Throughout my coursework I've used a wide variety of technology, both new and familiar. At the time I didn't realise how dependent on it I was but in hindsight none of this would have been possible without it, as I used it in every aspect of creating my pieces.
Final Cut Pro
Final Cut Pro was huge in the editing of my music video as it is the software that I chose to use. It's not a programme that I have a lot of knowledge about and so I was outside my comfort zone using it. However, I found it easy to pick up and halfway through my editing I decided to become a lot more creative, which FCP allowed me to do. I feel that a lot of the effect packages that came with FCP were ideal for my genre, but some definitely were not, and therefore a more advanced editing software would have been beneficial. However, a lot of my edits, such as split screens, were done by myself, so therefore for me FCP provided everything that I needed to create my final product.
Pixlr
We were briefly taught how to use Pixlr last year and I immediately found it straightforward to use and so decided to use it for the editing of my final photos for my digipak and magazine advertisement. I found I was lot more confident using it this year than I had been last year and was willing to be slightly more experimental. As all of my products are focused on the use of bright colours and effects I didn't feel the need to edit my photos heavily and so I didn't use Pixlr to its full potential. However, I still found it incredibly useful in creating the effects that I wanted, and it gave me ideas that turned out too good to not make it into my final pieces.
Google Chrome
Google Chrome was the browser I chose to use at home as it is the one I am most confident in using. I find it incredibly fast to use, which is particularly useful when you are downloading things for your coursework from websites such as Urban Fonts. Google Chrome enables you to have several tabs open at once and so I was able to have my blog, YouTube, and several Google windows open all at the same time without having to worry about the risk of it crashing.
Safari
Apple's Internet Browser is Safari and fortunately, having an iPhone, I am well equipped in how it works, particularly seeing as it is slightly different to Google Chrome. I used it for exactly the same circumstances as I did Google Chrome, only in school, and it is safe to say that without Internet Browsers I would have struggled immensely when it came to researching and blogging.
Google
I used the search engine Google throughout my research and found it incredibly useful as without it I wouldn't know a vast amount about my chosen genre or the type of music video I chose to create. Google is the search engine I have also relied on and so I know my way round it very easily. This was beneficial to me seeing as YouTube and Blogger are part of Google themselves and so I was able to keep track of everything all at once.
Blogger
Using Blogger was one of the biggest parts of the course as we had to use it to record all of our findings and thoughts throughout. I had previously used it for AS and so knew how it all worked and I feel that my blog this year is significantly better than last years now I know how and what to document. I was able to access Blogger at home and school and therefore I could post whenever I came up with a new idea or found some interesting research.
Urban Fonts
It was important for me that I used the band's own font in order to keep with their house style as well as my own. In order to do this I had to go onto Urban Fonts and download "Arctic Regular". Once I'd downloaded it I was able to use it in my digipak and magazine advertisement and keep the feel of the band in my pieces.
iPhone 5
My iPhone was hugely useful throughout my coursework as it enabled me to get in contact with my talent efficiently to arrange days to shoot with them. It also ensured that if some of my talent was going to be late they were able to let me know either through text, phone call or the Facebook app so that I wasn't standing around waiting and stressing.
iPad 2
I downloaded the Blogger app on my iPad, as I tend to carry my iPad around a lot more than my laptop. The app allowed me to blog whenever I thought of something off the top of my head that may come into later use. I found the app a lot harder to use than the internet page but that didn't prevent it from being beneficial.
Apple Mac
Nearly all of my project work was done on an Apple Mac at school, and this year I felt a lot more confident using one than I had been last year. This allowed me to be more creative when it came to my editing and try things outside of my comfort zone as I already knew all the basics. As well as using them for editing my music video and photos for my digipak, I also blogged and researched things such as the history of music videos. Using a Mac was really beneficial to me as it enabled me to get the information for and create my final project to a professional standard due to its software. I don't have a Mac at home but there was always time for me to go and use one in my frees in order to carry on editing my video, so I never had to panic about getting it done in time. Macs are renowned for having high quality resolution which allowed me to see exactly how my finished products would look, as well as enabling me to pick up on smaller details and get my products as close to perfect as humanely possible.
MacBook Pro
Due to spending so much of my time in school editing my video I did begin to panic about getting my ancillary tasks finished in time. I am fortune enough to have a friend who owns a MacBook Pro which she was willing to let me borrow at weekends to ensure I got everything finished in time. This is what I used to create my magazine advertisement. I chose to use a Mac over my own laptop as I feel Macs produce a much higher standard of work, which is what I was after. Using a MacBook enabled me to create my magazine advertisement at the standard I wanted from home.
Cameras - Olympus SP620UZ, Canon 550D, Lumix G10
Due to all the different angles and shots I was planning on squeezing into a short amount of filming time I needed as many cameras as possible, and, in my opinion, I was able to get my hands on three of the best cameras around. The Olympus is my own and the Canon and Lumix were a band members, so it worked out very well for me. I already knew how to use all the cameras, as the other two were very similar to mine, and so I had no problem in setting them up and shooting. I also used them to take my photos for my digipak and magazine advertisement. I found that in both cases the cameras produce photos and footages to a very high standard and they really brought out the contrast between my coloured lights and black silhouettes. I went against using a video camera for my filming as after some draft filming I did with one I found the quality was disappointing, whereas my Olympus footage came out much better. The fact they were my own cameras or members of the bands enabled me to shoot whenever I wanted to and as much as I needed to as I didn't have a curfew on getting them back into school and there wasn't a limit on how much battery space I could use - I used a lot! It also enabled me to shoot any last minute fills that I needed to without the panic of having to run into school to get one and it didn't pressure me into having to shoot on certain days. For example, if there was temperamental weather or some of my talent couldn't get there I was able to rearrange on my own terms.
Pages
Pages was the programme I used to create my magazine advertisement as I find it produces work to a much higher quality than that of Microsoft Office Word. I was taught how to use it last year and find it incredibly easy to work with and I am always pleased with the end result.
YouTube
YouTube was huge in enabling me to research into current and past music videos to compare my own to and give me ideas. It also allowed me to research into Brian De Palma films, which inspired me into using split screens in my piece. My favourite YouTube feature if the fact you can share your own or other people's work through an embed code. This enabled me to post music videos on my blog that related to what I was saying, making it more visual, and allowing me to compare my music video to videos currently on the market.
Tripod
The theatre I did my filming at provided me with three Velbon CX 686's. I found the tripods incredibly handy as they made sure my cameras were still at all times and I could focus them and level them exactly how I wanted to, knowing they were securely fastened and unlikely to fall off.
Prezi
Prezi is the software I used to create one of my evaluations. I used Prezi for the same reason last year and so was a lot more confident in using it this time round, although at times it does still confuse me! It is time consuming but it creates a fun product which is enjoyable to look at and easy to follow. It also breaks up heavy blocks of text as you can split if off into several different sections which makes it more visually appealing.
Vimeo
I had serious copyright issues uploading my videos onto YouTube and so I turned to Vimeo instead. I had never heard of Vimeo before it was recommended to me and so I had no idea how to use. After sitting down and playing around with it for an hour I'd cracked it and after that I found it straightforward. No one's really heard of Vimeo which put me off a lot as I wanted my video to get as many watches as possible, but the most important thing is that my video is online so that it is available to watch. Vimeo was useful in allowing me a wide range of security options for my video so that I can ensure no one will take it and credit it as their own.
Creating my music video was when I was the most dependent on technology, as I needed it in order to keep the ball rolling. Without the use of a Mac, Final Cut Pro, cameras, tripods, YouTube, Vimeo, Safari and Google I wouldn't have a finished piece. It was heavily involved in research and planning for my piece, as I needed to know what was on the market and more background knowledge into music videos and my chosen genre, and then in creating the final piece itself due to the Mac's amazing software.
I used technology the least when it came to my magazine advertisement, as our coursework at AS, and having been a GCSE Media student, I already knew a lot about magazine advertisements and what kind of things worked well. Therefore, the main thing I needed to do was focus on creating the piece, as I didn't need to worry too much about anything else.
I've learnt how to use some new technology throughout my coursework as well as improving my use of others. I've found it incredibly beneficial using such a vast range of technology as it will benefit me when I need to do similar projects in the future. I'm no longer afraid of using a Mac or having a shaky camera as I know more than enough about how to do it and what to do to prevent it. Although technology can be stressful it's more beneficial than anything as it allows you to create, research, plan and compare, all of which are crucial in creating a professional product.
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