How did you use media

techniques in the
construction and
research, planning and
evaluation stages?
EVALUATION QUESTION 4
Empowerment and Creativity
What sets Media Studies A-Level apart from other subjects is that the
practical/ coursework side is all stored and shared online. The website we
used was Blogger (A). This platform empowers individuals to spread and
share their work/ comments on a certain topic. For me, in conjunction with
other platforms like Scribd (B) and Powerpoint (C), Blogger allowed me to
present my work in a very creative way. Exploring a particular piece of
research/ production using images, transitions, slides and videos (D)
empowered me to complete work in more detail and present it in a much
more interesting way than writing on lined paper.
It is the only platform that I have used for each of the research, planning and
construction sections and is absolutely vital for sharing and presenting all of
my work.
 (B)
(C)
(A)

(D)
Empowerment and creativity
The first program that would be empowering to a young film maker/ producer like me, is Adobe
Premiere Pro CS5 (E). This non-linear editing software allowed me to rearrange and reorder clips
into a certain structure, even if they were not shot in that order in the first place. Linear editing
on the other hand, now very uncommon, involved having to film each scene/ shot in the right
order and then layer them together (F). Thanks to new digital technology, like the editing
software I used, my creativity was boosted as it gave us the power to shoot in a pragmatic order
and reshoot anything that wasnt at a good standard, without having to start the editing process
all over again. The timeline on the program (G) gave a clear overview of the sequence as a
whole and it was easy to zoom into a certain section and cut/ change it with ease.
On Adobe Premier Pro, the RBG Curves tool proved very valuable to me (H). The convenience of
non linear editing software meant we could reshoot some of the opening shots in Samuels
bedroom (I). However, this convenience also had a downfall as the lighting and colouration of
the two sets of shots were very different due to how the weather and time of year had
completely changed. The RGB Curves tool allowed me to adjust the tones and colours in the shot
and create much more consistent lighting between the shots. Once familiar with this tool, I found
myself using it creatively with other shots to add emotive lighting/ colouration and create a more
pleasing aesthetic.
 (G)
(E)
(H)

(F)
 Empowerment and creativity
Similarly, another program I used that frequently empowers young media producers is Adobe Photoshop CS5
(J). Photoshop is, according to their website, The worlds best imaging and design app which is at the
core of almost every creative project. (K). This certainly rings true for my productions as it was the key
component in constructing my digipak panels and magazine advertisement (L). The vast array of tools and
settings (M) allowed me to experiment with any ideas and explore all designs I had. Their tag line: Create
anything you can imagine. Anywhere you are (N), certainly reflects the process of constructing my print
productions. There was a tool for any idea and a fix for any problem I had which dramatically increased the
creativity I had during this process as nothing really inhibited the production of my designs.. Photoshop is
the leading software in empowering young creators to produce a wide variety of graphic designs and print
productions.
For my album artwork I most commonly used the text tool (O), the magic wand tool (P), the magnetic
lasso tool (Q) and a selection of others. The magic wand tool allowed me to select a text layer and cut it out
perfectly to create windows through to the front panel (R). The ease and speed of this demonstrates how
beneficial photoshop is to graphic designers who can quickly produce something of high quality whilst
concentrating more on the finer details of a production.
For my magazine advert, the previously mentioned tools were commonly used again. The magnetic lasso
tool and the magic wand tool allowed me to cut out shapes/ images to add to my poster e.g. logos (S).
Furthermore, I used a similar tool to Premiere Pros RGB Curves to experiment with the composition and
lighting of the background image to creatively develop its aesthetic (T).
Photoshop drastically empowers young producers, like me, as the hundreds of tools allowed me to create
the exact product I had imagined.
(J) (M)

(L)

(K)
(N)
(P)

(O)
(R)
(Q)
 (T)

(S)
Empowerment and creativity
The main tool in the construction of my music video was a Canon 700d DSLR camera (U). The larger
lenses of Digital SLRs allow more light to get in and subsequently, a higher quality image is
produced. I also used a telescopic lens with a manual focus feature that allowed us to construct
interestingly composed and constructed frames. The cameras software featured lots of varying
settings that contributed to producing a different image (V). This empowered me to experiment with
aperture settings, brightness and focus to create aesthetically pleasing shots that add variation to
my production.
Over the past decade or so, mobile phones are becoming equip with much better cameras. My
current phone is an IPhone 6s which has a 12 megapixel camera (W). Having a camera quality that
is this standard in your pocket frequently empowers young creators to capture moments of interest
quickly and at a high quality. For my digipak design, the sunset photograph was actually taken on
my phone (X). As I was driving home from visiting Southwold, I pulled the car over and quickly took
this photograph with my phone as it caught my attention and I thought it would suit the purpose of
my print productions very well. Having the ability to capture a creative photograph quickly certainly
empowered me to go on and produce my print productions at this high quality using this image.
The camera is the most important tool in a film-makers arsenal and so the use-ability and quality of
these devices empowered me to easily and creatively experiment during shoots.
(U)

(V)
(W)

(X)
Democratisation and access
For a young film maker, often with a limited budget, access to equipment and
resources is very important. I was lucky enough to be able to use the
software and rent the equipment for free. However, for the two adobe
programs I used (Photoshop and Premiere Pro), individuals would be charged
nearly 500 per year!(Y). These expensive prices drastically limit the
availability of such programs to young film makers and thus reduce their
empowerment.
The Canon 700d, costs roughly 400 online (Z). For the high quality of
camera this is, it is a relatively cheap model which empowers many young
film makers from around the country to purchase one and start making
productions with it.
(Y) 482.8
6

(Z)
Democratisation and access
For research, there were several, freely available websites that I used. When
it came to audience profiling, I used a website called YouGov Profiles (AA) to
inform and inspire me about what kind of person would be the predominant/
typical consumer of my music video.
On the website, you can input any band, singer or genre of music and it
would provide a detailed breakdown of the typical fan (AB). Age, gender,
location, hobbies, other interests etc are all provided in much depth. This
gave me a comprehensive overview of a typical audience member of artists
similar to mine. As it was free to access, I can imagine this program would
prove very useful to young creators like me as they can get a very in depth
insight into the average audience profile of their genre of work.
 (AA)

(AB)
Democratisation and access
Furthermore, I found my unsigned British artist using a combination of music sharing platforms including
Soundcloud (AC) and Richerunsigned.com (AD). Again, these were free to access and gave me a broad
range of up and coming music creators to quickly listen to/ contact. Artists, like ours, have a free, wide
ranging platform available to them to get their music out and attract the attention of music producers/
record labels.
A similar website was YouTube.com (AE) which proved imperative for research and planning and would
be very useful to a young film maker/ aspiring musician. YouTube has a very extensive catalogue of
content, including thousands of music videos (AF) which inspired and informed us on the conventions of
a typical product within this genre. Furthermore, when it came to using the adobe software, there were
lots of very useful tutorials on YouTube (AG) which advised me about how to use certain tools or achieve
certain effects.
YouTubes original tag-line was Broadcast yourself. This is certainly applicable to an up and coming
artist or a young film maker because anyone can upload some work (like a music video) or a product
that they wish to share with the world and build up an audience. For me, I was able to upload drafts and
the final cut of my music video which I could then embed directly onto my blog (AH). A complete video
on YouTube, coupled with a thumbnail made a more professional package for the artist which promotes
their music and builds up a fan base. YouTube also acts as a platform for aspiring film makers, like me, to
share their work with the world for free!
(AC) (AD) (AE)

(AG) (AH)
(AF)
Democratisation and Access
Finally, a website called DaFont.com (AI) was a great resource, available to
all, that allowed me to conduct research into hundreds of varied fonts. I could
also tailor the search to show results (e.g. thin, serif) to suit my needs (AJ). It
provided me with a list, with examples, of each relevant font and a link to
download it.
It proved very useful to me as I had free access to a large catalogue of varied
and useful fonts that contributed significantly to the research and
construction of my final print production. I found my final font choice,
Couture on this website too (AK). I can imagine this resource would prove
very useful to a young film maker as they have unlimited access to a huge
number of fonts that would be suitable for a wide array of projects/ genres.
(AI) (AJ)

(AK)
Collaboration and
communication
One of the most important tools used throughout this process was Facebook. Although frequently
frowned upon in the media, with articles often using words with negative connotations, like Addiction,
ostracize, dangers, procrastination and loneliness (AL) (negative connotations), Facebook proved
imperative to our group. The group message feature was very useful in discussing ideas, planning
shoots and sharing resources. If anyone had issues/ something to share, the group chat was a place
they could turn to. In addition, we coordinated all of the shoots, with times, places, travel, equipment
needed and the focus of each day all being organized collaboratively thanks to Facebook (AM).
Facebook is a very popular social media website that is likely to be valuable to a young film maker as
its a collaborative platform involving the sharing of work/ interaction with large range of people. For an
up and coming music artist like ours, Facebook is similar to other platforms previously mentioned as it
could act as an opportunity to publish work and reach out to audience members improving their
reputation/ fan base (AN).
YouTube.com acted as a crucial tool for collaborating and communicating as I could upload work for
immediate feedback from online users or my subject tutor (AO). A young film maker could perhaps
build up a channel, to the point where it eventually becomes a full time job from the ad revenue. The
comment and ratings section under each YouTube video (AP) allows film makers, such as myself, to get
feedback/ comments on their work and communicate with other users. An unsigned artist could also
easily communicate with fans or potential record labels as well.
 (AL)

(AN)

(AM)
(AO)

(AP)