Evaluation of how we used media technologies in the construction, research, planning and evaluation stages

Evaluation of how we used media technologies in the construction, research, planning and evaluation stages

Throughout our project we have used various media technologies ranging from Microsoft to imove and have used these technologies on apple Macs and computers, in order to gain general knowledge and experience using technologies available to us as a group.

Microsoft

Microsoft was used during the research, evaluation and planning stage. We decided to use this software for these stages as we felt it was capable of living up to the ideas we had to present our billing block, poster and magazine. In research; Microsoft PowerPoint was used to aid the creation of the mood boards of the two mass market magazines as well as the thriller collage.

Within the planning stage we used Microsoft Word in order to lay out our ideas in a logical way so that future ideas can stem from them.

When evaluating we used Microsoft Excel to create graphs to visually see the responses our participants’ gave in the generic and thriller questionnaire.

As a group having worked with Microsoft we felt the advantages were that it didn’t put a cap on our creative thinking because there were a various amount of tools at our disposable to create our media products.

Microsoft Excel helped to show accurate figures of percentages of people from our questionnaire which helped when it came to analysing and making decisions on the direction of our A2 trailer.

Microsoft PowerPoint enabled us to create drafts of film posters so that we could evolve it into our final production as part of the promotional package.

The main disadvantage is that we feel in the media industry Microsoft may not be seen as a professional programme that creates the media products which we see around today.

We feel another downfall of Microsoft PowerPoint is that it does not offer the advanced tools like Photoshop.

 

 

 

 Green Screen

The green screen was used in the research stage in order to allow us to experiment with photos and gain knowledge of how professionals within the media industry use this as a tool. During the stage in which we researched the magazine covers, we found that a convention was to have a solid or gradient background, it was for this reason which we pursued using the green screen, to create the more professional look as it would eliminate shadows and poor lighting. Our experimental session gave us the insight as to whether we wanted to use the green screen in producing our final media product.

An advantage of capturing images and shots on the green screen is that this would increase the professionalism of our media products as we would be mirroring the film industry’s procedure. Moreover, the screen provides a consistency in terms of lighting, wind and recapturing the image if needed.

Upon reflecting the effectiveness of the Green Screen, as a group we decided that it if we were to utilise it, we would not promote the magazine in the best light and this is due to the fact­­­ we could not eradicate the shadows and we felt that we were lacking in knowledge of how to edit the footage once uploaded onto the Macs.

 

Internet

The internet acted as a portal for us to aid our research, construction, planning and evaluating. The websites in particular which were used were mainly YouTube, official film websites, Oden, IMDb and Facebook.

Facebook was used when evaluating which was effective in getting feedback because those commenting would be those who were in the target audience range of our trailer.

However the disadvantages of using Facebook as a means to receiving feedback is that the responses are not very descriptive and much of the feedback was not very detailed as many individuals do not know what to look for in a trailer. Areas which did not get commented on where the mise-en-scene as many did not know what aspects it addresses.

 

Out of all the websites which we looked at YouTube throughout all the stages and it proved itself to be the most sufficient. The reasons for this are that it provided us with templates of previous thriller trailers, Adobe after effects tutorials inspiration for our trailer soundtrack.

The advantages we found from YouTube is that we can directly upload videos from YouTube up onto our blogs with ease. Furthermore there was an unlimited amount of trailers we could browse through.

The disadvantage is that people can upload fan made videos and at times can be very similar to the real thing. This caused us to spend more time searching for the official trailers. Bad quality videos can be uploads which again was time consuming as we then needed to search for the video with good quality sound and viewing.

The International Movie Database assisted us in our research process mainly as it helped us to identify what movie production companies sponsored which films, and furthermore, what distribution companies collaborated with them.

The resourcefulness of the IMDb allowed us to look at vital information, this website acted as a library where we could view any film trailers and facts about the films, for example who was involved in creating the movies. Another advantage of this site is that it is constantly being updated; therefore all of the information is current. In light of this, a drawback of IMDb is that without internet connection, you cannot obtain its facts.

Official film websites were used when planning and researching, this allowed us to get a general overview of the professional promotional packages. We looked at official film websites in great detail to analyse the font styles they used and the positioning of images and text. In addition we looked at how they marketed their film and which conventions were broken or adopted. When looking at the film websites it showed their creative expression and opened our minds to the different paths we could explore when producing our promotional package. This is an advantage of official websites as it broadened our minds to the possibilities and options.

The disadvantage to our group is that some films do not have a website or in some cases the film is very old so the website no longer exists; and in our case many good thrillers are from a few years back.

Another disadvantage is many films do not use the official website as their main way to marketing, resulting in a very basic site.

 

Programmes

During the construction and planning phases we started by working on final cut express, this was to create the storyboard and acted as a base for later development within our project. Our reasoning behind utilising this piece of software was down to our previous knowledge gained last year, where we created our thriller film opening. We knew that we would be capable of constructing an effective trailer which will evoke the feeling of suspense, due to our successful use of transitions and filters which Final Cut Express offered.

Final Cut Express is a programme which we were made aware was used by professionals; we wanted to duplicate that cinematic effect which they so well achieved.  A noted benefit was that Final Cut allowed us to unite the visual and audio elements. When applying an effect onto footage the programme gave us freedom to either stick to the default settings or adjust as we wish.

The disadvantages of final cut were that the camera did not download directly on the program it needed to go through imove and be exported as an XML. This was just an inconvenience to our group as it was time consuming.

Also to those that have little knowledge in Final Cut Express it would be very difficult to teach yourself.

Lastly as we were producing a thriller trailer we wanted to include a sequence of very fast paced shots, synchronised with a soundtrack; sometimes when deleting footage the continuity between the visual and audio elements were distorted. We found this extremely time consuming and testing on our skills.

Photoshop was used when planning and constructing in order to aid work with the promotional package consisting of a film poster and film magazine. This programme was used in order to explore the different conventions which are showcased in thriller posters, for example the use of a spot light tool to emphasize the girl’s situation.
When constructing the poster, Final Cut Express was required to help edit the original image. The lighting was corrected along with the surrounding area. The ground was very patchy in places and some had no leaves covering the ground. Final Cut Express allowed us as a group to correct minor elements such as this.

The advantage of Photoshop is that it is a professional programme which is used in the media industry; so if we had advanced skills and time we would be able to use the functions and tools available to us to create a professional edit of a film poster.

Another advantage is that a member of the group studies A level Photography so had previous knowledge which made using Photoshop easier.
Photoshop acts as a magnifying glass which allowed us to scrutinize even the smallest areas of the poster to allow correction.

The disadvantage of this programme is that an introduction is needed due to the intricacy of the tools available as many only differ in use slightly.

The programme is very time consuming even to just carry out one task such as cropping round an image because if it goes wrong half way through you need to start over.

Amidst constructing Queensdown Warren, we felt that in order to achieve a sophisticated looking trailer, we required the use of an animated effect on our film title shot and that this could be accomplished through the software called Adobe After Effects CS6. It was from this programme that we created a number of prototypes.

The positive of using this software is that on YouTube there are a number of tutorials that can guide you through the programme to create an effective shot. This made this part of the constructing process bearable and seem less alien to the group. However it was time consuming and frustrating.

Another bonus is that this programme is a well renowned piece of software amongst the experts and would looked high quality when accomplished.

Despite those points, Adobe After Effects is such a detailed programme that at any stage something could go wrong and it could be very difficult to backtrack and pinpoint what needs to be altered. We felt that without the use of following a tutorial as a group, we would not have understood the first thing on how to go about constructing such an animated title.

What is more, the programme is very expensive to install, it is for this reason that we tested the free first month trial. The negative about using the trial version of Adobe After Effects is that it is limited in some of the effects which the full version buys, for example the “Knoll Light Factory”.

 

iMovie was an essential programme for our progression as it acted as the middle man when we needed to upload our footage onto Final Cut Express. At one point we had to decide whether to edit with Final Cut Express or iMovie, it was decided upon that going for iMovie would not be a wise decision as we had a stronger foundation of knowledge about Final Cut Express. Furthermore, we came to a mutual agreement that it seemed like a less professional programme.

The benefit of having a programme such as iMovie at our disposal is that it does have a wide variety of transition options which would be suitable for any type of genre and as there is a library of effects, it makes the editing ordeal less time consuming.

Furthermore, the fact that the software itself can lay out a template for you to follow when creating a trailer, can prove itself to be very effective as the template acts as a guarantee to having a well thought out, fluid trailer.

On the other hand, there are drawbacks of exercising iMovie, for instance, if you did use a template, it does restrict your creative development which you would generally experience in a non-restricting process.

Additionally, there is general feedback from people who have used the programme and they have said that on the whole, it is difficult to import videos from the internet directly to iMovie, such as YouTube. This makes adding the film production companies very testing to upload and put at the beginning of the trailer.

Garage Band was a useful programme which was use to construct the soundtrack for our A2 trailer. Garage Band allowed us to combine different sounds, tones, pitches, beats and instruments to put together a piece of track which was fitting for a thriller.

The advantage of Garage Band is that it is a professional programme which is used in the media industry; so if we had advanced skills and time we would be able to use the functions and tools available to us to create a professional soundtrack.

Another advantage is that the program was very self explanatory, which was a positive for the group as none of us had any experience in using Garage Band.

The main disadvantage is that you cannot change tempo within a song. However this did not cause too much concern for our group as when imported into Final Cut Express tempo changes could be done on that program.  

The second disadvantage is that you cannot edit the loops to exactly how you want, which therefore means we may not have had the expect soundtrack we intended at the beginning.

Equipment

Camera

The camera was a vital part of our media project not only to film but to take still shots for the film poster and magazine cover. The cameras were new in this year and were updated from previous cameras which are a benefit to our group as these cameras were of a much higher quality.

The camera was used in the planning stage in order to experiment with shots and become familiar with the technology. When constructing the cameras were relied on greatly as they were required for every session.

The advantage of having the camera that we did was the high quality that could be produced when videoing or taking still shots. The focus for a long distance range was still very clear which was an advantage to our group as it did not hinder when we were trying a wide variety of angles and movements with the camera.

The main disadvantage was that on the market there are still cameras which are of higher quality which would have been better in picking up detail in darker shots.

The cameras provided for us are not take of professionals in the industry as theirs are very expensive and produce the highest of quality, and this is something which we as a group do not have access too.

By Katie and Grace