Question 4 - How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

'New Media Technology' explains many different forms of electronic technologies used through computer technology which have been created over time and evolved from 'old media'. These 'old technologies' include printed newspapers and magazines, where as the 'new media' would consist of the Internet, email, social networking, mobiles and the digital era for example. The use of New Media implies the communication between desktop and laptop computers, being compatible with USB's and CD's in connecting them together.


Below is a collage of images of NEW TECHNOLOGIES which we used in our project.

Having been able to have the opportunity to use these technologies made our project much easier, quicker and allowed a higher quality within our work.

I will now explain how we used them and what we would have had to resort to if they were not available to us.

Digital Film Camera: We used a Sony PD 150 recording camera to shoot our entire footage. If digital camera's were not available, a film camera would have to be used. This caused issues in that they would need to be hired in which creates more time and costs to rise. Also because the editing needs digital technology the footage would need to be transformed into digital before connection with Adobe Premier would be possible. Using a film camera would mean that any problems would need to be addressed in the development process, as not possible in the editing stage, therefore would struggle if parts were wrong, and may need to be done again from scratch.

Adobe Premier: This allows us to capture our footage in the one programme and take the parts needed to be ready for cutting and placing. And obviously has one of the most important jobs of editing. It can create the cross dissolves of fades to black for example to add to the film and the obvious titles that need to be placed. This is a non linear editing meaning that you can manipulate the sequence of the shots equally. If this was not around, a linear editing- have to cut everything together in sequence, would be needed, meaning that when anything goes wrong, you would have to start again.

The Internet: It allows us to research, watch clips and even present our work. Without it the research would all be from other sources such as books or articles which creates time as they are hard to access and not so straight forward to find. As in today's age http://www.google.com/ allows a quick search engine which helped me with many questions, and images needed. The viewing of other short films would need to be physically going to a Short Film Film Festival, which could prove to be difficult in itself. Although going further back in time some short films were placed in cinemas before feature films to be promoted, however this is not as apparent noways and doesn't really occur.

The camera: We needed to take pictures through out our filming to highlight certain elements we would later use to create our postcards, to show the involvement of our production team, capture a variety of shots and to help with the lighting. It was very important with the postcard as the picture would later be used to create our final design. Without the camera we would have had to use our phones which would never have been of such good quality and are harder to manipulate. Although before phone cameras were ever invented we would have to go back to the original hand-crank camera which are harder to use, locate, and take a much longer time to set up and capture a good shot.

Youtube: The main use for http://www.youtube.com/ within our project is where our final short film will be displayed. However we also used it to gather research from watching other short films and get a sense of the ones already accessible to everyone and help us understand conventions. We were also able to upload other video's or audio's we created within the process of creating our short film which allowed us to experiment with different light for example, plus added to our technology used in our posts and make them look more effective. If this website was not accessible we would have had to go to Film Festivals to view short films and would have found it much harder to upload films to our blog and may not have been possible. Also our final project would have had to be burnt onto a CD and sent separately which causes more problems.

Mobiles: As I come from a different school from Kelly and Zack we need our phones to help with communication. Texting particularly came in handy when organising times and meeting places and any last minute changes to our schedules. Obviously it would have been possible without their use but we would have to be very organised, and make sure everyone was clear on the plans and that they weren't to be changed, therefore creating more aggravation. Having the almost instant communication made everything much easier for us, especially in the filming process.

USB: The use of a memory stick is very useful as it allows us to transport important documents from computer to computer. Especially for me because of the changing schools, as well as allowing us to do the work at home. Without one I could have simply used Hotmail to email documents to myself but that takes longer and if there is a problem with Internet connection in a different place creates a serious issue.

Blogger: This website allows us to put all of our work into one place and neatly organise our posts in the order we want them. Also allows others to view our work and help each other through the course. Without the use of Blogger we would have had to create scrapbooks which although is a good way to connect thoughts and would still be effective, it would take longer to place all the information with printing, which is also a strain of being environmentally friendly with the use of paper, plus may look messier and take longer to organise. Also the use of video's and audios wouldn't have been possible, accept if transported onto disc, which again could be problematic.