https://padlet.com/danielclivepalmer/t9lapyp4eicx Media Technologies en-us 2017-04-28 19:51:09 UTC 2017-05-22 13:29:06 UTC hello@padlet.com danielclivepalmer https://padlet.com/danielclivepalmer/t9lapyp4eicx/wish/168973034 2017-04-28 19:51:55 UTC https://padlet.com/danielclivepalmer/t9lapyp4eicx/wish/168973034 danielclivepalmer https://padlet.com/danielclivepalmer/t9lapyp4eicx/wish/168973211 2017-04-28 19:53:14 UTC https://padlet.com/danielclivepalmer/t9lapyp4eicx/wish/168973211 danielclivepalmer https://padlet.com/danielclivepalmer/t9lapyp4eicx/wish/168973248 2017-04-28 19:53:25 UTC https://padlet.com/danielclivepalmer/t9lapyp4eicx/wish/168973248 danielclivepalmer https://padlet.com/danielclivepalmer/t9lapyp4eicx/wish/168973398 2017-04-28 19:54:42 UTC https://padlet.com/danielclivepalmer/t9lapyp4eicx/wish/168973398 danielclivepalmer https://padlet.com/danielclivepalmer/t9lapyp4eicx/wish/168973654 In terms of equipment we used and, overtime, learned to take advantage of, includes the mighty DSLR - this camera allowed us to make shots we thought looked poor, look great. Make shots we thought impossible, become a reality. And ideas we thought stupid, turn out actually quite cool. That, combined with the focus lens and a tripod, saw Alex and I in an endless mountain of ideas. 

Over the 2 years we've studied Media, the DSLR became our bread and butter when it came to filming. At the beginning of the course last year, I had only used my own bridge camera, a Nikon, to do simple tasks like photographing. The DSLR took my knowledge and abilities to film, to the next level. It bridged the gap between amateur filming, and higher-end quality shots. We only used it for simple shots, yet with proper attention, I feel the DSLR is a great tool and asset to any student hoping to broaden their horizons when it comes to filming and photography. ]]> 2017-04-28 19:56:41 UTC https://padlet.com/danielclivepalmer/t9lapyp4eicx/wish/168973654 danielclivepalmer https://padlet.com/danielclivepalmer/t9lapyp4eicx/wish/168974558 Looking at the sheer number of new software I've been introduced to and become familiar with, is quite astonishing. Two major game-changers have been Blogger and Adobe Premier Pro, neither of which I could have completed my course without. Blogger allowed me to, you guessed it, blog my challenges, successes and journey through the creation of our music video. Looking through it, you can see my familiarity and competence with programs like Adobe Premier Pro and Photoshop, increase. It gave me the chance to build up my confidence with these programs and let readers (if there were any), to accompany me through the course. Within Blogger, I used several forms of presentation to liven up my blog and expand my knowledge in presentation, some of these programs included: Padlet, Prezi, Rawshorts, Powerpoint, Visme and Pixlr. All of which offering a unique and diverse platform to present information.

Premier Pro, I feel, is the foundation of any student who seeks a career in any sort of media encompassing role. It introduced me to professional-quality editing of footage. It took me a step-up to what I was used to and I think I've barely scratched the surface of Premier Pro's capabilities. What I have definitely learned, is how to deliver an average quality piece of film from a superior platform of editing. It's so easy to learn but takes years to master. To list but a few techniques I learned through PP - Quality slow-motion, character cloning, selective colour and green screening. 

Although I didn't spend as much time in Photoshop as I did in Premier Pro, I still recognise the importance of Photoshop and how great of a tool it is. After some quick tutorials on YouTube, and a guiding hand from fellow students, I quickly grasped how to effectively green-screen as well as Clone-stamp; two incredibly useful tools. 

]]> 2017-04-28 20:04:39 UTC https://padlet.com/danielclivepalmer/t9lapyp4eicx/wish/168974558 danielclivepalmer https://padlet.com/danielclivepalmer/t9lapyp4eicx/wish/168975981 As mentioned in the main task hardware section, the DSLR proved vital to our efforts in music video creating. It also had a hand in making our website - some of the shots, some of which were removed after consideration, were produced with the green screen and a DSLR. This gave us the opportunity to follow our inspiration from Pet Shop Boys and create colourful and interesting backgrounds for the site. None of which would have been possible had it not been for the DSLR. 

Another piece of hardware we found most valuable, was in fact a small camcorder, which we used to film our 'Behind the Scene' featurette videos. As great as the DSLR is, it's not incredibly versatile; we weren't able to quickly snap a short segment of behind the scenes with the large, professional camera. So instead we used the camcorder, which was perfect for quick breaks we had in filming our music video, to give some insight behind the scenes.  ]]> 2017-04-28 20:18:30 UTC https://padlet.com/danielclivepalmer/t9lapyp4eicx/wish/168975981 danielclivepalmer https://padlet.com/danielclivepalmer/t9lapyp4eicx/wish/168976641 Like with our music video, I used a wide variety of software, both online and offline, to help improve and liven our website. This includes, but is not limited to, Canva, Tailor Brands, mycustombandmerch, Pixlr and many more. These programs, along with others, gave myself and Alex the chance to expand our Website with cool and interesting ideas such as band merchandise, a completely unique and custom created logo as well funky, yet original, font.

 Coupled with the green-screen and Photoshop, we were able to really make our ideas and plans, become reality. For instance the main picture you see on the website, with the two band members, took hours of deliberating and editing as we pondered between that shot, and another shot of the two band members signing their band name onto a camera lens. Only because of great programs like Photoshop, were we given the chance to actually decide between more than one great looking shot.  ]]> 2017-04-28 20:25:52 UTC https://padlet.com/danielclivepalmer/t9lapyp4eicx/wish/168976641 danielclivepalmer https://padlet.com/danielclivepalmer/t9lapyp4eicx/wish/168977762 A key piece of the puzzle for us when making our Album, was the creative-freedom the graphics pad gave us. This simple yet irreplaceable piece of hardware, allowed Alex and I to literally put our ideas to paper, but on a screen. The pad let us draw effectively in Photoshop, which was perfect as our intention was to cross-over our theme and style of retro-pop onto the front. And with that, we created an animated, cartoonist album cover to suit our style and expand our band's look further.

Once Alex had stencilled out plan for the album cover, which you can see on my blog, it didn't even take a talented artist (which I am definitely not), to draw over it and copy out the design onto the graphics pad. I can see this piece of technology playing a crucial role in the future and will definitely remind myself of it when needing a more careful, steady hand in Photoshop.  ]]> 2017-04-28 20:36:47 UTC https://padlet.com/danielclivepalmer/t9lapyp4eicx/wish/168977762 danielclivepalmer https://padlet.com/danielclivepalmer/t9lapyp4eicx/wish/168978287 As previously mentioned, Photoshop has proved invaluable to both our main task and ancillaries - it not only gave us the time to practice with new effects learned from YouTube, check a quick edit for a photo or preview a filter, it also opened the door for future employment; Photoshop is globally recognised program with experts in the program making thousands of pounds just to slim the waist of a model. Whilst my aspirations aren't in that department, becoming familiar with such a prestigious program has definitely provided me with a small amount of experience from which I can launch my further study. ]]> 2017-04-28 20:43:22 UTC https://padlet.com/danielclivepalmer/t9lapyp4eicx/wish/168978287