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Piktochart
Piktochart promotes creativity as it is based on visuals and allows you to upload images to use or provides icons and stock images.However, the layouts provided weren't very flexible in their layout however there were options that allowed for more flexibility eg adding or removing blocks or starting with a blank layout. I also used the presentation option however I found that the formatting changed when embedded onto Blogger as there were no divides between the topics. -
Scribd
Scribd is an empowering platform as it allows the democratisation of ideas. This allows the spread of information as it can reach a wider audience online. It also encourages the user to be a prosumer as they are able to read uploaded content as well as uploading their own. The issue I found was that you have to ensure that the documents you upload as in the PDF file format as Scribd alters the formatting of Word documents. -
YouTube
I also found YouTube very useful when researching existing music videos because most mainstream/ popular artists have their own YouTube channels and upload their music videos to them as it is an easy way to reach their fans. I found that as YouTube is such a popular platform, there are a lot of other associated platforms that help with tasks that aren't as straightforward to do with YouTube. For example: I used Tubechop and ytCropper to crop and embed short sections of videos. -
Camera
I used both the Canon 600D and 70D to shot the footage. I found it difficult to transition from the 600D and 70D at first because the controls are slightly different and I wasn't used to using the 70D. I found the cameras were particularly good for shooting close ups because the lens could zoom in very close however it was difficult to manually adjust the focus to keep the image crisp when shooting a close up shot. I also found it difficult to keep the camera steady at times. -
SD Card
I had a problem with my SD card as it became corrupted by the card reader when I tried to back my files up onto my hardrive. If I was unable to recover my files, I planned to put the footage I had exported for my blog back into Premier Pro to recut and edit it, although this would be far less flexible. Fortunately, my files were recovered so I did not have to do this. -
Tripod
I used a tripod for some of the indoor shots of the protagonist. This kept the camera steady and I was able to lock the camera at a particular height. However, it was difficult to adjust it into the right angle for low and high angle shots. I didn't use a tripod for most of the playground shots as their was sand or mud on the ground so the tripod wouldn't stand up straight. -
Tubechop and ytCropper
Tubechop and ytCropper were very useful when researching music videos as I was able to cut short sections of video, which allowed me to analyse the techniques used. However, I found that a disadvantage of Tubechop was that if it was not working, you were unable to view the video clips. This is a major drawback as Tubechop works independently to YouTube as it is not affiliated with YouTube so you are reliant on Tubechop to be able to view the video clips. -
Premier Pro
Premier Pro provides a lot of functions and effects to edit video footage, which empowers the user as they are encouraged to use the tools to enhance their creativity. I found that I sometimes had to use online tutorials on YouTube to help me best use the tools provided. I also found the colour settings very useful as I was able to change the colourisation using the colour balance settings and colour wheels to create the tone I wanted. -
YouTube
I found YouTube easy to use. It was straightforward to upload videos and embed them onto my blog as YouTube and Blogger are part of the same conglomerate (Google) so they work together well. This allows cross media convergence as it is easy to combine blog posts with video. YouTube was also helpful because I was unable to upload my test footage directly onto my blog because the file was too big but YouTube is designed for video sharing so you can upload larger videos with ease. -
After Effects
I found After Effects useful for song title that appears at the start of the music video as I was able to import a font from Dafont rather than having to choose one from the limited range of fonts available through Adobe Creative Cloud. In addition, I able to apply effects to this text and could control how long the effect lasted for. It was also easy to import the After Effects project into Premier Pro as they are both part of Creative Cloud. -
InDesign
After trying out both Photoshop and InDesign, I decided that I would use Photoshop for my print products. That is because I felt that InDesign was less flexible and I didn't like working with the columns and margins. In addition, it was harder to use colour because in Photoshop I was able to pick out colours from my images to use in the print products. -
Photoshop
I refered using Photoshop to InDesign because it allowed me to manipulate the colours more and I found it easier to manage the layers than InDesign because it is less fixed. A downside is that I wasn't able to set a bleed as I would be able to in InDesign and I wasn't able to alter the size of the images after they had been placed although I could still move them. Photoshop was helpful when making small edits to images as there are a variety of tools to alter the colours. -
Dafont
I used Dafont for the main fonts in my print products and for the song title that appears at the start of the music video. This was very useful as I was able to search fonts using the filters such as 'serif' or 'fancy', which made it easier and quicker to find a font that fit the genre. I also found the font I used for the band's signature on Dafont as I was able to search through 'handwriting' fonts. -
Prezi
Prezi was good for presenting information visually and allows more interactivity from the reader, which encourages them to be an active audience as they have more control. I found Prezi very flexible as it allows you to upload images or screenshots and allows you to animate the presentation as you want. Also, while templates are provided, it encourages creativity as you can edit the layout and customise the colour scheme. -
Thinglink
Thinglink was useful as it allowed me to place captions on relevant points of an image. This was really simple to use but didn't allow for much flexibility. This is because you couldn't include additional images and you couldn't control the size of the caption icons, which are quite big and can obscure the image. However, I found it was very flexible with what it allows you to upload as you can upload different image sizes and file types without any problems. -
Polyvore
Polyvore is very flexible and encourages creativity. There are a range of images already on the platform as retailers add images products to the site and consumers are encouraged to use these images within their own 'sets', creating a link between the retailer and the consumer.I found Polyvore easy to use as you are able to edit images as you wish by cutting out particular sections and creating a bricolage. In addition, you are able to save the images and use them in other platforms. -
Timetoast
Timetoast is good to break up the content into categories and allows you to add an image to each 'event'. The main problem is that you aren't able to embed onto your blog with a free account. -
Blogger
Blogger was really easy to use as I could embed content from other platforms using embed codes or a YouTube url. I could also easily add text or images directly onto Blogger. A major advantage of Blogger is that it allows for cross media convergence as it allows you to add content in a number of different file formats or from a number of different platforms. It is also easy for a reader to navigate as there are labels which can be used to divide into topics.
