2. Blogger is the website that I have used to document my research and my findings that
have helped me progress to the stage that I have got to now. At the start of the year I
created a blog that would be dedicated to this project. By having this it means that I
am able to document everything I do and put it into a separate blog post. By creating
blog posts it shows that I am aware of how to do the tasks that I have been sent and
makes it obvious that it is me that has done all of the work. Blogger has allowed me to
keep me work all in order and this would only work if I saved everything is correct
timing and providing that I had good organisational skills. When I first started college I
created a blog and because I wanted everything to be kept together I made sure that
my new blog was created under it this means that I am now more aware of how to
create blogs and how to use them to benefit my study. When using blogger I have also
come to realise that I can make it a private account. I have also understood how to
make people authors and admins of my account and this is something that needs to
be done for me because my blog needs to be marked. Blogger is something that has
allowed me to bind all of my work together that I have deisgned on other programmes
by me being able to use the HTML tab because this has made that I am able to cope
and paste the other programmes code and then click enter in blogger and then it
appears so blogger has allowed me to realise that all work can be documented and
that it is all dated meanign that everything has to be in order which is also easy
enough to do.

3. Prezi is a online tool that I used when my products were in the research stages of
production. Prezi is something that I am very aware of and something which is very easy
to useful but is something that produces my work and makes it look really effective. I
started to use Prezi when I was researching the genres and this was the format that I
saved my findings to. By putting it in presentation format it meant that I was able to view
it and make changes by simply changing the path that I have decided to use for that
presentation. The thing that I find appropriate with prezi is that you can create as much
as you want and I also think that it is really effective that you can upload videos from
YouTube and upload images that are already in your file. Prezi is something that I always
tend to use when it comes to analysing anything as when looking at my previous uploads
I have done market research on marketing campaigns and on the trailers that I have
taken influence from and this is initially where my interest from them came from. I would
say that Prezi has been very effective when it comes to my production stages of my
products because I have been able to put down my thoughts and been able to mind map
my findings. If I was to do a project like this again I wouldn’t hesitate to use this
programme because I know my way around the project and it means that I can easily
see everything that I have write and the benefit it that it looks very professional. In order
for people to see the work that I have done on this programme I am able to share it and
then copy the embed code to my blog where a post will be made for that specific
presentation.

4. Final Cut is the programme that I have used to create my actual trailer. Yet again this was
something that I had only used briefly the year before so I wasn’t completely confident when it
came to using it. However I knew that I was going to be using it a lot so I had to get used to it
and quickly. This is a programme that is designed for work to be created that is to be edited.
Final Cut allowed me to make my shots last for certain amount of times, allowed me to
change the pace, allowed me to edit the transitions from shot to shot and this is something
that I took advantage of because I knew that I wanted it to flow with no real gaps that were
really noticeable because I felt as if this would have let me down and this is something that I
didn’t want to happen. Another useful thing that I was able to do on final cut was to create my
intertitles here and I was able to do this on the middle screen by clicking the ‘T’ button and
this is something that allowed me to choose how the text would be displayed and so I decided
that I wanted it to be consistent so I used the same effect of a typewriter on all of my intertitles
because I wanted it all to match each other. By creating the intertitles on here I meant that I
was able to change the timing of them and also meant that I wasn’t having to transfer them
from one programme to another and so this was a useful effect that I found. When I was still
in the construction stages of production I knew that I was wanting to create some voice overs
and this meant that I was able to create them on this programme by clicking on a tab at the
top and it was on the drop down but when doing this to make it effective I had to make sure
that there was no background noise as then I wouldn’t be able to get the full effect. To get the
voiceover in the correct place I has to place the arrow where I wanted it to start and when the
voice over was to start it had a countdown. The reason that I wanted voice overs was
because I felt as if my trailer wasn’t strong enough and was missing something before they
were added in. Final Cut is something that I couldn’t have avoided using but it has taught me
many skills and has allowed my final trailer to come to order.

5. Garage Band is something that I had heard of but had never had to use before the start
of this coursework unit so all of the skills that I have acquired I have learnt about them
when I was creating the soundtrack. Garage Band is the programme that has allowed
me to make a soundtrack and this is the music that is in the background that you can
clearly hear when my footage is being played. When it came to the editing process of my
trailer it meant that I also has to create a soundtrack and this took its time but I only felt
as if I could create it and complete it when all of my footage/ intertitles/ voice overs were
in etc. Because I needed it to match with what was on screen at all times. In order to do
this when the footage was completed I was able to save it and then add another track to
my Garage Band file where the music was being edited and this meant that I was able to
see shot by shot and then could decide on what tracks should go where and was able to
change the length of how long the track was on for. I was able to play it as if it was a
movie and then the changes that I would make would be changed when it came to
viewing it again. By doing it this way it meant that I was able to get the timing dead on. I
knew that I needed the soundtrack perfect because this would help people understand
and connect with my trailer more. By using garage band it has opened up my eyes to
see how soundtracks are created and how much choice that there is for what to use. I
could have downloaded some sound effects on online websites but I decided against
this because everything that I needed was available for my on garage band and this was
an advantage for me. At the start when it came to creating my soundtrack I didn’t really
know what I was looking for but when I kept looking at my trailer and then listening
continuously to the some beats I found what was correct for what I was needing.

6. The benefit of using a iMac is that it comes fitted with Photo Booth and photo booth is
the programme that I have been using when I have been at college to record myself
and others when I have been given feedback and when I have been analysing my
findings. Photo Booth is a programme that has helped me document the changes
that I want as it means that I am able to keep it stored on my workplace and then
upload it to YouTube. One of the main reasons that I have used this is because it is a
way that I can speak about the ideas that I have and then whether or not I think that
they would work and by simply talking to a camera it means that people are able to
see whether I am confident with that idea or not. Photo Booth also allows you to take
photos however for this purpose I didn’t use this feature because there were other
tools that I thought were more effective for this.

7. Photoshop is the software that I have used to edit my images that were taken that
went towards my print products. If I didn’t use photo shop then there would be so
much critical analysis that I would have been given and my products wouldn’t have
been finished and up to the standard that they are at now although they aren’t perfect
but without photo shop they would have been nothing. My skills that I used on photo
shop weren’t very good but they were better than what I started off with as I had only
used it minimal amounts before it came to this task. The thing that I found that I was
able to use well was with the tools that were provided on the software and these were
the things that allowed me to make my images be taken to the next level. These tools
that were available for me to use were very simple to use when I got my head around
them and each simple tool had a major effect on my images and the final outcomes of
them. Photoshop has allowed me to design layers for each item that was used in the
image and this has allowed me to just work on one part of the image if I didn’t want to
focus on the whole thing. By using layers it means that I was more able to add new
items to the whole image and this meant that there was more chance of me
experimenting with more ideas that could possibly work but if I thought that there was
room for improvement then I was easily able to either hide the layer or delete it by
sending it to the recycling bin.

8. By using an SLR camera it meant that I was able to capture images at the highest
and best quality that could be taken at that point depending on the quality of the
lighting and other surrounding features. I used the still camera when it came to be
taking the images that I needed when it came to the production stages of my print
products however I also used this type of camera in the research and planning stages
because I needed to do test shots and needed to do images of props and costumes
that I was going to use and all of these were then recorded by taking an image and
uploaded them to blogger. By using a camera of this standard it meant that I was able
to create great quality images and to the highest possible standard.
The video camera was something that I couldn’t have completed my project without
because it is essentially and obviously this that enables me to create my trailer
because all of the footage was created by using it. The benefit of using a video
camera is that the initial ideas that I had were able to be put into order when it came
to filming them and it meant that in some cases that what I wanted something to look
like didn’t actually look correct so by renting out the video camera it meant that I was
able to capture moments that weren't planned and I was also able to go off from my
initial idea and I found that these shots worked better.

9. There are some things that have been used in all of the stages which are construction,
design, production and evaluation and this is one of these things because my work in
class is always done on a MAC and the reasoning is because all of the classrooms are
fitted with these and the benefit is that they come with software that are essential for
me to use in this project. These programmes are things such as Photoshop, Photo
Booth, Final Cut etc. When it came to doing work outside of class this was the thing
that I didn’t have access to and this was something that I thought was going to be hard
but the thing that I have found is that it can be worked around as it has given me more
determination to get all of the major work completed in college where I had had
complete access to these so at home I just finished off certain bits of work that a MAC
wasn’t the only thing it could be used on. Because MAC’s are such high and
advanced technology it means that they come fully equip and this is something that I
like about them and the other thing that I like is getting used to knew equipment
because it is a guarantee that they will be more popular in the future and so I think that
I have an advantage if I get used to them now because I don’t want to be in the same
situation with MAC’s that I was in with software programmes such as Garage Band.

10. Facebook is something that I have only just started to use. I think that the thing that I
have found from using Facebook as a research tool is that there will always be people
who are willing to give feedback on this website if the products are posted because
they are always able to see what other have posted. This programme was used
because of the recent rise in amounts of people using the social networking site, also
this worked to my advantage because people on the website and the ones who are
friends with me online and the age group that I have targeted my product towards. I
mainly used Facebook to get audience research in the evaluation stages of my
progress and this was the best programme that I could of used because the evaluation
was instant and meant that I could get the feedback done at any time. Although
Facebook isn’t a way that many people would gather research and evaluation I think
that it is very useful and also think that it will be something that will be done a lot more
in the future. By having my models online on Facebook it meant that I was able to
organise with them when I was wanting them to do some more shooting and I used a
private message with just the three actresses which then acted as a production
schedule and helped me when it came to writing a diary of when I did filming, who was
there and what locations were used etc.

11. YouTube is something that I have used in all stages of my development of my
products as I have used it since day 1. The ways in which I have used it is mainly for
the purpose of research and this is because when it came to me researching my
professional trailers that I was to take influence from I decided that the easiest way for
me to get access to these would be in the format of YouTube. YouTube is the place
that all videos are uploaded to because the producers know that people are constantly
on this website and this is the main way that people find out about films along with the
advertisements on TV. I knew that if I was to stand any chance of getting my trailer out
there that people would find it on YouTube and this is why I decided to take the same
route as the professional trailers and uploaded my final products to this website.
YouTube is a website which allows anyone to find your products depending on its
content and this is why I chose to upload many tags to it and this was done when it
was being uploaded. I feel as I YouTube is one of the programmes that needed to be
used in order for me to be able to do my work to the standard that it was done
because it allowed me to look at the work that people had done and that they had
published. There are also some advantages of me using this programme such as I
am able to upload videos of myself with me analysing my finding and recording my
work, this is also an advantage that it has to myself. YouTube is one of the
programmes that I have constantly used through out all stages of production including,
research, planning, construction, development and now in conclusions.

12. DAFONT is the website that I used when it came to my print products. I decided that I
would use this website because I knew that it was reliable because I had used it before.
The benefit of this website is that all you have to do is to simply look for a font in the
categories that are provided and then when it comes to the one you want all you have
to do is to download the font and then install it so that it shows up on your drop down of
fonts. However the one thing that I think is a negative about this programme is that if
your switch computers and need to work on the fonts then you have to re download
them and it becomes a bit tedious. The main time that I used this website was when I
was in the research stage and I spent hours looking for the perfect fonts. This was
recorded in my blog. I kept on narrowing it down as to what I thought would be the most
effective. The main reason that I used this website was because I knew that it would
have many fonts that I could use and that a lot of them would fit my genre more than
the original fonts that come fitted with the macs.