Question

QUESTION 4: HOW DID YOU USE MEDIA
TECHNOLOGIES IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND
RESEARCH, PLANNING AND EVALUATION STAGES?
Zara Taylor

DOCUMENTARY: RESEARCH AND PLANNING
Media technologies proved to be incredibly useful
throughout researching for the documentary.
 INTERNET EXPLORER: We use Internet Explorer when
researching in to the facts and figures behind cyberbullying. This became a useful media technology when
we needed to find something out

 GOOGLE: We used google the most as we could type
what we wanted to search for in the search engine and
links would be given to us, some that we would not
have been able to search for without it. It also helped us
to source the information that we was looking for often
linking us to reliable sources.

 NEW WEBSITES: We used news websites especially the BBC News, to
gather articles about cyber-bullying. These news reports tended to be
about the effects of what teenagers consequences unfortunately are
such as suicide and self harming. These news articles inspired us to
create a reconstruction expressing the effects on a person.
 YOUTUBE VIDEOS: We decided to watch YouTube videos that expressed
cyber-bullying, some of these actually gave us hints and tips on what to
include in our documentary.

 CHANNEL WEBSITES: We also chose to research into channel websites
such as BBC Three and Channel Four, looking at what documentaries
they air on their channel and the target audience. By looking into the
channels we found what channel we wanted to aim our documentary at.

 BLOGGER: Blogger was our main way that we could record
all our research and look back at it at certain dates. On
blogger we could log our progress along the way and could
look back at what research and planning needed to be
done. Blogger also organised our planning and research in a
chronological order.
 Blogger also allowed us to update our research and
planning when we needed to adding things to support
information that had already been found.

 SCRIBD: I used Scribd as a way of uploading all my word documents on to my blog. It
allowed my research and planning to be viewed on the blog and from any computer
or Mac which helped when we was sorting the shots out and the script out and
needed to refer back to data and findings that we had found.

 SLIDESHARE: Similar to Scribd, Slideshare allowed us to upload PowerPoint
presentations that we had created containing our information from the research and
planning stages. Like Scribd it allowed us to look at the PowerPoints when ever we
needed to reflect on information through the embed code given when uploaded

 SURVEY MONKEY: We used Survey Monkey as
a media technology that would help us to gain
the target audiences feedback. This online
survey allowed us to create ten questions and
then we were given a website code that we
would give to people for them to link to
complete the questionnaire. This was a useful
technology as it allowed us to analyse our work
through the collation of the results given.

 PREZI: We used Prezi as a method of analysing
the codes and conventions in a different format
when researching and planning so the
presentation of the Blog was varied.

 In order for us to understand which channel we want to show our
documentary on, as well as expand our understanding of the
documentary genres, we decided to at the start of the course research
into documentaries that have already been broadcasted.

 Super Size Me was the first documentary that we watched and this
express Bill Nicholls Documentary Modes theory (2001). This made us
understand that we needed to include certain documentary modes in
to our documentary so that it followed a few of the documentary
modes.
 With the accessibility of having the documentaries available on
YouTube and channel players such as ITV Player and iPlayer, we then
were able to watch pretty much any documentary that we wanted to
watch.

MAGAZINE TV LISTING: RESEARCH AND PLANNING
 When research and planning for the magazine TV listing double page spread, we used much
more basic media technologies.
 When researching magazines we used the google search engine and researched it through
clicking the links such as ‘Radio Times’ and ‘TV and Satellite Week Magazine’. We then looked at
the layout of the double page spreads and decided that way which one we wanted to use.

MAGAZINE TV LISTING: RESEARCH AND PLANNING

 We also used the internet to
research the codes and
conventions of a typical TV listing
magazine. This allowed us to find
out what we need to use in our
own magazine. We analysed
these using Microsoft PowerPoint
so that we could look back at
them on the blog when ever we
needed to.

RADIO TRAIL: RESEARCH AND PLANNING
 When researching and planning for the radio trailer
we only used a limited amount of media technologies.
This is because there was only so much that we could
research in to in terms of radio trails.
 We as a group used a template that was made in
Microsoft Word previous to us filling it out.
 With this form we analysed three radio trails that we
sourced using YouTube. This was a useful media
technology as we was able to source the radio trailers
as well as the day they aired and the radio trail
broadcasting radio channel

RADIO TRAIL: RESEARCH AND PLANNING
 In terms of planning for the radio trailer we
used Microsoft Word to write out the script
as this was the easiest way of drafting and
redrafting my work. It was also easy for us
all to have an input in what should be on the
radio trailer.
 Likewise if we were unhappy about a part of
the script we could simply just cut it out of
paste in another place as well as adding
extra information into.

DOCUMENTARY: CONSTRUCTION
(FILMING)
FILMING
When we had completed all the research and planning for the first five
minutes of the documentary we then moved on to the filming stage. With all
the research and planning in tow we then tried to film appropriate content
alongside keeping it at a high standard.
We used the storyboard that I created as well as the plan schedule for filming
and the statistics found to complete these effectively.

(FILMING)
 When filming the documentary we used a
Canon HD Camera that was equipped with
the features that we needed to make to
make our documentary the best that it
could possibly be.
 We were able to use the camera in many
ways like using manual focus to blur some
of the shot to add a depth to the
documentary. We used manual focus
when we needed film stock footage to be
used when the voiceover was speaking.
For example we filmed the feet of
students as it related to the voiceover
talking about students.

(FILMING)
 The camera that we used to record our documentary footage had a digital
display that allowed us to film as well as take still shots. This was useful
when we wanted to take pictures and cyber-bullying occurring in the action
on phones.
 We were also able to insert the camera into the Mac and transfer the
footage that was filmed straight into a folder saved in our group name,
ready to be logged and transferred into Final Cut Pro.
 To film the shots we used a tripod to mount the camera on to make sure
the framing was straight. This was very useful when I was recording the vox
pops and the interviews. This made sure the shots were framed conveying
the codes and conventions of framing interviews like the rule of thirds.

(FILMING)
 SHOTGUN MICROPHONE: We used a shot gun microphone to record
the diegetic and non-diegetic sound throughout the interviews and
the vox pops. The shotgun microphone allowed us to easily
manoeuver the microphone so we could point it at the sound source
that we wanted it to be aimed at therefore it would capture a high
quality sound level that we would then be able to edit in post
production.
 HEADPHONES: We used the headphones that were plugged in to the
camera to listen to the sound coming through the shotgun
microphone. With these headphone we were able to block out the
noise when filming and we could hear what the camera was actually
picking up sound wise.

(EDITING)
 After we filmed the footage for the
documentary we were now ready to upload the
work from the Mac folder into Final Cut Pro.
This was done through Log and Transfer.

 Before log and transferring we watched the
clips which allowed us to only log and transfer
the clips that were of the high standard that we
wanted to continue to use in the editing stage.
We then decided to put the clips in the log and
transfer queue ready for them to be placed into
the sequence box at the top so that we could
just drag the clips into the timeline ready to be
edited when needed.

(EDITING)
 Once all the clips were log and transferred we were then able to drag the clips into the timeline and
edit the clips down to the desired length . Having created the storyboard before the filming stage
this made our editing decisions much easier.
BACKING MUSIC

CLIPS

VOICEOVER

VIEWING WINDOW

TOOL BAR

(EDITING)

 The toolbar was an essential tool that was used in Final Cut Pro. It enabled
us to cut and edit the clips as well as crop to the desired sizes.
 The tool bar also allowed us to zoom in on the clips so that we could edit/
cut it down to the minimalistic detail increasing the efficiency of the
documentary when finished.

(EDITING)
 When editing on the timeline we chose to add transitions between the clips so
that they ran fluently against one another.
 We used straight cuts predominately throughout the documentary editing stage
however where needed we have used cross dissolve to make the transition less
sharp on the viewers eye.


STRAIGHT CUTS

CROSS DISSOLVE

(EDITING)
 Other feature that we used in Final Cut Pro was the use of text overlay. This allowed us to label
our interviews with the name of the person being interviewed and their profession, a code and
convention that we found.
 This was a useful
technique as it expressed
to the target audience
who the actual person on
the screen is and what
they do. These people
are
often
of
the
profession.

(EDITING)
 Another feature used within our editing of our documentary was speeding up
certain clips. For example here we have increased the speed to 801.44% as the
title sequence took five minutes to create so it was easier speed it up so it only
lasted around 30 seconds as it was the title sequence.

(EDITING)
 Another element that needed to be addressed in the editing process was the sound levels.
 The sound level needed to be managed efficiently so that the sound throughout the whole documentary
remained at the same level.
 One of the top priorities was to make sure the sound level from the voice over and the interviews/voxpops were at
the same audio level and not overpowering each other.

 We also needed to make sure the background music did not overpower the voice audios that were already on the
timeline.
 So we used the pink velocity line and dragged the decibels up or down accordingly

(EDITING)

 We had to make sure that the sound levels between the clips contained a smooth
transition into one another. The method we used to do this was using the manual
fade.
 We cursor clicked dots of the pink velocity line manually dragging them down and
up when the background music needed to fade in and out.

(EDITING)
 In the editing stage alongside
Final Cut Pro we used Garage
band to create the music for the
background and the
reconstruction.
 In Garage band we used the files
that were already on their and
adapted them together to make
our own track.
 The reconstruction had a slower
beat than the backing track as
we wanted to convey emotion
through the reconstruction
music.

(EDITING)

(EDITING)
 We then exported the documentary when finished as a mp4 file ready to be
uploaded using YouTube.

MAGAZINE TV LISTING DOUBLE PAGE
SPREAD: CONSTRUCTION (EDITING)
 For the magazine TV listing double page
spread we created it using Adobe
InDesign. This was a useful media
technology as it allowed us to simply lay
out our magazine.
 I was confident when creating the
magazine layout as I have used it many
times and I felt comfortable using it.
 We had already wrote the article in
Microsoft Word in the planning stages as it
allowed us time to just copy over the
information simply saving time in the long
run.

MAGAZINE TV LISTING DOUBLE PAGE
SPREAD: CONSTRUCTION (EDITING)
On the next few slides is the process of making the double page spread.

RADIO TRAILER: CONSTRUCTION
(EDITING)
 The radio trailer was created using Final Cut Pro on a different sequence to the
documentary. The Radio Trail contains both clips from the documentary as well as
the voice over.

RADIO TRAILER: CONSTRUCTION
(EDITING)
 We recorded a voiceover with a calm tenor so that it engaged with the listener. It
allowed us to adapt the voiceover of Todd from the documentary and the voice of
Laura from the reconstruction around the new voiceover.
 When the voiceover was being recorded we used the shotgun microphone similar
to the interview and voxpops recordings
 Underneath the voice audio we decided to put the backing music that we made in
garage band so there was the relation.

EVALUATION
When creating the evaluations I used many media technologies:
 QUESTION ONE: For Question 1 I used Prezi to create the presentation on the way I
developed and challenged conventions of real media products compared to my media
products. Prezi allowed me to import images and text as well as making smooth
transitions between the slides.

 QUESTION TWO: I used Microsoft Word to create question two on how effective my
products were as I wanted to write a formal response alongside the visuals of the other
questions.
 QUESTION THREE: I created question three on PowerPoint as I was able to upload graphs
and visually make the presentation more appealing. I then uploaded it on to YouTube and
embed the code on to my blog.
 QUESTION FOUR: I created question four on PowerPoint as I was able to add images
throughout before uploading on to Slideshare.

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