EVALUATION QUESTION 4: TECHNOLOGY

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

Throughout the film making process, I have used many New Technologies. These new technologies have helped me to get the best out of my work and ensure I am being resourceful.

I have created a NEWHIVE to display my work on new technologies. 

CLICK HERE TO VIEW MY NEWHIVE.

Along with my Newhive, I have also gone into detail on four areas of new technology, I feel have really helped me in the film making process.

Scoop it: I used Scoop-it, to document and bank helpful and important websites, related to what I was researching. Scoop it is easy to use and it's layout is clear and easy to work and manage. You simply start by creating a topic folder on the site and then you find websites that relate to this topic and that you find helpful and you copy the URL, into a tab in the folder this then generates a cover page for the website, as well as a live link. Next to this image there is a quotation taken from the website article which acts as a summary of the website, giving you an easy form of information. You can also return to a folder once you've closed it and add to it, with new research and websites you have found. I used this New Technology when researching for short films. I used it to keep a group of websites in a similar place where I could easily access them and use them to my benefit. This proved helpful in allowing me to create a general overview of short films and to ensure that I was gaining my research from a wide range of sources.

Facebook: I used Facebook in the planning stages of the film making process. Facebook is a form of social media which allows people to have a basic profile and share statuses and pictures with their friends and family. It also allows you to chat with your online friends. Two features of Facebook that proved helpful to me, were that of group messaging and creating events. Group messaging allows you to create a online conversation with a collective group of people you chose, this was helpful to me in the planning stages of film making as it meant I was able to create a message which included all the members of my group, and so we could all chat to one another together and ensure we were all in agreements as to what to do. This also allowed us to arrange and organise ourselves, as to when to film and who would be needed where. The other feature of Facebook, (events), meant that we were able to make a group page whereby we could post when and where we would be filming and who would be needed. This page could only be seen by our group and it was helpful as it worked as a stamp mark, ensuring everyone was aware of what we would be doing as a group.

Hue HD camera stop motion: I used a Hue HD camera when constructing our short films production company Ident. I had used this tool only once before, but I still found it easy to control and use. It works by using a small camera on an adjustable and bendable neck, which plugs into the computer, this then enables you to see what the camera sees on the computer screen. You then can take a series of still photographs moving whatever you have placed in front of the camera ever so slightly between each frame. You then play it back and the footage all fits together and speeds up to create the illusion of moving image. We chose to use jenga bricks and create a tower, which then falls down and use the ironic name of "Built Up Productions". This proved effective, as it was personal to us and required creative thinking and abilities to create. This New Technology was also very helpful when it came to consistency in the snapshots, as once you have taken one still the faint skeleton of this still remains on the computer screen enabling you to position the camera exactly where it needs to be to make sure the footage flows naturally.

Snapchat: I used Snapchat to record and document what I was doing directly. It is a form of social media which allows you to take stills or record a maximum of 10 second videos and share them with all your friends or just direct contacts for a limited time only. I found it helpful as it is an application found on my Iphone. This meant I had easy access to it at all times on set or on task. It also has a feature which enables you to type text over a photo or video or write directly onto the footage with a pen feature. This was very helpful for me as it meant I was able to instantly annotate photos and videos I had taken. The app also allows you to save what you take onto your phone directly, so when they vanish from the app you still have them banked in your camera roll on your phone. This meant that I was not getting confused over which footage went with which filming session or task. Snapchat is a new and upcoming new Technology which proves very helpful and effective in recording your progress.