How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?
When planning and creating our products we used a variety of technological forms to aid us.
Research and Planning
Construction of Website
When constructing the website we used WIX. WIX is a free website creation tool that was very simple and easy to use. When creating the website we had very little difficulty in placing our images and videos we had together. When creating the website we produced a selection of social media sites and linked them to website and visa versa. Therefore we had followed website conventions to creating a network of pages linked together. It was also essential to have links on the website to our other products, digipak and music video, therefore we added digipak artwork and extracts from the video appeared on the website. WIX was very effective at allowing us to create a professional website in a short time without to much difficulty.Construction of the Digipak
When creating the digipak I expressed interest in creating an artwork oriented cover without focus on the band members. When creating the artwork we managed to achieve this incredibly well. We based the artwork approach after looking at iconic album covers and discovering the majority did not feature a band member or person on the cover and instead used an eye catching image or theme. When constructing the album cover we took stamps from Brusheazy and build them together into a meaningful image. The images used were made from black lines and transparent sections to witch we added colour and text to bring the images together.
Construction of the Video
In the process of video creation we utilized the assistance of an array of technologies, for recording the footage it came in the form of a Cannon EOS 600D, which allowed for the capture of high quality footage in the ratio we needed to match the stop motion shots. When recording a tripod was used to steady the camera so the camera didn’t shake, which would have made the footage look amateur if someone was holding it. Once the raw video was recorded it was stored on an apple mac to be edited in the industry standard software of Premier. This allowed us to add video effects to make the final product look more aesthetically professional, more colourful effects were used at points that needed to emphasis the Psychedelic appearance. To create the stop motion effect we took hundreds of individual pictures and cut down each picture to remain on screen for a fraction of a second, to create a frame rate between ten and fifteen frames per second, well below the standard video frame rate which resides at thirty, this creates a clunky motion effect that adds a layer of personality to the final product. In addition to this we used a split screen, this was in response to one of shoots in which we filmed the footage at a much lower ratio by mistake, meaning it looked pixelated when enlarged to the correct ratio. Instead of scrapping the labours of the shoot, we managed to salvage it by creating a four panel split screen, meaning we didn’t need to stretch it to fit the entire screen.Evaluation
When answering the evaluation questions I used various tools to vary my responses:YouTube/Premiere - This allowed me to create a video response disusing my music video and comparing it to others.
Prezi/Sway/slideshare - This allowed me to create presentations showing detailed responses to each question.
Pinterest - An image collecting program giving me the ability to make mood boards.
WIX - WIX was used to create an annotated version the website showing how each feature worked.
This variety helped make my evaluation more interesting to read/view and answer each question effectively.
