How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research,

planning and evaluation stages?

In order to construct our documentary we had to use a variety of different

technologies. From cameras, to film the documentary, to computers to edit it, we
used many different forms of technology.

Through all stages of production we used a number of new media technologies. Pre-
production is one of the most important stages within a production. We needed to
plan our ideas and discuss the product we wanted to create. Researching our chosen
topic of child internet safety we put all the information gained onto blogger, a free
weblog publishing site that lets you to post photos, videos and text. This was a great
way for the group to review research and keep up to date with each other. It acted
as a personal diary for the group.

To film our documentary we used a Sony PD170 camera and a tripod. The camera
records on a Mini DV tape. We used this equipment to film all of the interviews and
cutaways. Although the Sony camera has its own microphone inbuilt it was essential
that the sound of the interviews was clear and of good quality, so we used a clip on
mic instead. For my evaluation audience feedback task, I also used the same
equipment to film the audience’s feedback.

Once we had gained all the footage, it was the editor’s job to log and capture the
footage using Final Cut Pro, industry standard editing software. The editing process
was used on an Apple iMac computer. Final Cut Pro allows you to log and capture
footage onto a hard drive where the user can edit it. Once edited it can be processed
and exported to a variety of formats including QuickTime.

After being exported to QuickTime we used another form of technology in order to

make it easier for our audience to see the product. We uploaded the video to
YouTube which is an extremely popular online website that allows you to watch,
upload, subscribe and watch all the latest videos. It was important that we uploaded
it to YouTube so that our audience could watch it plus it allows people from all over
the globe to watch our production. A similar method was involved when I processed
my audience feedback. I edited it and then uploaded it to YouTube.

For my documentary poster, my first ancillary task, I used a programme called

Photoshop. This software allows you to manipulate images and edit them. It is a
complex photo editing software. I took an image with a digital camera and then
began to edit the photo on the computer. Using Photoshop I was able to put
different filters over the image, add text and titles and add in pictures such as logos
of social networking sites.

My second ancillary task required me to create a radio trailer for the documentary.
The script for the trailer was recorded using a Mic and then pieced together again by
using Final Cut Pro. Using the software allowed me to cut the sound at different
places, add a backing track of music and insert quotes from our documentary. This
was the same for my evaluation task where I used a voiceover that was uploaded to
Soundcloud to answer one of the questions. I changed the format of the voiceover to
MP3 then uploaded it to Soundcloud a
website that allows you to share sound.