[MP] Evaluation (4)

• We used blogger.com as a collaborative e-portfolio in our group throughout the planning, construction and evaluation. For example, primary research that was carried out was uploaded to the blog, where all members of our group could comment and add their own research. Also, deconstructions and secondary research could be conducted on blogger. Using web 2.0 meant that we could embed videos to our blog, upload photos and add links to other websites.

Our blog at first glance

• Using Adobe Premiere 9.0, we constructed an animatic by importing close-up stills of our storyboard onto the timeline and then cutting them at the rate that we would use for our video. This gave us a good idea of how much footage we would actually need, and the different varieties that would be needed to keep the video exciting.
  
  
  

  
  

  A still from the animatic

  
  
• When shooting we used a Nikon DSLR, which gave us footage of a much higher quality than we could have achieved with the school cameras. The challenges that had to be overcome include the main problem of Dom Ford and I learning how to use the camera properly. The main teaching point was how to use the manual focus properly, which meant that we could select our focus points very finely, giving us the ability to ‘pull-focus’, a technique that is currently very popular in the media world. Keeping the camera safe in rain was another problem, which was overcome with the utilisation of coats. Other than these issues, filming progressed smoothly.

Nikon D90

• To edit the video, we used Adobe Premiere 9.0. The main techniques that we used were cutting in sync with the music which was mainly used for our stop motion sequences. These were synced in time by zooming in and matching the cuts to the peaks in the audio image, ensuring that cuts would match to the bass drum or the snare drum. Image control was also used to adjust the colours of the footage, increasing saturation to give fuller colours and emphasise the visual hook of the 'parade of punk rock T-shirts.

• Adobe Photoshop was used to create the ancillary media, which included the adverts and the digipak. The main feature used was layering, where images, text and brushes are layered up in order on a background, which means that many parts can be used in the printwork. Also, colour removal was used for the photos of the band, which were taken in front of a blue screen. Because the blue screen is a very flat colour, it can be removed in photoshop, leaving only the image of the person behind.

• Our audience research was created on SurveyMonkey.com, and then posted onto the social site Facebook. The link was posted to friends specifically as opposed to setting the link as a status. This meant that people would be much more likely to answer the survey, and this method gave us a total of 31 respondants in 3 days.