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

New media- is a broad term in media studies that emerged in the later part of the 20th century. For example, new media holds out a possibility of on-demand access to content any time, anywhere, on any digital device, as well as interactive user feedback, creative participation and community formation around the media content. Some examples may be the Internet, websites, computer multimedia, computer games, CD-ROMS, and DVDs. New media do not include television programs, feature films, magazines, books, or paper-based publications - unless they contain technologies that enable digital interactivity.

1. Blogger- Blogger is a blog-publishing service that allows private or multi-user blogs with time-stamped entries. Blogger is one,of many, very popular new media technologies, it allows people to create individual blog pages which can be used for a number of reasons, from travelling blogs, to A2 media studies coursework. Blogger allows me to present my coursework through a series of posts, allowing me to be as  visual and creative as i want to be. It has been an essential element of this project allowing me to show all the work i have been doing throughout the year, as well as this it allows me to remain organised and keep all my work in order.

2. Wikipedia- Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia, this is a key and vital new media technology. In relation to this project wikipedia has allowed me to gather various information about key element of this course, for example when asked to find definitions of key terms or when asked about certain films, media technologies and the rules within filming. It has played a massive part within my blog and has been referenced or linked in all the posts i used it for.

3.Photoshop- Photoshop was not a programme i had come across or used in my AS coursework, however has become a vital part of my A2 course. Towards the beginning of this project i did not use photoshop, it was only when were introduced to the design element of the course that i started using the programme. The software itself is complicated to use and complex, however after getting other class mates who were familiar with the software to help in the initial stages, i eventually found my feet. Once learning how to use the programme i was then able to design my postcard for 'Fleeting' as well as my film review. With photoshop i feel my completed work would look far less professional and realistic. Overall this software has allowed me to gain a professional finish to my coursework and allowed me to be as creative as i wanted.

4.Cannon 550D- This camera has proved to be an essential piece of new media technology for me to produce the practical element of the A2 media course. We were lucky enough to be able to borrow this camera from our teacher at frequently as we wanted. The camera came into particular use when doing several things, the first being taking photos for my postcard designs, the second being to document the progress we made whilst filming, meaning we were able to prove the work we did by posting the images oto our blogs. The last essential use of the camera was for adding avisual element to my blog in my production, pre-production and post-production posts.

5.You Tube- YouTube is a video sharing website on which users can upload, share, and view videos. You Tube has had a major role within media studies, not only in A2 but also in the AS course. In the pre- production stage, it allowed me to watch a number of short films, helping me to fully grasp their codes and conventions. As well as this it gave me the opportunity to watch a wide range of shorts, rather than being restriced to the ones we watched in class. Following on from this, You Tube has allowed me to add a visual aspect to my coursework, showing various sound experiment that i have completed, as well as posting videos of short films i have watched and then analysing them and recording and posting feedback from other class mates. Without Youtube the standard of my blog would be significantly lower, it would not be as visual and my knowledge and understating of many things would not be as in depth. I feel You Tube is one of the most important new media technologies in relation to this project and overall i feel it has improved my knowledge and understanding of the short film industry dramatically.

6. PD150 Camera- This new media technology is a high definition camera that we used to film our short films, the quality of the camera is very noticeable when watching our finished film. This was an imperative piece of equipment for this project, and without it our film would have been of a much lower standard.

7.Flip Cameras- The use of flip cameras for this project has not been as significant as the use of other new media technologies, such as 'You Tube' or the PD150 camera. However these flip video cameras have allowed us to receive feedback, record it and then display it on our blogs in order to realised our strenght and wekness' and work on things that we have been told to improve on. These have been supplied by the school and have been on easy access throughout the year, they include external wireless microphones, the software needed to play the videos back and a cable connecting to the computer enabling us to watch recordings back and also posting them on You Tube and posting them on to our blog.

Displaying the feedback we had been given through the use of the flip video will also allow me to gain a higher mark in the marking criteria as it makes my blog more visual and shows that i have gone away and done extra work outside the classroom in order to produce the best products i could. Without the use of the flip cameras I wouldn't have been able to display an evidence of the pre-production, production or post-production feedback due to the fact that the the larger cameras would have been too much hastle to set up to record the limited information i needed to gather.

8. Mobile Phone- Although the use of a mobile phone is not directly related to our project it helped a great deal as it made it easy to contact other members of my group and also allowed us to plan the days we were filming or meeting up outside of school hours. Everyone who we worked with in this production had access to a mobile phone and thus it was easy to contact all members through the medium of texting rather than sending other people emails or letters. As well as this i also used this new media technology to access the Internet at certain points when i didn't have access to computer.

9. HP Scanner- Although a scanner isn't a particularly new media technology it uses the new technology of the Internet and also has worked in conjunction with my blog therefore i am listing it in this section. The scanner has allowed me to add design work, such as the story boards for pre-production and also written work, such as my final film review to my blog, thus showing the work i have completed without having to we write it all onto my blog. Overall it has made my blog a lot more visual and allowed for me to display all the elements of my work and saved me time by not having to re do work that had already been completed.

10. Edit Suite- We were lucky enough to be provided with edit suits in school and thus they were easy to access meaning we could get on with our post production work as quickly as possible. The edit suits consisted of two computer screens, a keyboard, speakers and a computer tower. The edit suits only really became useful towards the end of our project when we were editing our filming, thus without the availability of this new media technology we would have been unable to edit our filming and therefore our overall grades would suffer.

11. Unsigned Band Web - This new media technology was used very briefly, however proved to be a vital part of our project. It proved to be so vital because we were not allowed to use copyrighted music and Unsigned Band Web was the only website with a wide range of high quality uncopyrighted music available to us. Without the use of this new media technology, our short films would have suffered greatly. When listening to our feedback, many people said that the use of music in our film was really effective and added to the poignancy of the film, thus without the use of music our film would have lost its sense of style and would not have had the same impact on the audience.

12. USB- This device enabled us to share work within our production group, as we were all responsible for various tasks within our group it was vital that we shared work. When it came to displaying work on our blog we were able to do it quickly and effectivly. As well as this i saved all my completed work onto a USB so that if any item of work was misplaced i would be able to get the work back from my USB. If i didn't have the use of a USB in this project it would prove difficult to share work witth other group memnbers, however i feel the loss of a USB would not dramatically effect my coursework overall as there are other neww mwedia technologies that i could use, such as email.

Question 3- What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Audience feedback, is a type of interaction associated with the use of audience response systems, to create interactivity between a presenter and their audience. Throughout the process we have had to record and work on feedback given to us by audience members, class mates and a variety of others. Audience feedback has been a key part of my pre-production work, for example, the design process for my postcards and film, i drew and number of designs for my postcard and posted them on my blog, i then showed my fellow class mates and asked them which design they preferred, after this i displayed the results in a pie chart, shown on post 16 and worked on the information i had been given, then deciding to continue on with the most popular design. As well as this, an element of feedback has been incorporated in our lessons when we look at each others blogs and stating how we feel certain people could improve on things and what we feel are their strengths and weakness's so they can work on improving them and understand where they went wrong and why. Feedback for our short films began when we first wrote our initial scripts, Becky Knapp came to one of our lessons having read our scripts and sat us down individually and gave us personal feedback.She commented on what we needed to improve and why, asking questions about how we felt the whole script writing process went and also saying what our straights were and how we could improve on these further.

'Fleeting' is the film that myself, Matt Stewart Smith and  Rebbecca O'Brien have been producing. We initially received feedback for the script from our class mates, here people stated what they felt could be worked on and one point was that the ending of the film needed to be clearer, showing whats going on. Therefore, Becky added an extra scene at the end showing Jonathan taking down pictures of everything he's photographed at the bench, and one of the pictures shows and image of him and his wife who passed away. When it came to filming, we tried to keep in mind all the previous feedback we had received. After completing the editing process we showed our final film to class mates and teachers, and the following video shows their feedback.

Final Film Feedback

Below is the feedback that we received from our fellow class mates about our final film of 'Fleeting'.We viewed each others films in class and wrote down notes about the films strong points, negatives, and what we felt could be improved on. After we'd watched all the films we then went away and recorded each others feedback on a Flip Video Camera. We asked our peers the following questions..

-What message did you feel was being portrayed ?

-Did you feel there was a particular style or evident genre ?

-What did you feel were the straights and weakness's of the film ?

-Could you give examples of what we could improve on when working on future projects ?

The feedback given to us was extremely insightful, they not only commented on what they thought was successful, but they gave us constructive criticism, stating what they felt could be improved on, what the weakness's of the film were and what we achieved successfully. By creating questions to ask our peers it meant we received concise answers, a point that kept being repeated by a variety of our class mates was that the plot was confusing and it was not clear what genre the film would fit into. As well as this one member said there was loud and prominent traffic noise throughout the film, which meant that the actors dialogue was hard to hear. Reflecting on this it seems clear that if we were to produce this film again we would have picked a quieter location because we ran into various problems with the traffic noise, both when filming, and also in the post-production stages. A straight of the film that was pointed out was the use of music, our class mates stated that the music used both at the beginning and end of the film really complimented the storyline and made you feel for the character of Jonathan. As well as this some said that the use of various camera angels at the beginning of the film looked effective and made you curious about the main character of Jonathan.

If i were to produce 'Fleeting' again i feel that we should have done more research into our location, i would therefore pick a quieter location so that the traffic noise wasn't so prominent. As well as this i feel we should have made the plot of the film more evident for the audience, maybe through the use of a voice over or an extended time limit, leaving us more time to establish the plot. Overall i feel receiving this feedback really helped me to understand where we went wrong as well as our strengths.

Postcard Feedback-
In the Pre-production stage i completed many postcard designs, and also carried our research into the codes and conventions of postcards and why they were appropriate for the short film industry. I received feedback from my designs and then went on to complete a final product, attempting to stick to the conventions, and also make it look as realistic as possible. I asked various people about what they thought of my final design and asked the following questions...

-Do you feel the postcard i have designed sticks to the conventions of the short film industry ?
-Do you think it portrays the tag line of 'Things aren't always what they seem' ?
-Do you think it would fit in to the short film industry ? Does it look realistic and professional ?

This is one example of the feedback that I received from my class mates about my postcard.  Firstly, Carolynn stated that the film did stick to codes and conventions of previous media texts, she stated that the use of Jonathan as the main image is successful as the audience realize that that film revolves around him, as well as this the image is the focal point of the postcard and thus grabs your attention. As well as this Carolynn stated that I stuck to codes and conventions through the use of the title, production company name and logo and the director’s name. After this I asked the question do you think it portrays the tag line of ‘Things aren’t always what they seem? She states it does as the image could convey to te audience a number of meanings, thus creating a sense mystery and enticing the audience to go and watch the film. Finally I asked it the postcard looked profession ad would it fit into the short film industry, Carolynn said it did through the use of editing and sticking to conventions on both the front and the back as well as this she stated that the front and back worked well in conjunction with each other.

Question 2- How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

To work along side the promotion of our short film, we had to produce and complete two ancillary tasks, these consisted of a film review and a postcard. We were asked to create a postcard as short film don't have large enough budgets to distribute film posters. We had to make sure there was a clear link between the three products. Opposite are my initial designs for my postcards, all of which relate to my film in one way or another, bthe first image depicts a bench, which is the focal point of our whole film, this design is very minimalistic and therefore leaves the audience curious to know more. The second design comprises and apple, and although this isn't a vital part of our film it is still featured in it and this postcard design, again is very minimalistic. The other two design are contrasting in comparison with the first to, these display the scenery and an image of Jonathan from a distance, as well as this the designs included delicate font. When getting feedback people seems to prefer the latter two designs in comparison to the first two and therefore when going on to complete my final postcard design i followed in the footsteps of those designs.

When i came to capturing the image for the postcard, i used the digital SLR camera in order for the image to be of the highest possible quality. I chose an image that is not identical to the ones in my initial design stages, however i feel the postcard demonstrates a professional finish and works well in conjunction with 'Fletting'. Below i used screen grabs from the film to illustrate how my postcard and film work successfully in tandem.

This image above illustrates the links between the final film 'Fleeting' and my postcard.  The first obvious link is the use of the title 'Fleeting', this has been used at the beginning of the film as well as on the back and front of the postcard, it is imperative for the title to be portrayed as frequently as possible in order to create word of mouth advertising and as well as this if the postcard is used at short film festivals in makes it clearer for the audience what from they're watching. The font on both the film and postcard are very similar, this shows a clear link between both the products and is a link that i feel is a success. The image on the postcard is almost identical to a screen grab from the film, an depicts Jonathan, the bench and the apple, three of the main features in the film. I feel this use of film and postcard interaction worked successfully. The production name and logo feature both on the film and postcard and this is essential and it sticks to the codes and conventions of previous media texts that I have researched. Finally the use of the directors name is displayed both in the film and on the postcard and this works successfully in tandem, as short films are a showcase for a directors talent therefore at film screening it is essential people know who the director is in case they want to get in touch to fund further projects or get involved themselves.



The image above displays my final film review and screen grabs from Fleeting around the side, to again demonstrate the links between the products. I have followed in the footsteps of Sight&Sound for my film review and thus the use of font cannot interlink with the film as this would not stick to the codes and conventions i had previously researched. The review includes an image of Jonathan as well as an additional image of a scene from the film and this therefore connects the two products and leaves the audience curious to watch more. The use of the cast list is shown in my film review and film, i was however unable to show it on my postcard as i dis not have the space and would have given the finish a cluttered feel. Overall i feel the use of images, such as that of Jonathan, the directors name and the title are all essential element that have been included on each product that i have produced. I feel the use of interaction between the products allows for successful advertising and as well as this gives the audience a clear message as to what are films about and the message its trying to portray.

Question 1-In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Now that i have finished and completed my short film, postcard design and film review i have to think about how these products may have developed or indeed challenged forms and convention of real media products. Below are a series of screen grabs from our short film 'Fleeting', underneath i have stated what i feel did in fact challenge the forms and conventions of real media products and what i felt may have developed them.

Shot 1 - Shot one conforms to the conventions of a real media film as it displays the production companies name and logo, this is shown at the beginning of the majority of films to let the audience know who is producing the film and thus develops the conventions of existing media products.

Shot 2- Shot two moves away from the conventions slightly as there is a close up on the main character before an establishing shot, we did this in order to show the audience that the main character is the focus of the film, as well as this we wanted to keep his location a mystery to the audience to keep them asking why he is at a bench and what significance does the bench hold.

Shot 3- This is an establishing shot and shows the main character of Jonathan, it also includes the title 'Fleeting'. We chose to add the title of the beginning of our film, thus conforming to the conventions of the short, as well as feature film industry.

Shot 4- Shot four is the first shot in which we see the antagonist and the protagonist, this shot shows the character of carol walking in to the shot and we then see Jonathan's reaction. I feel this shot stick to codes and conventions of a real media film as it introduces us to a new character, beginning with an establishing shot so that the audience can get a feel for the situation.

Shot 5- In shot five we see a close up of the apple, we used a jump cut in this particular shot and i feel this is thus sticking to the conventions of an industry film,we tried our hardest to incorporate a number of shots into the film, showing our creativity and i feel in this respect it worked well.

Shot 6- Shot 6 shows Jonathan taking a picture of an apple someone had left on the bench, this shot is a medium shot, showing 3/4 of Jonathan, this shot leaves the audience asking questions as to why he's taking a picture of an apple, however i feel this works well and again displays the use of various camera angels and shots within the film.

Shot 7- This shot displays the introduction of another character, the mise-en scene shows the audience the young boys hesitation to sit near or talk to Jonathan, and the audience thus question what Jonathan's motives and intentions are. This leaves an air of mystery and suspense to the film and leave the audience curious to see more. This is a key element in many short films, the story line must display a problem and for the audience this is it.

Shot 8- This shot shows Jonathan taking another picture of something that has been left behind at the bench, this frame show a medium close up of Jonathan and thus the audience can identify with his character, this again sticks to codes and convention of real media products as the director wants the audience to recognise some of the main characters traits and characteristics, and want the audience to relate and identify with the character.

Shot 9- Shot nine shows a new location, and we have thus not stuck to conventions as we have not incorporated a full establishing shot we have only included 3/4 of Jonathan's body and the wall in front of him. At this point in the film we were using light reflectors in order to make the scene as bright as possible to create a completely different feel to the other location which was cold and uninviting.  

Shot 10- This shot begins with  a panning shot over the pictures so the audience can get a close look at what is on the wall, the shot then ends in a close up of a picture of Jonathan and his deceased wife. This sticks to the conventions of a real media film as it is showing the pictures from Jonathan's point of view, as well as this the audience begin to empathise with the character of Jonathan.

Shot 11-  Shot eleven shows Jonathan looking at the pictures he has taken from the bench, at this point we see him from a side on angle. This conforms to the conventions of existing media products as its developing the relationship between the audience and the protagonist.

Shot 12- This encompasses a shot-reverse-shot and thus conforms to the conventions of existing media products. This shot shows Jonathan's emotion and devastation and the mise en scene shows allows the audience to identify with his character.

Shot 13-  Shot thirteen shows a new location and introduces a new character to the audience, this shot shows a close up of the art student and this allows the audience to establish who the new character is and what her motives may be.

Shot 14-  This shot shows shot-reverse-shot between Jonathan and the Art Student, this is thus conforming to the conventions of existing media products and allows the audience to see the scene from both characters point of view.

Shot 15- This shot represents the end of the film, there is a panning shot which continues up into the sky, this allows the audience to see the other side of the bench and the panning shot creates a sense of poignancy, also signaling the audience that the end of the film is near. This scene i believe worked really effectively and conforms to conventions of existing media products thorough the use of panning.

Shot 16-  This is the final shot of the film and shows Jonathan taking down the pictures he had previously taken at the bench. At this point music is introduced and the credits begin. Overall i fell our short film 'Fleeting' has conformed to the conventions of existing media products, through the use of various shots and camera angles, through the use of music and finally through the use of the credits at the beginning and end of the film. In some ways it has challenges conventions however i feel when this has occurred it hasn't been overly noticeable.

Postcard-
Before initially drawing up my designs for my my postcard i completed various research into the codes and conventions of short film postcards, looking at the layout, pictures used, tag lines and the positioning of the production name and logo. From this research, i learnt that the front of the postcard usually contains the films title with an image of either the location of the film or the main character as the dominant feature. And the back of the postcard encompassed a short synopsis, details of the cast, directors name, a website to find out more information about the film and finally a clear space or a lined area in which people could write down screening times, as postcards are predominantly used at film festivals. When initially drawing my designs i kept this in mind, and after receiving feedback from my designs i chose to produce the postcard design displayed below.

When creating my final postcard design i tried to conform to all the conventions mentioned above, i didn't want my postcard to look out of place if i was put again industry standard postcards and thus i attempted to incorporate as many codes and conventions of short film postcards as i could in order to produce a professional finish. In order to produce my postcard to the highest standard i took the pictures with a digital SLR camera, and then produced the design on 'Photoshop, both of which are listed on my new technologies post. After uploading the image to Photoshop, i then had to decide on the positioning of the films title 'Fleeting'. Initially i placed it in the far right corner, however i then realised that it wasn't overly noticeable and seemed to blend in with the background, i therefore moved it around and eventually decided to place it in top right hand corner, i felt the title was noticeable against the green background and didn't create a cluttered feel, but in fact worked nicely against the scenery.

The photo i chose doesn't give too much away about the character of Jonathan, and thus leaves the audience wanting to know more, this again develops conventions of existing media products. After producing the front of my postcard, i moved onto the back. I began by inserting my background image of trees that i had taken on the digital SLR camera, i edited the colour of the background for quite a while, playing around with the contrast and brightness in order to see what worked and what didn't. After sorting out the background i added the font, which included the following, the films title 'Fleeting', the directors name, the production company name and logo a short synopsis and the camera and production designers names. As well as this on the opposing side i put lines so that people could write down screening times and dates. Finally down the middle i stated who designed the postcard and their email address, as well as this i added the films email address for people wanting to find out more about the film. Overall i feel i have stuck to the majority of the short film postcard codes and conventions and i feel it looks very professional and wouldn't look out of place if it was compared to an industry postcard.

Film Review-

Before producing my film review i began by doing research into the various types of film review layouts, looking at examples from The Independent, The Guardian, Empire and Sight&Sound. After looking at these examples i decided that i wanted my film review to follow in the footsteps of Sight&Sound, i felt this review looked very professional and as well as this it included reference to the camera styles and used terminology and i felt this is what i wanted to incorporate into my review. When analysing the Sight&Sound review it became clear that in my review i needed to include the following, an image of the main character, the films title, the directors name, a cast list, age certificate, appropriate use of terminology and finally a short synopsis . After researching i went on to produce the review, i used Photoshop to create it as i felt this would produce the most realistic and professional finish, and also i had become familiar with the software from the production of my postcard. Overall i feel i stuck to the majority of codes and conventions from previous Media texts i included all the necessary information and used appropriate terminology when needed, although i did stick to the majority of conventions i also challenged them. Sight and sound do not usually so short film review however i have placed 'Short Film Speacial' on the top of the review to indicate   its not a regular thing. As well as this i included an extra image of a shot from the film in my review, thus moving away from conventions, however i believe this shows an element of creativity.