The Completed Music Video

Evaluation Question Four - Final Cut

Another piece of media technology that I used was Final Cut. This is an industry standard piece of software that is used by professionals and I used it to help make my Music Video as effective as possible. I began to import the footage of my film into Final Cut and started putting the film into order. To make the film effective I had to make sure the clips played to the beat of the music. At the start of our song the tempo is very slow and when the beat drops and the tempo rises, it was quite difficult to keep the clips changing to the beat of the music. I had to make sure there was enough footage so that the same clips weren’t being used all the time and that the tempo of the clips stayed the same as the beat. There were also a lot of effects that were used and the most effective one I think was a TV style screen where it makes the shot seem like it was recorded on a camera or a news television channel.

Below is a shot of the sequence bar where we arranged the music and video clips.

Evaluation Question Four - Adobe Photoshop

For my Ancillary tasks to be effective and of a high standard I needed to use a professional piece of software. To create the DVD covers I used Adobe Photoshop which is a very effective photo editing package. It allows you to import photos and you can manipulate them with seemingly endless possibilities. To create my DVD covers I first used Photoshop to create a blank base on which to work with which has the correct measurements for a DVD. Then I began taking images to go with my work and imported them into Photoshop. I began putting the images together as well as adding other logos such as a record label, DVD logo and copyright logo. To add to my work I also chose a certain type of font that would be used throughout my work, with the help of a font website called “Dafont.com.” I decided to choose a graffiti style font that I think suits my work well as it fits with the urban theme of my work. There were also many tools that I used in Photoshop to help make my media product effective. The tools I used included the burn, smudge, sponge, Quick selection tool and the gradient tool. I used the gradient tool to help me create the background, using a silvery colour that was darker and lighter in certain places through the gradient.

Evaluation Question Four - Blogger

Another important piece of media technology that I used in the construction as well as the research and planning stages of my media product was the blogging website blogger. While creating my media products, including both the Ancillary tasks and the Music video, I would blog after I had worked and made changes to the product and describe this on my blog in detail. For example I would explain the progress I had made that day on my work and record what I thought was successful. However my blogs were not just pieces of text being recorded, I also incorporated images and videos of my work to add more depth to the blog. The images that I would add to my blog would include screenshots of the DVD covers, front, back and the inside, to show the progress I have been making and what I have added. As well as blogging what I had currently been working on, I also blogged the progress of my ancillary tasks from the very beginning as I uploaded pictures of my hand drawing drafts of my ancillary tasks in colour. Therefore you can now see the contrast between what my ancillary tasks looked like from the very first ideas I had to the final creation in Adobe Photoshop. As well as blogging about my ancillary tasks I have also blogged about my other media product, the Music Video. Again, rather than blogging with text about what I had improved and changed each time, which I always did, I also added videos of different bands of a similar genre, such as Pendulum and their video for the song Granite.

Evaluation Question Four - Video Camera

One of the most important media technologies that I have used in the process of creating my media products is the Video camera. It played a very important role as I would need this to be able to record the footage and film that I needed to create my music video. As well as the importance of the Video camera itself, it was also vitally important that I understood how to use it to make the most of the opportunity that I had to film the best possible shots. I also used the video camera along with the Tripod which allowed me to produce some even more professional and effective shots for my music video as my shots would be steady and effective from a variety of angles such as low, high and tilted. Another accessory that I used along with the video camera is a tool similar to the Tripod called a “Fig Rig”. This does the same job as a tripod as it attaches to the video camera, however it fixes onto the middle of the Fig Rig and there is a circle around the outside where you can hold it. This allows you to keep your shots steady while holding it and moving around with it like a point of view shot. Overall the media technology of the camera played a very important role in the creation of my media product as, along with the tripod and fig rig, gave me lots of opportunities to create effective pieces of work.

Evaluation Question Four

I have used many different types of media technologies effectively throughout the creation of my media products. I have used different technologies for different tasks, for example some media technologies I have used to create my music video whereas I have used other media technologies to create things like my ancillary tasks. I have been introduced to these technologies since the beginning of my A level studies and so I am quick familiar with them. The list of technologies that I have used in the creation of my media products are; Video camera, still camera, Adobe Photoshop, Final Cut Express, Blogger and the scanner. All of these technologies helped me create my work effectively and to a high standard.

Evaluation Question Three - Ancillary Tasks

As well as the audience feedback I received for the music video, I also received feedback about the other media products such as my DVD ancillary tasks. My ancillary tasks could be improved by manipulating the images that I had taken more using the tools available. I began to do this and improved my work through using the burn tool to give it a more gritty and urban effect to fit in with my genre. As well as what I could improve on, I also received some positive feedback which was that the pictures I had used were good quality and that the font I had chosen suited well with the rest of my work.