Evaluation: How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

During the creation of my media product I used a variety of technologies during the research, planning and construction stages to both assist in the production of my media product and to expand on my abilities and understanding of the various media technologies at my disposal.

Research:
 To go about researching my media product I used various websites, for tutorials I made extensive use of YouTube as it has a large community of filmmakers and thus many tutorials on film making. For example I used tutorials to learn how to use software that would assist later on. In another stage of my research I used an internet polling website to collect audience feedback on aspects of my design and through this website could easily collect data that made my research much easily than using a physical survey.


Planning:
 Most of my planning was done electronically, using programs such as notepad to make plans and record to-do lists. I also used messenger apps such as Skype to coordinate with my cast and crew and features which allowed to set group reminders meant we were all aware of where we were supposed to be and when. To present my planning I used the website blogger, it allowed me to keep a clear record and organize all my research and other work in one place and present it in a neat and professional way.


Construction:
 During the initial filming phase of the construction of my media work I used a variety of media technologies. I used a Nikon DSLR for filming with two separate lenses, a standard and a prime lens, these allowed me to film a variety of shots with aspects of my choosing in focus, either the entire screen (with the standard lens) or specific points (with the prime lens). Both knowing which equipment to use in addition to the camera and how to use it were both very important, in addition to the DSLR I used a tripod, steady cam and a phone for audio recording.

In editing I at first used Final Cut Express to edit, this is powerful software with a wide range of applications and is very versatile for what I wanted to do, while I was used to using this software from previous media work the rendering times were creating major problems in time management so I switched to Adobe Premiere Pro. This software was completely new to me and took time and research to learn to use. However, after I got used to it I found it much more powerful and useful in what I wanted to do, with all video and audio editing done in the program and all after effects created and added in the program.