Media Evaluation Question 4

How did you use Media Technologies in the construction, research, planning and evaluation?

We used different media technologies throughout the entire process of constructing our horror trailer. From filming the shots, to making the sound clips, different technologies were continuously being used. 

Google, the search engine used while
doing internet research for our project.

During the research stage, we decided that we wanted to make a trailer with a psychological theme. This is where we began to use technologies to our advantages. We used the internet to research typical elements of a horror film trailer, other films of the psychological horror film theme, angles and camera tricks used in horror trailer and many other things in order to give ourselves a good outline and idea of exactly what we wanted to produce at the end of the project. And, although we had to tweak the trailer in areas and did not entirely sick to the initial ideas, after finally finishing the end product, the thorough research has proven to have been worth the effort as we are all very pleased with the final trailer. We also used the internet for many other reasons, for example, when we were creating the mood boards for our horror trailers, we used the internet to browse for appropriate images which were relative to the theme of our trailer. As an example, our trailer was of the psychological nature, so I used images of people in straights jackets and optical illusions for my mood board. These were found on Google Images. 

This is the Microsoft Word logo, the programme
we regularly used to create documents for the
project, such as a filming schedule, questionnaire
and shot list.

Another technology we used was Microsoft Word. When we did our independent audience research, we had to create a questionnaire to find out what other people of our targeted age group were interested in with regards to horror films. This proved to be advantageous because we were able to see that it was mainly people of the ages 15-30 who mostly enjoyed the horror genre, and they particularly liked the idea of a non-gore themed film. This instantly suggested we should make a horror film which played on the audiences mind instead of just simply grossing them out. Microsoft Word was very easy to use and its practicality was unmatched throughout the process of making our horror trailer. Although we only had to use the technology for a simple task, it was easy to use and accessible from the beginning. Also without Word, we wouldn't have been able to make the questionnaire, limiting our knowledge of peoples opinions on the genre, meaning our trailer may not have been so effective.  After we had constructed the questionnaire, we put it on a website called Survey Monkey (surveymonkey.com) which meant we could advertise the questionnaire on the internet via such social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, in order to increase the amount of data we collected, in order to get a wide range of information about peoples opinions on horror movies. This proved to be very advantageous while planning the trailer. 

Survey monkey was the website we used
to create an online questionnaire
in order to collate data and
information about our target audience.

Another technology we used on the internet was Google Earth. We were able to research locations, without actually having to visit them, this would have been very time consuming and we were on a strict filming schedule in order to finish the trailer before the final deadline. Using Google Earth allowed us to see if a location would be firstly accessible, and secondly appropriate for filming a horror trailer. We researched a few locations and finally decided on some church ruins because they looked perfect for what we required. Without the use of Google Earth, we would have wasted lots of time visiting potential filming locations, instead, we could just assess them quickly at home, which was very practical. 

Here is a screenshot of the programme PremierPro, which we used
to construct the horror trailer

After we had finished our research and had decided the theme of the horror movie, we had to finally produce the content. In order to do so, we used the iMac computers. All members of the group were familiar with the iMac computers due to previous use, however we were introduced to a new technology called Adobe Premier Pro, which was used to edit the horror trailer, eventually achieving a finished horror film trailer. Although the technology was un-familiar to begin with, meaning the group initially struggled to put the clips together, with practice over time, we became much more confident and we were all able to equally contribute to
the editing of the trailer.  The effects which we were able use on the software, for example; trimming, fading in and out and the use of blurring in the trailer, made our trailer look very professional and well produced. One effect which we used a lot in the trailer was the fade effect at the beginning and  end of clips, paticularly at the beginning of the trailer. This was done because we had many long takes and we wanted to show the calmness of the equilibrium. The fades also made the trailer flow freely, adding to the professional effect.  

This is the GarageBand logo, the programme
we used to create and edit our sound clip
for the horror trailer.

We had to use sound in the trailer and to do this we used software called Garageband. We found a sound clip on YouTube.com, which was of the horror genre, however it needed some tweaking. Garageband allowed us to perfect the sound clip to make it as effective and as powerful as possible while it accompanied the film clips. This was particularly important for the very last shot in the trailer because the evil character suddenly appears over Kieran's shoulder in the darkness. The music climaxes at the perfect point and this ends the trailer perfectly.

Here is a screen shot from Adobe PhotoShop, evidence of
the construction of my horror magazine cover.

Arguably one of the most important pieces of media technology I used during the project was Adobe Photoshop. I had previously used the software many times before so I was familiar with the tools available to me, meaning I could create professional looking products, such as magazine covers and film posters to a high standard. Although I had used the software before, I did learn some new tricks and techniques, these came in handy throughout the project, particularly with the poster. I also used Adobe Photoshop to analyse horror magazine covers. The way you can select just a certain part of the magazine cover was very important as it allowed me to talk about individual parts of the magazine cover with ease.

An image of the hand-held HD camera
used for filming the horror trailer, it was
very easy to use and transport, making it
a vital piece of equipment.

Arguably the most important media technology I used during the construction of the horror trailer was the HD camera used to film the footage. The camera was easy to use as all of the group members were familiar with the technology due to previous experience with the camera. The camera was of high quality allowing us to film very clear footage which benefited us greatly. We all acted in the trailer and also had an equal contribution with the actual filming of the clips as we were all capable of doing both. The tripod we used was also very important as we were able to film a mixture of hand held shots and those which were static. This gave the trailer a professional feel and it added to the horror effect as the audience would have been disorientated by the mixture of the different styles of shots. Although none of the group had any previous experience of acting, we tried to be as convincing as possible in the trailer and overall, I think we achieved this.

The blogger logo, the website we used
to present our work.

Another important media technology used during the project was the internet website, Blogger. I used blogger in order to present my work step by step in an organised way so the project could be clearly viewed. Having previous experience of Blogger meant the process of uploading the posts was relatively simple, however I definitely developed my skills while using the site, and I think there is a clear improvement in comparison to my blog in my first year of Media Studies. Blogger itself was a fantastic way of presenting my work because it acts as an online portfolio, allowing the user to import images, video files and, of course written documents. This was important as during the project I created many different forms of media texts, for example, the Subliminal poster and Magazine Cover shown below. There is no comparison between presenting the project on paper or online in my opinion purely due to the freedom Blogger gives the user to make their blog completely original and interesting. The flexibility and freedom of Blogger makes it the perfect interface for presentation.

The use of technology was crucial in throughout the project because without it, there would simply be no final product. From the early stages of researching other professional trailers, to finally producing our own of a similar standard, the use of technology has been ever present. I think the use of modern technology during the project was important also. If we only had access to outdated and old-fashioned technology, this would have reflected in the final trailer, however as we had very hi-tech devices and programs at our disposal, the final outcome is one that I am personally very proud of. The entire groups enthusiasm is reflected in the final trailer, because I think it is clear that there has been much time and effort spent on it and I think we the final grade awarded for the trailer will prove that the time and effort was worthwhile. Overall, the technology used in the trailer was crucial to producing a final product to be proud of and without it we wouldn't have a horror film trailer to be proud of, the entire group are happy with the final trailer and the work ethic which has ultimately gone into producing it. 

Kieran Browne.