Evaluation Q4

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



What aspects of new media we used:

• Final Cut Pro X
• iMovie 
• Motion (software)
• Photoshop
• Nikon D300s HD camera
• Websites: Youtube, vimeo, blogger, divishare, scribd. 
• Viral advertisement
• Digipaks
• Magazine advertisements

               Firstly, one of the main types of new media we used was the software Final cut Pro X to edit our video. This is the latest version for this type of software. I found this an easy piece of equipment to use once I got the hang of the basic skills needed to use the software. One of the main effects of which I used was the 'auto flashing' layer which gave our video a good look. It zoomed in and out of the shot whilst also layering over a flashing effect, I mainly used this when the song gathered pace. Although I used a lot of different layering I found fitting the shots to the beat of the song proved most valuable. This was a common convention found in our research. I also used multiple layers on top of each other to link the narrative with the performance footage, and again this was mainly used when the song gathered pace. 

               Originally, we edited our footage on the software iMovie, this was for our first 2 full rough cuts including both performance and narrative. This was mainly because we found it a quick and easy way to pull together a rough cut in order to gather audience feedback as soon as possible. We were mainly focusing on the shots we had got and less on the editing. However, once I started using Final Cut I found it a lot easier to work with and the overall outcome was a lot better. 

               For our filming we used a camera called a 'Nikon D300s'. The quality of this camera was excellent (720p HD film) and helped us film a better project due to it being a high resolution camera. With it also being my camera this helped massively with time management through us being able to film whenever and not having to book a camera out. 

               We also found the software Photoshop very helpful when creating our ancillary texts. This price of software was really good at helping us edit our photos and include texts on both our digipak and magazine advertisement. Firstly, one of the main effects that we used was layering. This was to make it looks as if the person on the swing was moving, this involved layering a lot of the same image on top of each other in order to get this effect. This involved using the lasso tool to move the images around and also playing around with the opacity levels. We tried to stick the usual indie/alternative conventions when editing the photos, I believe we did this well. 

               I managed to enter our video into a music video competition which proved useful in order for gathering audience feedback gained from people within the music industry. It also meant that our video was viewed by more people, this showing the true effects of placing your work onto the internet.