How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
To find what song and artist we would use we decided to use the website Unsigned. This website is dedicated to unsigned artists and it is a platform for them to get their music heard by potentially thousands of people. As all of the artists are unsigned we are free to use any of the songs we found as they are not copyrighted.
As well as using Unsigned to find the band we also used it to listen to their songs and discover some basic information about the band. We learned about their location, their genre of music and some information about the band members. We also used Facebook to research the band as they had a page set up on the site. YouTube was also used to watch some of the bands other music videos and hear some of their other songs. We also discovered more about the band via online articles.
We also used both Facebook and YouTube to exhibit our promos. We posted the music video on both sites and this helped us to gather responses from our audience. It also gave us a solid platform to present the music video to people. Also, most bands and artists would place their music videos on YouTube and adverts and posters on Facebook where millions of people could potentially see them. We decided to follow this convention of placing promos on these social network sites as we felt that they were the best platform to present them.
We used YouTube to research other music videos and to provide us with inspiration and ideas for our own music video. We also used it to research the standard conventions of music videos in general and, in particular, music videos of our own genre. Without YouTube our research would have been a lot more difficult as it is the most popular and best platform to view music videos on demand. YouTube was also used so we could learn about music videos in general, the history of music videos and how they have changed over time. We also used Unsigned again to research artists and their songs.
To construct our production we used many different technologies to get it to the standard we desired. We used video cameras to film all of the footage. Using video cameras would get us the best possible quality as using mobile cameras, for example, would not provide a particularly good quality picture. We also used a tripod throughout the shoot to provide stability to the camera and give us stable shots for the whole video. If it was not for the tripod we would have to had relied on the steadiness of our hands and we could have ended up with many shaky shots.
After the shoot we edited the music video with iMovie on the Macs. We used iMovie as it is a very good and simple way to upload all of our footage and edit it as we please. iMovie allowed us to cut all of the shots together in an order that we liked and allowed us to use transitions and other effects that we wanted. Some of the shots needed to be cropped in places and needed to be slowed down or sped up. iMovie allowed us to do that very easily.
To create the Digipak and magazine advert we used Photoshop. Photoshop allowed us to use our own videos and edit them as we please. We were able to morph images and change the shape and size and position of the images into places we were happy with. Without Photoshop we would not have been able to get the desired effect on the promos and we would not have been able to make them as high a quality as we would have liked to have them.
During the shoot we learned more about how important lighting was in many different shots. For example, the dark shot with the band members required us to use a light below the actors so there is enough light for it to be visible, but not too high for it be bright. We did not take this lighting into consideration when planning the shoot so we had to improvise on the shoot. Lighting was important throughout the music video so we learnt to get the desired effect by filming the shots in places with good lighting.
We also learned that when filming the performances shots they need to be performed and filmed with the song playing so it is easier to sync the footage and song together in the editing stages of the music video. It would have also allowed us to get better footage of the band performing as the footage we did get was not particularly impressive and could have been a lot better.
We also learnt that it was important for us to get a lot of footage together during the shoot. During the editing stages we discovered we did not have enough footage so if we were to film again that is something that we would definitely take into consideration.
We developed our camera placement skills throughout the shoot. By using many low angle shots and close up shots throughout the music video we were doing something that we hadn't done many times before so those skills were developed during the filming of the music video.
During the editing phases of the music video we learnt how to use cuts quickly and effectively, something that we hadn't done before. This allowed us to get the transitions we wanted between performance shots and the narrative shots. We also learnt to use other transitions such as wipes effectively. We also developed our skills with fade to blacks. We had used fade to blacks before but we used them twice in our music video and I think we used them very effectively.
We also learnt how to use music effectively whilst editing. We had to load the song onto iMovie and we had to keep the music video in sync with the song. It was very, very difficult to keep the performance shots in sync with the music so we had to learn a lot about keeping it all in sync. We struggled to keep the song and video in time with each other.
We developed our skills of cutting the footage together to get all of the shots into an order we wanted. We had to done this before and we had a very good knowledge of how to do this. However, we had not done it with a music video before so it was something new and we developed our skills throughout the editing stages to get something that we liked.
We learned skills in using the Macs and iMovie as part of producing our promos. Although we had used the products before we learned a lot more about them and used them in ways we hadn't before. We learnt about using music on iMovie and how you can sync the music up to fit in with the music video. We also learnt how to crop the footage and slow it down or speed it up. We learnt how to put shots in reverse too so the footage was going backwards. This is something that we hadn't done before.
Neither of us had used Photoshop before properly so it was new for the two of us. We had to learn all of the skills we used before using Photoshop as we had no experience at all. We learnt how to put images into Photoshop and how to scale them up or down to fit into our product. We also learnt how to move the images about and rotate them into positions we wanted them. We learnt to morph the images into different shapes and change the transparency of some of the images. We also used the magic wand tool to crop some of the images so they were the correct shape for our product. To create the background for our two products we had to experiment with different colour themes and patterns to get the desired effect.
One of the problems we encountered during the shoot was the lighting. For the shot in very dark room we had problems getting the correct lighting. To get over this problem we used a torch to give us the correct lighting. We had to ask someone off camera to hold the torch from below, looking up at the actors in the band. It took several attempts for us to get the correct lighting and to get the right level of lighting.
We had problems adding the music to the video on iMovie. The Mac would not recognise the song so we had problems loading the song onto the Mac. We had to load the song onto the Mac in a different way and in a different format. In the end we moved the song onto a USB stick and loaded it onto the computer in that way.
We also had issues with the audio on the footage. There was a lot of background noise on most of the shots that we did not want in our music video. To solve this issue we had to remove the audio from every clip in our music video. It was simple to solve but it was very time consuming and we spent a lot of time removing the audio.
We had great difficulty in getting the music video to be in sync with the song and it was very difficult to get it right. It was very time consuming attempting to get the song and the video to match. To achieve the synchronisation we had to move and crop the clips and the song to get it as close to perfection as was possible. This was one of the biggest problems we faced.
Throughout the production of the products we used Blogger. We created a blog and use it as a place to post all of our research and somewhere to place our final products. Blogger was a good platform to post all of our research as it allowed us to use images, texts, videos and links all in one place and have them all posted together. It also allows other people to view what we have done easily and it can be accessed anywhere via an internet connection.
We used iTunes to purchase the song. The song was available on iTunes and it cost 99p at the time of purchase. Without iTunes we would not have had a platform to purchase this song from and play it from. We also used iTunes to put the song onto the Macs. We then moved the song from iTunes onto iMovie and into our video.
We used Google to search for information and to gather research about music videos, different conventions and information about the band. Without a search engine like Google it would have been extremely difficult to gather information and research.
There are many benefits to us exhibiting and presenting our products online. By exhibiting online we are putting it on a platform where potentially millions of people could see it. Facebook and YouTube are visited by millions of people every day so putting it on those sites gives us an oppurtunity to reach out to them and get their thoughts and feelings on our products. As a band, these sites are perfect for getting new fans and making themselves known to new people. It is very common nowadays for artists to gain popularity by posting their videos on these sites. Artists, such as Justin Bieber, have been noticed by record labels due to their success on YouTube. If it wasn't for this platform these artists may never have become well known and would not have become the massive artists they are now.
We learned skills in using the Macs and iMovie as part of producing our promos. Although we had used the products before we learned a lot more about them and used them in ways we hadn't before. We learnt about using music on iMovie and how you can sync the music up to fit in with the music video. We also learnt how to crop the footage and slow it down or speed it up. We learnt how to put shots in reverse too so the footage was going backwards. This is something that we hadn't done before.
Neither of us had used Photoshop before properly so it was new for the two of us. We had to learn all of the skills we used before using Photoshop as we had no experience at all. We learnt how to put images into Photoshop and how to scale them up or down to fit into our product. We also learnt how to move the images about and rotate them into positions we wanted them. We learnt to morph the images into different shapes and change the transparency of some of the images. We also used the magic wand tool to crop some of the images so they were the correct shape for our product. To create the background for our two products we had to experiment with different colour themes and patterns to get the desired effect.
One of the problems we encountered during the shoot was the lighting. For the shot in very dark room we had problems getting the correct lighting. To get over this problem we used a torch to give us the correct lighting. We had to ask someone off camera to hold the torch from below, looking up at the actors in the band. It took several attempts for us to get the correct lighting and to get the right level of lighting.
We had problems adding the music to the video on iMovie. The Mac would not recognise the song so we had problems loading the song onto the Mac. We had to load the song onto the Mac in a different way and in a different format. In the end we moved the song onto a USB stick and loaded it onto the computer in that way.
We also had issues with the audio on the footage. There was a lot of background noise on most of the shots that we did not want in our music video. To solve this issue we had to remove the audio from every clip in our music video. It was simple to solve but it was very time consuming and we spent a lot of time removing the audio.
We had great difficulty in getting the music video to be in sync with the song and it was very difficult to get it right. It was very time consuming attempting to get the song and the video to match. To achieve the synchronisation we had to move and crop the clips and the song to get it as close to perfection as was possible. This was one of the biggest problems we faced.
Throughout the production of the products we used Blogger. We created a blog and use it as a place to post all of our research and somewhere to place our final products. Blogger was a good platform to post all of our research as it allowed us to use images, texts, videos and links all in one place and have them all posted together. It also allows other people to view what we have done easily and it can be accessed anywhere via an internet connection.
We used iTunes to purchase the song. The song was available on iTunes and it cost 99p at the time of purchase. Without iTunes we would not have had a platform to purchase this song from and play it from. We also used iTunes to put the song onto the Macs. We then moved the song from iTunes onto iMovie and into our video.
We used Google to search for information and to gather research about music videos, different conventions and information about the band. Without a search engine like Google it would have been extremely difficult to gather information and research.
There are many benefits to us exhibiting and presenting our products online. By exhibiting online we are putting it on a platform where potentially millions of people could see it. Facebook and YouTube are visited by millions of people every day so putting it on those sites gives us an oppurtunity to reach out to them and get their thoughts and feelings on our products. As a band, these sites are perfect for getting new fans and making themselves known to new people. It is very common nowadays for artists to gain popularity by posting their videos on these sites. Artists, such as Justin Bieber, have been noticed by record labels due to their success on YouTube. If it wasn't for this platform these artists may never have become well known and would not have become the massive artists they are now.
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