Evaluation question 4 Blogger is the source of what I used to present all my work. It allows me to post all my research and planning; it also lets me customise the appearance of my blog and so I chose to feature a horror image in the background. I chose this particular image as it is from The American Horror story which is a favourite TV show of mine and what interests me is how the antagonist wears a white dress just as my actress does. The lay out of my blog really shows the efforts of my research and planning and the presentation of it. Safari is what I used to collect all my information and research. This consists of the research on posts such as the history of horror and the different trailer types. Safari is also the main source of me being able to use some of the other online presentation apps. I did this by using my Macbook pro. This was an extremley useful device for me, as I was able to carry the laptop around with me and collect information such as audience feedback on the go. I used my iphone5 to keep in contact with all my actors. I did this by using whatsapp as I could easily make a group chat and message them for anything they needed to bring with them when we was filming. In addition I also used it to send a broadcast to contacts I had on my whatsapp list to announce that auditions would be taking place, and so thats how people approached me for auditions. I used a digital camera to record all my footage. The quality on the camera was not as good as the quality that my iPhone5 would produce, however I used the digital camera as it came with a tripod and prevented the ‘shaky camera’ that a lot of students where having a problem as they would be shaking whilst filming. I did however use my iphone5 when it came to filming the ‘found footage’ on the DVD’s; this was because it gave it a not so professional look. I wanted to initially use iMovie to construct my trailer together as it was super easy to use, however I found that it lacked certain functions and effects that premiere pro could do. However, for my Title that I used in my trailer, I wanted the smoke to appear black and white, which I wasn't able to achieve on After effects, even though I tried hard to use youtube to help me in doing this. Everything that I would do would change the text to become black and white as well. Therefore I used iMovie to change the smoke into black and white only, then I exported it and used it back in after effects to then add on the Red texts and transitions. (Yes this was extremely lengthy, however it was the easiest way for me!) Also, I used it in constructing my audition clips, as it was faster to use than premier pro. I initially used Photoshop to create my background for my title cards, by creating a branch and earthy effect by using various tools. However, from the feedback I received, I had to change this as it wasn't an appropriate or scary. I also used photoshop to edit my images for my Magazine and Film poster. I was able to enhance the colours and also add extra bruising by using the brush tool. I used it to also create the branch effect on my title, by firstly drawing the long branch and then filling it with colour and the blood dripping of it. I feel I am on a expert level with Photoshop as I have had experience from year 10, whilst doing my Photography GCSE course. As time has gone on, I have had more practise for my Media GCSE course for constructing a magazine just as I have created a magazine for this course.
I used an online app called BeFunky to edit my final title card background. I decided to use this as it was an app I haven't used before and I felt that I wanted to explore different editing softwares. I feel it did a good job for editing my background as it was straight forward to use and didn't require much skill; whereas, Photoshop does. I used Adobe After Effects to create my wording transition for my title cards. I did this by importing the background from what I created on befunky, and then used the text and transitions to allow the texts to move. I also used Adobe After Effects to create the production Ident and Title in my trailer. I have had some experience with this during my AS coursework, however using this for my A2 coursework was completely different. I used it to a higher level where I learnt to create effects and tricks! This was extremely fun, and time consuming to a great extent, however I enjoyed creating products using this. Prezi is an online presentation app I used to present my ideas and planning evidence. I have had experience using this app during my AS coursework, so I enjoyed using this to illustrate my ideas. I used this when researching and analysing camera shots, researching the codes and conventions of a horror trailer, researching horror tv shows, research into the film sinister, research on characters, props and costumes. I find it easy to use and the fact you have many options of what layout you would want. Now that I look back at it, I find that I have used Prezi a lot! I should have tried to use other softwares to present my findings. I have used Emaze a few times to present my work, during my AS coursework as well as my A2 coursework. I used it for presenting my History of horror post, horror production companies, My pitch and creation of my title and title cards. I find that there are so many options on the types of layouts to choose from which is great in comparison to just using Microsoft powerpoint. However, one issue I used to come across, was that it was easy to lose work. For example the online app would freeze and stop working and the work would not get saved! Also there was no option on how big the presentation could be, therefore it extends outside the margins of my blogger. These were the only annoying things about using this. Powtoon was great to use in terms of presenting my work. It was different as it allowed animated characters, whilst allowing me to decide on how long I wanted each transition and slide to last. I used this for my posts on How society influence films, inspiration to my film, films that influence me, poster research and process of me editing my pictures. I found this easy to use as it was pretty much straight forward whilst giving a different and more creative appearance. I had no problems using this. Visme was a new online presenting page I came across this year. It was quite difficult to use at first as I wasn't used to it. However with practise I was able to get the hang of it. I used it for my posts on initial ideas and title cards analysis. I would have used this software a lot more but it would only allow two posts to be created, otherwise you would have to pay for a membership. So this was a downfall as it was a restriction. I also liked the fact that it could be presented on slides, or a scrolling method. One problem was that it used to do the same thing as Emaze; it would freeze and then my work would be unsaved! So sometimes it was a pain, but other than that I liked how it would present my work. Slideshare is something that is so popular and known to most students. I found that a lot of people used this and relied heavily upon it just as I did for my AS coursework. However, even though I did use this for my A2, I tried to keep it to a minimum and used it on posts
such as the horror channel, magazine analysis, and my storyboard. I wanted to be more creative in terms of effects and transitions, which this could not offer. Scribd was another online presenting site I have just come across this year. The format it presents my work in is a scrolling method, which is creative and different. Although, I could not use this to present all my work due to the fact it may not be presentable for certain posts such as the Storyboard post, so I used this to present my photoshoot. Slidebead is actually a presenting software I came across this year. It was quite different in terms of presenting as I would input the paragraphs and upload the pictures or media files before, and then allow the software to arrange everything in order for me. I found this restricting as I often wanted to move the text boxes around and was unable to do so. Therefore I only used it on my media class feedback post and trailer types post. I’ve used issu in the past during my AS to present my script, however for this year I used it to show my research on the poem about Myra Hindley. I used this as the way it would present the text to appear on a virtual page was useful; as people could flip the page as well as zooming in or out. I used Wix to create a free website for my film. The website will promote the films narrative on the killings, as it is presented as a news article and helps the audience to have a realistic feel on this. It’s also a useful way of promotion and will lead in success for the film. Also, it is featured in my trailer when my character is researching on the laptop.