the sound. We then recorded our voiceover which we followed from a script again, using the camera, headphones and microphone and then uploaded it in the same way onto Final Cut Express.

• We then selected the voiceover clips, deleting the visual footage and just keeping the sound and added it our trailer. We also used the same background music from our documentary, keeping our unique brand identity of having a fun half and a fatal half. Like our documentary, our radio trailer followed the story of binge drinking being either fun or fatal and so using the ‘fun’ background music first we had the voiceover ask a rhetorical question of, “A night to remember?” this was answered by a vox pop from the documentary saying, “You’ll probably forget the night your experiencing”. These contrasting question and answers continued and the ‘fatal’ music then fading in and back out again for the serious half, like our documentary.

• Once our trailer was completed we had to export it into GarageBand. This software was easy to use and meant we could upload our radio trailer to SoundCloud easier.

• Firstly I highlighted the trailer and then selected File from the top menu and then Export and then Using quick time conversion.

• I then saved the file as an AIFF file into our media drive folder.

• Then, opening the GarageBand software I imported our radio trailer from the media drive folder where I saved it.

TV listing magazine

• To produce our magazine article we used the software Adobe InDesign to create a double page spread, in which we added our article I had written on Microsoft Word. We divided tasks between each other to create the magazine article, so while I wrote the article, someone else was creating the layout etc. We all discussed what we wanted the layout to look like and then it was created in Adobe InDesign.

• I suggested we made a few changes to the magazine layout, as at first we decided to create it in the style of Radio Times magazine but our magazine looked more like something off What’s on TV. I then started to change the magazine to look more like a professional one from What’s on TV.

• Firstly I created a banner/header which is a convention of What’s on TV where the name of the documentary, time and channel is. I did this by creating a rectangle using the shape tool and then adding text onto it using the text tool.

• The colour scheme of our magazine is red, blue and white as it’s a simple and effective and also relates to the colours of the British flag as our article and documentary focuses on teenagers in Britain.

• When creating this banner/header it was important that it matched the other colours in the magazine, so I used to the eyedropper tool. I selected the tool and then clicked on the colour I wanted from somewhere else on the magazine and then clicked on where I wanted that colour to be on the header/banner.

• I also added captions to the pictures in the magazines as they weren’t there before and because they are a convention, it was important to add them in. I did this by selecting the text tool and writing the text into the box, in the same way I did for the banner.

• When I uploaded the article to blogger.com I noticed there was a thick line around the caption so the box around text was more prominent. To get rid of this I clicked the text, clicked the Stroke tab and changed the Weight of the outline to 0pt so there was no outline on the article.

• The circle with the information regarding hospital admissions was blue at first but we decided it would look better red as it would stand out more on the page. I did this by using the eyedropper tool again, by selecting the colour red already used on the article and dropping it onto the bubble. Red is also the colour of danger and relates to the information inside the bubble.

• I also added a drop cap to the start of the text which is another convention of magazine articles by changing the percentage of the size of the letter, as shown below.

• I also made sure the text was un-hyphenated by highlighting the text and un-ticking the Hyphenate button.

Final products

• In order for our final products to be available on the blog to see, I had to upload the documentary to YouTube, the radio trailer to SoundCloud and the magazine article to Blogger.com.

Documentary

• To get the documentary onto the Blog I had to upload it onto YouTube. This was very easy to use and YouTube is a very useful technology.

Firstly I logged onto YouTube using the Google username and password our group has used for everything. (

a2columnd12@gmail.com). I then clicked the Upload button and was brought to this screen.

Once I had clicked ‘Select files to upload’ I browsed for our documentary and once I had found it I clicked

Choose.

The documentary then uploaded to YouTube where I renamed it and wrote a description etc.

Our documentary can be found on YouTube on the link below.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQd-Fitee2w&feature=youtu.be

Radio Trailer

• The next step was to upload our radio trailer to SoundCloud. This was also easy to do and is a simple and useful technology.

First, I opened the radio trailer on FinalCut Express, went to File, Export and clicked Using

QuickTime Conversion.

I then saved the file as a AIFF file and clicked save, where it saved to our folder.

Next I opened GarageBand’08.

I found our radio trailer and opened it.

Here it is in GarageBand.

I then Exported the trailer. By doing this is saves into music format so it can be

uploaded as a ‘song’ onto SoundCloud.

I then went to SoundCloud and logged in.

I clicked the Upload button.

I then found our radio trailer and opened it.

It then started to upload onto SoundCloud, where I gave it a title and description etc.

Magazine article

• Firstly I went to File and clicked Export.

• I then saved the article as a JPEG and clicked Save.

I then made sure I clicked Spreads. This was to ensure the article came out as two spreads in one picture and

not two separate images of each spread side.

Once I had done this, I went onto Blogger.com and made a New Post.

I then clicked Browse to look for the article, I then looked through my folder till I found it and clicked open.

I then waited for it too load and then clicked Add selected. The article is then uploaded to our blog.