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

During the construction phase of our music video, we used multiple forms of technology that we are new too. The first was the studio, this introduced a new form of technology for us which enabled us to take multiple shots from multiple angles from behind a computerised system to manage what we recorded and when. This worked by switching from one camera to another from a control board. We used this ability to our advantage in the beginning of the video so that we could cut in time, with the beat of the song. In the studio we also had access to specialist lighting equipment which we utilized to get the low key light we intended to use in the piano scenes, this help significantly with the construction of the music video, as otherwise it would be very difficult to get the correct lighting, camera angles and transitions that we wanted in a normal room environment. The dark lights help to add the sad, drab effect we wanted to create, to show the difference in Caroline’s personality when she is without the male character. In addition to the construction side of this, it also came in helpful for completing are Audience Feedback as we used the studio as the filming area. The reasoning for this was due to the fact that the studio was quieter than the class room, and we were able to set it up to work effectively without much difficulty.

















During the construction stage we also used a digital cam recorder and tripod, perhaps the most important piece of equipment used, it allowed us to record a majority of scenes that are used in the video. Since it used digital as the method in which to record, the quality of the video itself was improved slightly over the more traditional method of tapes. The tripod allowed us to ensure that the shots we filmed were steady and straight. This is a clear benefit over using a cam hand held, as it ensures their are no distractions in the actual video due to shakey movements. Similiarly unlike tape recorders, digital cameras are capable of taking still images, this was especially helpful when preforming stop motion in the 'Lemon' & 'Help' sequences
















During the research stage, we used websites such as YouTube and Muze, to look at songs we could choose to do a video to. We also used them to find a video to do a detailed analysis in an attempt to discover what makes a pop music video good, this was particularly helpful as we were not required to purchase or bring in any music videos from home in order to analyse.














During the construction stage of the print based work, we used Photoshop as the main provided some benefits, using the guidelines feature we were able to place images and mark locations for barcodes, logos, and dimensions before actually beginning the creation stages of making our CD case and magazine advertisement. We used different effects and layers to create images that looked professional and attractive.















Final cut pro was a very important tool during the construction and evaluation stages. We used it to edit our music video and add effects to make it look more like a pop video. It also allowed us to edit the most complicated areas like stop motion to help with the continuity of the video. As seen in this screenshot, using final cut pro allowed us to do very fine cuts for the stop motion so that the images were not displayed for too long. This stopped the stop motion from looking jumpy.











We also used Motion to add different lighting effects to the footage taken in the studio so that the shots did not look too plain. Motion was very useful because the lighting effects we used could be applied in 3D. This allowed us to cast shadows on different parts of the screen and add to the characters mood, and the contrast between the studio footage and the rest of the video.

















Search engines such as, Google played a very useful part in the research stage of our project. It allowed us to look up CD covers and research lyrics and song lists so we could put them on our CD cover. We also saved images for the CD case such as the iTunes logo.











Blogger has allowed us to make posts explaining what we are doing. We have therefore been able to upload videos, sometimes using the medium Youtube to host videos and images to give visual feedback on the work that we are producing and how its progressing. This also has allowed us to evaluate work and analyse the features we wish to use in our music video, poster and CD.