Question 4:
How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
Knowledge of technology was essential throughout the process
of creating my production; a wide variety of technologies were used across the
research and planning areas as well as during the filming and editing stages.
Firstly, all written work and processes involved in the
music video task had to be documented and presented on online blogs that could
be accessed through the internet. This made transporting work more flexible as the
blogs could be accessed from any computer, regardless of location. The interactive blogs also allowed me to embed various videos and images to illustrate explanations and act as evidence to support points made throughout my planning and research stages. The embedding of images also allowed for screenshots of my final production, as well as other existing videos, to be uploaded and used in support of choices towards genre. Another advantage to using online blogs was the access to past blog archive; all past blogs can be found on the CNS Media website which provided aid and inspiration when inventing creative and suitable ways to present work. Access to these blogs also aided me in finding helpful links and websites for my own research.
The most frequently used technology throughout the research stage of my coursework was the internet; as explained previously, the internet is accessible from almost any computer or laptop, making it widely available regardless of location. Providing access to millions of websites, the internet allowed me to gather and evaluate a wide spectrum of information that proved vital in the construction of my research pages. In particular, the search engine Google was of extreme help,enabling me to access information on a wide variety of artists and bands within the genre from a wide range of linking websites, as well as accessing reviews and ratings from various music bloggers and reviewers. Popular website, YouTube, was a significant site when performing research on the existing music videos around today as well as aiding the discovery of new artists and productions. YouTube was also used to upload my final production so as to be easily accessible at all times, able to be embedded onto my blog and also able to fulfill the brief; an advertisement for the track. The sharing site enables democratization; sites such as YouTube have created an opportunity for small-time, unprofessional producers to reach wider audiences and promote their production free of charge.
A similar wide range of technologies were also used throughout the planning stage, however the computer scanner also served as paramount in this process; the storyboards I created to map out a rough idea of narrative and general shots I planned to use. This was one of the first planning stages and was therefore vital to display on my blog. Various different software programs were used to present such planning; Microsoft Powerpoint, Microsoft Word etc. A knowledge of the different programs available helped me in creating some variation in the presentation of my text and images. The interactive blogs and uploading ability meant that practice photos and images of suggested camera shots and still images could be embedded into the planning posts to illustrate meanings and descriptions, providing the audience with a clearer idea.
As expected, the actual production and shooting of footage required a sound knowledge of various technologies; firstly, the digital camera ______ was my own and therefore I was more aware of the possibilities and variations to picture that the camera could produce. I found one of the most useful tools found on the camera was the shooting mode selection; I was able to choose alternative shooting modes to adhere to subtle light changes as well as turning to beauty mode which eliminates the distorted image that is so common with close up shots. Another effective tool on the camera was the optional manual focus; the ability to direct and chose the focal point of an image is extremely beneficial when trying to create shots that evoke ambiguity and depth. Although not used on the final production after deciding the effect did not suit the genre, the zoom facility allowed for a range of experimental zooming shots from one stationary position. Furthermore, the capacity to review and re-shoot footage is vital for me in ensuring a good quality shot. Reviewing and deleting footage would not have been possible on lower-technology cameras (film cameras). Lastly, my mass storage memory card allowed for high definition footage to be stored onto my computer hard-drive without a loss of quality.
Adobe Premiere Pro CS6, the editing software used to construct and create my music video, offered a wide range of effects and tools to open a range of creative opportunities. The most prevalent tool I used was the speed duration tool; this
utensil allowed me to increase the speed of the individual clips so as to become almost comical and reflect the fast pace of the track. This utensil also allowed me to contrast this in slowing down the last closing shot of the video to mark the end of the production.
In regards to mise-en-scene, the colour variation device allowed for aspects such as the brightness and contrast to be altered in order to create a more appealing appearance as well as to aid in establishing genre; video's and images that conform to the indie-rock genre tend to be darker in colour and more dramatic and deep in contrast. The close up shot of the guitar, in particular, was one clip to undertake this change in contrast and colour intensity;
Finally, in regards to the evaluation, I used Microsoft Word 2010 to construct my answers to the questions and copied and pasted the contents of the document to the blog site (www.blogger.com) to be published onto my blog. Before this text was confirmed and published, I used the spellcheck tool on Word to ensure all grammar and spelling was correct.
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| Screenshot of blog & embedded image |
A similar wide range of technologies were also used throughout the planning stage, however the computer scanner also served as paramount in this process; the storyboards I created to map out a rough idea of narrative and general shots I planned to use. This was one of the first planning stages and was therefore vital to display on my blog. Various different software programs were used to present such planning; Microsoft Powerpoint, Microsoft Word etc. A knowledge of the different programs available helped me in creating some variation in the presentation of my text and images. The interactive blogs and uploading ability meant that practice photos and images of suggested camera shots and still images could be embedded into the planning posts to illustrate meanings and descriptions, providing the audience with a clearer idea.
As expected, the actual production and shooting of footage required a sound knowledge of various technologies; firstly, the digital camera ______ was my own and therefore I was more aware of the possibilities and variations to picture that the camera could produce. I found one of the most useful tools found on the camera was the shooting mode selection; I was able to choose alternative shooting modes to adhere to subtle light changes as well as turning to beauty mode which eliminates the distorted image that is so common with close up shots. Another effective tool on the camera was the optional manual focus; the ability to direct and chose the focal point of an image is extremely beneficial when trying to create shots that evoke ambiguity and depth. Although not used on the final production after deciding the effect did not suit the genre, the zoom facility allowed for a range of experimental zooming shots from one stationary position. Furthermore, the capacity to review and re-shoot footage is vital for me in ensuring a good quality shot. Reviewing and deleting footage would not have been possible on lower-technology cameras (film cameras). Lastly, my mass storage memory card allowed for high definition footage to be stored onto my computer hard-drive without a loss of quality.
Adobe Premiere Pro CS6, the editing software used to construct and create my music video, offered a wide range of effects and tools to open a range of creative opportunities. The most prevalent tool I used was the speed duration tool; this
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| Adobe Premiere Pro CS6 |
In regards to mise-en-scene, the colour variation device allowed for aspects such as the brightness and contrast to be altered in order to create a more appealing appearance as well as to aid in establishing genre; video's and images that conform to the indie-rock genre tend to be darker in colour and more dramatic and deep in contrast. The close up shot of the guitar, in particular, was one clip to undertake this change in contrast and colour intensity;
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| Close-up shot of guitar. Colour intensified. |
Unable to show the original, I am unable to clearly
demonstrate the change in colour intensity, however, considering the comparison
between this introductory shot and the following footage within the remaining couple of
minutes, it can be seen that this edited image is more effective in
grabbing the audience’s attention and creating interest, as well as helping to immediately establish
genre; The close-up shot of the guitar is a generic convention of the indie-rock genre and therefore it was essential for this shot to be influential on the audience.
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| Microsoft Word |
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