Evaluation Question 4: How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

Research/Planning

Google: I used Google when carrying out everything for my music video, this included accessing my blog, researching thoroughly for music video examples, album cover examples and to research anything and everything to do with my music video. For example, I used google to research where to get the props from for my music video, I also used it to learn how to overlay an image on top of a video on the new version of iMovie, and finally I used it to research genre theories and expand my knowledge. The pros of Google is that it is an extremely easy way to find information and it allowed me to access everything that I needed to. However, the cons of using this, is that due to it holding billions of websites, it was sometimes hard to find the really reliable ones and I had to do a lot of comparing when researching for my music video and media theory.

YouTube: I used YouTube to research music videos and watch a large number, to gain examples and inspiration for my work. I also used YouTube to upload my music video and the bloopers to put on my blog. The pros of YouTube is that (just like google) there is a vast amount of video and information on the website, however there are also a lot of unreliable videos when it came to media theory. It also made it hard to find music videos to use as examples, because at times it felt that there were far too many. We can link YouTube to the media theory of Web 2.0 where we can see how the internet has changed in the past 10-12 years, and how it is no longer controlled by large web corporations but it's content is controlled by the public and we have the freedom to post anything and everything on the internet.

Soundcloud: I used Soundcloud to access the songs of my artist Polly, It was extremely reliable and I was able to access the songs to plan and brainstorm any ideas for my music video. I was also able to then download the music from the site without having to ask Polly for a master copy.

Blogger: I used blogger to document the journey to making my music video and the products to go along with it. I was able to post every update as to what I was doing with my music video, and I also used it to research media theory and post it to my blog. The pros of the website are that it allowed me to document everything and include images, videos and gifs. However, the cons of the website are that I was only able to access my posts when on a computer and I was unable to edit anything on the go from my phone.

Construction

Sony Camera A5000: I used this camera to do all of my filming, it is a digital camera with a detachable lens that is specially made for video recording. I decided to use this camera because (as it is my own) I know extensively how to use it and I really like the way it shoots scenes and how the camera automatically focuses on the main subject in the middle and blurs the background. The camera has special settings to adjust from landscape scenes to footage featuring people and objects. The pros of this camera is that it is extremely easy to use, and allows beautiful shots and images to come out completely crisp in high definition. However, the cons are that you are unable to zoom in or out of shots to a high level, and the battery runs down very quickly when left on for a long time. I had to be extremely careful when it came to leaving the camera on, and I made sure that I charged the camera up fully before going out to use it.

iMovie: I used iMovie to edit my music video, I was originally going to use Adobe Premiere Pro however due to the fact that I have less knowledge of the software and am much more skilled with iMovie, I decided to remain with this software, as I knew that I could get the editing done quicker without having to teach myself how to use the software in full. The pros of using iMovie is that because of my knowledge I was able to apply this to using more advanced editing techniques within what I was already doing, and I was also able to get the work done quicker and to a higher standard. However due to iMovie being less advanced than some other editing software, I was unable to do anything extremely advanced and interesting with my footage because of its lack of cutting-edge features.

Photoshop: I used Photoshop to create all of my adverts and my digipak. At first I found it hard to understand how to use as I hadn’t used it in a number of years. However, once I got used to it I was able to edit my images and add fonts, along with using the paint tools to create a fun and trippy feel to the digipak. This helped me to stay with the psychedelic theme, and motif that I had been carrying though the music video and the rest of the products. The pros of using Photoshop was that I was able to learn a lot about how to use the software, along with being able to successfully and skilfully edit my images. However, due to the complexity of the software at times, I had a number of issues to begin with that I managed to successfully resolve.

Evaluation

WhatsApp: Throughout my evaluation I used WhatsApp to correspond with my friends from the Uk and abroad to ask them to watch my music video and respond to my questions. The pros of using WhatsApp was that I was able to easily send them the music video, and they were all able to answer my questions instantly. However, the only cons about using it was that I was unable to get any visual footage from them using my camera, and they couldn't all reply to my messages because of the time difference, and the fact that they had not seen the messages.