Evaluation Question 4 video

Evaluation Question 4

How did you use new media technologies in the construction, research, planning and evaluation stages? A new media technology is for example the internet, this is new media as it allows for interaction other than the before more linear type of media for example a newspaper. We used many new technologies throughout the whole project ranging from digital camera’s to the world wide web. In the construction stages we used more new media software, the main piece of software that we used was Adobe Premiere Pro, this allowed us after the video footage had being captured onto the computer using another new media technology of a USB cable, we could then edit it. During the editing process we were able to ‘cut’ out bits we didn’t need, replace the sound and also add our own music, I.e the theme tune. We had to make sure that we created Sergei Eisenstein’s theory of a vertical montage. We did this very effectively with the sound FX, especially when the scenes cut we had an effect, for example a bang that would sound in tune with the cut. We also had a very good montage in the title sequence with the beat of the theme working very well with the footage behind it. Also in constructing our ancillary tasks new technologies played a massive role as we used software’s such as Photoshop elements 5.0 for our poster allowing for the image coloration to be changed to make the desired image look of a more stereotypically scary design, for example black and white or green. We also used QuarkXpress 7 for our double page spread. We used more linear media technologies however for the research of this but we also looked on the internet for ideas of what to include in our article. Quark allows big chunks of text called the body text to be placed on around a set border and images making any project look professional. For the research stages we relied very heavily on the use of new media technologies especially the internet. We used very mainstream ways of researching for our ideas including Youtube and Sky+. We used Youtube a lot for looking at clips of the documentary we wanted to base ours upon ‘Most Haunted’. Using this new media allowed us to look at comments under the video of what people thought to it and so therefore these could perhaps help us with our ideas, we were able to pause the clip and discuss what we could use thought worked and what we needed to film for our own documentary. We also used television features such as Sky+, this is a fairly new media technology and is hugely popular as it allows for live television to be paused, rewound and recorded all at the push of a button. This was a very useful resource during our research process as we were able to record all ‘ghostly’ documentaries that we saw and thought we be appropriate, record them and then watch them with the ability to pause and again discuss the ideas we had. New media technologies allow for a lot more audience feedback apposed to the conventional medias of newspapers and radio. For our planning we used lots of Web 2.0 technologies, (O’Reilly said that Web 2.0 means the technology is no longer linear but more interactive, 2004) for example a website called Blogger, where we stored all our ideas in a quick and easy assessable manner. In doing this allowed us again for more audience feedback and we could communicate and share ideas internally within the group when we weren’t actually together, before new media technologies were developed we would have found this more difficult to do. To create videos that we could also put onto our blogs that contained our ideas we used Windows Movie Maker, this is a simpler movie editor compared to Adobe Premiere and allows for basic transitions to be done and also cuts, this was ideal to contain lots of information in a quick and easy way to create that was interactive and interesting for the audience viewing it. After we created the videos we could upload them onto our blog or other Web 2.0 type sites such as Youtube. For our evaluation we wanted to get as much outside audience feedback as possible and so posted the video onto social networking sites such as Facebook for our friends to see and comment on and then again for a wider audience range I posted it on Youtube where the world would be able to comment and rate our video and possibly give us some constructive feedback which would help us evaluate and discuss if we were to do it again what we would do differently. Also we used software such as Microsoft word to write up our evaluation quickly and again making it very easy to change, we also recorded some with microphones making it more interactive for the audience. New media technologies made it easier for us to complete the project, make the audience more engaged in the final projects as they have the ability to suggest their own ideas and improvements, new media technologies are more interactive than linear media products and so find themselves growing in popularity everyday and making the products that companies etc come up with bigger and better than before simply because there is more communication.

Evaluation Question 3

Evaluation Question 2

How effective is the combination of your main product & ancillary tasks?

The combination of our ancillary tasks as well as our final video I feel is very effective, they work together to create the stereotypical view of a paranormal documentary. They share similar codes and conventions of a media product with the same colour schemes, for example the green and the same texts. They all share the same ideology and create a 'young' theme. It creates a young theme altogether as the documentary doesn't follow the normal conventions of a documentary and so therefore is not as boring as the more typical documentaries, it features young people and is aimed at a pretty young audience. The poster we create involved the main presenter looking into the camera with a torch, he looks pretty scared and the facial expressions he shows connote adventure and so therefore youth. The double page spread article is aimed at almost a pretty young audience also as the language used is quite 'stylish' and would speak to a younger generation more so than that of an older audience, and the idea that Fiona and Craig are celebrities also connotes youth as these are seen to have an 'obsession' with celebrity culture and would simply watch a program due to a certain character. All the ancillary tasks work together to create a certain stereotypical view and they all connote the genre of the documentary via the mise-en-scene. Generally they are very effective and in the real media world would increase audience views etc as the products would be in the public eye; catching attention and making people wonder what the whole program is about. I think that if we were to do the ancillary tasks again we could perhaps on the double page spread include a picture of the whole team or just Fiona & Craig as these are the main characters within the clip. Using these two on the magazine would also talk better to the audience like in more of an conversational type narrative as they would perhaps feel like they know who they are talking to, and just incase they didn’t know who the celebrities were by name or face. The final video would eventually be more promoted by the ancillary tasks if they were to be posted in the required destinations.

Click this link to hear an audio/video commentary: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzEqJA_O6QM

Evaluation Question 1

This is our final ancillary task of the poster, the poster is comprised of a main image of Craig the presenter on the ground in a position in which he appears to be dead or posessed. This gives the viewer connotations of evil, paranormal activity. The green, night-vision effect also helps to create our preferred representation of the paranormal. We made the advert on Photoshop, and conforming to all the rules and generic conventions of a newspaper advertisement for a documentary. The 'Ghost Nutters' logo is in a very gothic font style which is stereotypica of old haunted areas and other paranormal things. It is in white so that it stands out from the other writing and it is also larger so that it is the firstthing to grab the readers attention. The most important parts are the parts which tell the reader which channel the program will be on, what date and what time.

Here is our final ancillary task, Craig Wassell created the text, I extracted the image from our actual footage filmed by Thomas Jessop and the title 'New Kids On The Shock' connotes that the program is new, about kids getting a shock and is a play on words from the commonly used phrase new kids on the block. We copied the layout of a James May article featured in a TV listings magazine.

Renaissance Bloke article, T.V listings magazine

This is a good example of a documentary article from a T.V listings magazine. We are going to base our magazine article (ancilliary task) around the layout of the first two pages of Renaissance Bloke. The font size plays an important role in Leading the readers eye into the article as the title is much larger than the rest of the text. There is also a blurb underneath the title which makes the title make sense and keeps the audience interested. Also, the font under the title is smaller than it but not as small as the main bulk of writing, this gradually lures the reader into the depths of the article and the small font actually begins with a Drop Cap. The article is about T.V personality James May from Top Gear. it is important that the audience know that the article is about hinm so his name is bolder than the other text and he is the person in the main image.
The pull quote "There isn't a person in the world who doesn't enjoy the sensation of putting bricks together" is used to break up the small text by being in a larger font. This keeps the reader interested and gives them an idea of what the article will be about as a whole and in that particular part of it.
The main image is a very large picture of James May and is anchored to the article by overlapping onto the first page, if all the text was on one page without any pictures then the reader could be led to believe that the two opposing pages are different articles. There is a smaller picture anchored to the article which overlaps the bottom of the large picture the readers eye will be led here gradually as they read further into the article, this will keep them interested, making them want to turn the page and read more.

Out of the ashes, Radio Times article

The Boy Wonder article, The Radio Times

Advise from a top U.K director

http://www.curtisbrown.co.uk/tft/client/user373/

This is a link to some information about Krish (an award-winning director), who we asked for filming and production advice before we started filming our video. As you can see from our interview, he gave us some helpful tips on engaging the audience, etc.

seance 2

Orb sighting

Seance

Fiona scared

Ouija board with tipped glass

Ouija nightvision shot

Ouija board establishing shot

Me establishing shot

Steph establishing shot

Fiona establishing shot

Craig establishing shot

Nightvision establishing shot

Script

This is the exact script we used in our clip. Most parts of this script were not planned so that our reactions were real and in the 'spur of the moment'. This is intended so that the audience are entertained by watching us get scared. The parts that were planned are the bits that provide an informative view into the pubs history, these parts are said by the presenter Craig and the historian Steph because if anyone else was informing about the pup it wouldn't fit the generic conventions of an informative spooky documentary. The parts of the script that are highlighted in red are the voiceover parts. These have been done by Fiona the Medium.