Finals...

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

Cameras

In the process of making the different elements for this project we used two different cameras; one was a stills camera and the other was a 550 camera borrowed from college.

We chose to use the 550 camera as apposed to the stills camera (on a video setting) as the more professional camera had a wider scope of effects and allowed us to do more with the footage whilst recording. The 550 camera allowed us to pull focus manually where as the stills camera had a preset setting that auto focused each shot. Although the a pull focus effect could be added later, in final cut, it was easier to add the effect there and then as it would ultimately give a more natural outcome and in some instances it added glare which created more artistic looking shots. Furthermore the TV camera allowed us to check the white balance of each shot and was easier in terms of filming as the live playback screen was larger allowing us to be more accurate with framing. Despite being easier because of the screen size it was only really clear what we had shot once we had uploaded the footage onto the computer- as the computer monitor is stationary and therefore isn’t hindered by the angle of the screen, altering the look of the lighting in the footage. This issue led to some shots, for example the night sky shot at the end of the video, looking brighter on the camera screen than they actually were and shots like the tilt from the ceiling in the shopping centre looking quite dark once uploaded. Additionally despite the camera used being HD I feel the quality of the footage as a whole was pixelated and slightly grainy; this may be due in part to the sizing of the framing used. Unfortunately the footage taken at the shopping center was 768 x 576 (square) instead of the more conventional 1024 x 576 (rectangle) used at the TV studio.

As a media student using a more professional camera was also more beneficial as it allowed me to explore using a piece of technology I hadn’t used before and may use in the future.

We set the stills camera on the “auto” setting as this meant that the camera would apply the most appropriate settings for the lighting, shot type etc. We also took the photos intended for the Banksy style digi pack against the green screen. This made using the “quick selection tool” in Photoshop simpler as the green hue isn’t present in skin tone and contrasts sharply with Taygan herself.

From undertaking this project I have learnt the importance of planning a shoot and the role light plays in photography. I now know that there are lots of different elements to consider when taking photos: you need a variety of shots (portrait, full length etc.; think about how and where the photos will be used; to consider setting (will you need to crop out the background?), costume and time (lighting e.g. evening...); and also consider what type of camera you will use. (If you use a non-digital camera you may have to scan the images on the computer which could reduce the quality, the images may be too small or not develop properly etc.). I feel the amount and variance of photos taken is one of the downfalls in this project; if I could re-do the project I would definitely take more photos and vary the distance from Taygan the photos were taken from. Moreover I would alter the poses Taygan was holding more to create more diversity, giving me more to work with.

Blogger

I documented the progression of my work on blogger; this was really helpful when it came to reviewing aspects of the project and viewing at the project as a whole. The site itself is very easy to navigate around and work with. The only issue I initially came across was importing/uploading videos straight from my laptop, as Blogger didn’t like the format of the videos even though I tried multiple formats that it specified would work or if I tried to embed the video from YouTube by pasting the code into the HTML view. However if I uploaded the videos I wanted from my YouTube channel or YouTube in general exercising the “clapper board” icon they worked fine, so I continued to do this throughout my project. I prefer presenting my work through blogs as it enables me to make full use of different mediums to show my work and permits me to use motion media such as videos and Prezi rather than just print based production.

YouTube

I originally used YouTube to research other music videos, helping me to understand the codes and conventions of music videos generically and also music videos specific to my chosen genre (indie/ singer songwriter). For this I learnt a lot about the context and delivery needed when producing my own video.

I then used it as a way of exporting my videos and making them accessible to the public, enabling me to get them onto my blog and be viewed by my peers and teacher.

Additionally I used YouTube tagging in the editing section on “video manager” to pause and add text to my quick album analysis videos. This tool is often temperamental and sometimes gets stuck on a section of paused footage or misses out bubbles of text. But with persistence it will work and is still quicker than adding the text using software like iMovie or Final Cut as the text element increases the export, upload and processing time.

QuickTime

QuickTime is an application that can be used to record videos via a webcam or screen recordings, as well as recording audio tracks. The software is simple to use, it is simply a case of hitting record and stop. Nevertheless I found not stumbling over my words hard and ensuring that when I was recording I was somewhere quiet impossible. It was also difficult fitting everyone in my focus group in the frame and trying to ensure everyone could be heard when reviewing my music video. Exporting the videos was simple as QuickTime records the videos in a “.mov” format which is widely accepted on sites like YouTube and software like Final Cut and therefore doesn’t need converting.

PowerPoint

PowerPoint is a well-recognized program used in schools from an early age. As a result I had already experienced using the program and knew how to create slides and add animation. However for the purposes of this project I added no animation or timings because I knew I would be uploading the slideshows to 'SlideShare' which doesn't show either. It was quick and easy to use- thus presenting no issues.

SlideShare

SlideShare is an online site that converts PowerPoint presentations into a picture book format that can be embedded in webpages for online viewing. This was the first time I had used the site; it was simple to use- all you had to do was upload the presentation. Therefore as a result of this project I have found a way to make PowerPoint presentations accessible to a wider audience.

Prezi

This is a site that offers a new way of presenting information. I liked Prezi and felt it offered a lot more than other presentation programs such as PowerPoint. I enjoyed exploiting the way the camera swivels to read new sections of text, as it was fun to do and makes the presentation more dynamic. The tool bar in the upper left hand corner was easy to use but the text was difficult to position. To get the text to sit nicely in the gaps of the image I chose I had to constantly switch between adjusting the overall size of the text and adjusting the amount of text on each line, as well as the alignment. This was a time consuming process but I now feel that I can confidently use Prezi and will be using the program in future projects.

Facebook& Twitter

Taygan gave me her Facebook and Twitter accounts to put on the promotional material I made for this project as it is a common convention in modern poster advertisements and it freely publicizes her music video, allowing her to interact virtually with her fans potentially increasing her fan base and take advantage of social networks.

SoundCloud

We first heard Taygan on SoundCloud and were, as a result, able to listen to a few of her songs and then choose our favorite. I also went on “soundcloud-download.com” and pasted the link to the track desired’s webpage onto the site and then downloaded the track so that we had a copy to work with- which was a very simple and quick process.

Lighting

We worked with a large mixture of lighting throughout the duration of this project. Firstly we worked with the artificial lighting the pre-existed at the shopping centre. I feel we utilized the lighting available well as we were able to get some pretty shots of glare and blurred over exposure, especially outside on the pan in the rain across the car park.

At the shopping centre I also brought my large 11W florescent light, which I had put a “white light” natural look light bulb in to ensure that any footage taken whilst using the light didn’t come across yellow. The light worked well in the café shots as it created sharp lighting and obvious light beams when necessary.

At the TV studio we used the professional lights, once again teaching us how to use a new piece of equipment and guarantee our footage looked professional in terms of lighting.

I also brought a number of candles to the shoot which helped create a romanticized atmosphere and a sense of intimacy which I feel added to the performance and encourages the viewer to focus on the lyrics of the song. This was a key feature to Mumford and Sons fans who commented under their “Little Lion Man” video that they liked the stripped back performance as it allowed them to concentrate on the song. Therefore as Taygan has a similar target audience hopefully the more simplistic footage of the live performance will have the same appeal and response.

Photoshop

I used Photoshop in my AS project creating a music magazine; this gave me a good understanding of the different tools and effects that could be achieved using the software. I used Photoshop to help me design my two ancillary tasks. Cutting Taygan from the green screen background was simple and initially all the elements were on different layers allowing me to edit them separately. The only section that wouldn’t cut nicely was her foot, which I later had to reconstruct using the “stamp” tool. Later on I merged all the layers near the end of the production so that when I added the gradient the image resembled a singular image, rather than multiple images placed on top of each other. I think that using Photoshop in this project was a good opportunity to refresh the skills that I had learnt from a previous project.

iMovie

Towards the beginning of this project I used iMovie to edit and create my videos. I had only used iMovie briefly prior to this project and as a result I have learnt how to use a new piece of software. The quality of the videos I made on iMovie is however poor in comparison to the videos I created later in the project. This is partly because they were quick projects for example creating album analysis videos and partly because iMovie doesn’t have the features software like Final Cut has. The software is not difficult to use and has simplistic, basic commands. I like the “Ken Burns” feature allowing you to add movement to still shots and add zooms, panning and tilts to moving footage.

Final Cut Pro X

I am used to working on Final Cut Pro and find it quick and easy, as I know most of the short cuts and commands using the keyboard rather than the mouse. Regrettably Final Cut Pro 7 is no longer available as a downloadable 30-day trial so I had to download Final Cut Pro X instead. This initially caused me a lot of problems, as Final Cut Pro X is a technological convergence of Final Cut Pro and iMovie; subsequently all the shortcut keyboard commands no longer worked and the layout was completely different. There were many other alterations as well: including no “pen” tool and lots of new features etc. As a result it took me a while to get used to the software but I am generally happy with the outcome of my music video.

I not only used Final Cut to edit the video, I also used it to edit the track at the start of the project, cleaning it up and getting rid of any “peaks” above 0dB.Once I had got used to the software changes I found it a lot easier to add effects and change the opacity of the footage so that I could overly two pieces of footage. Finally, the footage took a long time to export- which was irritating because I had to import it into Final Cut again after I had exported it the first time so that I could crop the footage to one frame size all at once, rather than each individual shot which would have taken longer. All in all I feel it was worth while learning how to use the most updated version of the software as it has more capabilities and is most likely to be the version of the software I would use in the future as apposed to Final Cut Pro 7.

MULTIMEDIA: Record a directors commentary discussing the technology