Throughout the whole process of this year's coursework project, I have attempted to encompass a range of different media technologies to make the blog interesting to read and look at.
For the research, I frequently used the 'Google Chrome' browser to search websites and forums to find out about conventions, typical target audiences and budgets for romcoms. It was also interesting to really dig deep and spot something people like to talk about, such as the post-modernist filming styles of the tv series "Green Wing", or the slap-stick scenes in Peter Sellers's "Pink Panther". Taking elements from different comedy films and television shows and amalgamating them with typical romcom ingredients really helped me achieve what I wanted to.
Using Adobe Photoshop to construct the poster and mag cover was relatively simple. After using it last year, I felt comfortable with finding my way around the programme to find various effects and use different tools to select certain bits quickly and effectively. Naturally, there were some complications with Photoshop (aside from trying to find the right image) such as not being able to paste snap shots from my footage into Photoshop. Nonetheless, having to use different images was no big issue and it actually allowed me to create the perfect image. Using Adobe Premier Elements to edit the trailer took some getting used to. I had never used the programme before and had to spend a while practicing various editing techniques. Once I had my head around it though, editing was an enjoyable experience. I especially enjoyed the ease with which the programme allowed me to separate the audio from the footage on certain clips in order to move the sound elsewhere in the trailer, as I did with the punchline for the male protagonist's joke.
With the planning, I recorded my ideas and time schemes via the in-built webcam on my Sony laptop. This was fantastically quick and easy to do; the programme allowed the videos to go straight to Youtube without having to open an internet browser. I also had to plan ahead and use "Format Factory" to convert my video files into ones compatible with Adobe Premier Elements. Later on I also used Format Factory to convert a movie file of my protagonist's voice into an MP3 file, which I used as my voice over.
With the evaluation, it became clear that absolutely any media technology could be used. I used the internet site "Youtube" to upload my evaluation videos and my trailer, and then shared them to blogger via the "share" button on Youtube. I did it this way instead of uploading straight to blogger because the quality of the video was terrible compared to uploading to Youtube. Furthermore, the blogger uploader seemed to take twice as long as the Youtube uploader, however that could just be because of the size of the file I was trying to upload. I did not include any music in my evaluation videos due to the issue of copyright - I would rather have no music and better quality videos than having my videos blocked altogether! I also used the social networking site "Facebook" to get some audience feedback. By posting it onto my profile page, it allowed friends to comment on the video and gave me the general feel as to how it was received. Facebook was an excellent way to share the video because of the different ages, genders and races who could see and comment on the video. To make my evaluation videos I used "Windows Live Movie Maker" which is not at all the best editing software, but it sufficed and I was able to upload them straight to Youtube and Facebook from the programme.
All in all, all the different media technologies I used helped me tremendously, despite stumbling across a few issues every now and then. Without Facebook, I would have had to construct a questionnaire to see what people thought. I chose to do my evaluation through videos for ease of watching and also to demonstrate the simplicity of the modern media world where everything is connected and shared at the click of a button.
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