Fergus Brown

1. Research:

The main new media technology that was used in the research stages of my product and ancillary texts was the Web 2.0 and websites such as YouTube, Wikipedia, Google Images, Facebook and Twitter played large parts in the research. We used YouTube to research both bands of a similar genre such as the Fray and My Chemical Romance and existing Radiohead videos in order to look at the genre specific codes and conventions that were used in these videos in terms of camera shots and editing styles. This lead us to have a better understanding of the type of shots that we would be using and the style of editing we should be using to help our video fit well with existing products and allow us to have the maximum appeal possible to our target audience.

We also used the social networking sites Facebook and Twitter in order to look at the Radiohead page and then look at the pages of any fans or followers of them in order to see what other interests they had or other bands they liked. This enabled us to further tailor our ideas and reach our target audience in the best most effective way possible

When researching our Digipak and advert we used Wikipedia in order to look into which record label is responsible for the production and release of Radiohead singles and album (Parlephone Records) and which magazines/retail outlets they are associated with. This enabled us to then go onto Google images research any logos names etc that would be useful when it came to constructing our digipak and advert.

Mobile Phones were also used during the research into possible locations for our narrative as when we phoned possible locations for our video we recorded the conversations

2. Planning:

When it came to planning our products we used a vast range of new media technologies ranging form PowerPoint presentations to the used of Final Cut Pro to Mobile Phones in order to successfully and clearly plan our video and ancillary texts.

PowerPoint’s were used several times over the course of our planning period and the main function that they played was to pitch any ideas that we were having to a group of our peers and get their reactions and ideas as to how effective they thought these ideas were going to be when the product was completed. This enabled us to gauge and estimate how well our product would be received by our target audience one we had released it.

Final Cut Pro was used in the planning of our video, as it was used in order to edit our animatic which was our storyboard cut together in the style of the final video in terms of shot type and screen time. This enabled us to get a basic idea as to what our video may look like when completed and if needed allowed us to make any changes to our storyboard and ideas as to how the video was to be shot.

Mobile Phones (more specifically camera phones) also played a large in the planning of our video. The main thing that we did with them was to take sample stills of the shots that were thinking about using for our narrative element. This enabled us to obtain an idea of what the shots were going to look like when shot and allowed us once again to have a very clear picture in our mind as to what shot types we were possibly going to use on the day making the process mush smoother and efficient when it came to actually shooting the narrative element of our video.

We also used web pages such as Amazon to search and obtain props that we would need for our video. In this specific case we obtained a flashing blue light that we would need to use for our ambulance shot and we managed to purchase this off of The Web

3. Construction:

A large number of new media technologies were used throughout the construction of both our video and our digipak/advert. The one that had the most effect was the use of digital cameras, in the construction of our music video three cameras were used; the Sony F3, the Sony NX5 and the GoPro. The F3 was used when shooting the performance element and was chosen as we were in a studio and were therefore able to use a camera of this size and quality. Using the F3 allowed us to get a much higher quality of picture and therefore allowed us to be much more experimental and radical when it came to the partially shadowed/backlit effect that we had chosen to use for our performance element.

The NX5 we used in our narrative element, the ways in which this was used was idea for what we wanted as being a smaller camera it allowed us to do a lot of handheld shots which added to the realism and original feel of the video. The NX5 also allowed us to shoot 6 second periods of time in slow motion which was very effective in enforcing the drama and emotion involved in the narrative. We used the GoPro for a very small period of time in the narrative element of our video in which we attached the camera to the roof of a car in order to obtain the point of view shot that was used for the ambulance shot. This enabled us to shot a normally difficult shot due to the GoPro being small compact and very reliable under a range of conditions.

Final Cut Pro was used a large amount in the construction of our music video. The main way in which it was used was to cut the shots together in a smooth subtle way which made the product look crisp and professional. We also used it to place a low saturation filter over the entire video in aftereffects. This enhanced the tone of the video and made the finished product all the more effective.

Photoshop was used in the construction of our digipak and advert. The ways in which how we used it was to quickly and easily cut images together in quickly and easily produce our final product. We also used the notepad filter in order to give our digipak and advert a textured organic feel. The use of Photoshop allowed us to be a lot more experimental in the production of our digipak and advert, as we were able to quickly and easily try new ideas and if they were ineffective undo what we had done very quickly and return to our original ideas. This overall lead to what I think is an effective polished final product.

4. Evaluation:

In the evaluation of our products we also used a large range of new media technologies including Blogger, YouTube, and Mobile Phones. Blogger was a large part of our evaluation. Throughout the processes of Research Planning and construction blogger was used to keep a track of everything we did and each step that we took. And as we wrote up each step we evaluated them saying what areas we could have improved on or done differently in order to obtain a more effective or polished product, this enabled us to gain a better understanding of what we could change or do differently to get a more effective final result.

YouTube was also used as a large part of our evaluation as we posted our video on it and then looked at the comments that people (possible members of our target audience) had left on the page. This gave us an idea of what they like and our target audience received what they disliked which allowed us to gauge how well our product was received by our audience and therefore how successful it was.

Camera Phones also played a part of our Evaluation as we held a focus group with some potential members of our target audience and found how effective they found the video and whether or not they liked it. We recorded this on camera phones which allowed us to watch it back and find out how effective the audience found it as a product and obtain a detailed account of what could have been changed in order to turn it into a more successful product.

So as we can see a large range of new media technologies was used throughout all the stages involved with creating our product and through their use lead to the production of an effective well polished product which would not have been possible to create without them.