“Digital technology turns media consumers into producers”. In your experience, how has your creativity developed through using digital technology to complete your coursework productions?
“Digital technology turns media consumers into producers” to an extent is relevant to my productions as software which I was able to gain on my home laptop was used to create my Foundation and Advanced Portfolios. This meant I was able to widen my range of skills and apply them to my work, turning me into a producer.
The editing software used in my Foundation Portfolio was iMovie, where I used an Apple Mac. As I had access to two Apple Macs for 10 hours each week, it meant I could transfer and use this digital technology in my free time as well as during designated editing times. For the thriller production in my Foundation Portfolio it was a fantastic piece of software to use, allowing me to trim film clips as well as adjust the lighting through the colour correction tool to ensure an on edge, eerie atmosphere could be created. However, the film clips timeline is automatically sized to what suits the programme, meaning when it came to trimming the clips to milliseconds, it was becoming an inconvenience as the accuracy took time and patience to gain the needed precision. After using it in my Foundation Portfolio, I knew full well it did not have the effects I wanted for my Advanced Portfolio’s music video. This meant I had to search for a piece of software that did: Cyberlink Power Director – only compatible with PCs rather than Apple Macs. By downloading the programme at home, it meant I could use my laptop in the free time during the days as well as at home, giving me continuous access to it; I could put the time and effort I needed to into my music video. It was particularly effective in the video editing effect zoom, which allowed a fast paced zoom in and out on a film clip when the protagonist is dancing with a stranger, exactly to the beat, applying music to visuals. This was the kind of precision I gained from Cyberlink Power Director that I felt was not possible on iMovie showing my creativity had developed as I was very specific on the image I wanted to create. The only disadvantage to Cyberlink was the effects on film clips were not always available on still image editing, creating a slight issue for the stop frame animation images.
MP3 and file sharing was simplistic in my Foundation Portfolio as I used an online website www.freeplay.com which allowed you to refine your search to a specific track initially designed for home movies. By filtering the searches, I was able to gain the electronic sound I wanted for my modern thriller production. However, the music was not technologically advanced; not something you would imagine could make it into a blockbuster production, but as it was legal and the music suited the atmosphere it was not a hugely important issue. In my Advanced Portfolio music video, I brought the track of iTunes which was a benefit to the artist as well as me as they gained another vote in their rank in the charts and I gained a reasonably priced song. The only disadvantage was the track’s format was not tailored for Cyberlink and so I had to spend time editing the tracks format. However, as I only had to ask the artist’s permission to use their song I realised I could have done the same for my Foundation Portfolio – this shows my creativity and knowledge have developed as it means I can now broaden my research.
In my Foundation Portfolio, I did not only use the web as a means of finding a track for my thriller production but also as I research base. Through the web, I was able to research my target audience and narrow it down to a specific demographic - the broadest one possible. I placed the information found on my blog where I stored all my ideas; however in my Advanced Portfolio the way I presented the information changed showing my creativity and use of the web advanced by using websites such as Flickr and SlideShare to present my information in a unique way rather than plain blocks of texts.
In my Advanced Portfolio I used my mobile phone to play the track whilst gaining the lip syncing images meaning that when it came to the editing later on, it would be a lot easier to apply this one of Goodwin’s principles. This is a strong example of convergence. The issue that arose was the noise of the wind that day drowned the limited volume on my mobile phone. Sometimes, the protagonist had to hold the phone in order to ensure the lip syncing could be gained which limited the angles that I could film as I did not want to capture the mobile in the image.
My ancillary tasks for my Advanced Portfolio showed most development as the programmes I used were new to me:
Serif Photoplus and Pageplus allowed me to use image manipulation, particularly noticeable on the inside of my digipack where there are three images of eyes gradually opening. I used the crop tool on the image and then adjusted the quality of the eyes by using the sharpen tool and the lighting effects, creating a poignant theme in the main and ancillary tasks: the notion of looking. However; never using this programme before meant the layering of the images became quite complicated. This gave me the motivation to download the programme at home, meaning I could transfer my work between two places giving me more time on it. The desktop publishing software on the free version I downloaded at home was not as technologically advanced as the full version available on the school computers meaning some effects did not show up at home, limiting the amount of things I could do in one evening. But, before I created these ideas, I had to voice them to the target audience to ensure they would surpass to buying my product. This involved a pitch using a projector and an iBoard allowing them to view the flat plans of my ideas. The feedback was strong and informative meaning I could adjust my products to suit their needs. Despite this, the pitch did not go completely according to the plan as the images were faded on the projection in comparison to the neon colours I wished to show them. My creativity developed through my ancillary tasks as I was able to explore new programmes and new ideas but also having an official pitch giving me more information on what I could improve on.
In conclusion, “digital technology turns media consumers into media producers” applies strongly to my productions as in my experience I have been able to create ideas and place them in the world using the digital technology that was fortunately available to me. Through the advance in this technology I was able to develop my creativity; broadening my horizons.
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