Evaluation: Question 4

1.       How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

During all stages of the of our media coursework we used media technologies to enhance the presentation and construction of our media product. The use of media technology was vital in the planning of our media production. In the initial stages of planning, when location scouting we would use an iPhone4S to take pictures of the locations that we wanted to investigate to see if they would be suitable for our production. These images could then be sent to other members of the team so the suitability of the location could discussed immediately, to avoid wasting precious time during the planning stage. During the location scouting stage of planning we also used Cannon 600D DSLR camera to capture high quality images that, that could be used in later stages of planning such as during focus group, meetings, blogs and on the Facebook page that we later set up to allow us to gather information from our target on audience and make vital creative decisions during the planning stage. The Facebook page allowed us to set up online polls and discussion forums as well as communicate with the target audience during the construction of our media product when extras where needed for filming, the site allowed us to contact large amounts of people at one time and to great some coverage of the final product before it was even released.  The site also allowed us the gain vital audience feedback at each stage and discuss with that they thought were positive and negative about the ideas that we pitched to them,  additionally allowing us to keep in touch with other members of the team, during all stages to discuss ideas quickly, on both the trailer and ancillary tasks. Furthermore the Cannon 600D wasn’t just successful in the location scouting images, but allowed us to film our trailer to a high quality (1080p) to allow our production to have a professional quality, instead of the production being a poor quality. Other equipment used during the filming of the production included Tri- pods to allows us to capture footage especially during scenes of conversation to keep to camera steady and create fluid shots that could be placed well within the final trailer. Glide tracks and steady frames where used during action scene filming and car scenes when the object was on the move, to reduce to shake and make to footage look more professional. During the planning and research stage of our production, YouTube allowed us to research into codes and conventions of the psychological thriller genre including existing media products that we could gather ideas from for our own production, such the Eagle Eye trailer. YouTube was also used during the planning stage for beneficial tutorials to help with camera techniques and lighting when shooting on location. The final production is also placed on YouTube to gather audience feedback through comments and allow maximum audience coverage as; it can be accessed across the world. Within the first week the trailer gained over 1,000 views and 20 subscribers to the channel, this site also allowed us to view daily views and gather statistics on where people are finding the trailer from. Blogger and Prezi allow me to present my planning, research and final productions in a professional format, instead of conventional text. Blogger allowed me to keep an organised record of all stages of the production and present my work to the targeted audience in the same way that we used Facebook, as I also had surveys that allowed me to gather feedback from the focus group, and to make creative decisions during planning and construction stages. Final Cut Pro was used in the editing of the trailer, this software is used to make the editing of the trailer look professional and to allow effects to be added to make the trailer have the same conventions and codes as existing media products and create a seamless effect that made the product look of a professional standard and bring all of the footage and audio that we has gathered together.