Evaluation Question 4

HOW DID YOU USE NEW MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND RESEARCH, PLANNING AND EVALUATION STAGES?

Upon reflection, I believe the use of new media technologies in the construction, planning, research and evaluation stages of creating my products was very important. With the rise of convergence culture and the audience's desire to participate in the age of Web 2.0, it is essential that the audience can engage with filmmakers such as ourselves. It helps to generate a 'hype' for them whilst giving us useful information on what they want out of a new crime genre film (such as in the initial research stage where I conducted surveys). However, I think in order to have an authentic presence, some interactions should be done face-to-face, such as when I asked for feedback on my products from my peers. Of course, when it came to presenting these products, it was more efficient to use the most accessible platforms (i.e YouTube for the trailer and any vlogs, which could then be embedded into Blogger and other sites). I also acknowledged the prevalence of social media usage among my target audience, as the median age was 19 (younger generations are known for spending a lot of time online) and so used sites such as Facebook and Reddit to gather informal feedback and reviews, keeping SurveyMonkey and Typeform for the more formal research.

Using new software and hardware that was new to me was also important as it was an enjoyable challenge and I had to adapt to the programs as we went through post-production (such as learning to use Premiere Pro and After Effects, programs that were completely new to me and my group mate Tia Briers). The fact that these were modern programs that high-budget films have used helped our trailer to appear more professional and polished. In all, I believe that pushing myself to use these new technologies and engage with my audience in new ways not only gave me more confidence and developed my skills, but made our trailer all the better for it and ultimately gave us a unique learning experience that we will always appreciate.